McLeod's Daughters

McLeod's Daughters

Title card
Also known as Drovers Run, McLeod's
Genre Drama
Created by Posie Graeme-Evans
Caroline Stanton
Starring Lisa Chappell
Bridie Carter
Rachael Carpani
Simmone Jade Mackinnon
Aaron Jeffery
Michala Banas
Abi Tucker
Matt Passmore
Zoe Naylor
Jessica Napier
Brett Tucker
Myles Pollard
Doris Younane
Sonia Todd
Luke Jacobz
Jonny Pasvolsky
Gillian Alexy
Dustin Clare
Edwina Ritchard
John Schwarz
Opening theme Rebecca Lavelle
Posie Graeme-Evans
Chris Harriot
Country of origin  Australia
No. of seasons 8
No. of episodes 224 and Telemovie (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Kris Noble, Susan Bower, Posie Graeme-Evans, Jo Horsburgh
Location(s) Kingsford, between the townships of Gawler and Freeling, one hour north of Adelaide
Running time 45 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel Nine Network
Picture format 576i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
Audio format Dolby Digital 5.1
Original run 8 August 2001 – 31 January 2009
External links
Website

McLeod's Daughters (English pronunciation: /məˈklaʊdz ˌdɔːtəz/) is a Logie award-winning Australian drama series that aired on the Nine Network from 2001 to 2009. It tells the story of two sisters, Claire and Tess McLeod, who are reunited after they inherit the family farm. Brought together after 20 years apart they put together an all-female workforce and commit to life at Drovers Run in South Australia, 180 km from the nearest town and 400 km from the city. The show had a major cast change in the final episode of season three when main character Claire McLeod (Lisa Chappell) departed the show and co-star Simmone Jade Mackinnon, who played Stevie Hall, became a main character.[1] In season 5 we discover that Jodi Fountain's biological dad was Jack McLeod, as a result of Jack's affair with Jodi's mum Meg, which makes her the half-sister of Claire and Tess McLeod. From season four onwards, more McLeod women joined who were cousins of Claire, Tess and Jodi McLeod. On 31 January 2009 the Nine Network aired the show's 224th and final episode in a movie length special. The show suffered poor ratings after Bridie Carter (Tess) and Rachael Carpani (Jodi) departed in seasons 6 and 7 respectively. There were no original cast members left at the time the show ended. However, Rachael Carpani ( Jodi ) and Sonia Todd ( Meg ) appeared in the series finale just as the voice of Bridie Carter ( Tess )

Currently reruns are being shown on the Nine Network's new female skewed HD Multichannel GEM.

Contents

Plot

Jack McLeod dies and leaves his heavily mortgaged family farm, Drovers Run, to his daughters. Claire is Jack's daughter from his first marriage. His first wife, Prudence, died giving birth to Claire's brother Adam. He later married Ruth Silverman, and they had a daughter, Tess. The two girls were close growing up, but were separated when Ruth took five-year-old Tess back to the city. At the beginning of the series, Tess returns home to the place she left more than 20 years before.

Tess, who recently lost her mother to breast cancer, hopes to sell her share of the farm and open a café in the city, but is disappointed when she is met with a less-than-rosy financial picture and the open resentment of her older sister. Claire fires the male workforce after they are caught stealing petrol from the farm, and the sisters run the farm themselves, with the help of housekeeper Meg Fountain, her daughter Jodi, and local girl Becky. The tentative partnership is the first step in the reunited sisters' effort to heal old wounds, improve their relationship, and lift the property out of debt.

Three years later, in October 2003, Claire’s best friend Stevie Hall arrives at Drovers Run to replace Becky, who left with Jake to run a farm. Weeks after Stevie arrived, and after Claire gives birth to a daughter in a paddock. Tess and Alex barely makes it to her side to help her. Claire and Tess are driving home with party supplies, with baby BOM (baby of McLeod), when Claire loses her life in a tragic car accident. Alex had plans with an engagement ring on her pillow. Heartbroken, Tess is left to run Drovers by herself with the help of Stevie and the girls. Eventually, Stevie invests her opals into Drover's Run, and Tess gives her 10% of the property, promising Stevie she will always have a home.

In March 2006, Tess and her husband Nick decide to leave Drovers to run a farm in Argentina. After finding letters and DNA support, Jodi discovers that Jack McLeod was her real father. Tess and Nick come home, Jodi reveals to Tess she is her sister. Tess and Nick leave again for Argentina, Stevie is now running the family property with the help of Jodi, her cousin Regan, and Jodi's best friend Kate Manfredi, who arrived in 2004.

In 2007, Jodi decides to go into witness protection with her boyfriend Matt, leaving Drover's Run. In Jodi's absence, she deeds her part of the family property to her cousins Regan, Grace and Jazmine as per her "will" because she is presumed dead in a car accident, and cannot own property.

With Regan running the farm with Stevie, Tayler and Kate, Regan’s estranged sister Grace Kingston arrives at Drover's Run after getting a letter in the mail. Regan is a geologist and is torn between her love for rocks and Drover's. The romantic relationship between Alex and Stevie continues to develop and later that year, they marry. Regan also departs to study for a new job.

In 2009, Kate Manfredi leaves Drover's for a new job, and Regan returns after a year away. After her return, Regan and Grace's sister Jazmine McLeod makes a surprising appearance at Drovers, hiding a dark secret. Stevie Hall's cousin Ben Hall also arrives at Drovers to help out after Alex's death. In the series finale, Jodi Fountain-McLeod happily returns to Drover's Run to give birth to her first child, after coming out of witness protection. Her husband Matt is working elsewhere.

Series history

Posie Graeme-Evans developed the idea for McLeod's Daughters in the early 1990s for her company Millenium Television in conjunction with the South Australian Film Corporation. She also developed the idea for children's television programs such as The Miraculous Mellops and Hi-5. The idea was for a television drama set on an Australian rural property with two half-sisters running the property inherited from their father with an all-female workforce. She developed the idea from stories from friends who grew up in the country and from the love of South Australian landscapes as shown in the paintings of Hans Heysen.

Graeme-Evans pitched the idea to the board of the Nine Network who agreed to film a telemovie in 1996 with Jack Thompson starring as the father Jack McLeod, whose death leads to the two half-sisters (portrayed by Kym Wilson as Tess and Tammy MacIntosh as Claire) inheriting the property. Following the success of the telemovie shown on Mother's Day 1996 the Nine Network board agreed to commission a 22 episode series, but the project was left on the shelf for four years. It wasn't until late 2000 after the Opening Ceremony for the 2000 Sydney Olympics featured a The Man from Snowy River theme, which highlighted the cultural significance of the bush to Australians. The first episode of McLeod's Daughters eventually debuted in August 2001 and proved to be a hit, attracting 1.89 million viewers. The first series was a success, attracting an average of 1.5 million viewers per episode in Australia. The show aired in New Zealand on TV2, one of TVNZ's free-to-air channels. The final season on TV2 began airing a month after Australia and eventually became 10 episodes in front of Australia until the finale. Re-runs from Season 1 are currently on Vibe in New Zealand, a channel aimed at woman's programming.

The second season of McLeod's Daughters was equally successful, being the third most popular drama on Australian television. By 2003, the show was the most popular drama series on Australian television. Lisa Chappell, who played Claire McLeod, left the show in October 2003 to further her acting and singing career. Her character was killed off in the landmark episode 72 (season 3, episode 28) "My Noon, My Midnight", but appeared in episode 73 "The Long Goodbye" (3.29) as a figment of Tess' imagination.

The popularity of the program in Australia was highlighted when the show won four Logie Awards (Logies), including Lisa Chappell winning most popular female actor and Aaron Jeffery winning most popular actor, with the show itself winning most popular Australian drama series in 2004 and 2005.

The show then began to decline in popularity and perceived quality. Cast turn-over was high, and increasingly far-fetched explanations were employed to explain the sudden departure of formerly important characters. Rachael Carpani's departure in 2007 meant that the show had only one original cast member left, Aaron Jeffery, who left in 2008. 2007 marked the point at which many viewers considered the show to have "jumped the shark" as the show had drifted into a new direction, that of a soap opera; at that point, the show began to experience low ratings. Aaron Jeffery commented to The Daily Telegraph that his desire to depart from the show was due to the new direction the show was taking, which he did not like.

