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Leon Saunders Leon Saunders i(A85811 works by)
Born: Established: 1944 ;
Gender: Male
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Works By

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1 y separately published work icon The Gaze of Dogs Leon Saunders , Bellingen : Valentine Press , 2019 15447040 2019 single work novel

'Why have burning dogs come from the past to haunt Ned Sheridan? What is their connection to the man who delivered him to St Andrew's Hostel on the day "all memory began"? Do the answers lie in the alien world of a Queensland sapphire mining field 2,000 miles away, peopled by pub bombers, poddy dodgers, and fading bush boxers?

'In the tragi-comic spirit of Lawson, Paterson and the early bush balladeers of outback Australia, the story of Ned's search for identity unfolds against a backdrop of natural beauty and elemental catastrophe. Through its richly evoked sense of place, its finely drawn characters and unfailing humanity, The Gaze of Dogs' depiction of the small miners' struggle against the greed of the machinery men paints a rare picture of a forgotten part of Australia's history in the 1970s.

'A quest and a mystery that takes us deep into the Anakie sapphire mines of Central Queensland, and the gritty lives of ex boxers, immigrants, and the resilient Kairi people. Here, with its kindness and treachery, naked loyalty and cold malice, is one writer's hard-earned truth.' (Publication summary)

1 y separately published work icon Prisoner No. 2549971 Leon Saunders , Sydney : Pan Macmillan Australia , 2004 Z1160999 2004 single work novel young adult

'Guilty as charged.

'The words still echo in her head as she lines up for her mug shots. Dani Sutherland has become Prisoner No. 2549971.

'Three years in jail! No one in Summer Bay can believe it - certainly not the Sutherland family. But shock is not going to get Dani out of jail. The family needs to organise an appeal and find the mysterious witness - the only person who could back up Dani's story. Everyone is determined to help, even Justice Morag Bellingham!

'Meanwhile Dani is a world away from her family. She's contending with vulnerable Georgie, 'Matilda the Hun' (the screw with a heart) and top dog of the prisoners, 'the Guv'.

'On the inside, Dani has to watch her back. Trouble is just one footstep behind her.' (Publication summary)

1 y separately published work icon Dani on Trial Leon Saunders , Sydney : Pan Macmillan Australia , 2004 Z1160991 2004 single work novel young adult

'It's everyone's worst nightmare. And Dani Sutherland is living it - every single day. Summer Bay is abuzz with the news. The trial date has been set. Dani Sutherland will be charged with the attempted murder of Kane Phillips - the man who basically ruined her life and has claimed the love of her sister, Kirsty - the man she nearly killed on that treacherous night. Was it an accident? Justice Morag Bellingham is determined to give Dani a fair trial. But as the trial progresses, Dani realises that in a certain light the truth can cast a strange shadow. Who or what can she really trust? Kirsty? Her lawyer? Justice? All she can do now is wait. Wait for the jury. Wait for the verdict that will change her life. Forever.' (Publication summary)

1 y separately published work icon Hearts Divided Leon Saunders , Sydney : Pan Macmillan Australia , 2003 Z1161004 2003 single work novel young adult

'There's turmoil in Summer Bay and the Sutherland family are right in the middle of it! Kirsty and Dani Sutherland were loyal, loving sisters, fiercely, unconditionally proud of each other - until the dark influence of Kane Phillips pervaded their lives in ways that no one ever imagined. Now, Dani is accused of trying to kill the man who ruined her life two years ago, while Kirsty is leaving Summer Bay to be by his side! But Kirsty's journey away from her family soon becomes the most dangerous journey of her life!' (Publication summary)

1 form y separately published work icon Heat Natural Justice : Heat Leon Saunders , ( dir. Scott Hartford-Davis ) Western Australia : Barron Entertainment , 1996 7257296 1996 single work film/TV crime

