australian television information archive

The Alien Years

April 19-21, 1988 (ABC)
Executive Producers: Geoffrey Daniels, Sandra Levy
Producer: Ray Alchin
Writer: Peter Yeldham
Director: Donald Crombie

Set at the turn of the century, the daughter of a Sydney politician elopes with a young German migrant to the Barossa Valley to establish a vineyard. Their peace is disturbed by the outbreak of the First World War when the government orders that all German nationals living in Australia must be imprisoned. (3x100min)

Part 1: Elizabeth, daughter of a wealthy and politically ambitious businessman and Stefan, a poor German immigrant, elope to the Barossa Valley to live with Stefan's uncle.

Part 2: Stefan and Elizabeth's marriage strengthens as they face family heartbreak and separation. But with the outbreak of war, they become innocent victims of harsh laws and prejudice.

Part 3: When Stefan is arrested and interned in the notorious Torrens Island prison camp. Elizabeth mounts a campaign to bring to public attention the plight of innocent "enemy aliens".

Cast: Victoria Longley as Elizabeth Parson, Christoph Waltz as Stefan Mueller, John Hargreaves as William, Jane Harders as Edith, Kim Krejus as Martha, Tom Jennings as Harry, Nick Tate as North, Jonathan Sweet as Mcveigh, John Allen as Lucas, Alfred Bell as Harper, Klaus Schulz as Gerhardt

Always Afternoon

Year: 1988
Produced by Afternoon Pictures Pty Ltd
Producer: Henry Crawford
Writer: David Stevens
Director: David Stevens

A love story between an Australian girl and a German violinist in 1914. Set at Trial Bay Gaol near Kempsey, New South Wales, and based on a novel by Gwen Kelly. (4 x 60min)

Cast: Tushka Bergen, Jochen Horst, Dieter Kirchlechner, Lisa Harrow, Taya Stratlon, Nina Landis, Matthew Burton, Ben Becker, Herbert Trattnig

The Dirtwater Dynasty

April 1988 (Ten)
Produced by Kennedy Miller
Producers: Terry Hayes, Doug Mitchell, George Miller
Writers: Michael Jenkins, John Power, Terry Hayes, Alan Seymour, John Dunigan, John Misto, Tony Morphett
Director: Michael Jenkins

Spanning three generations and eight decades, 'The Dirtwater Dynasty' is the story of bitter rivalry, driving ambition, triumph and despair. It is the story of Richard Eastwick, a man whose breadth of vision is as large as the continent he tries to conquer. Born in a London slum, Richard is just 20 when he arrives in Australia in search of a dream - to build a dynasty out of dirt, water and a fist full of courage. By the time he is 40 he is one of the wealthiest landowners in the country. He raises children, grand-children, makes loyal friends and bitter enemies. Both world wars and the Depression leave their scars. But the one thing that keeps him going is his dream to pass on what he has built to future generations of Eastwicks. (450min)

Cast: Hugo Weaving,Victoria Longley, Steve Jacobs, Judy Morris, Harold Hopkins, Peter Phelps, Bruce Spence, Ernie Dingo, Scott Burgess, Anne-Louise Lambert, Ktistina Nehm, Anna-Maria Winchester, Jennifer Lee, Dennis Miller,

Eden's Lost

February 1988 (ABC)
Producer: Margaret Fink
Writer: Michael Gow
Director: Neil Armfield

Edens Lost is the compelling story of Angus Weekes and the unusual family of Eve St. James. Taken in by Eve after the death of his guardian, Angus cannot resist becoming involved in the ultimately tragic patterns of their lives. Based on the novel by Sumner Locke Elliott. (3 x 60min)

Cast: Julia Blake as Eve, Bruce Hughes as Angus, Victoria Longley as Bea, Arthur Dignam as Heath, Linda Cropper as Stevie, Jennifer Claire as Cissie, Melanie Salomon as Lesley-Ann, Fiona Press as Liesl, Yves Stening as Tip, Andrew Tighe as Bill Seward, Patrick Quinn as Corey, Philip Sayer as Marcus, Pat Bishop as Muffet, Edward Wiley as Gabriel, Betty Bobbitt as Mabel

Fields of Fire II

May 22 & 23, 1988 (Nine)
Executive Producer: Margaret Matheson
Producers: David Elfick, Irene Korol
Writer: Patricia Johnson
Directors: Robert Marchand, David Elfick

The sequel to FIELDS OF FIRE is set in the cane growing country of Northern Queensland in the late 1940s with the main characters from the first series adjusting to post-war life. Some of the Italian cane cutters consolidate (most through hard work, but some through the black market). The result is on-going friction between the increasing migrant population (particularly the Italian community) and their suspicious Australian counterparts. (2 x 120min)

Cast: Todd Boyce, Melissa Docker, Anne Louise Lambert, Joseph Spano, John Jarratt, Kris McQuade, Peta Toppano, Gosia Dobrowolska

The Four Minute Mile

Year: 1988
Produced by Errol Sullivan for BBC UK and the ABC
Writer: David Williamson
Director: Jim Goddard

The name of Roger Bannister is one of the most famous in the history of sports. For in 1954 he became the first to accomplish what had been considered impossible: running the mile in under four minutes. The Four Minute Mile is the compelling story of Roger Bannister and his rivals, the runners who shared his dream and pursued it with unrelenting tenacity.