The 200th episode of McLeod's Daughters aired on 3 October 2007, with Hugh McLeod (Grace, Jasmine and Regan's father) returning for this special event. An entirely different script was originally written when one of the original cast (speculated to be Bridie Carter) agreed to come back; however, it was pulled at the last minute. Ratings for this episode were very poor by Australian standards, with only 1,008,000 viewers tuning in; the highest that season was 1,415,000 for episode 16.

The eighth and final season began on 23 July 2008 with the episode 203, "Aftermath," but after two further episodes, Channel 9 pulled the show from its schedule due to extremely low ratings. The remaining episodes were eventually aired from December to January in a double-episode format, with the final two episodes ("Into the Valley of the Shadow" and "The Long Paddock") airing on 31 January 2009[2] with original cast members Rachael Carpani and Sonia Todd returning for the special event.

The final season began airing in the UK on the Hallmark Channel (now Universal Channel) on 12 October 2008 with double episodes every Sunday morning from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. The final two episode aired in the UK on Sunday 21 December 2008, a month before the episodes aired in Australia.[3] The show continues to air repeat episode on the Universal Channel weekday mornings at 6.00am, usually only seasons 6-8 in rotation.

In Ireland, RTÉ Two began airing the final season in mid-2010, with the final episode airing early 2011. This was the first time season 8 had been shown on the channel, as RTÉ had long period gaps between each season. In early 2011, the channel began airing the series from the beginning.

Cast

Main cast

Actor Character Episode Count Main Cast Seasons Recurring Cast Seasons
Lisa Chappell Claire Louise McLeod 74 1, 2, 3 NA
Bridie Carter Teresa Charlotte McLeod 135 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 NA
Rachael Carpani Jodi Margaret McLeod6 180 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 8
Jessica Napier Becky Howard 70 1, 2, 3 NA
Aaron Jeffery Alexander "Alex" Marion Ryan 202 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 8
Myles Pollard Nicholas "Nick" Gary Ryan 124 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 6
Sonia Todd Margaret Fountain1 107 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 6, 7, 8
Simmone Jade Mackinnon Stephanie "Stevie" Hall 153 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 NA
Brett Tucker David "Dave" Brewer 100 4, 5, 6 3
Michala Banas Kate Manfredi 117 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 NA
Doris Younane Moira Doyle2 94 6, 7, 8 2, 3, 4, 5
Zoe Naylor Regan McLeod 53 6, 7 5, 8
Jonny Pasvolsky Matt Bosnich 36 5, 6 7
Luke Jacobz Patrick Brewer 78 6, 7, 8 5
Dustin Clare Riley Ward 49 6, 7 8
Gillian Alexy Tayler Geddes3 54 7, 8 6
Matt Passmore Marcus Turner4 53 7, 8 NA
Abi Tucker Grace Kingston McLeod 45 7, 8 NA
Anna Torv and Edwina Ritchard Jasmine McLeod5 17 8 4
John Schwarz Ben Hall 15 8 NA
1.^ In 2007 Sonia Todd returned with a guest role as Meg Fountain Dodge for two episodes. Meg also returned in Season 8 for the final episode.
2.^ The year given or Moira's first appearance is when she was a recurring character, not a main character.
3.^ The year for Tayler's first appearance is when she was a guest star, not a main character.
4.^ The Year 2006 For Marcus is actually the year Matt Passmore appeared on the show, not the character.
5.^ Jazmine McLeod was played by Anna Torv in 2004 for two episodes. Edwina Ritchard took the role in 2008 when Jasmine returned.
6.^ Rachael Carpani returned for the final episode with a guest role in Season 8 as Jodi Fountain McLeod.

