australian television information archive

Coral Island

Episode 01
Premiere: March 03, 1996
Written by Nick Enright

A school reunion brings together four men in their late thirties. In an atmosphere where the tender experiences of youth are present and childhood attachments and betrayals still cause pain, they are forced to acknowledge that the institution which has taught them to compete in a rational world hasn't given them the means to express their emotions to those closest to them. As events unfold, an inability to deal with present crises suggests an incompleteness in their education which have grave and lasting consequences.

Cast: Hugo Weaving as Martin Furlong, Frank Whitten as Father Dunfee, Joss McWilliam as Julian Lucas, Tim McKenzie as Blainey, Peter Hardy as Gibbo, Lewis Fitz-Gerald as Stanky, James Rowlandson as Young Martin, David Hatherly as Young Julian, Justin Rosniak as Sean Furlong, Simon Westaway as Father Breslin, Steve Rodgers as Snowy Craven, Nigel Collin as Brendan Casey, Anthony Hayes as Young Gibbo, James Millar as Young Blainey, Troy O'Hearn as Young Stanky, Jason Leeuw as Young Snowy, Shannon Rawlings as Young Casey, Ben Newberry as Pool Player, Chris Janes as Head Waiter, John Keightley as Rector, Alvaro Marques as Photographer

The Fisherman's Wake

Episode 2
March 10, 1996
Written by Andrew Bovell
Directed by Neil Armfield

A young man returns to his childhood home to bury has father, a ritual act in his own rite of passage towards manhood. The father who taught his son about courage and love is the same man who taught him a sense of fear and how to hate. And the man the son idolized is also the man he depised. A deeply personal account of one man's ambivalent relationship with his father seen in the context of his own childhood and his new role as a parent.

Cast: Chris Haywood as Bish, Linden Wilkinson as Ren, Andrew McDonnell as Bren, Shayne Foote as Bete, Leverne McDonnell as Joan, Mandy McElhinney as Kate, Rebecca Rigg as Olivia, Justin Martin as Young Bren, Hayley Phillips as Young Bete, Kaira Pilt as Young Joan, Polly Chesire as Young Kate, Kevin Smith as Ted, Robert Spain as Doctor, Jessica & Alena De Francesco as Baby Nicky

Note: nominated for a 1996 AFI Award for Best Miniseries and co-winner of an ATOM Award for Best Televison Drama

Blind-Side Breakaway

Episode 3
March 17, 1996
Written by Paul Brown
Directed by

A boy watches his father—the captain of the rugby union team, the Dirty Reds—grapple with defeat. Despite new training methods from motivation camps to yoga, the club has posted ninety-seven consceutive losses. For a man supposedly in charge, does losing mean emasculation, or can there be leadership where it seems there may never be victories? What makes and unmakes a hero? How and why do ordinary men seek dignity and power through team sport?

Cast: Simon Baker-Denny as Gabriel, Veronica Neave as Andrea, John Sheerin as Stuart, Judith McGrath as Margaret, Sebastian Huber as Danny, Nicholas Reid as Teddy, Jonnie Cocks as The Creaker, Stephen Ross as Warne, Mark Malloy as Megs, Geoff Cordner as Stapo, Scott Hall-Watson as Jackson, Honeyweil Nguruve as Echo, Dougall Gillies as Smithy, Laidley White as Dog, Paul Jeff as Cat, Tim Minogue as O'Dea, John McGill as Page, Craig Latham as Canning, James Ferguson as Spud, Warren Colliss as Strapper, Martin Maddell as Mark, Tina Fulton-Kelly as Julie, Mark Butler as Real Estate Agent, Colin Jennings as Boy's coach, Kayla Vain as Stripper

Ghost Story

Episode 4
March 24, 1996
Written by Tony Ayres
Directed by

Tom is a fourteen year old Chinese boy who is confronted with the death of his mother. Tom returns to school, seeking normalcy, but is disturbed by recurring dreams of his mother that begin to fill his waking life. Ultimately, Tom is forced to deal with his denial of both anger and grief. The story explores the complex relationship between a boy and his mother. It is about the resentment he feels towards his mother's dependency, and the longing he feels for his mother's protective embrace.

Cast: Diana Lin as Sue, Ben Chow as Tom, Nina Liu as Mai, Richard Healy as Barry, Jeamin Lee as Dorothy, Doug Scroope as Greg, Luke Carroll as Buddy, Junheng Sim as Winston, Gary Lo as Cedric, Joshua Teo as Young Tom, Lindy Chin as Mary, Elaine Teoh as Mrs Ho, Cherry Hu as Chinese Singer, Cecil Parkee as Old Chinese Man, Ella Mai Wong as Old Chinese Woman, Douglas Walker as Doctor, Angela Toohey, Jenni Anderson & Lucinda Armour as 7-11 Women

A Fallen Woman

Episode 5
March 31, 1996
Written by Ian David
Directed by

Leonard sublets his house to Phil and Jessica, a young couple who spend most nights surrendering to the abandonment of love-making. Leonard and Phil are seemingly unalike but each has a deep, almost chromosomal need to dominate and control their relationships with women. When Jessica becomes pregnant and Leonard meets a woman with an unknown past both men find themselves wanting to exert their power in a way which is no longer appropriate.

Cast: Max Phipps as Leonard, Rachel Maza as Jessica, Arthur Angel as Phil, Deborah Kennedy as Romono, Victoria Hill as Woman on Train/Falling Woman, Skye Wansey as Policewoman, Rowan Woods as Toy Man, Rhonda Doyle as Toy Woman, Jim Kemp as Col, Rebecca Hamilton as Dancefloor Babe, Matthew Jennings as Nightclub Drunk, Davide Salmeri as Barman, Joy Hruby as Elderly Patient, Tamsin Nugent as Nurse, Mary Haire as Nosey relative, Georgina Banks as Anti-Abortionist, Vanessa Waters & Hugh Wilson as Kissing Couple, Phong Le Tran as Counsellor, Athena Nikolas as Phil's Mother, Anthony Turoa as Maori Bouncer

Cross Turning Over

Episode 6
April 07, 1996
Written by Roger McDonald
Directed by

Hughie, a writer in his late forties, is married with three children and living in the country. Through an uncontrollable desire to step outside himself, to recapture the naturalness of feeling of his childhood, to seek renewal Hughie leaves his family for the outback. What began as a tentative adventure has the power to change his ways which are unforseen, profound and ultimately irrevocable.

Cast: Graeme Blundell as Hughie, Debra Byrne as Sharon, Zac Wallace as Harold, Maureen Pita as Louella, Ned Manning as Davo, Alexandra Jarrold as Ella, Robyn MacKenzie as Marie, Hannah Stanton as Irene, Alan Cinis as Des, Elizabeth Falkland as Emmy, Keith Holloway as Maurie Holgate, Arthur Watson as Lenny, Seymour Maere as Willy, Mindy as Sadie (Dog)

Note: an adaptation of Roger McDonald's book Shearers' motel