AustLit

Ryan focused on the titular Michael Ryan, a private detective with a stringent code of ethics and a background as a soldier, police officer, and social worker. Ryan's work doesn't focus on divorce and domestic problems, but on serious crimes that, for some reason, the victims are unwilling to take to the police. He is supported by his secretary Julie King (who often becomes involved in fieldwork), cab driver and later assistant Tony Angelini, and police liaison Detective Sergeant Dan Cullen.

According to Don Storey in Classic Australian Television,

'The production standards of Ryan are very high -- good writing, solid acting performances, smooth direction and excellent camera and editing work combined to form a polished and professional product. And Ryan was very successful overseas -- proportional to the number of episodes made, Ryan has probably done better overseas than most other Crawford shows. Yet it was the first Crawford show not to do well locally'.

'Tom Jessup, a hack journalist recently returned from the United States, is murdered in a sleazy hotel room. He is buried, apparently penniless and unmourned.

'But then, into Melbourne's International Airport, jets Ms. Terry Davis, a castrating American in the Germaine Greer mould, who presides over an international fashion empire. She summons Ryan and instructs him to find Jessup's murderer and the $250,000 she gave Jessup to set up an Australian branch of her organisation.

'Ryan - his masculinity bristling - does just that, but meantime there are two bizarre attempts on Terry's life and the exposure of a gigantic confidence trick. Ryan discovers elements in Ms. Davis' background and submits her to an emotional exorcism which leaves her older, sadder, - and infinitely more likeable.

'A feature of this episode is a quite unscheduled scene in which Ryan's Valiant Charger plunges into a lake at 70 m.p.h. The footage was so exciting (and, miraculously, no-one was hurt) that the script was hastily ammended [sic] to accommodate the event.'

Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'TERRY DAVIS: American, early thirties, a Germaine Greer type. Extremely attractive, dynamic business woman who has built an empire. At the end of her association with Ryan, she softens considerably.

'ROBERT PRICE: 25-30. Practically everyone loathes him except his lover, Tom Jessup. He is a queer and there is some evidence of the fascination he holds for Jessup. He is given to hysterics, and forced to commit a murder. Drives a car.

'JOE MARTIN: 50's, a hardened, cynical but rather likeable newspaper editor who helps Ryan. Two solid scenes.

'THE CARETAKER: 40's - a large, brutish thug who has co-operated with Robert Price. The caretaker tangles with Ryan, so should look capable of fighting. He also has a dry line in stock criminal dialogue.

'JOHNNY QUINN: 35-45. A reporter acquaintance who helps Ryan. One scene, smart patter.

'LINDSAY: 50ish. Poses successfully as a man servant and conspires to kill Terry Davis. Handful of lines.

'MRS. AMES: 40ish - poses as a cook. One scene, no lines.

'MRS. DEWEY: 40-50. Prim and proper secretarial type at an employment agency. One scene with Tony in which she airs her views with impatience and without humour.

'MR. HEDLEY: 40-50. Everyone's idea of the manager of a funeral parlour. Solemn, solicitous, professionally mournful. One longish scene with Julie.

'THE FAKE TOM JESSUP: 40ish. Should be the same height and general type as the real one. Is murdered in the first segment but has a few lines with the caretaker and Price, and should be well cast to get the show off to a good start.

'THE REAL TOM JESSUP: 40ish. His main contribution is an extended chase and fight with Ryan. We don't see much of his face, but the glimpses we do get should suggest a ruthless attractiveness.

'SGT. CULLEN: Established.

'8/9 EXTRAS: (check budget) for airport arrival scene.'

'Ellen Cornell seems to be every inch a "lady". She hires Ryan to find her missing husband so she can divorce him and marry the man who wants to become "a father to her children".

'It seems a straightforward case - until Ryan is threatened by a psychotic young man, his office is ransacked, an attractive night-club singer attempts to seduce him and a wealthy dealer offers him a bribe of $100,000 - all to obtain some mysterious object they refer to as "The Prize" and Ryan has never even heard of it.

'Ryan realises that his client isn't all she seems to be. She has no children, and her husband died recently in a drowning accident. The Prize is a precious ruby stolen from the young night-club singer and Ryan is being used as a decoy by his own client.'

Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'LACEY GLEN: No age mentioned in dialogue, but should be about 21, very attractive, sexy, magnetic. Life has been rough on her - she has been working in nightclubs for several years - there is a brittle, almost cynical quality about her when we first meet her, and when she is with Walter. But Walter's death strips this shield away, and we see the vulnerable, sensitive girl.

'ELLEN CORNELL: An extraordinarily beautiful, soft-featured young woman of just under thirty years. Her manner is subdued, sincere, with a touching genuineness. She is every inch a lady - until we discover otherwise.

'RONNIE METCALF: About 35. He's big, heavy-set, even massive. Should be bigger than Ryan. Fights well - rough-house style. Not dumb, but no mental wizard either. Has more faith in his brawn than his brain.

'WALTER NEWBOY: 19. A hot-headed, ill-mannered young man. Does everything with a touch of frenzy. He feels life has cheated him, and he's right - he thinks the answer is to lash out. Even at his most vicious, there is a pathos about him.

'R.B. SHIELDS: He's described in the script as thin, distinguished, about 70, suffering from gout - but this description should not be allowed to restrict casting. Whatever he looks like, he should be a vivid character.

'MEECHUM: A thin, oily, weasel of a man; the authentic character, a bludger - a shark among minnows. Probably about forty, but again, it is more important that he be vivid than of a particular age.

'JOE WHITE: Middle-aged, a country cop. Maybe less slick than his city counterparts, but he's no less able. He knows his business and goes about it briskly and efficiently.

'MRS. CREW: Maybe fifty. Your traditional nosy neighbour. Hard of hearing - should be a memorable cameo.

'JAMES LOGAN: Big, portly, open-faced American. Middle-aged, obviously wealthy.

'BARTENDER: Doesn't speak, but leaves us with a clear impression - of crushing boredom.

'HOTEL CLERK: A few lines.

'HEAD WAITER: One line.

'JENNY: Part-time prostitute, waitress at the Singapore Bar.

'DANCER: At the Singapore Bar - a stripper.

'WAITER: Hotel dining room. Extra.

'FIVE CUSTOMERS: Singapore Bar - rather grimy night types.

'THREE GUESTS: Hotel dining room - wealthy tourists.'