Recurring cast members

Actor Character Status
Marshall Napier Harry Ryan/Carl Wetherdon 2001–2006
John Jarratt Terry Dodge 2001–2006
Fletcher Humphrys Brett "Brick" Buchanan 2001–2003
Henry Nixon Shearer/Greg Dawson 2001, 2005, 2006
Rodger Corser Peter Johnson 2001–2004
Ben Mortley Alberto Borelli 2001, 2002–2003
Kathryn Hartman Sally Clemments 2002–2005
Stelios Yiakmis Sergeant Frank Da Costa 2002
Charlie Clausen Jake Harrison 2002–2003
Richard Healy Kevin Fountain 2002, 2003, 2006
Inge Hornstra Sandra Kinsella-Ryan 2002–2006
Reece Horner Nat 2003–2008
Peter Stefanou Vince Lavise 2003
Jovita Lee Shaw Kylie Buchanan 2003
John Stanton Bryce Redstaff 2003–2007
Carmel Johnson Beth Martin 2003–2009
Brooke, Kaitlyn and Tahlia Stacey-Clark Charlotte Prudence McLeod 2004–2006, 2009
Harold Hopkins Ken Logan 2004
Susan Godfrey Jennifer Logan 2004
Tasma Walton Tracy Morrison 2004
Grant Bowler Jared Wuchowski 2004
Glenda Linscott Celia Rivers 2004
Craig McLachlan Kane Morgan 2004
Basia A'Hern Rose Hall Smith 2004–2009
Dean O'Gorman Luke Morgan 2004–2005
Anna Torv / Edwina Ritchard Jazmine McLeod 2004
Josef Ber Hugh McLeod 2004, 2005, 2007
Zoe Naylor Regan McLeod 2005, 2008–2009
Rhys Muldoon Jeremy Quaid 2005
Jeremy Sims Will Hamilton 2005
Sonja Tallis Alessa Manfredi 2005
Tara Morice Michelle Hall – Smith 2005
Sophie Cleary Catrina Bradfield 2005, 2006
John Atkinson Roger McIvor 2005, 2006, 2007
Matt Passmore Greg Hope 2006
Michelle Langstone Fiona Webb 2006
Peter Hardy Phil Rakich 2006–2009
Damien Richardson Tom Braiden 2006
Daniel Feuerriegel Leo Coombes 2006
Joe Petruzzi Sgt. Tony Rablsi 2006
Andrew.S.Gilbert Joel Sanderson 2006
Alicya Debnam Carey Chloe Sanderson 2006
Robert Coleby Howard Webb 2006
Steve Vidler Hugh Doyle 2006
Rebecca Lavelle Bindy Martin 2006
Sullivan Stapleton Drew Cornwell 2006
Sonia Todd Meg Fountain 2007, 2009
Samantha Tolj Heather Richardson 2007
Liam Hemsworth Damon 2007
Callan Mulvey Mitch Wahlberg 2007
Jay Laga'aia Gabe 2007
Wendy Bos Karen Aitken 2007
Sam Healy Ashleigh Redstaff 2007
Rachael Coopes Ingrid Marr 2007–2009
Scott Lowe Jim Selkirk 2007–2008
Sandy Winton Heath Barrett 2007
Anita Hegh Sharon Buckingham 2008
Martin Lynes Frank Edwards 2008
Alex Cook Lily Edwards 2008
Gus Murray Father Dan 2008
Ashton & Tate Hutchins Xander Hall 2008–2009
Aaron Jeffery Alex Ryan 2001–2009

Production

Locations

Locations in Gungellan:

McLeod's Daughters is filmed on location at Kingsford, a 35-acre (55ha) propertyon the outskirts of Gawler. Gawler is one hour north of Adelaide, which Posie Graeme-Evans refers to as "our very own backlot". Kingsford was originally part of a 30,000-acre (12,245ha) property, Kingsford has been used in recent years by the South Australian Government as a wheat research starion. The property was purchased by The Nine Network in 1999. The Historical house was built from Edinburgh sandstone, transported to Australia as a ship ballast. The house took over 30 years to build and was finished by 1856. The producers of McLeod's Daughters were thrilled to have a location. Although Kingsford was a grand property at the time, it is now quite run down - a look that was important for the production design of the series, as the McLeod family has no money for maintenance.