Cast: Michael York, Richard Huw, Nique Needles, Adrian Rawlins, John Philbin, Lewis Fitzgerald, Tracy Mann

The Lizard King

February 1988 (ABC)
EP/Producer: Jan Chapman
Writer: Louis Nowra
Director: Geoffrey Nottage

A French woman and a gruff tracker journey into the Australian bush in search of her missing son. (96min)

Cast: Marie-Christine Barrault, John Hargreaves, Manuel de la Roche, Sara de Teliga, Ignatius Jones, Chris O'Shea, Michael Sharpe

A Long Way from Home (US title: Dadah Is Death)

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

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

[The True Story of] Spit McPhee

May 10, 11, 12, 13, 1988 (Nine)
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

Touch The Sun: Captain Johnno

Year: 1988
Produced by the Australian Children's Television Foundation
Executive Producer: Patricia Edgar
Producer: Jane Ballantyne
Writer: Rob George
Director: Mario Andreacchio

The story of a 10-year-old deaf boy living in a small fishing town in South Australia in the 1950s. When Johnno's parents decide to send their son to a 'special school', he learns of their plans and makes a desperate escape to a desolate island. He is rescued just in time by his friend Tony, an Italian fisherman who helps him find a new and more independent course for his future.

Cast: Damien Walters, John Waters, Michelle Fawdon, Joe Petruzzi, Rebecca Sykes

Touch The Sun: Devil's Hill

Year: 1988
Produced by the Australian Children's Television Foundation
Executive Producer: Patricia Edgar
Producer: Jill Robb
Writer: David Phillips
Director: Esben Storm

Sam comes from the city, but when his mother is ill and his father is away working he is sent to stay with his cousin Badge's family on their remote farm in Tasmania's rugged south-west. Badge can't stand his cousin's disdain for the bush. When the two boys are separated from the others while looking for a missing heifer in the bush they find they have to work together if they are to find the heifer and get back to the farm safely. (96min)

Cast: Matthew Jacobs, Cameron Atkins, Emma Pugh, Jane McArthur

Touch The Sun: The Gift

Year: 1988
Produced by the Australian Children's Television Foundation
Executive Producer: Patricia Edgar
Producer: Tony Llewellyn-Jones
Writers: Paul Cox, Jeff Peck
Director: Paul Cox

Good luck can be hard to handle. Sofia and Nikos win a valuable block of bush land in a lottery and their father sees a chance to buy a better home for everyone by selling it - but the two children have their own ideas. (96min)

Cast: Alexis Anthopoulos, Rena Frangioudakis, Con Laras, Nicholas Hatjiandreou, Vicki Serbos, Ken James

Touch The Sun: Princess Kate

Year: 1988
Produced by the Australian Children's Television Foundation
Executive Producer: Patricia Edgar
Producer: Antonia Barnard
Writers: David Williamson, Kristin Williamson
Director: George Ogilvie

Fourteen-year-old Kate is angry and distraught when she discovers she is adopted. She begins a determined search for her 'real' mother, causing her wealthy adoptive parents to suffer anguish and hurt until the situation is resolved. (96min)

Cast: Justine Clark, Lyndal Rowe, Alan Cassell, Martin Sachs, Lorna Lesley, Myra Noblet, Shane Tickner

Touch The Sun: Peter & Pompey

Year: 1988
Produced by the Australian Children's Television Foundation
Executive Producer: Patricia Edgar
Producer: Margot McDonald
Writer: John Misto
Director: Michael Carson

After finding strange Latin inscriptions on a cave wall in the hills, three high school students from a north Queenland coastal town seek the help of their Latin teacher to discover their meaning. When an authentic Roman boat is found, the news leaks out and the quiet town is transformed into a tourist centre. Translating the inscriptions, the kids find that the boat is 'cursed' and desperately devise a plan to rid the town of it and at the same time liberate a young Roman boy, Pompey. (96min)

Cast: Paul Chubb, Amanda Muggleton, Clayton Williamson, Emil Minty, Lynette Curran, Kate McDonald

Touch The Sun: Top Enders

Year: 1988
Produced by the Australian Children's Television Foundation
Executive Producer: Patricia Edgar
Producer: Jill Robb
Writer: Michael Aitkens, Jackie McKimmie
Director: Jackie McKimmie

Alice has spent her childhood travelling the country from casino to casino where her mother, Sue, works as a blackjack dealer. Mick is an Indigenous Australian who has grown up in Darwin and is out of touch with his own culture and people. The two meet on the road when they both decide to run away from home.

Cast: Madeline Blackwell, John Jarratt, Tommy Lewis

The True Believers

June 28 - August 2, 1988 (ABC)
Produced by Roadshow Coote and Carroll in association with the ABC
Executive Producers: Sandra Levy, Matt Carroll
Writers: Bob Ellis, Stephen Ramsey
Director: Peter Fisk

Mini-series that traces Australian political life in the immediate post World War 2 period focusing on three men and their conflicting beliefs: Ben Chifley, Robert Menzies and Herbert "Doc" Evatt. (8 x 60min)

Starring: Ed Devereaux as Ben Chifley, John Bonney as Robert Menzies, Simon Chilvers as Doc Evatt, Nick Tate as Les Haylen, Ray Meagher as Tom Burke, Gary Files as Fred Daly, Ron Blanchard as Arthur Calwell, John Ewart as Eddie Ward, Danny Adcock as Lloyd Ross, Graham Rouse as Arthur Fadden, Bryan Marshall as Richard Casey, Norman Kaye as Archbishop Mannix, Joh Derum as B.A. Santamaria, Stuart McCreery as Allan Dalziel