Bellbird (TV series)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bellbird
Genre Soap opera
Created by Barbara Vernon
Country of origin Flag of Australia Australia
Language(s) English
No. of episodes 1562
Broadcast
Original channel Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Original run 28 August 1967 – December, 1977
External links
IMDb profile
This article is concerned with Bellbird the Australian television soap opera; for other uses of the term see bellbird (disambiguation).

Bellbird was a soap opera produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation at its Melbourne studios in Elsternwick. It ran from August 28, 1967 until December 1977. It was Australia's first successful soap opera; the show's ratings were moderate but it had a devoted following, especially in rural areas. For most of its run it screened each night Monday to Thursday, immediately before the main 7.00 pm evening news bulletin, in 15 minute episodes. In 1976 the series was screened as one one-hour episode each week, before switching to half-hour installments in 1977.

The show's storylines examined the lives of the residents of the small country town that gave the show's title.

Episodes of Bellbird were screened in the UK in 1972. After the initial 52 episodes had been screened, Actors Equity in Australia intervened and insisted the ABC increase the price of the episodes so as to pay more to the actors. As a result of this price increase the UK broadcaster purchased no further episodes. [1]

The ABC never retained the master broadcast videotapes of the series. As of 2004 it was believed that no episodes still exist. [1]

Principal cast members included Maurie Fields (John Quinney), Carl Bleazby (Colonel Emerson), Lynette Curran (Rhoda Lang), Elspeth Ballantyne (Lori Chandler), Gerda Nicolson (Fiona Davies), Peter Aanensen (Jim Bacon), Carmel Millhouse (Marge Bacon), Moira Charleton (Olive Turner), Terry Norris (Joe Turner), Robin Ramsay (Charlie Cousens), Penne Hackforth-Jones, Ian Smith, Anne Phelan, Dennis Miller (Constable Des Davies), Michael Preston, Tom Oliver, Briony Behets, Brian James, John Stanton, Anne Charleston, Rod Mullinar, Olivia Hamnett, Maggie Millar, Louise Philip (Chistine Jackson) and Alan Hopgood.

A feature film version, Country Town (1971), focused on Bellbird's problems during a severe drought. The movie's script was also novelized.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Andrew Mercado (November 27, 2004). Soap: It's just what the great unwashed need. The Age. Retrieved on 2007-09-22.

[edit] External links