The interior scenes set at Drover's Run are all, in fact, filmed inside the house. It added authenticity to the production, and it was convenient in that the large rooms and high ceilings were ideal for filming. Kingsford was a working farm in its day.[4]

Filming

The show was shot on Super 16mm film,[5] and is the first Australian drama series to be delivered in HDTV format. Three cameras were used, two on main unit and the third on second unit. The cinematography is vast and in composition is beautiful. Director of phototography, Roger Dowling had masterfully created the illusion that the series is shot on 200,000-hectare property in the Australian bush, instead of on a heritage estate, the size of a hobby farm, one hour north of Adelaide.[6]

Ratings, rank and fans ranks

Season Timeslot Season premiere Season finale Television season Rank Fans rank Viewers
(in millions)
Season 1 Wednesday 7:30 pm 8 August 2001 20 March 2002 2001–2002 #1 #1 1.85
Season 2 Wednesday 7:30 pm 27 March 2002 16 October 2002 2002 #1 #1 1.84
Season 3 Wednesday 7:30 pm 12 February 2003 29 October 2003 2003 #1 #1 1.82
Season 4 Wednesday 7:30 pm 11 February 2004 24 November 2004 2004 #1 #1 1.68
Season 5 Wednesday 7:30 pm 9 February 2005 23 November 2005 2005 #1 #2 1.65
Season 6 Wednesday 7:30 pm 15 February 2006 29 November 2006 2006 #2 #3 1.44
Season 7 Wednesday 7:30 pm 7 February 2007 17 October 2007 2007 #8 #5 1.17
Season 8 Wednesday 8:30 pm (1–3), Saturday 8:30 pm (4–6), Saturday 10:00 pm (7–8), Saturday 9:30 pm (9–22) 23 July 2008 31 January 2009 2008–2009 #30 #10 0.65

Home Video

For further information on each individual release, see the relevant season article.

VHS

McLeod's Daughters Australian VHS release
Season Length Episodes
Season 1 5 VHS tapes 1–22
Season 2 5 VHS tapes 23–44
Season 3 6 VHS tapes 45–74
Season 4 7 VHS tapes 75–106

DVD

Sony Pictures has released the entire series on DVD in Region 4.

In Region 1, Entertainment One has released all 8 seasons on DVD.

Season Ep Region 1 Region 2 Region 4 Special Features Rating
Season 1 22 3-10-06 - 10-9-03 Pilot TV Movie, Cast and Crew Interviews  M 
Season 2 22 8-5-07 - 13-4-04 None  M 
Season 3 30 14-8-07 - 12-4-05 None  M 
Season 4 32 6-11-07 - 10-10-05 None  M 
Season 5 32 5-2-08 - 2-5-06 None  PG 
Season 6 32 10-6-08 - 11-4-07 None  M 
Season 7 32 9-12-08 - 30-4-08 None  M 
Season 8 22 19-5-09 - 17-11-08 Cast Interviews, Top 3 Moments  M 
Complete 224 - - 23-11-09 Pilot TV Movie, Cast and Crew Interviews, Top 3 Moments  M 

All 8 seasons and the complete boxset have been released on region 2 in other countries not Ireland or UK. The original pilot TV movie has also been released separately in other countries.

Merchandise

Music From McLeod's Daughters

Three volumes of McLeod's Daughters: Songs from the Series were released. They were composed by Chris Martin with vocals by Rebecca Lavelle.

Logie Awards

McLeod's Daughters has been nominated for, and won, numerous Logie awards. Lisa Chappell won "Most Popular New Female Talent" in 2002 and Aaron Jeffery was awarded "Most Popular Actor" in 2004. McLeod's Daughters was nominated in 2008 and 2009 for "Most Popular Australian Drama" and Simmone Jade Mackinnon was nominated in 2008 and 2009 for "Most Popular Actress".

