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Bellbird (TV series)

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Bellbird
Genre
Created byBarbara Vernon,
Written byBarbara Vernon, Alan Hopgood, Michael Wright
Directed byJames Davern, Oscar Whitbread
StarringSee cast list
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons10
No. of episodes1,697[1]
Production
ProducerBrett Porter[2]
Running timeEpisodes 1-1508 (15 minutes (excluding commercial)), Episodes 1509-1592 (1 Hour), Episodes 1563-1697, (3x half-hour weekly)[1]
Original release
NetworkABC
Release28 August 1967 (1967-08-28) –
23 December 1977 (1977-12-23)
Related
Country Life (film version)

Bellbird is an Australian soap opera serial broadcast by the ABC created and co-written by Barbara Vernon, it screened for 10 seasons between 1967 and 1977, and spanned 1,697 episodes. The series centered around the residents of the small fictional Victorian rural township of the series title.[1]

Bellbird has the distinction of being the longest-running soap opera/serial ever produced by the ABC. It ended the same year as commercial broadcast series Number 96 and The Box, which had run for six and four years respectively.[3]

Production and broadcasting

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The series was produced by the ABC at the Ripponlea Studios in Melbourne, with the opening titles filmed at nearby Daylesford. Bellbird screened from 28 August 1967 to 23 December 1977 and although it 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 show's ratings were modest but it had a devoted following, especially in rural Australia, akin to the ABC's long-running radio drama Blue Hills. During most of its 10-year production run, 15-minute episodes of Bellbird screened from Monday to Thursday nights, leading in to the 7:00 pm evening news bulletin. 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.[4]

Storylines

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The show's storylines followed the lives of the residents of the small fictional country town that gave the show its title. While the series plots concentrated mainly on small-scale interpersonal, domestic and local relationships, issues and conflicts, there were occasional moments of high drama. One of the most celebrated was the death of the local stock and station agent, Charlie Cousens, played by foundation cast member Robin Ramsay. 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. 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.[citation needed]

Other notable deaths during the course of the series included those of local farm girl, Hagar Grossark (Barbara Ramsay), who drowned during a flood, and the 1974 death of major character Rhoda Lang, played by foundation cast member Lynette Curran, who was killed when her car was struck by a train at a level crossing.

Cast

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Bellbird featured a regular cast of 46 actors over its 10-year run (see links, for actor information).

Main cast

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Actor Character Episodes (where known)
Carl Bleazby Coloniel Jim Emerson original[1]
Carmel Millhouse[1] Marge Bacon
Peter Aanensen[1] Jim Bacon
Lesley Baker Cheryl Turner
Elspeth Ballantyne [1] Lori Chandler
Bruce Barry Michael Foley
Julia Blake Elaine Thomas
Dorothy Bradley [1] Rose Lang
Anne Charleston Wendy Robinson
Moira Charleton[1] Olive Turner
Lynette Curran[1] Rhoda Lang
Penny Downie[1] Kelly Jameson
Beverley Dunn Mary Campbell
Keith Eden Gil Lang
Maurie Fields?[1] John Quinney original -1976
Sheila Florance Dossie Rumsey
Penne Hackforth-Jones[1] Ginny Hill
Brian Hannan[1] Roger Green
Gabrielle Hartley[1] Maggie Emerson
Alan Hopgood Matthew Reed
Brian James Ian Bennett
Lynda Keane Ruth Grossark
Patsy King Kate Andrews
Stella Lamond[1] Molly Wilson
Anne Lucas Glenda Chand
Bob Maza Gerry Walters
George Mallaby Jerry Cochran
Terry McDermott Max Pearson
Maggie Millar Georgia Moorhouse
Dennis Miller[1] Constable Des Davies
Rod Mullinar Scott Leighton
Gerda Nicolson[1] Fiona Davies original
Terry Norris [1] Joe Turner 1967-1968
Tom Oliver[1] Tom Gray
Anne Phelan[1] Kate Ashwood
Louise Philip Christine Jackson
Michael Preston Father John Kramer
Robin Ramsay[1] Charlie Cousens
Gregory Ross Chris Lang
Sean Scully Ron Wilson
Ian Smith[1] Russell Ashwood
John Stanton Leo Hil
Ross Thompson Terry Hill
Bryon Williams Adam Lockhart
Clive Winmill Tony Buckland
Alwyn Kurts[1] Les Lewis 1977
Terence Donovan[1] 1977
Chuck Faulkner[1] Doug Dally 1977
Gerard Kennedy[1] Edward Grey 1977

The National Archives of Australia holds a collection of 43 black and white prints from 1977, identifying over 30 actors involved at that time,[5][failed verification]

Foundation creative team

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The show was based on a short treatment by Colin Free then developed by original story editor Barbara Vernon. The original story team included Vernon, Alan Hopgood and Michael Wright. The first executive producer was Brett Porter.[2] The original directors were James Davern and Oscar Whitbread.[6]

International screenings

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Episodes of Bellbird were screened briefly in the United Kingdom in 1972. 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. As a result of the price increase, the UK broadcaster purchased no further episodes.[7]

Episodes

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Although an extensive selection of episodes survive and reside with the National Archives of Australia, it was reported that the ABC taped over the master tapes of the series, which was a common practice of the time[7] something which series cast member Alan Hopgood had complained about in a TV Times article in 1976: "They just wiped [them] off and another episode [was] run over them .... This failure to preserve the program is criminal, to my way of thinking."[8]

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.

Film and novel

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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). It focused on Bellbird's problems during a severe drought. Many future soaps followed suit, spawning their own film versions, including Number 96 and The Sullivans.

Ratings

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In 1971, Bellbird was the fifteenth most popular show in the country.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa "Bellbird". Aussie Soap Archive. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  2. ^ a b "TV Pioneers". The Age. 23 July 1970. p. 38.
  3. ^ "Prisoner stars before Prisoner". Television.AU. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  4. ^ Moran, Albert (1993). Moran's guide to Australian TV series: your complete guide to every drama series, children's show and sitcom. North Ryde, NSW: Australian Film Television & Radio School. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-642-18462-7.
  5. ^ "C612 Bellbird". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  6. ^ Vagg, Stephen (29 August 2023). "Forgotten Australian Television Plays: Boy with Banner, Objector and Watch It". Filmink.
  7. ^ a b Mercado, Andrew (27 November 2004). "Soap: It's just what the great unwashed need". The Age. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012.
  8. ^ "Home-Truths From Bellbird". TV Times. 11–17 December 1976. p. 10.
  9. ^ "TELEVISION RATINGS". The Canberra Times. Vol. 45, no. 12, 803. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 6 May 1971. p. 8. Retrieved 20 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
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