![]() In 1971, Bellbird was the fifteenth most popular show in the country.Our simple and graceful garden bell is an inspired choice for hanging from above in your garden, deck or patio area. Many future soaps followed suit, spawning their own film versions, including Number 96 and The Sullivans. It focused on Bellbird's problems during a severe drought. The series was the first soap opera in Australia to spin-off into a feature film version and tie-in novel, entitled Country Town (1971). One complete black-and-white episode is available to be viewed at the Australian Mediatheque at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne, while several colour episodes are known to exist in the hands of private collectors. This failure to preserve the program is criminal, to my way of thinking." Episodes Īn extensive selection of surviving episodes, apparently found during the closure of the ABC's Gore Hill studios, is stored in the National Archives of Australia. ![]() In 2004 it was reported that the ABC taped over the master tapes of the series, something which series cast member Alan Hopgood had complained about in a TV Times article in 1976: "They are just wiped off and another episode run over them. As a result of the price increase, the UK broadcaster purchased no further episodes. After the initial 52 episodes had been screened, Actors Equity in Australia insisted the ABC increase the price of the episodes so as to pay the actors more. Whilst Number 96 star Tom Oliver would play long-standing character Lou Carpenter.Įpisodes of Bellbird were screened in the UK in 1972. Ian Smith and Anne Charleston, who had also appeared in small roles in Prisoner as Ted Douglass and Lorraine Brooks, went on to appear as long-term and husband and wife characters Harold and Madge Bishop. Whilst in later years, Prisoner would star former Bellbird alumni Gerda Nicolson and Maurie Fields as Governor Anne Reynolds and prison officer Len Murphy respectively.Īctor Alan Hopgood would go on to appear in Neighbours as Jack Lassiter. Ian Smith, Brian James, Anne Lucas, George Mallaby, Lesley Baker, Maggie Millar and Tommy Dysart were others. In 1979, two years after Bellbird ended its run, Elspeth Ballantyne, Patsy King and Sheila Florance worked together once again in the iconic series playing guard Meg Jackson Morris (prison governor), Erica Davidson and inmate Lizzie Birdsworth respectively. The cast of Bellbird became household names to the viewing audiences and a number went on to appear in the Network Ten cult series Prisoner. Later shows featuring members of the cast Prisoner The show's storylines followed the lives of the residents of the small fictional country town that gave the show its title.īellbird featured a regular cast of 46 actors over its 10 year run (see links, for actor information). Other notable 'deaths' across the course of the series included those of local farm girl Hagar Grossark (Barbara Ramsay), who drowned during a local flood, and the tragic 1974 'death' of major character Rhoda Lang (played by founding cast member Lynette Curran) who was killed when her car was struck by a train at a level crossing. The death scene has figured prominently in retrospectives of great moments in Australian television, and its celebrity meant that it became one of the few segments from the early years of the series that has survived. When Ramsay decided to leave the series in 1968, his character was written out in dramatic fashion, with Cousens plunging to his death from the top of a wheat silo. One of the most celebrated was the death of the character of the local stock and station agent, Charlie Cousens, played by founding cast member Robin Ramsay. While the series plots concentrated mainly on small-scale interpersonal, domestic and local relationships, issues and conflicts, there were occasional moments of high drama. In 1976, the series was screened as a single one-hour episode each week, before switching to three half-hour instalments per week during its final season. During most of its 10-year production run, 15-minute episodes of Bellbird screened from Monday to Thursday nights during the lead in to the 7:00 pm evening news bulletin. The show's ratings were modest but it had a devoted following, especially in rural Australia. Although Bellbird was not Australia's first television serial (the first was Network Seven's Autumn Affair), it was the first successful soap opera and even spawned a feature film and tie-in novel. The series was screened from 28 August 1967 to 23 December 1977. 4 Later shows featuring members of the cast.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |