memorable tv           

DADAH IS DEATH: See Barlow and Chambers: A Long Way From Home

THE DAMNATION OF HARVEY McHUGH

ABC / 13x60m-e / 1994

Creator: John Misto / Executive Producer: Penny Chapman / Producers: Sue Masters, Wayne Barry

Highly surreal comedy drama series. Harvey McHugh has his eyes opened when he gets a job as a clerk in the Government Trusts Office.

With:- AARON BLABEY as Harvey McHugh / MONICA MAUGHAN as Monica McHugh / ROGER OAKLEY as Bernard Bannerman / PHILIP QUIST as The Minister / RONALD FALK as Dr Voysner / GRAHAM DOW as The Vegetable / ELISE McCREDIE as Megan / DANIEL RIGNEY as Frank McHugh / BRUCE MYLES as Father Healy / JANE BORGHESI as Gina McHugh

DANCING DAZE

ABC / 6x60m-e / 1986 First episode: 16 February

Writers: Michael Cove, John Misto, Debra Oswald / Choreography: Chrissie Koltai / Music: Martin Armiger / Producer: Jan Chapman / Directors: Jane Campion, Geoffrey Nottage, Peter Fisk

Drama serial. A pair of country girls try to make it as dancers in the big city.

With:- MERYL TANKARD as Phoebe Green / PATSY STEPHEN as Kate Green / LAURENCE CLIFFORD as Joe Wyatt / NORMAN KAYE as Stephen Isaacs / LANCE CURTIS as Harry / PAUL CHUBB as Oliver / MELISSA DOCKER as Anita / ALAN WILSON as Paul Roper / DENNIS GROSVENOR as Col Blyotn / JANE CLIFTON as Lee Harper / ROBIN MOASE as Melissa Carter

DANGER DOWN UNDER

7-Hoyts Prod / 1x100m-e / 1987

Writer: Ruben Leder / Music: Bruce Rowland / Producer: Jane Scott / Director: Russ Mayberry

Drama. A horse breeder from the US sets up a ranch in NSW with his three sons. Failed pilot for a possible seires. A US-Australia co-production and also known as Reed Down Under.

With:- LEE MAJORS / REBECCA GILLING / MARTIN VAUGHAN / BRUCE HUGHES / MORGAN LEWIS / PAUL CHUBB / MOYA O'SULLIVAN

A DANGEROUS LIFE

ABC-McElroy&McElroy-Film Accord / 2x120m-e / 1988

Writer: David Williamson / Camera: James Bartle / Design: Murray Picknett / Costume: David Rowe / Music: Brian May / Producer: Hal McElroy / Director: Robert Markowitz

Thriller serial. TV Reporter Tony O'Neill covers the downfall of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines.

With:- GARY BUSEY as Tony O'Neill / REBECCA GILLING as Angie Fox / RUBEN RUSTIA as President Marcos / TESSIE TOMAS as Imelda Marcos / LAURIE GUILLEN as Cory Aquino / JAMES HANDY as Mike Heseltine / JOONEE GAMBOA as Juan 'Johnny' Ponce Enrile / ARTHUR SHERMAN as Alex / DAVE BRODETT as Galman / LEAH CABUSI as Kris Aquino / PITA LIBORO as 'Ballsy' Aquino 

DAPHNE LAUREOLA

ABC / 1x75m-e / 1965 black and white

Writer: John Warwick

The James Bridie play offering a modern comic interpretation of the story of Daphne and Apollo. 

With:- TERRI ALDRED / MARK ALBISTON / RAYMOND WESTWELL / SIMON CHILVERS / EDWARD HOWELL / SYD CONABERE / WILLIAM KING / ELSPETH BALLANTYNE

DARLINGS OF THE GODS

ABC-Simpson Le Mesurier-Euston / 2x120m-e / 1989 (27-28 September)

Writers: Roger Simpson, Graeme Farmer / Book: Garry O'Connor / Camera: Ian Warburton / Music: Brian May / Design: Colin Gersch / Costume: Jim Murray / Producers: Roger Le Mesurier, Roger Simpson / Executive Producer: Sandra Levy / Director: Catherine Millar

Period drama serial. In 1948 top English actors Laurence Olivier and his wife Vivien Leigh visit Australia with the Old Vic Theatre Company, Leigh is drawn towards an affair with up and coming actor Peter Finch.

