australian television information archive

The Battlers

Year: 1994
Executive Producers: Valerie Hardy and Tom Donald
Producer: Gus Howard
Director: George Ogilvie
Writer: Peter Yeldham

The 'battlers' are the itinerants left living a hand to mouth existence on the back roads of rural Australia after the great pre-war Depression. The Battlers is the story of Snow Grimshaw and Dancy, who meet on 'on the road' looking for work. What they find is each other. Adapted from Kylie Tennant's prize-winning novel. (2 x 120 min)

Cast: Gary Sweet, Jacqueline McKenzie, Marcus Graham, Audine Leith

Children of the Dragon

Year: 1991
Executive Producers: Penny Chapman, Scott Meek, Kim Williams
Producer: John Edwards
Director: Peter Smith
Writer: Robert Caswell

This epic story of a man's search to vindicate the most important decision of his life, is set against the tumultuous events in China that led to the tragedy of the massacre in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. Children Of The Dragon is a story in which the everyday aspirations of ordinary and extraordinary people mesh with, and at times stumble into, the great sweep of history. (4 x 50 mins)

Cast: Bob Peck, Lily Chen, Linda Cropper, Dennis Chan, Gary Sweet, Cindy Pan

Come in Spinner

Year: 1990 (ABC)
Executive Producer: Sandra Levy
Producer: Jan Chapman
Director: Rob Marchand
Screenplay by: Nick Enright, Lissa Benyon

Sydney in 1944, the tide is turning in the Pacific War and American forces have made Sydney a gaudy, hectic garrison town. The gamblers and "good time charlies" converge on the South Pacific Hotel, one of Sydney's finest.

The heart of the hotel is the bustling beauty salon run by the cool professional Claire who hides a guilty secret; Deb who has a pre-war marriage and a wartime alternative and Guinea whose 'good war' is not what it seems.

Come in Spinner is the story of one week in their lives, as they play the game of chance for the highest stakes... survival, security and the opportunity for happiness and love. (4 x 55 min)

Cast: Lisa Harrow as Claire, Kerry Armstrong as Deb, Rebecca Gibney as Guinea

Flair

Aired: August 01 & 08, 1990 (Seven)
Produced by Flair Television Productions Pty Ltd
Creators: Paul Davies and Gayle Hopgood
Producer: Paul F Davies
Director: Henri Safran
Screenplay by: Alan Hopgood

Fashion designer Tessa Clarke returns home from America intent on becoming a major player in the Australian fashion industry. Her success leads to bitter jealousy amongst her rivals and problems when a one-time employee manages to win a court case claiming back her designs. (2 x 120min)

Cast: Heather Thomas as Tessa Clarke, Andrew Clarke as Philip Harmon, James Healey as Chris Drake, Rowena Wallace as Pamela Winter-Smith, Joseph Bottoms as Matt Lee, Imogen Annesley as Sally Clarke, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell as Bert Clarke, David Reyne as Mark Tupper, Elaine Smith as Megan, Briony Behets as Samantha Harmon

Jackaroo

Year: 1981
Produced by Crawford Productions
Executive Producer: Terry Ohlsson
Producer: Bill Hughes
Screenplay: John Cundill
Director: Michael Carson

Jack Simmonds is a Jackaroo. He is the son of a part-Aboriginal itinerent worker, but his good looks and fiery spirit have earned him a reputation as a brawler and a ladies man. Fate brings Jack to Glen Ayre, a huge cattle station run by the wealthy and powerful Logan Family. Two sisters have inherited the Logan fortune, one a spinster (who runs the property), the other married to a Perth tycoon with a teenage daughter, Clare. Jack learns that Hamish Logan, co-founder of the empire, took an Aboriginal wife, and was later murdered by her tribe. Jack Simmonds, the Jackaroo is a descendant of that union. If not legally, then certainly by blood and Aboriginal law, he is part of the Logan family. The conflicts of race and heritage begin... Jack falls in love with Clare and she becomes pregnant. Clare goes into hiding and the baby will be adopted. And so begins Jack's struggle to claim his inheritance, the woman he loves and the child he has never seen. Set against the backdrop of the Australian Outback, and the white man's grab for mineral wealth, Jackaroo is a story of love, jealousy, greed and revenge. (4 x 60min)

Cast: David McCubbin, Annie Jones, Warren Mitchell, Tina Bursill

Joh's Jury

Year: 1993
Produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation with Southern Star Sullivan
Writer: Ian David
Director: Ken Cameron

