Broadcasting
More classic Aussie drama out now
Grace Gibson Productions have released another batch of classic radio serials from their archives.
Hope Winslow (Lyndall Barbour) presents another selection of self-contained human-interest stories in volume 3 of Whispering Streets, and in volume 12 of Hunt The Man Down private investigator Dick Mallory (Frank Waters) continues his relentless war against those that live in the shadows of life.
In Office Wife we meet Marcia Capehart (Dinah Shearing), a secretary that ends up marrying her handsome boss Geoffrey Pilgrim (Keith Eden). Jealousy begins to grow in Marcia’s mind when she starts to think that Geoff’s beautiful new secretary Stella Bronson (Lyndall Barbour) has romantic designs on him, and Marcia can cause a lot of problems for the girl because one day she’ll inherit the whole company from her uncle. Are Marcia’s deepest fears justified or are they simply a figment of her own insecure imagination, and will her concerns end up destroying her marriage. Across 208 episodes writer Lindsay Hardy explores romantic jealousy, office politics in the world of big business, Geoff is accused of embezzling company funds, and we wonder if Marcia will ever learn that not every woman is burning a torch for her husband! Others in the cast include John O’Malley, Walter Pym, Monty Maizels, and Lloyd Lamble.
You can order all of these radio serials on CD, USB or as digital downloads from the Grace Gibson website.
Left: The next instalment of Whispering Streets is out now. Top Right: More wrongdoers are caught in the act in Hunt The Man Down. Bottom Right: Jealousy raises it’s ugly head in Office Wife. Main Image: Lyndall Barbour stars in Whispering Streets and Office Wife.
Number 96
When Number 96 hit the small screen in 1972 it was dubbed the night that Australian television lost its virginity. Across 1218 explosive episodes the serial broke every taboo known to man with the residents of the infamous apartment block going from one drama to the next. The producers gave viewers lashings of sex and nudity but balanced this with plenty of comic moments. The programme explored homosexuality, interracial relationships, drug addiction, racism, rape in marriage, abortion, breast cancer, sadomasochism and countless other subjects which tended to be brushed under the carpet by society at large.
Audiences were gripped when hippies stripped off in the launderette, a group of devil worshipers blew into town, and a bomb ripped through the building causing death and destruction. Some of the more infamous storylines have gone down into television history, who could forget the warped pantyhose strangler, the perverted knicker snipper or the deranged hooded rapist.
To mark the shows fiftieth anniversary, television historian Nigel Giles has edited together a brand-new book which takes us behind the scenes of Australia’s most notorious address. Producer Bob Huber and more than thirty members of the cast have written their own chapters in which they share their memories of working on this ground-breaking show. The Number 96: 50th Anniversary Album has been published by Arcadia and is essential reading for every fan of the show. You can order your copy now from the website of Australian Scholarly Publishing.
Left: The Number 96: 50th Anniversary Album lifts the lid on the ground-breaking show. Right: Ron Shand and Pat McDonald starred as Herb and Dorrie Evans in Number 96. Pat went on to play Fiona Thompson in Sons & Daughters.
Photo’s copyright. IRS Grace Gibson Productions. Nigel Giles/Arcadia/Cash Harmon Productions.
