AustLit

'The public facade and private life of an aspiring politician and his wife. This film reveals the little white lies that lead to revenge, blackmail and a fight for life.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 6/8/2013)

'Kate Roberts, a wealthy woman with a dark secret and a drinking problem, marries handsome property developer Sato Mitsuru. A series of weird disturbances in their seventh floor apartment intensifies into a frightening campaign that drives Kate towards insanity before she discovers a conspiracy against her life and fights back.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 3/7/2013)

A woman lives a double life–loving wife and professional woman to her husband, mastermind behind a string of robberies to her husband–until suspicion of murder threatens to reveal her secrets.

'RATBAG HERO takes place around the picturesque towns of the Murray River during the 1930s. Set against the colourful background of loggers and bargees, the mini-series revolves around the Kelsall family and a generation not only coming to grips with their environment but of the ties that bind a family. We experience a young man's coming to terms with his father's expectations and his own destiny.'

Source: Screen Australia.

'Contemporary police story centred on Sydney Harbour and its environs.'

Source: Screen Australia.

A period drama focusing on Robert Louis Stevenson and his last four years in the South Pacific area of Western Samoa, where he gained the nickname 'Tusitala' (teller of tales).

According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series, the plot is as follows:

The title of the series refers to archaeologist Dr Pieter Gerrard's efforts to find proof on the Greek island of Levkas of his theory that prehistoric man trekked from Africa over what is now the floor of the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. To finance his activities, Gerrard engages in smuggling ancient Greek artifacts. When exposed, he takes a few possessions and disappears. Meanwhile, his son Paul [...], a footloose adventurer, is trapped into working for a shady Hamburg art dealer. This takes Paul to Greece also and, once there, he sets about trying to find his father. This leads to a complex cat and mouse game involving smugglers, police and a rival archaeologist.

According to Moran, Australians had a large creative input in The Levkas Man (a co-production with a German production company), but a smaller financial investment; as a result, the ABC did not share in export profits.

After getting into trouble back home in England, mining engineer Alec Hamilton journeys to Australia to try to start a new life, and quickly becomes involved in the fortunes of an abandoned goldmine.

For detailed episode-by-episode synopses, see Film Details.

Much like its predecessors The Rovers and Barrier Reef, The Outsiders was predicated on the conceit that the central characters (Pete Jarrett and his grandfather Charlie Cole) were nomadic protagonists: travelling across Australia, they spent each episode in a new location with a new guest cast.

Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series, says of the concept that 'They are in effect fictional tourists, a perfect foil for a series that starred a German and a British actor in the lead roles, carried overseas as well as local crew, and British and German investment.'

A co-production with a German production company, The Outsiders had two non-Australian actors in the lead roles: German actor Sascha Hehn as Pete and Scottish actor Andrew Keir as Charlie. Don Storey, in his Classic Australian Television, notes that Hehn's dialogue was over-dubbed by Andrew Harwood, because Hehn's English was deemed to be too heavily accented. Storey concludes that

In most episodes, The Outsiders has a storyline that is effective in its simplicity. There is plenty of action and stunt work, but it's the interplay between the characters and the understated atmosphere of the series which gives it depth. Technically, the series is excellent, with superb camera work, skilful writing, good direction and competent acting. The only minor criticism is the dubbed voices of the German actors.