'An idealistic solicitor heads to the bush after a disillusioning encounter with the legal system. In a small country town she witnesses an incident between police and two local Aborigines, and reluctantly becomes embroiled in a fight for justice.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 16/4/2014)

1 4 form y separately published work icon Heartbreak High Michael Jenkins , Ben Gannon , David Phillips , Sally Webb , Serge Lazareff , Greg Millin , Howard Griffiths , Peter A. Kinloch , Kevin Roberts , Tim Gooding , Chris Roache , Leon Saunders , Lisa Hoppe , Suzanne Hawley , Craig Wilkins , Kris Wyld , Margaret Kelly , Kristen Dunphy , Pieter Aquilia , Tony Morphett , Steve J. Spears , Michael Cove , Peter Neale , Elizabeth Coleman , Vicki Madden , Chris Phillips , Johanna Pigott , Keith Thompson , Susan MacGillicuddy , David Worthington , Helen Steel , Michael Miller , Charlie Strachan , James Lee , Joan Sauers , Kit Oldfield , Peter Schreck , Carol Williams , Phil McAloon , Vincent Gil , Marcia Gardner , Philip Dalkin , Alexa Wyatt , Alan Love , ( dir. Shirley Barrett et. al. )agent 1994 Australia : Gannon Television Network Ten Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 1994-1999 Z1741241 1994 series - publisher film/TV young adult

'Fast-paced series spin-off of the hit feature film. Filmed at an abandoned school in Sydney's Maroubra, this program was about an ethnically diverse group of students attending Hartley High School.'

Source: National Film and Sound Archive record.

1 6 form y separately published work icon Blue Heelers Tony Morphett , Hal McElroy , Seven Network (publisher), Tony Morphett , Ysabelle Dean , Howard Griffiths , Ted Roberts , Greg Haddrick , Graeme Koetsveld , Anne Brooksbank , John Upton , Peter A. Kinloch , Tim Gooding , Ray Harding , Everett de Roche , Judith Colquhoun , Patrick Edgeworth , Justin Glockerla , Stephen Measday , Sue Hore , Alan Hopgood , John Lord , Rachel Lewis , John Coulter , Hugh Stuckey , Peter Gawler , David Allen , Cassandra Carter , Michaeley O'Brien , Fred Clarke , Margaret Plumb , John Wood , Leon Saunders , Wal Saunders , Russell Hagg , Ruth Field , Shane Brennan , Max Singer , Michael Winter , David Phillips , John Banas , Jennifer Rowe , David William Boutland , Annie Beach , David Worthington , Peter Dick , Robert Harris , Louise Crane , Chris Phillips , David Marsh , Jenny Lewis , Rick Held , Kathie Armstrong , Emma Honey , Bill Garner , Beverley Evans , Anthony Ellis , Mary McCormick , David Anthony , Carol Williams , Matthew Williams , Paul Davies , Craig Wilkins , Roger Dunn , Mary Graham , Harry Jordan , Geraldine Pilkington , Caroline Stanton , Grace Morris , Piers Hobson , Lyn Ogilvy , Deborah Parsons , Bob Cameron , Brian Bell , Kelly Lefever , Karin Altmann , Coral Drouyn , Jon Stephens , Marieke Hardy , Michael Brindley , Harriet Smith , Jo Merle , Chris Corbett , Tom Hegarty , Abe Pogos , Petra Graf , Anne Melville , Julie O'Brien , Peter Hepworth , Rob George , Jane Allen , Noel Maloney , Michael Voigt , Maureen Sherlock , Alison Nisselle , Elizabeth Coleman , John Ridley , Stuart Page , Jeff Truman , Rohan Trollope , Vicki Madden , Forrest Redlich , Jo Kasch , James Dunbar , Kylie Needham , Samantha Winston , ( dir. Mark Callan et. al. )agent 1994 Sydney Australia : Hal McElroy Southern Star Seven Network , 1994-2006 Z1367353 1994 series - publisher film/TV crime

A character-based television drama series about the lives of police officers in the fictitious Australian country town of Mt Thomas, this series began with the arrival of Constable Maggie Doyle (Lisa McCune) to the Mt Thomas station in the episode 'A Woman's Place'. Doyle and avuncular station boss Senior Sergeant Tom Croydon (John Wood) were the core characters of the series until the departure of Lisa McCune.