Broadcast

Country Name Network/Channel Start Date End Date
Asia
McLeod's Daughters Universal Channel (formerly Hallmark Channel)
 Australia McLeod's Daughters Universal Channel
Nine Network 8 August 2001 31 January 2009
GEM
 Austria McLeods Töchter VOX January 2006 2009
 Belgium McLeod's Daughters VTM 2011
Hallmark Channel -
 Brazil As filhas de McLeod
 Bulgaria Дъщерите на Маклауд Universal Channel
 Canada McLeod's Daughters Vision TV Series Plus(in french)
 Spain Las hermanas McLeod Sony Entertainment Television 20 July 2009 25 jun 2010
 Catalonia Les germanes McLeod TV3
 Croatia McLeodove kćeri HRT 2 August 2010
 Czech Republic McLeodovy dcery CT1 February 2008 November 2008
 Denmark McLeod's Daughters Kanal 4
 Estonia McLeodi tütred Kanal 2
Kanal 11
 Finland McLeodin Tyttäret YLE TV2
Hallmark Channel
 Galicia As irmás McLeod TVG
 Germany McLeods Töchter VOX 19 January 2006 4 November 2008
 Greece Οι Κόρες του McLeod ET-3 September 2009 27 July 2010
 Hungary McLeod Lányai M1, M2
Hallmark Channel
 Ireland McLeod's Daughters RTÉ One
RTÉ Two 2003 2011
 Israel Hallmark Channel
 Italy Le Sorelle Mc Leod -
Rai Uno
 Kuwait McLeod's Daughters KTV2 National Channel
Kuwait TV2
Latin America Hallmark Channel
 Lithuania Makleodo dukterys LTV February 2009 27 January 2010
 Latvia "Makleoda meitas" TV3 Latvia
 Malaysia McLeod's Daughters Hallmark Channel
 Namibia -
 Netherlands -
Net 5 2001 3 August 2009
 New Zealand TV2[7] Between 2001–2003 12 February 2009
 Norway TVNorge
 Poland Córki McLeoda Hallmark Channel
TVP2 March 2009 March 2010
 Philippines McLeod's Daughters Hallmark Channel
 Portugal As Irmãs McLeod SET Portugal
 Romania Fiicele lui McLeod Hallmark Channel
 Russia Дочери Маклеода
 Serbia McLeod's Daughters
 Singapore
 Slovenia McLeodove hčere RTV SLO (only Season 1) and Hallmark Channel
 South Africa McLeod's Daughters Hallmark Channel[8]
 Sweden McLeods döttrar -
Kanal 5
 Switzerland McLeods Töchter 3+ September 2006 2009
VOX January 2006 2009
 United Kingdom McLeod's Daughters Universal Channel (formerly Hallmark Channel) 21 December 2008

See also

References

  1. ^ "Simmone Jade Mackinnon as Stevie Hall". australiantelevision.net. http://australiantelevision.net/mcleod/profiles/mackinnon.html. Retrieved 13 December 2010. 
  2. ^ David Knox (17 December 2008)"Bumped: McLeod's Daughters". tvtonight.com.au. http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2008/12/bumped-mcleods-daughters.html. Retrieved 13 December 2010. 
  3. ^ "McLeod's Daughters - The final season (season 8)". hallmarkchannel.co.uk. http://shows.hallmarkchannel.co.uk/mcleods_daughters_8. Retrieved 14 December 2010. 
  4. ^ "About the Production". mcleodsdaughtersdvd.com. http://www.mcleodsdaughtersdvd.com/about.htm. Retrieved 15 December 2010. 
  5. ^ "Technical specifications for McLeod's Daughters". imdb.com. http://imdb.com/title/tt0292414/technical. Retrieved 15 December 2010. 
  6. ^ "About Production - McLeod's Daughters". mcleodsdaughters.ninemsn.com.au. http://mcleodsdaughters.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=4364. Retrieved 15 December 2010. 
  7. ^ "About McLeod's Daughters". tvnz.co.nz. http://tvnz.co.nz/mcleod's-daughters. Retrieved 14 December 2010. 
  8. ^ "TVSA - McLeod's Daughters". tvsa.co.za. http://www.tvsa.co.za/showinfo.asp?showid=3149#. Retrieved 14 December 2010. 

External links