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Film Details - Nine Network ; Fauna Productions , 1968-1970
Producers:
John McCallum (Executive Producer)
Joy Cavill (Producer - Season 2 and 3)
Dennis Hill (Producer - Season 1)
Lee Robinson (Producer - Season 1 and 2)
Bob Austin (Executive Producer)
Production Companies:
Fauna Productions (aka Norfolk International)
Director of Photography:
Incl. Peter Menzies
Editors:
Incl. Ernest Hilton
Production Designers:
Incl. John Jonsson
Composer:
Eric Jupp
Cast:
1. Regular cast/characters: incl. Ed Devereaux (q.v., Head Ranger Matt Hammond), Liza Goddard (Clancy Merrick), Ken James (Mark Hammond), Tony Bonner (Flight Ranger Jerry King), Garry Pankhurst (Sonny Hammond).
2. Additional cast/characters: incl. Elke Neidhardt (Dr Anna Steiner), John Warwick (Sir Adrian Gillespie), Frank Thring (Dr Alexander Stark); along with Peter Adams, Peter Armstrong, Bruce Barry, Wendy Blacklock, Michael Boddy (q.v.), Noel Brophy, Neva Carr-Glynn, Michael Caton, Beryl Cheers, Barry Crocker (q.v.), Don Crosby, Max Cullen, Gary Day, Slim deGrey, Maggie Dence, Tommy Dysart, Reg Evans, Tom Farley, Willie Fennell, Noel Ferrier, Ben Gabriel, Ken Goodlet, Reg Gorman, Ross Higgins, Harold Hopkins, Bill Hunter, John Laws (q.v.), Donald McDonald, John Meillon, Kirrily Nolan, Tom Oliver, Max Osbiston, Chips Rafferty, Candy Raymond, Thelma Scott, Ron Shand, Ken Shorter, Alister Smart, Henri Szeps, Valerie Taylor, Jack Thompson, Bob Watson.
Release Dates:
1. First aired in Melbourne and Sydney on 5 February 1968. The pilot episode was inserted into the series at different times by the various television stations around Australia. It was aired for the first time in Sydney, for example, on 9 December 1968.
2. A two-volume videocassette collection was released in 1993 by the Nine Network. A two-volume 35th Anniversary Collector's edition DVD (containing eight episodes) was released by Umbrella Entertainment in 2003. Umbrella Entertainment also released the complete series on DVD (beginning 2005).
Location:
- Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park (Sydney). Other national parks were also utilised at various times, as were the streets and beaches of Sydney and surrounding districts.
Notes:
1. The program premiered in February 1968. Series 2 commenced production in April 1968 and went to air that November. The third series began production in April 1969 and went to air in October. Production ceased in September 1969.
2. Don Storey's Classic Australian Television website (see below) notes that there are quite a number of irregularities in the series' official running order. He sites a number of officially listed episodes in which non-regular characters appear only to be introduced in later episodes as if for the first time. Storey further notes that airdate order is not a reliable alternative, 'as the series was screened in a completely different sequence everywhere it was shown.' With no other basis to go on, the site provides an episode listing in the order that makes most sense regarding character introduction and development. Other clues include changes in the opening and closing credits (e.g., early episodes did not feature episode titles, later episodes included a graphic of the NSW Parks and Wildlife Service). When no other clues are available to determine the correct sequence, the 'official' order has been reverted to. For comparative purposes, the site provides a listing of both the official and revised episode running order.
3. Further Reference: 'Skippy' Classic Australian Television - online (sighted 5/10/2010).
Settings:
- Kuring-Gai Chase area, Sydney Northeastern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,
- ca. 1960s