Immensely popular for a decade, Blue Heelers was cancelled in 2006 after thirteen seasons. The announcement was front-page news in Australia's major newspapers including The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney's Daily Telegraph, The Herald Sun and The Age in Melbourne, and Brisbane's Courier Mail.

On June 8, 2006 Ross Warneke wrote in The Age:

'It's over and, to be perfectly blunt, there's no use lamenting the demise of Blue Heelers any more. When the final movie-length episode aired on Channel Seven on Sunday night, 1.5 million Australians tuned in, a figure that was big enough to give the show a win in its timeslot but nowhere near big enough to pay the sort of tribute that this writer believes Heelers deserved after more than 500 episodes.It is unlikely there will be anything like it again. At almost $500,000 an hour, shows such as Blue Heelers are quickly becoming the dinosaurs of Australian TV.'

1 5 form y separately published work icon Banjo Paterson's 'The Man from Snowy River' Snowy River: The McGregor Saga Nine Network (publisher), Peter Schreck , Peter A. Kinloch , Ted Roberts , Everett de Roche , David Phillips , Leon Saunders , Tony Morphett , Judith Colquhoun , Russell Hagg , Shane Brennan , Denny Lawrence , Patrick Edgeworth , Jan Sardi , Neil Luxmoore , Denise Morgan , Peter Gawler , Stuart Wood , Jutta Goetze , Jock Blair , Anthony Ellis , David Allen , ( dir. Tim Burstall et. al. )agent 1993 Australia : Nine Network , 1993-1996 Z400448 1993 series - publisher film/TV

Inspired by A. B. Paterson's classic poem and set in a fictional Snowy Mountains township called Paterson's Ridge, this turn-of-the-nineteenth-century adventure concerns wealthy cattle-station owner and widower Matt McGregor and his three children, Colin (the town preacher), Rob (played by Guy Pearce), and Danni (the tomboyish youngest daughter). Unresolved sexual tension comes in the shape of Matt's independent, free-spirited childhood friend, the recently widowed Kathleen O'Neil, who returns to Paterson's Ridge with her son after having spent many years in England.

1 form y separately published work icon Another Country : Part Two Leon Saunders , ( dir. Geoffrey Nottage ) Sydney : JNP Films , 1993 6075567 1993 single work film/TV

'Maryam Zahedi, an immigrant woman originally from the Middle East, loses her job at the hospital. She and her daughter Zozan are getting a rough time from people in the community, and when Tom comes by to see them, Maryam's daughter runs away in fear of him, or more accurately, his uniform. A farmer leaves his barking dog with Anna when his neighbours start complaining but it doesn't take long for the incessant noise to get to Harry either. The dog it turns out, can only be soothed by the music the farmer's recently deceased wife used to play. Maryam's application for residency is rejected. The new clinic receptionist is fired for smoking on the job.

'Hugo finds Zozan hiding out at at the lodge and takes her back to her mother. Bernice consults Harry, the resident golf expert, about putting in a golf course in at Rainbow Farm, while at the same time, Darcy is undertaking a plan to revegetate the land. Maryam receives notice that her husband has been executed. She is sent the bill for the bullet which provides the evidence she needs to claim refugee status. A party for Terence's 50th birthday is held at the club.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 21/6/2013)