Joh's Jury dramatises the jury deliberations which followed the 1991 trial of former Queensland Premier, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen. Joh's Jury is based on extensive research by Ian David and Robyn Smith. Months were spent interviewing jurors, the defence team, the prosecution team, police and journalists; and sifting through newspaper and television reports and court manuscripts. Sir Joh, former leader of the National Party and Premier of Queensland for 19 years; and the man responsible for shaping the cultural ethos of Australia's 'deep north' would now be judged by his peers. (120min)

Cast: Gerry Connolly, Graeme Blundell, Russell Newman

The Leaving of Liverpool

Premiere: July 8 and 9, 1992 (ABC)
Executive Producers: Penny Chapman, Michael Wearing
Producers: Steve Knapman
Director: Michael Jenkins
Screenplay by: John Alsop, Sue Smith

The Leaving of Liverpool is a two part mini-series about the migrant/orphan program conducted during the 1950's. Under this scheme orphans from post-war England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales were sent to Australian and Canada. The show follows the path of three of these children Bert, Lilli and Wilson. We witness an account of orphan life in both England and Australia. (2 x 100 min)

Cast: Kevin Jones, Christine Tremarco, Bill Hunter, Martin Jacobs, Frank Whitten, David Kaff, John Hargreaves, Frances Barber, Kerry Walker, Frankie J. Holden, Colin Moody

No Worries

Year: 1993
Executive Producer: Kim Williams
Producers: David Elfick, Eric Fellner
Director: David Elfick
Screenplay by: David Holman

11-year-old Matilda Bell is a spirited country girl who plays an important part in the running of the family sheep station. When Matilda and her family are forced to leave their drought ravaged farm to live in the big city, the shock is enormous. Then Matilda finds a new friend who is experiencing a culture shock of her own. (92 min)

Cast: Amy Terelinck (Matilda), Geoff Morrell (Ben Bell), Susan Lyons (Ellen Bell), John Hargreaves (Clive Ryan), Geraldine James (Anne O'Dwyer), Steven Vidler (Gary Hay), Bob Baines (Tom Drew), Maureen Green (Kim Drew)

Pirate's Island

Year: 1990
Producers: Philip East, Roger Mirams
Director: Viktors Ritelis
Writer: Rick Maiert

A group of children are swept away in a hot air balloon and land on an island out of time—an island where a group of Spanish pirates have been marooned for a hundred years or more. (100 min)

Cast: Beth Buchanan, Brian Rooney

Police Crop: The Winchester Conspiracy

Year: 1990
An ABC co-production with Southern Star Sullivan
Writer: Ian David
Director: Ken Cameron

The story of Operation Seville has no rival in the history of Australian policing. Over several years the Australian Federal and New South Wales Forces worked with the Mafia in growing and distributing marijuana. Out of it a murder was solved, several arrests were made and $14 miilion worth of drugs hit the streets of Sydney and Melbourne ... and a senior police officer was gunned down for his part in it. Police Crop tells this story without fear or favour, exposing the extent of police collusion with the Mafia. (120min)

Cast: Frankie J. Holden, Luciano Catenacci, Terry Gill, Gerard Kennedy, Tim Robertson

Ratbag Hero

Year: 1990
Executive Producer: Zelda Rosenbaum
Producers: Zelda Rosenbaum, Oscar Whitbread
Director: Oscar Whitbread
Screenplay by: Sonia Borg

Ratbag Hero takes place around the picturesque towns of the Murray River during the 1930s. Set against the colourful background of loggers and bargees, the mini-series revolves around the Kelsall family and a generation not only coming to grips with their environment but of the ties that bind a family. We experience a young man's coming to terms with his father's expectations and his own destiny. (4 x 60 min)

Cast: Cameron Nugent, Marcus Graham, Peter Fisher, Elaine Smith, Marion Edward, Matthew Ketteringham, Reg Evans, George Mallaby, Kate Whitbread, Robert Morgan

Ring Of Scorpio

Year: 1990
Produced by Southern Star
Producer: Errol Sullivan

A gripping story of secrets within secrets, of disloyalty and deception, of passion, murder and revenge. Helen Simmons cannot believe her eyes. There, on the floor of the Sydney Stock Exchange, is a man she thought was dead. Richard Deveraux, the man who once told her he loved her, the man who betrayed her, the man who nearly destroyed her and her friends. Now, it seems Richard is not only alive and well, he is even more dangerous than ever. (4 x 1hr)

Cast: Jack Scalia, Caroline Goodall, Linda Cropper, Catherine Oxenberg

The River Kings

Year: 1990
Producer/Writer: Rob George
Director: Donald Crombie

Life on the Hofner farm has become intolerable - with an absent father and the imminent threat of drought, sixteen year old Shawn is forced to leave home and provide for his family. Chasing a childhood dream, he takes a job on the steamboats that ply the river for trade. The unglamorous reality of this nomadic way of life provides a rude awakening for the naive country boy, and Shawn must draw on all his strength and resourcefulness in order to survive.

