australian television information archive

1915

Year: June 1982
Producer: Ray Alchin
Directors: Di Drew, Chris Thomson
Writer: Peter Yeldham (Based on the novel by Roger McDonald)

1915 takes us inside a bustling rural community and captures the dreams and heartaches of two young men as they grow up and ultimately embark on the greatest and worst adventure of their lives.
Billy MacKenzie and Walter Gilchrist are two best mates who forge their friendship fighting over girls, horses and family. But the biggest test of their metal is about to reveal itself as news filters through of a major conflict unfolding on the other side of the world.
Caught up in the enthusiasm to defend mother England, Billy and Walter set off to discover the adventure, the glory and the horror of the "war to end all wars". (7x 55 min)

Cast: Scott Burgess, Scott McGregor, Lorraine Bayly, Maurie Fields, Anne Haddy, Bill Hunter, Gerard Kennedy, Bill Kerr, Serge Lazareff, Andrew McFarlane, Richard Moir, Russell Newman, Ilona Rodgers, Nell Schofield, Sigrid Thornton, Martin Vaughan, Arna-Maria Winchester, Jackie Woodburn

Anzacs

Year: October 1985
Producer: Geoff Burrowes
Writers: John Dixon, John Clarke
Directors: John Dixon, George Miller, Pino Amenta

This epic six hour drama follows the lives of a dozen Australia Australian soldiers who served in the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) during World War I which follows them from the 1915 battle of Galipoli, to the brutal trenches of France during the 1916 Somme battles, the 1917 Arias and Vimy Ridge battles to the final 1918 German offensives and the final victory drive as well as the hardships, mid-adventures and the casualties of friends encountered at each one.

Cast: Andrew Clarke, Paul Hogan, Jon Blake, Mark Hembrow, Christopher Cummins, Megan Williams, Tony Bonner, Shane Briant, Peter Finlay, Patrick Ward, Vincent Ball, Jonathan Sweet, Illona Rogers, Noel Trevarthen, David Bradshaw

Available on DVD from chaos.com

Bodyline

Year: 1984
Executive Producers: George Miller and Bryan Kennedy
Producer: Terry Hayes
Directors: Denny Lawrence, Lex Marinos, George Ogilvie, Carl Schultz
Writers: Robert Caswell, Terry Hayes, Denny Lawrence

Bodyline is the dramatic story of one of the momentous sporting events of this century.
Into a Depression-racked Australia in late 1932, a young English gentleman, Douglas Jardine, led a team of cricketers on a mission to win back the Ashes.
Newly appointed captain of the English team, Jardine had come to believe that the success of that mission depended on beating one man—a brilliant young Australian batsman called Donald Bradman. His strategy would be to employ tactics never before used in a game between gentlemen. His major weapon would be a speed bowler by the name of Harold Larwood.
As the architect of infamous "bodyline" bowling, Jardine became the most hated man ever to set foot in Australia. His tactics sparked off a public outcry in the country: outrage which reached a climax during the third test in Adelaide. (5 x ?? min)

Cast: Gary Sweet (Donald Bradman), Hugo Weaving (Douglas Jardine), Vincent Ball, Paul Chubb, John Clayton, Max Cullen, John Gregg, Jim Holt, Rhys McConnochie, Heather Mitchell, Julie Nihill, Frank Thring, Peter Whitford, Michael Winchester

Available on DVD from chaos.com

Captain James Cook

Year: 1987
Executive Producer: Geoffrey Daniels
Producer: Ray Alchin
Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark
Writer: Peter Yeldham

In 1768 King George III of England orders an ambitious expedition to the Pacific Ocean to observe an eclipse of the sun and to see the mythical Southern Continent. James Cook, an unknown petty officer, is controversially appointed as commander, choosing an unlikely collier to carry him and his men into dangerous and unknown waters. After sailing to Tahiti, where the eclipse proves disappointing, Cook proceeds to chart the coasts of New Zealand and Australia beginning a glorious adventure spanning the oceans of the world. (8 x 50 mins)