With:- ANTHONY HIGGINS as Laurence Olivier / MEL MARTIN as Vivien Leigh / JEROME EHLERS as Peter Finch / RHYS McCONNOCHIE as Ralph Richardson / ANTHONY HAWKINS as Cecil Tennant / BARRY QUIN as Dan Cunningham / JACKIE KELLEHER as Elsie Beyer / LINDY DAVIES as Antonia Vaughan / NICKI PAULL as June Kelly / SHANE BRIANT as Cecil Beaton / FRED COURT as Peter Cushing / MARTIN REDPATH as George Relph 

THE DARYL SOMERS SHOW

9 Network / x90m-e / 1982-83

Associate Producer: Frankie J. Holden

Variety show hosted by Hey Hey it's Saturday Alumni Somers (minus Ossie Ostrich). Also involved were Denise Drysdale, Paul Jennings and John Blackman.

DATELINE

Twice done title for current affairs shows the first on the ten network in 1971 hosted by Barry McQueen. The second on SBS from 1984 which went from once a week to 6 nights a week as it's popularity grew. Hosts of that have included Pria Viswalinigam nd Paul Murphy.

DAVE ALLEN

7 Network / 1x60m-e / 1970 (Broadcast: Saturday 2 May / 8.30pm)

A special for the Irish comedian with his sometimes near the knuckle comedy routines well to the fore. Guests included Dusty Springfield (who sang the Look of Love), Frank Ifield who sang Daybreak and Funny How Time Slips Away, Frank Fontaine, Max Wall and a singing trio called The High Windows.   

DAVE ALLEN

7 Network / 4x50m-e / 1975

A quartet of comedy shows mixing up stand up and sketches from the Irish observational comic.

DAVE ALLEN

9 Network / 6x90m-e / 1977

A set of shows similar to the above in which the Irish comic Dave Allen tackled his usual subjects (drink, religion, sex etc) in a mixture of stand up and sketches.

THE DAVE ALLEN SHOW

9 Network / 1x90m-e / 1971 18 September

Comedy. One off live show in which Irish comic Dave Allen and his guests Peter Cook and Dudley Moore discussed many a naughty subject. Because of the adult nature of much of the material Allen was persona non grata in Australia for a while although he later made a couple of other Australian series. See above.

DAVE'S PLACE

ABC-Fremantle / 13x30m-e / 1965 black and white

Producer/director: Richard Allnut

Music show starring one time Kingston Trio member Dave Guard who had well know folkies performing live in his Pacific based Teahouse.

DAVID FROST - LIVE FROM LONDON

9 Network-David Paradine Productions / x90m-e / 1983

An entertainment show for Saturday night broadcast live from London,  hosted obviously by David Frost and also featuring Angela Rippon and Nigel Dempster.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF BRIAN CADD

9 Network / 1x60 minute episode / Broadcast Tuesday 16 January 1973 @ 7.30pm

Documentary. 24 hours in the life of singer/songwriter Brian Cadd whose songs include Don't You Know It's Magic. 

DAY OF THE ROSES

2x120m-e / 1998 (18-19 October)

Writer: John Misto / Music: Roger Mason / Design: Peta Lawson / Camera: Steve Arnold / Producers: Mikael Borglund, Tony Cavanaugh, Simone North / Director: Peter Fisk

Period drama serial. In 1977 a rail crash (The Granville Rail Disaster) rocks Sydney, an investigation follows. Misto won an AFI award for his script.  Other awards included Winner - Best Mini Series, AFI Awards (Australian Film Institute) 1999 / Winner - Best Direction in aTV Drama, AFI Awards, 1999 / Winner - Best Original Title Theme for a Series, Serial or Mini Series, AGSC Awards, (Australian Guild of Screen Composers),  1999 

