| Kingswood Country | |
|---|---|
Opening Title Card |
|
| Format | Comedy |
| Starring | Ross Higgins Judi Farr Peter Fisher Lex Marinos Colin McEwan Maggie Dence Laurel McGowan Sheila Kennelly |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| No. of episodes | 89 |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Seven Network |
| Original run |
30 January 1980 – 1 September 1984 Number of Seasons 5 |
Kingswood Country is an Australian sitcom that screened from 1980 to 1984 on the Seven Network. The series started on 30 January 1980 and was a spin-off from a sketch on comedy program The Naked Vicar Show that had featured Ross Higgins as a blustering bigot. It was produced by RS Productions.
Contents |
While some condemned its racist and sexist humour, this was often simply a plot device to show and mock the bigotry of the main character, Edward Melba "Ted" Bullpitt (Ross Higgins), a white Australian, conservative, bigoted, Holden Kingswood-loving putty factory worker and WWII veteran who recalls his difficult childhood in ever more exaggerated ways.
He lives for three things: his beloved chair in front of the TV, his unsuccessful racing greyhounds Repco Lad & Gae Akubra and his worshipped Holden Kingswood car (late in the show's run Ted traded-in the Kingswood, which had gone out of production around the time the series began, for Holden's replacement mid-range family car, the Commodore). His long-suffering wife, the vague and dithering Thelma (Judi Farr), was cast as a traditional housewife trapped by Ted's conservative family views, but she often got her own back on Ted. Ted's Kingswood is never actually shown on any episode. Humour was generated by the conflict of Ted's traditional views and his children's progressive nature. For example, his son Craig (Peter Fisher) is portrayed as a sexually rampant medical student and is referred to as an "Al Grassby Groupie", a reference to a flamboyant Australian Labor Party politician of the Whitlam era. His daughter, Greta (Laurel McGowan), is portrayed as a feminist and is married to Bruno (Lex Marinos), the son of Italian immigrants, to which Ted strongly objects (often referring to him as a "bloody wog"). Other politically incorrect humour includes Ted's references to Neville, the concrete Aboriginal garden statue.
At other times, humour was based on the more traditional comedic methods of poorly thought-out schemes of Ted's (usually get-rich-quick); class differences (between the suburban Bullpitts and Ted's upwardly-mobile sister-in-law Merle) and simple misunderstandings leading to a chain of humorous events.
Reruns currently air on cable and satellite channel FOX Classics.
The Comedy Channel 9.30 am Monday to Friday and 11.30 am on comedy +2 Monday to Friday
The series reflected the changing culture of Australia through Ted's inability to accept this change from traditional culture to multiculturalism, from basic to advanced education levels and from conservative to more liberal politics.
Several elements of the show, and indeed the overall premise and the character types of the show, were similar to British sitcom Til Death Us Do Part. Coincidentally, just as the wife character in Til Death Us Do Part left the series before its end, so too did Thelma in Kingswood Country when Judi Farr decided to leave the series. Her absence was explained in the story by having Thelma going on an extended cruise, with Bruno's mother Rosa (Sheila Kennelly) moving in to look after Ted. Thelma much later sent word she would not be returning to Ted.
Guest stars in the series included Graham Kennedy, Robert Hughes, Noeline Brown, Ray Meagher and Bruce Spence. The show won the Most Popular Comedy Award in 1981 and 1982 at the Logies.
Ted is the main character of the series. He is racist and sexist and has a particular hatred of Catholics. Ted was part of a kitchen unit captured by the Italians in World War Two. His favourite thing, over his wife and family, is his Holden Kingswood. He enjoys reading Mandrake and sitting in his chair in front of the television.
Ted is a decendant of Lord Stokely Bullpitt of Kingswood who died in 1786 as he fell from his horse during a nun hunt. His only son was illegitimate so therefore could not claim his father's title. That son married an Italian kitchen maid named Maria Bertaluchim - a relative of Bruno's. The title was first bestowed by Henry VIII to a man whom he gave a large section of his forest or the King's Wood, hence the title.
The series has spawned some catchphrases such as:
A 'Best Of' DVD was released in 2003 featuring 13 out of the 89 episodes as well as the original skit on The Naked Vicar Show that spawned the series. A second 'Best Of' featuring an additional 13 episodes was also released in 2006. Then in September 2008 a third best of set was released.[1]. On 12 May 2010 The Best Of Kingswood Country Volume 4 was released with another 13 episodes, which will mean that 52 out of 89 episodes will be available on DVD Commercially.
A spin-off to the series was the short-lived, much panned Bullpitt! in 1997. Of the original show's cast only Ross Higgins had a regular role. Elaine Lee co-starred. A Best Of Set was released in September 2008.