1 form y separately published work icon Lift Off Chris Anastassiades , Josephine Barcelon , Garth Boomer , Ray Boseley , Shane Brennan , Anne Brooksbank , Tony Cavanaugh , Cameron Clarke , Elizabeth Coleman , Bruce Currie , Terry Denton , Roger Dunn , Bob Ellis , Sue Giles , Barbara Gliddon , Jutta Goetze , Robert Greenberg , Mac Gudgeon , Glenda Hambly , Mandy Hampson , Jennifer Hill , Sue Hore , Graham Hartley , John Hepworth , P. J. Hogan , Sally Irwin , Paul Jennings , Anthony Lucas , Neil Luxmoore , Christine Madafferi , Rick Maier , Maureen McCarthy , Narelle McRobbie , Stephen Measday , John Misto , Jocelyn Moorhouse , Paul Nichola , Jeff Peck , Rod Quantock , Ian Pidd , Penny Robenstone Harris , Pamela Rushby , Jan Sardi , Leon Saunders , Moya Sayer-Jones , Steve J. Spears , Peter Viska , Judy Zavos , Jo Wilkie , Julian Wigley , Tony Watts , Mark Trounce , Jeremy Parker , Ross Noble , Anne Joliffe , John Harding , Maurice Giacomini , Sue Edgar , Mark A. Eady , Nancy Black , ( dir. Mario Andreacchio et. al. )agent Melbourne : Australian Children's Television Foundation , 1992-1996 Z1855640 1992-1996 series - publisher film/TV children's fantasy science fiction

A mixture of live-action, puppetry, animation, and documentary, Lift Off centred on a group of children who lived in the same neighbourhood and whose imaginations made their environment a world of fun and excitement. However, the program also explored issues such as pain, loneliness, jealousy, and anger. The program was aimed at three-year-old to eight-year-old viewers (as defined by Harvard University developmental psychologist Howard Gardner), and was linked to school curricula through the Curriculum Corporation of Australia.

1 form y separately published work icon Gift of Life : Part Two Leon Saunders , ( dir. Di Drew ) Sydney : JNP Films , 1991 6073262 1991 single work film/TV

'Lynette Cooper, a young and inexperienced farm hand, is left on her own to run the farm where she is working—until her long-lost sister shows up after having broken out of detention. Shirley has pneumonia. Harry tries to impress a young woman on the golf course. Steve has a close encounter with a horse on the highway.

'Harry decides that it would be best for him to move out of Steve's house and he finds a new home with Terence at Camelot. Rowie decides to donate one of her kidneys to save her sister. Tiger Kelly drives a truck into Cookie and Bob's house. Kate Bryant, a new nurse at the hospital, moves in with Steve and Luke at the farm and takes possession of the horse Steve nearly hit.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 20/6/2013)

1 form y separately published work icon Confinement : Part Two Leon Saunders , ( dir. Riccardo Pellizzeri ) Sydney : JNP Films , 1990 6073152 1990 single work film/TV

'Esme's use of steroids startles Wandin Valley residents. Steve's animals are being poisoned. John Bushnell, a mildly retarded man is abandoned at the hospital by his mother Sue and sister Alison. Jess and Cris help John overcome some of his difficulties. Terence and Ann form a new bond and relationship as they help Linda McNeil give birth. Matt has egg on his face when Bob and Cookie fall for his yarn about feral chooks.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 20/6/2013)

1 form y separately published work icon G. P. Sue Masters , Chris Anastassiades , Linda Aronson , Luis Bayonas , Shelley Birse , David William Boutland , Anne Brooksbank , Don Catchlove , Elizabeth Coleman , Judith Colquhoun , John Coulter , Michael Craig , Louise Crane , John Cundill , Joe Dowse , Kristen Dunphy , Matt Ford , Peter Gawler , Michael Gaylard , Howard Griffiths , Chris Hawkshaw , Noel Hodda , Ro Hume , Louise Johnson , Patricia Johnson , Andrew Kelly , Margaret Kelly , Carla Kettner , Joseph King , Peter A. Kinloch , Graeme Koetsveld , Susan MacGillicuddy , Rick Maier , Tony Maniaty , Grant McAloon , Christine McCourt , Lina Mckenzie , Stephen Measday , Jennifer Mellet , Michael Miller , Greg Millin , John Misto , Margaret Morgan , Tony Morphett , Mary Morris , Peter Neale , Carol Nemo , Alison Nisselle , Felicity Packard , Deborah Parsons , David Phillips , Tim Pye , Oliver Robb , Ted Roberts , Leon Saunders , Peter Schreck , Bill Searle , Mark Sims , Robyn Sinclair , Steve J. Spears , Caroline Stanton , Helen Steel , Charlie Strachan , Marnie Taylor , John Thomas , Keith Thompson , Katherine Thomson , Steven Vidler , Craig Wilkins , Carol Williams , Kris Wyld , Peter Yeldham , ( dir. Peter Andrikidis et. al. )agent 1989 Australia : ABC Television Roadshow Coote and Carroll , 1989-1996 7819205 1989 series - publisher film/TV