With:- JOHN BACH as Tom Weir / AARON BLABEY as Dr White / CHRIS BETTS as Sgt Masterson / CORMAC COSTELLO as Scotty / CAROL BURNS as Greta / STEPHEN CURRY as Rescuer / REBECCA GIBNEY as Margaret Warby / PETER O'BRIEN as Boris Osman / DAMIAN PIKE as Garry Raymond / PAUL MERCURIO as Bryan Gordon / HEATHER MITCHELL as Margaret Shutter

DEADLINE

9 Network-McElroy & McElroy / 1x90m-e / 1981

Writer: Walter Halsey Davis / Music: Brian May / Producer: Hal McElroy / Director: Arch Nicholson

Thriller. A journalist discovers a government cover up involving a nuclear threat to Sydney. Pilot for a series to have been called Foreign Correspondent but nothing came of it.

With:- BARRY NEWMAN / TRISH NOBLE / BILL KERR / ALWYN KURTS / BRUCE SPENCE / VINCENT BALL / JOHN EWART / NOEL TREVARTHEN

DEADLY AUSTRALIANS

9 Network / 4x50m-e / 1994

Writer/Producer: Matthew Tomason / Camera: Chris Miller

Documentary wildlife series looking at the none too cuddly members of Australian nature. Hosted by Tina Dalton.

DEAD MAN'S FLOAT

Andromeda Prod. / 1x75m-e / 1980

Writer: Roger Vaughan Carr / Music: Greg Sneddon / Producer: Tom Broadbridge / Director: Peter Maxwell

Teen drama/thriller. A young surfie gets mixed up with a group of smugglers.

With:- GREG ROWE / SALLY BOYDEN / JACQUI GORDON / RICK IRELAND / BILL HUNTER / SUE JONES / GUS MERCURIIO / ERNIE SIGLEY

DEAD MEN RUNNING

ABC / 6x30m-e / 1971 black and white

Writers: Harold Lander, Eric Taylor / Novel: D'Arcy Niland / Producer/Director: Eric Taylor

The story of the influence an older man has over a youth with loner Starkey Moore (living in the outback town of Hope) discovering a youth collapsed by the road during a storm, he nurses him back to health and also proceeds to teach him a few things about life, one of the things he teaches the young lad, Joey, is that if he (Joey) has a good enough reason then he can kill Starkey. Set between the years 1910 and 1916 and filmed in NSW (the town of Gulgong). Gulgong was chosen because it had changed little since before the first world war with the town making an effort to preserve its architecture, the serial was filmed over three weeks and many of the townspeople appeared as extras in the production. 

With:- EWEN SOLON as Starkey Moore / BRENDAN LUNNEY as Joey Emmett / DIANE CRAIG as Teresa Doherty / MICHAEL BODDY / DON COSBY / JACK FEGAN as Martin Walsh / CHIPS RAFFERTY / RUTH CRACKNELL / MOIRA SULLIVAN / SLIM DE GREY DOREEN WARBURTON / BERNADETTE HUGHSON

DEAR CARDHOLDER

Beyond / 1x90m-e / 1987

Producers: Bill Bennett, Jenny Day / Director: Bill Bennett

A romantic comedy about an office clerk-cum-computer whiz who gets ' caught in a whirlwind of easy credit, romance and huge debt. Hec Harris works as a clerk in the Taxation Department. He's been  passed by for a promotion several times, his boss continually picks on him and everyone seems to think he is a lazy no-hoper. But lurking below Hec's public service demeanour is  a computer whizz who has a dream of writing a tax programme for home computer use. So Hec takes out a credit card to buy a computer powerful enough to do the task. Hec has always paid for everything in cash before and so when he gets the credit card he becomes seduced by ''easy credit''. The only way out for Hec is to finish his computer programme, and sell it for a fortune fortune.

With:- ROBIN RAMSAY / JENNIFER CLUFF / MARION CHRIGWIN

DEAREST ENEMY

ABC / 14x30m-e / 1989and 1992

Writer: Michael Riordan / Producers/Directors: Geoff Portman, John O'Grady

Sitcom. A married couple have very different political views. John Wood took over Grigor Taylor's role for season 2 and a pilot episode featured John Waters and Jacki Weaver.