During the course of his adventures he will witness tragedy and disaster, suffer betrayal and despair, discover loyalty and romance - a combination of experiences that will transform the boy into a man. The River Kings tells a gritty human story that will appeal to all ages - whilst the characters and settings are unique, the themes they portray are universal. (4 x 60 min)

Cast: Bill Kerr, Tamblyn Lord, Edward Hepple, Willie Fennell, Cecil Parkee, David Bradshaw

The Rogue Stallion

Year: 1990
Director: Henri Safran
Writers: Rick Maier, Ysabelle Dean

Young Anna and her mother arrive in New Zealand after her father is killed in a tragic accident in Australia. Anna dreams of owning a horse but her mother is afraid to let her as it was a horse that killed her father. A wild brumby terrorises the mean-minded landholder, Garrett, and despite all his attempts to kill the horse, it continually outsmarts him. The horse, declared untameable and possessed, meets young Anna and together they make Garrett realise he cannot be the ruler of everything. (100 min)

Cast: Beth Buchanan, Brian Rooney, Andrew Shephard, Michele Fawdon, Jos» MarÃa Caffarel, Peter McAllum, Rawiri Paratene, Jodie Rimmer, Dean O'Gorman, Bruno Lawrence

Shadows of the Heart

Year: 1990
Executive Producer: Jock Blair
Producer: Jan Marnell
Director: Rod Hardy
Teleplay: Deborah Cox

Dr. Kate Munro arrives on the remote Gannet Island to take up a medical practice, keen to introduce the marvels of modern medicine to an island untouched by the twentieth century. The islanders lead conservative lives, ruled by the ingrained tradition and doctrines of the Catholic Church. Kate is instantly swept off her feet by Vic Hanlon, a strapping young grazier whose family represents the island''s wealth, but she is continually in confrontation with the island's priest who represents the dogmatic reactionary forces she despises. Yet beneath the philosophical and ideological antagonism there is something stirring: they are irrevocably attracted to each other as man and woman. Their passionate liaison surfaces repressed emotions, enabling Michael to become compassionate and caring as a priest, and a man. (2 x 120 min)

Cast: Josephine Byrnes, Marcus Graham, Jerome Ehlers, Jason Donovan, Robyn Nevin, Barry Otto, Harold Hopkins

Street Angels

Year: 1992
Executive Producer: Jill Robb
Producer: Kim Dalton
Director: Kathy Mueller
Writer: Alison Nisselle

Two social workers reach breaking point with the heartless welfare system which treats destitute children as criminals. Reaching out to these children means entering into the world of drain kids, pinball parlour pimps, graffiti gangs, the 14-year-old dealers and their 12-year-old customers. It's an exhausting and sometimes dangerous occupation but they care about the kids with a passion and the successes make it all worthwhile. (90 min)

Cast: Peter Brady, David Franklin, Gary Day, Alexander Sangster, George Zach, Jonathan Kennett, Tom Hutchings, Linda Perugini

Tracks of Glory

Year: 1991
Executive producer: Paul Barron
Producers: Damien Parer, Paul Barron
Director: Marcus Cole
Writers: Tony Morphett

The year is 1903, and two men are using their talents to win themselves a place in the sun. Don Walker an Australian champion cyclist, and Major Taylor who is a dedicated professional and the first black American athlete to smash his way through the colour bar. This is their story of hopes, dreams and ideals. Thay have everything to lose... and everything to win. Based on the book by Jim Fitzpatrick.

Cast: Phil Morris, Cameron Daddo, Richard Roxburgh, Nicholas Eadie, Justine Clarke, Joan Sydney, Brett Climo, Scott Burgess, John Ewart, Janet MacLachlan, Robert Vaughn, Renee Jones

Which Way Home

Year: 1990
Produced by Turner Network Television / McElroy and McElroy / Southern Star in association with Television New Zealand
Writer: Michael Lawrence
Director: Carl Schultz

Which Way Home is the story of Karen Parsons a dedicated nurse who attempts to rescue seven young orphans from the political turmoil of South East Asia. Karen volunteers for duty in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, because it presents a challenge in her life at a time when she desperately needs a change. In three years, she becomes caught up in the politics of the region and emotionally involved with the plight of its people. (2 x 90min)

Cast: Cybill Shepherd, John Waters, Peta Toppano