G.P. is an Australian television series that ran for eight seasons. Set in and around a fictional general medical practice in an inner-city suburb, the storylines explore the professional and personal lives of the doctors and staff who worked there.

1 form y separately published work icon E Street Forrest Redlich , Linden Wilkinson , Carol Williams , Sally Webb , Tim Pye , Caroline Stanton , Hugh Stuckey , John Upton , David William Boutland , Michael Cove , Mary Dagmar-Davies , Grant Fraser , Tom Galbraith , Graeme Koetsveld , Nicholas Langton , David Marsh , Forrest Redlich , Leon Saunders , David Phillips , Tom Hegarty , David Allen , Alexa Wyatt , John Banas , Louise Crane , Serge Lazareff , Rick Maier , Christine McCourt , Greg Millin , Craig Wilkins , Steve J. Spears , Chris Covington , Sammy Ringer , ( dir. Rod Hardy et. al. )agent Network Ten Westside Film & Television , 1989-1993 7210561 1989 series - publisher film/TV

A one-hour soap opera focusing on life in a gritty inner-city suburb.

1 form y separately published work icon All The Way Leon Saunders , Peter A. Kinloch , Sheila Sibley , Everett de Roche , Shane Brennan , ( dir. Mandy Smith et. al. )agent Melbourne : Crawford Productions Nine Network , 1988 Z1817183 1988 series - publisher film/TV historical fiction

Like other Crawford's programs in the 1980s (such as The Flying Doctors), All The Way began as a six-part mini-series, and was spun off into an ongoing series (which began production before the mini-series was screened on Australian television).

Set in the 1960s, the program follows three families through key historical events both abroad (such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy) and in Australia (such as the Maralinga atomic tests and the Bogle-Chandler case).

According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series, the program was 'a soap opera neither any worse nor any better than a host of others such as Cop Shop, The Box, The Restless Years or Neighbours', but it 'has an orientation towards the worlds of work and public affairs that, to the extent that one can generalise about the above-mentioned programs, tends to be present in Crawford soaps and missing from those produced at Grundy's.'

Moran is, however, critical of the program's setting, suggesting that the comparative lack of identifiable iconography in the early 1960s means the program 'looks and sounds little different from the present. Instead the viewer has the feeling that the costumes, props and sets were all found at the local Salvation Army depot.' The result, he argues, is that 'the serial just looks old-fashioned and therefore potentially of interest only to older viewers.'

