Articles | The Surgeon | Home

The Surgeon: articles

Serious surgery

Mixed fortunes for Australian TV drama last week, with Blue Heelers extended for 10 weeks by Seven and The Alice axed by Nine after months of disappointing ratings

Ten throws its hat in the ring next week with The Surgeon, an eight-part drama from Judi McCrossin and John Edwards, two of the creatives behind The Secret Life of Us

Starring Justine Clarke, Nicholas Bell and Sam Worthington, the low-budget series takes a documentary-style look at surgeons at a Sydney hospital

Ten's programming boss, David Mott, last week sent out preview copies with a plea for TV critics to embrace the show and help stem the flow away from local drama

"Our response at Ten is not to be complacent or risk adverse,"he says

"We believe that strong Australian stories, freshly told from innovative creative teams can have a powerful voice on our screens."

But a week before the series launch, Mott inexplicably pulled the first episode, forcing Green Guide to pull its review.

Confidence in his product? Or not?

By Kylie Miller
October 6, 2005
The Age