With:- GRIGOR TAYLOR / JOHN WOOD / LINDEN WILKINSON / BRUCE SPENCE / VIC HAWKINS

DEATH TRAIN

Grundy / 1x92m-e / 1977

Writer: Luis Bayonas / Producer: Robert Brunning / Director: Igor Auzins

Thriller. An insurance investigator looks into the bizarre death of a man found hit by a train on a long abandoned line.

With:- HUGH KEAYS-BYRNE / INGRID MASON / MAX MELDRUM / BRIAN WENZEL / KEN GOODLET / COLIN TAYLOR / JOHN ORCSIK / RALPH COTTERILL / AND RON HADDRICK

DEEPWATER HAVEN

Beyond Prod-South Pacific Prodf Productions / 26x30m-e / 1992

DELTA

ABC / 23x50m-e / 1969-70

Creator: Colin Free / Producer: David Goddard / Music: George Dreyfus

Action adventure series. Exploits of the Delta organization dedicated to helping people or companies in need.

Awards: 1969 Awgie: Tony Morphett - Best Script For A TV Drama for ep. 19 'A Touch Of DFP'.
1970 AFI Bronze Reel Award: Ep. 13 'The Short Sell'.

With:- KIRRILY NOLAN as Inger Petri / JOHN GREGG as Jeff Mallow / PATSY TRENCH as Jackie Stewart / KEVIN MILES as Brian Fitch

DENISE

7 Network / x60m-e / 1998-continuing

Weekday mornings at 11.00am chat/general entertainment show hosted by Denise Drysdale with Denise talking to both people in the public eye and in the news.

DENTON

7 Network / x60m-e / 1994

Producer: John Eastway

Chat show hosted by Andrew Denton, shown late at night and twice weekly, his regular cohorts included Amanda Keller.

THE DEPARTMENT

ABC / 1x65m-e / 1980

Writer: David Williamson / Producer: Noel Ferrier / Director: Brian Bell

Comedy drama. Life for the backbiting staff of a University campus department.

With:- RICHARD MOIR / PETER SUMNER / BARBARA STEPHENS / JOHN EWART

DEPARTMENTAL

ABC / 1x70m-e / 1980

Writer: Mervyn Rutherford / Producer: Alan Burke / Director: Keith Wilkes

Crime drama. A theft from a police station safe leads to an internal inquiry.

With:- RAY BARRETT / MARTIN VAUGHAN / GARY DAY / ROD WILLIAMS

A DESCANT FOR GOSSIPS

ABC / 3x60m-e / 1983

Writers: Ted Roberts, Tim Burstall / Novel: Thea Astley / Camera: Ian Warburton / Music: George Dreyfus / producer: Erina Rayner / Director: Tim Burstall

Period drama serial. In a small rural town in the 1950's schoolgirl Vinny Lalor shocks the other residents by moving in with her teachers.

With:- KAARIN FAIRFAX as Vinny Lalor / GENEVIEVE PICOT as Helen Striebel / PETER CARROLL as Robert Moller 

THE DESERT PEOPLE

7 Network / 1x60m-e / 1971 (Broadcast: Wednesday 6 October / 8.00pm)

Documentary about the nomadic Aboriginals of Western Australia, looking at the lives of a pair of families who still live completely in the desert and still plasticising now obscure tribal customs. 

DEVLIN

ABC / 1x50m-e / 1971 (Broadcast: Sunday 14 November / 8.00pm)

Writer: Tony Morphett

Drama. Devlin, a priest heading towards middle age and who has been in China for some years, (quite a few of those years being spent in prison) strikes up a relationship with a widow whilst staying at an Australian beach resort.

With:- JOHN BELL / KERRY McGUIRE / KENNETH TSANG

THE D GENERATION

ABC-7 Network / 6x30m-e / 1987 30 April - 4 June

Sketch series featuring the funny team who had mostly met at Melbourne University, the team also appeared in four specials shown on the 7 Network during 1988 and 89. The team members also went on to work on the shows Fast Forward, Frontline and the classic Funky Squad.

