Barrier Reef (TV series)

Barrier Reef
Also known as "Minus Five"
Genre Adventure
Directed by Brian Faull
Eric Fullilove
Starring Joe James
Harold Hopkins
Ken James
George Assang
Theme music composer Eric Jupp
Country of origin Australia
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 39
Production
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) D.L. Taffner
Broadcast
Original run 12 February 1971 – 2 May 1972

Barrier Reef was an Australian television series that was first screened in 1971.

Barrier Reef centred around a group of marine biologists on board a ship called the New Endeavour,[1] researching around the Great Barrier Reef, off Queensland, Australia. "It was the first series in the world to feature extensive colour underwater filming on location".[2] It was also a unique location for a TV show. The Great Barrier Reef is "The only living organic collective visible from Earth's orbit."[3]

Reception

In contrast to TV shows like Riptide or The Outsiders this series was really "Made in Australia," using Australian scripts, featuring Australian leading actors, dispensing with clichés and replacing them by scientific topics that were uncommon on TV. It was broadcast by BBC, in the USA by NBC, and also by TV stations in Canada, Japan, South America, South Africa and numerous European countries.[4] The series had 39 episodes but was re-run in various markets for many years.

External links

Reflist

  1. ^ "An adventures series about the crew of a scientific search and recovery team working for General Trust Corporation aboard the barquentine 'New Endeavour', which houses the sophisticated 'Minus Five' electronic equipment.". http://www.australiantelevision.net/barrier_reef.html. Retrieved 2011-04-22. 
  2. ^ http://www.classicaustraliantv.com/BarrierReef1.htm CLASSIC AUSTRALIAN TELEVISION
  3. ^ "The Great Barrier Reef is the only living organic collective visible from Earth's orbit.". http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/great-barrier-reef. Retrieved 2011-04-22. 
  4. ^ "Barrier Reef". Classic Australian Television. http://www.classicaustraliantv.com/BarrierReef1.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-22. "Barrier Reef was sold to over fifty countries, including Britain where it was screened by the BBC. In the U.S. it was picked up by NBC, who were impressed by the underwater scenes, which they called ‘glug glug’. Other countries that bought the series included Canada, Japan, South America, South Africa and most of Europe."