australian television information archive

Boy In The Bush

Year: 1983
Produced by Portman Productions in association with the ABC
Writer: Hugh Whitemore
Director: Rob Stewart

Based on the novel by D. H. Lawrence and Mollie Skinner, this story is set in Western Australia in 1882. When 18-year-old Jack Grant is expelled from his English agricultural college for a childish prank he is sent to Australia to live with his mother's distant relatives. The Boy In The Bush follows Jack's adventures as he grows to manhood. Taming stallions, fighting kangaroos, competing blow-for-blow for the affections of women and seek his fortune in the gold fields. (2 x 120min)

Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Sigrid Thornton, Steve Bisley, Jon Blake

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

Innocent Prey

Year: 1983
Executive Producer: David G. Williams
Producer: Colin Eggleston
Writer: Colin Eggleston
Director: Colin Eggleston

A young woman is attacked after witnessing a murder. She flees to Australia and, unknown to her, is followed by the murderer.

Cast: Kit Taylor, John Warnock, Martin Balsam, Pamela Soles, Grigor Taylor

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