Cast: Keith Michell, John Gregg, Peter Carroll, Matthew Crosby, John Doyle, Carol Drinkwater, Xabier Elorriaga, Les Foxcroft, Steven Grives, Erich Hallhuber

Cyclone Tracy

Year: 1986

On Christmas Day, 1974, the people of Darwin, endured the most destructive natural disaster ever to occur in Australia's history—Cyclone Tracy. This six-hour mini series depicts the events of the terrifying Christmas and celebrates the spirit and courage of the people of Darwin. Cyclone Tracy reveals the strength of these people through touching fictional characterisations set against the actual events of the disastrous Darwin summer. Cyclone Tracy is the story of courage and strength and how these people begin rebuilding their lives. (3 x 120 min)

Cast: Tracy Mann, Nicholas Hammond, Chris Haywood

A Long Way from Home

Aired: October 23 & 24, 1988 (Nine)
Writer: Bill Kerby
Director: Jerry London
Producer: Steve Krantz

An woman (Julie Christie) crusades to save her son (John Polson), doomed to hang for smuggling heroin in Malaysia. Based on a true story. (2 x 90min)

Cast: Julie Christie, John Polson, Hugo Weaving, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kerry Armstrong, Robin Ramsay, Victor Banerjee, Shapoor Batliwalla

aka: Dadah Is Death (USA)

The Dismissal

Year: 1983
Executive Producers: Byron Kennedy, George Miller
Directors: George Miller, Phillip Noyce, George Ogilvie, John Power Carl Schultz
Writers: Terry Hayes, George Miller Phillip Noyce

The Constitutional crisis that emanated from the sacking of the Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam on November 11, 1975 still reverberates to this day. The 1983 mini-series from Kennedy Miller brings to life every extra-ordinary details and still rates as one of the most watched television in Australia. (100 mins)

Cast:Max Phipps, Ruth Cracknell, John Meillon, Robyn Nevin, Sean Scully, Peter Sumner, John Allen, Vincent Ball

Available on DVD from Chaos.com

For the Term of His Natural Life

Year: 1982
Director: Rob Stewart

When the secret of his true parentage is revealed, young aristocrat Richard Devine (Colin Friels) is disinherited and driven from his home in England. Assuming the name "Rufus Dawes," he is falsely accused of murder and banished to an unforgiving Australian prison for a life sentence. Gradually, he evolves into a tough, self-sufficient convict, unafraid to attempt the most daring escapes or brutal clashes with fellow prisoners and his jailers-including the cruel Lt. Maurice Frere (Rod Mullinar) or the troubled Reverend North (Anthony Perkins). "Dawes'" last hope for vindication is his passion for Sylvia (Penelope Steward), daughter of prison Commandment, Major Vickers (Patrick Macnee). That hope is put to the ultimate challenge by her own dark secrets. Harsh and unflinching in its indictment of prisons, For the Term of His Natural Life is also an unforgettable testament to this power of the human mind and heart. Based on the novel by Marcus Clarke.

Cast: Colin Friels, Rod Mullinar, Anthony Perkins, Penelope Stewart, Patrick Macnee, Susan Lyons, Diane Cilento, Robert Coleby, Samantha Eggar

Available on VHS from amazon.com and on DVD from chaos.com.au

Fortress

Aired: June 26, 1986
Produced by: Crawford Productions
Executive Producers: Hector Crawford, Ian Crawford, Terry Stapleton
Producer: Raymond Menmuir
Writers: Everett De Roche, Gabrielle Lord (novel) Director: Arch Nicholson

It is the morning in the one-room schoolhouse in the Australian outback. The young teacher calls her class to order. It is a day like any other—until the unexpected occurs. Four masked gunmen break into the schoolhouse, kidnap the teacher and her class and transport them to the barren countryside, Terrorised and abandoned, the victims come to a shocking realisation—only they can save themselves from an almost certain death. (88 mins)