1 19 form y separately published work icon Home and Away Alan Bateman , Seven Network (publisher), Sarah Walker , Margaret Wilson , Sam Meikle , Sandy Webster , Matt Anderson , Fiona Bozic , Dan Bennett , Sue Hore , Sean Nash , James Walker , Ray Harding , Bruce Hancock , Phil Lloyd , Jason Herbison , David Worthington , Alister Webb , Andrew Osborne , John Hanlon , Greg Haddrick , Greg Stevens , Fiona Kelly , Faith McKinnon , Alison Nisselle , Maureen Ann Moran , Sarah Duffy , Phil Saunders , Stephen Vagg , Ysabelle Dean , Bevan Lee , Kelly Lefever , Anthony Ellis , Mary Dagmar-Davies , Clare Atkins , Lily Taylor , Kevin Roberts , Chelsea Cassio , Lyn Ogilvy , Cameron Welsh , Anne Brooksbank , John Hugginson , Morgan Smith , Jennifer Mellet , Christopher Gist , Louise Crane , Trent Atkinson , Leigh McGrath , Kaneana May , Neil Luxmoore , Adam Dolman , Greg Millin , Cassandra Carter , Sally Webb , Mardi McConnochie , Felicity Packard , Sabour Bradley , Rick Held , Kit Oldfield , Alexa Wyatt , Edwina Searle , Josh Mapleston , Kate Bradley , Sharyn Rosenberg , Elizabeth Coleman , John Coulter , Anthony Morris , Alison Boadle , Carla Kettner , Boaz Stark , Lois Booton , Judith Colquhoun , Michael Joshua , Cath Roden , Lesley Lewis , Zokov Nyste , Katrina Foster , Lisa Williams , Lynette Jacob , Coral Drouyn , Meg Mappin , Mark Grzic , Christine McCourt , Tom Galbraith , Drew Proffitt , Graham Foreman , Craig Wilkins , Jenny Sharp , Chris Phillips , Daniel Widdowson , Elizabeth Packett , Vicki Englund , Alan Hardy , Fiona Wood , Jenny Lewis , Samuel Atwell , Scott Taylor , Galia Hardy , Holly Lyons , Barbara Bishop , Bradley Souber , Peter Dick , Luke Devenish , Nicky Amall , Vanessa Critchley , Brooke Wilson , David Allen , Michael Harvey , Denise Morgan , David William Boutland , Pru Colville , Ray Kolle , Les Knight , Mark Elder , Jennifer Smart , Jon Concannon , Ericka Dobbins , Jane Allen , Peter Mattessi , Alex Papps , Justine Gillmer , Stuart Page , Nick King , Serge Lazareff , Blake Ayshford , James Balian , Alan Bateman , Kirrilly Burton , Louise Crawford , Jane Eakin , Ina Haas , Glenda Hambly , Matthew Hile , Raymond Meiksa , Rob Menzies , David Mesman , Annette Moore , Andy Muir , Gabrielle Somers , Matthew Tonna , Jeff Truman , Emily Vann , Peter Neale , David O'Brien , Phil Sanders , Leon Saunders , Daniel Krige , Deborah Parsons , Rebecca Greensill , Fin Edquist , 1988 Australia : Seven Network , 1988- Z1367287 1988 series - publisher film/TV

Home and Away is a television serial created by Alan Bateman and produced by the Seven Network. The idea for the series came to Bateman (then head of drama at Seven) after he stopped to buy ice-creams in a small country town in southern NSW. While chatting to some locals, he learned that the town was unhappy about plans to build a home for foster kids from the city. At that time, Channel Seven was still smarting from its decision to let Neighbours go to the Ten Network, where it had become hugely popular, and was looking to create another series to rival its success. Bateman saw in the idea that became Home and Away the potential for plenty of storylines and conflict by having streetwise city kids being relocated to a small regional environment,

In the beginning, the series focused on Pippa and Tom Fletcher, who, being unable to have children of their own, decide to become foster parents. When Tom is retrenched from his city job, the couple buy the rundown Summer Bay Caravan Park and move there with their five foster children. Soon after arriving, they also take in troublesome Bobby Simpson.

The series debuted in January 1988 with an hour-long telemovie. Although this rated well, the series itself took some while to develop an audience. Having learned their lesson from the Neighbours debacle, Network Seven gave its new show time, and its ratings gradually increased. As with Neighbours, the Home and Away series and performers became very popular in the United Kingdom.