With:- ROB SITCH / MAGDA SZUBANSKI / MICHAEL VEITCH / SANTO CILAURO / JOHN HARRISON / TOM GLEISNER 

DICK EMERY

7 Network-Paradine Productions / 8x30m-e / 1977

Producer: Alan Tarrant

Comedy sketch series starring English comic actor Dick Emery. Emery had his own long running BBC series in the same vein and on the air at the same time as this, the Aussie series featured many of the characters seen on the BBC series. Regulars on this included Tom Oliver, Henri Szeps, Jacki Weaver, Robert Hughes and Stuart Wagstaff. The series was also known as The Faces of Dick Emery.

DID YOU HEAR THE ONE ABOUT?

ABC / x15m-e / 1968 black and white

Religion. Five young people discuss various morality tales from the New Testament. The five were Shendella Franklin, Ron Lea, John Norman, George Assang and Peter Sumner.

A DIFFICULT WOMAN

ABC-Southern Star / 4x60m-e / 1998

Music: Stephen Rae / Titles: Belinda Bennetts / Costume: Lorraine Verheyen

Crime drama serial. Dr Anne Arriman, chief pathologist at a large pharmaceutical company is determined to uncover the truth about the murder of her best friend.

With:- CAROLINE GOODALL as Anne Harriman / PETER FEENEY as Dave Gutteridge / MARTIN JACOBS as Tom Ferrars / NICHOLAS EADIE as Peter MacFarlane / VICTORIA LONGLEY as Giselle McKenzie / JIM MORIARTY as Dominic Martin / BILL HUNTER as Paul Scanlon / ANNE LISE PHILLIPS as Cassie

DIG WE MUST 

ABC / 19x30m-e / 1966 black and white

Producer: Barry Langford

Pop music show hosted by Bobby Bright and Laurie Allen (who were a singing duo), also appearing were Judy Jacques, Ronnie Burns, John Muirhouse and The Rondells.

THE DINGO PRINCIPLE

ABC / 10x30m-e / 1988

Music: Philip Scott / Producer/Director: Ted Robinson

Comedy show using the weeks news events for it's laughs. Regulars were Patrick Cook, Phillip Scott, Drew Forsythe, Antonia Murphy and
Jonathon Biggins.

DINGOES DON'T BARK

10 Network / 1x60m-e / 1971 (Broadcast: Sunday 25 July / 6.30pm)

Documentary looking at the attempt to rid the Australian outback of sheep killing dingoes. The team covered thousands of miles inside Australia's hinterland to make the production.

THE DINKY DI'S

Roo Films / 26x30m-e / 1991

Executive Producer: Hugh Cornish / Producers: Mel Bradford, Mike Heffernan / Writers: Mel Bradford, Neil Booth, Leonard Lee, Peter Merril, Wayne Moore, Terry Burstall

THE DIRTWATER DYNASTY

10 Network-Kennedy Miller / 2x180m-e 2x120m-e / 1988

Writers: Tony Morphett, Michael Jenkins, John Power, Terry Hayes, John Dunigan, Alan Seymour, John Misto / Music: Garry Hardman, Brian Beamish / Design: Owen Williams / Costume: Kristian Frederikson / Producers: Terry Hayes, George Miller, Doug Mitchell / Directors: Michael Jenkins, John Power

Period drama serial. Richard Eastwick leaves the slums of London determined to make a success of his new life in Australia ending up becoming one of the wealthiest men in Australia in the process.

With:- HUGO WEAVING as Richard Eastwick / VICTORIA LONGLEY as Kate & Nancy McBride / STEVE JACOBS as Josh McCall / JUDY MORRIS as Frances Eastwick / BRUCE SPENCE as Lonely Logan / DENNIS MILLER as Hasky Tarbox / HAROLD HOPKINS as Rev McBride / JENNY LEE as Mrs McBride / KRISTINA NEHM as Esmeralda / SCOTT BURGESS as Guy Westaway / ANNE LOUISE LAMBERT as Emma Tarbox / ARNA-MARIA WINCHESTER as Mrs Tarbox

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