Cast: Sean Garlick, Rachel Ward, Elaine Cusick, Laurie Moran, Marc Gray, Ray Chubb, Bradley Meehan, Rebecca Rigg, Beth Buchanan, Asher Keddie, Anna Crawford, Richard Terrill, Vernon Wells, Peter Hehir, David Bradshaw, Roger Stephen, Wendy Playfair, Ed Turley, Nick Waters, Terence Donovan

The Harp In The South

Year: May 1987
Produced by: Anthony Buckley Productions
Producer: Anthony Buckley
Director: George Whaley

In the days following World War II, hard times have befallen the Australian town of Surry Hills. Inhabited mainly by Irish immigrants searching for something better, the city has become wrought with poverty and crime. The Darcys, a tenacious and good-willed clan, refuse to give in to their crumbling surroundings. Is the strength of one family enough to save the entire town? (282 minutes)

Cast: Anne Phelan, Martyn Sanderson, Kaarin Fairfax, Anna Hruby, Gwen Plumb, Shane Connor, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Melissa Jaffer

Available on DVD from chaos.com in Australia and on VHS from amazon.com

The Heroes

Year: 1989
Executive Producers: Graham Benson, Valerie Hardy
Producer: Anthony Buckley
Writer: Peter Yeldham
Director: Donald Crombie

In the last months of WWII, a group of 14 intrepid British and Aussie soldiers combined forces for a daring and dangerous mission. "Operation Jaywick" was designed to cripple the Japanese naval fleet in Singapore harbor. With only a few rickety wooden boats, a handful of weapons, and a surplus of guts at their disposal, the title characters set about to complete their mission and return home in one piece. Based on the novel by Ronald McKie. (4 x 60 min)

Cast: Paul Rhys, John Bach, John Hargreaves, Bill Kerr, Christopher Morsley, Tim Robertson, John Ewart, Timothy Lyn, Jason Donovan, Cameron Daddo, Jeff Truman, Briony Behets, Gus Mercurio, Wayne Scott Kermond, Mark McAskill, Wayne Scott-Kermond, David Wenham

I Live With Me Dad

Year: 1985
Executive Producers: Hector Crawford, Ian Crawford, Terry Stapleton
Producer: Ross Jennings
Writer: Peter Pinney, Derry Moran (original short story)
Director: Paul Maloney

Sid and Chris McCall are a homeless father and son whose struggle to survive life on the streets is a bitter one. The authorities take 7-year old Chris away from his drunken father and it takes all of Sid's courage and devotion to clean up his act and reclaim the son he loves.

Cast: Peter Hehir, Haydon Samuel, Rebecca Gibney, Tony Hawkins, Gus Mercurio, Dennis Miller, Val Lehman, Anne Phelan, Nell Johnson

An Indecent Obsession

Year: 1985
Executive Producers:
Producer:
Writer: Denise Morgan
Director:

Based on Colleen McCullough's bestselling tale of strange, twisted and uncontrolled passions in the tropics, An Indecent Obsession boasts an exotic locale and a powerful performance from AFI Award Winning Actress Wendy Hughes. Sister Honour Langtry (Hughes) is a warm, sensitive nurse caring for five emotionally wounded soldiers. But when a charming new patient arrives (Gary Sweet), the delicate relationship between the inmates quickly unravels.

Cast: Julia Blake, Wendy Hughes, Bill Hunter, Bruno Lawrence, Gary Sweet, Richard Moir

Available on DVD from chaos.com

The Lancaster Miller Affair

Year: July 1985
Producer: Paul Davies
Writer: Peter Yeldham
Director: Henri Safran