1 form y separately published work icon The Last Resort Louis Nowra , Bert Deling , Tim Gooding , Gabrielle Lord , Johanna Pigott , Leon Saunders , ( dir. Ron Elliott et. al. )agent Sydney : Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 1988 12369792 1988 series - publisher film/TV

Three sisters find their fortunes suddenly and dramatically changed. By agreement with their father, if the three manage living together and running a hotel in the Bondi region of Sydney for a year, the hotel will be theirs.

The series was not a success with reviewers or viewers, and the Canberra Times later described it as 'acclaimed almost universally as a disaster of epic proportions' (David Vine, 'Fact, Fantasy, and the TV Hype-artist', Canberra Times, 22 August 1988, p.6).

1 form y separately published work icon Cyclone Tracy Michael Fisher , Ted Roberts , Leon Saunders , ( dir. Donald Crombie et. al. )agent Australia : PBL Productions , 1986 Z1823589 1986 series - publisher film/TV

Mini series tracing the devastation wreaked on Darwin by Cyclone Tracy during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 1974.

According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series, the mini-series fall roughly into three sections: the period immediately before the cyclone (in which the main characters are introduced), the night on which the cyclone hit, and the aftermath. As with so many disaster films and mini-series, Moran notes, Cyclone Tracy 'focuses on ordinary people caught up in an extraordinary event. The action is mostly documentary in tone and feeling, though one strand concerned with an American adventurer and a cargo of drugs is melodramatically quite out of keeping with the other stories.'

Moran notes that, American drug-runners aside, the mini-series works because of 'the low-key realism of the stories and the performances, the excellent special effects and sets, and the skilful integration of actual footage'. The program cost $4.5 million to produce.

1 form y separately published work icon Special Squad Cliff Green , Vince Moran , Luis Bayonas , John Upton , Patrick Edgeworth , Philip Dalkin , Everett de Roche , Shane Brennan , Leon Saunders , David Phillips , Kris Steele , Michael Harvey , Vincent Gil , Michael Aitkens , ( dir. Peter Andrikidis et. al. )agent Melbourne : Crawford Productions , 1984 Z1816885 1984 series - publisher film/TV crime detective

An attempt to re-invoke the popularity that police procedurals had enjoyed a decade earlier, Special Squad was the most expensive program produced in Australia up to 1985 (at $150,000 per episode), yet received such lukewarm ratings that Channel Ten chose not to commission a second series.

According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series,

it was good to watch, with expert stunt work and special effects. With well-paced narratives, intelligently and nicely worked out situations and plenty of emphasis on the villains and victims, Special Squad was just as watchable and entertaining as Homicide had been in its last series.

According to Moran, the failure of Special Squad lay both in its difference from and its similarity to Homicide. The novelty (of Australian accents and Australian locations) that had helped make Homicide so successful was no longer in play, and 'the sight of tough men (on both sides of the law) made the program [Special Squad] seem very old-fashioned. In addition, the plethora of other Australian dramas on air at the time gave viewers more than enough alternatives.'

1 form y separately published work icon Holiday Island Terry Stapleton , Jeff Peck , Judith Colquhoun , Brian Wright , David Worthington , Peter Hepworth , Leon Saunders , Sheila Sibley , Graeme Farmer , Ray Harding , Graeme Ellis , ( dir. Colin Budds et. al. )agent Melbourne : Crawford Productions , 1981 Z1815308 1981 series - publisher film/TV adventure

According to Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series, Holiday Island was something of an attempt to emulate the appeal of the American television series The Love Boat. Set on a tropical island holiday resort, the concept was, as Moran notes,

a good one with the potential for a continuous series of new characters in the guide of holiday guests, and the possibility of romance and other entanglements between them and the regular characters who worked at the resort. The opportunities for the intervention of nature in the shape of such happenings as cyclones and storms, and the appearance from time to time of more eccentric and enigmantic characters who had come to the island, offered promise.

But the program was broadcast without fanfare in the middle of the ratings season, to replace the poorly rating Bellamy, and only managed moderately good ratings. It was cancelled in 1982.

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