A mini-series based on the true story of Jessica 'Chubbie' Miller who left Australia in the twenties seeking a challenging new life in London. She finds this is Bill Lancaster and the ex-RAF pilot's dream to be the first to fly from Britain to Australia. Chubbie and Lancaster's hopes are dashed when their plane crashes. They return for repairs. Poorer but very much in love they arrive in Australia but both are still married and Bill's wife refuses to divorce him. Famous but desperate they move to Miami, where Chubbie grows disillusioned. And then in walks Haden Clarke, an American author; he moves in with them to write Chubbie's life story.
Lancaster takes the chance to fly a light plane to Mexico, only to learn that he's expected to smuggle drugs and illegal immigrants into America. In the midst of this he receives a letter from Clarke informing him that he and Chubbie have fallen in love, and intend to marry. He returns and one night, Lancaster wakes Chubbie—Clarke has shot himself in the head. Two suicide notes are found but Lancaster admits he wrote them. He is arrested for murder but Chubbie stands by him, hiring a clever lawyer who succeeds in getting Lancaster acquitted but their reputations have suffered and they flee to Britain. Determined to win back the public's favour, Lancaster determines to beat Amy Johnson's new record flight from London to Capetown. His plane disappears in the Sahara Desert. Lancaster's wife and mother prevent Chubbie from mounting a search.
29 years later the French Foreign Legion finds the young pilot's remains. His diary tells of his last eight days, and his love for Chubbie. (6 x 60 min)

Cast: Kerry Mack, Nicholas Eadie, Malcolm Robertson, Wayne Gull, June Salter, Barry Hill, Lisa Armytage, John Lee, Earl Francis, Stephen Costain, Charles Dance, Bill Richardson, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell

The Last Outlaw

Aired: 1980
Executive Producers:
Producers:
Directors: Kevin James Dobson, George Miller
Writers: Bronwyn Binns, Ian Jones

Logie Award winning four part mini-series that screened on the Seven Network in 1980. This is the true story of Ned Kelly - The Last Outlaw.

Cast: John Jarrott, Gerard Kennedy, Steve Bisley, Sigrid Thornton.

Available on DVD from Chaos.com

This Man… This Woman

Year: May 1989
Executive Producers: Ian Bradley, Ross Dimsey
Producer: Graham Moore
Writer: Terry Stapleton
Director: Paul Moloney

Scratch beneath the surface of many a "successful" marriage and you'll discover rumblings, deep fissures and violent eruptions just being held in check. Neil and Marion Clarke seem to have it all, and basically they are a well suited pair. But problems that can be capped off for many years have a way of blowing up when other pressures get too great. And when they blow, everybody gets burned, everybody is forever changed. This Man… This Woman is the story of one such time. (4 x 60 min)

Cast: Robert Coleby, Catherine Wilkin, Tina Bursill, Ben Mendelsohn, Rachael Beck, Andrew Ferguson, Lucy Bayler, Max Phipps, Ruth Yaffe, Gabriella Clark, Helen Francis, Suzanne Warner, John Gregg, Warwick Moss, Patsy Martin, Janet Andrewartha, Ernie Grey, Alethea Mcgrath, Irini Pappas, Richard Moss, Andrew Spence

Palace of Dreams

Year: 1985
Producer: Sandra Levy
Writers: David Goldie, Denny Lawrence, John Misto, Debra Oswald, Marc Rosenberg
Directors: David Goldie, Denny Lawrence, Geoffrey Nottage, Riccardo Pellizzeri, Graham Thorburn

The story of an orthodox Russian-Jewish emigrant family running an inner-city hotel, The Dundee Palace, during the Depression of the 1930s. O'Neill is the young aspiring writer from Gundagai who lives at the hotel and shares their lives. (10 x 50 min)

Cast: Henri Szeps, Michael O'Neill, Deidre Rubenstein, Linda Cropper, Susie Lindeman, Kris McQuade, Peter Ford, John Walton, John Jarratt, Durand Sinclair

Scales of Justice

Year: June 1983 (ABC)
Executive Producer:
Producer: Michael Carson
Writer: Robert Caswell
Director: Michael Jenkins

One of the most controversial Australian mini-series ever produced, Scales of Justice is a shattering examination of official corruption in all levels of law enforcement. Containing three self-contained, character-linked dramas focusing on the world of Australian law enforcement, vice, drugs, politics and wide spread corruption, from street level to the corridors of power, the programme achieved a near-documentary level of realism. A milestone in Australian TV drama when first screened in 1983, Scales of Justice tells it like it was, and still is.

Cast: John Hargreaves, Bill Hunter, Simon Burke, Isabelle Anderson, Dennis Miller, Tim Robertson, Tony Barry, Don Reid, Brian McDermott, Nick Tate, Max Cullen

The Shiralee

Year: June 1988 (Seven)
Executive Producer: Jock Blair
Producer: Bruce Moir
Writer: Tony Morphett
Director: George Ogilvie

The Shiralee portrays the trials and tribulations of a reluctant father and his young daughter as they wander from one country town to the next in search of work, a meal and a roof over their heads. (2 x 120 min)

Cast: Bryan Brown, Rebecca Smart, Noni Hazlehurst, Norman Kaye, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Lorna Lesley, Simon Chilvers, Julie Hamilton, Reg Evans, William Zappa, Frank Gallacher, Lynette Curran, Ray Meagher

Available on DVD from chaos.com

[The True Story of] Spit McPhee

Year: 1987
Produced by Revcom Productions
Executive Producer: Geoff Daniels
Producer: Noel Price
Writers: Moya Wood
Director: Marcus Cole

In a small country town in the 30s, a young rascal, Spit MacPhee becomes an orphan, leading to various people wanting to claim him.

Cast: Elspeth Ballantyne, Ray Meagher, Philip Hancock, John Mills, John Bash

Sword of Honour

Year: 1986 (Seven)
Executive Producer: Roger Simpson
Producer: Roger Le Mesurier
Writers: Roger Simpson, Kathy Mueller, Peter Kinloch, Tom Hegarty
Directors: Pino Amenta, Catherine Millar

At 21 Tony Lawrence won the Military Academy's Sword of Honour. At 22 he was fighting in Vietnam. With his best friend and brother-in-law Frank Vittorio, Tony was sent to Vietnam just as the war began to escalate. The horrors and carnage of the war leave an indelible impression on the two young men - ripping them apart from their families, girlfriends and country. Back home after the devastation and ugly battlefields, both try to cope with life in their own way. For Tony wandering into the wilderness is one way of coming to terms with the horror he has experienced. A wandering that takes him back to the killing fields where it all started... (4 x 100 min)

Cast: Andrew Clarke, Tracey Mann, Alan Fletcher, Nikki Coghill, Andrew Sharp, Linda Newton, Wyn Roberts, Margaret Ford, Paul Hampton, Julia Blake

A Town Like Alice

Year: 1980
Written by Tom Hegarty, Rosemary Anne Sisson and Nevil Shute (novel)
Directed by David Stevens

The winner of many international film awards, this miniseries stars Bryan Brown and Helen Morse as lovers separated in Malaya during World War II. Years later they are reunited in the Outback of Australia and build a life together, facing the challenges and traumas of day to day living. Based on the novel by Nevil Shute.

Cast: Bryan Brown, Helen Morse, Gordon Jackson, Dorothy Alison, Yuki Shimoda, Anna Volska, Donald MacDonald, Pat Evison

Available on VHS from amazon.com

Vietnam

Year: 1986
Writers: John Duigan, Terry Hayes, ...
Directors: John Duigan, Chris Noonan

An often brutal war story, which revolves around young conscript Phil Goddard and his four terrible years in the Vietnam War. He, like all the others, was thrown into an escalation in combat while back home the kids were indulging in free love, Beatlemania and LSD. (10 x 50 min)

Cast: Nicholas Eadie, Nicole Kidman, Alan Cassell, Pauline Chan, Brett Climo, Mick Conway, Alyssa-Jane Cook, Celia De Burgh, Noel Ferrier, Lucky Grills, Jim Holt, Veronica Lang, Mark Lee, Barry Otto, Grace Parr, Jay Patterson, John Polson, Don Reid, Tim Robertson, Henri Szeps

Available on DVD from Chaos.com