AustLit

Set in a small, fictional, New South Wales country town called Wandin Valley, A Country Practice focused on the staffs of the town's medical practice and local hospital and on the families of the doctors, nurses, and patients. Many of the episodes also featured guest characters (frequently patients served by the practice) through whom various social and medical problems were explored. Although often considered a soap opera, the series was not built around an open-ended narrative; instead, the two one-hour episodes screened per week formed a self-contained narrative block, though many of the storylines were developed as sub-plots for several episodes before becoming the focus of a particular week's storyline. While the focus was on topical issues such as youth unemployment, suicide, drug addiction, HIV/AIDS, and terminal illness, the program did sometimes explore culturally sensitive issues, including, for example, the Aboriginal community and their place in modern Australian society.

Among the show's principal characters were Dr Terence Elliott, local policeman Sergeant Frank Gilroy, Esme Watson, Shirley Dean Gilroy, Bob Hatfield, Vernon 'Cookie' Locke, and Matron Margaret 'Maggie' Sloan. In addition to its regularly rotating cast of characters, A Country Practice also had a cast of semi-regulars who would make appearances as the storylines permitted. Interestingly, while the series initially targeted the adult and older youth demographic, it became increasingly popular with children over the years.

Set in the fictional Riverside Police Station, Cop Shop combined self-contained stories focusing on specific police investigations with the type of open-ended serial storylines familiar from soap operas. This allowed Crawford Productions to make use of the expertise gained from their highly successful police procedurals (all recently cancelled) and serials such as The Sullivans (then still airing).

According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian Television Series,

Although the format may sound predictable and routine, in fact it was pioneering. In putting women police on the screen, Crawford's were moving Australian crime drama away from being an all-male domain. In addition, by choosing a suburban police station populated both by uniformed police and plainclothes detectives, Cop Shop introduced an upstairs and a downstairs world. The latter, in particular, began to exert its own attractions with handsome young men and women in the roles of the new constables.

The comedy series Bobby Dazzler was created as a vehicle for pop-star John Farnham. Crawford Productions had been seeking a suitable vehicle for Farnham for some time, including writing an episode of Ryan with him in mind (a part that was re-cast due to Farnham's unbreakable concert commitments) and casting him in the failed pilot Me and Mr Thorne.

Bobby Dazzler played to both Farnham's strengths and his popular image. As Don Storey notes in his Classic Australian Television,

The pilot episode sets the scene - a young singer, Bobby Farrell, releases a record and seeks a manager to steer him on a successful career. Meanwhile, his father Fred, a former vaudeville performer, re-enters his life after an absence of many years, and proceeds to move into Bobby's flat, much to his (and his new manager's) dismay.

The program so appealed to Maurie Fields (as an opportunity to combine his television experience and vaudeville background) that, according to Storey, he quit a nine-year-long run on Bellbird to take the role of Bobby's father. It also won Terry Stapleton a Sammy Award. But as Storey notes,

HSV-7 in Melbourne, unfortunately, did not give Bobby Dazzler much of a chance - after sitting on the programme for the best part of a year, the first episode finally went to air on November 20, 1977. The bulk of the series was shown during the 1977-78 summer non-ratings 'silly season', and went through a timeslot change which did nothing to encourage regular viewers.

The series was not renewed for a second season, and Farnham returned to a full-time singing career.

An hour-long sit-com set in a men's prison, The Bluestone Boys ran to twenty-six episodes, but was not one of Crawford Productions' more successful programs. According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian Television Series, 'The boys in question were male prisoners supervised by a mixture of idiot trustees headed by a Nazi-like Chuck Faulkner. The comedy of the male group outsmarting its supervisors should have been funnier, given the experience of Crawford writers such as Ian Jones and Terry Stapleton, but The Bluestone Boys fades into insignificance when compared with programs such as Bilko, McHale's Navy and Porridge.'

The Last of the Australians was Crawford Productions' first attempt at a sit-com since Take That in the 1950s, and one of the few Australian sit-coms filmed in front of a live studio audience.

The script was based on Alan Seymour's play The One Day of the Year, which explores the clashing attitudes of a father and son towards Anzac Day. As Don Storey notes in his Classic Australian Television:

Seymour has been approached several times for the TV rights to the play, and he refused all offers, including one from an American film company. However, when scriptwriter Terry Stapleton approached him on Crawford's behalf, Seymour agreed to sell the rights. This was because scripts that Stapleton had prepared were given to Seymour, and he was pleased with the way Terry had handled the character interpretations.

The sit-com is centred around the characters of Ted Cook, his wife Dot, and his son Gary. Ted is a World War II veteran of strong conservative principles, frustrated by the direction in which modern Australian society is moving. Gary is a teenaged university student of strong liberal principles, his father's antithesis. Despite the fact that the show drew its tension from the clash between father and son, it preserved a strong degree of affection between the family members.

Storey emphasises that Terry Stapleton wrote all episodes himself (barring one collaboration with his brother Jim), and concludes 'The Last of the Australians is cleverly written, very funny, and, being made during the tenure of the Whitlam Government, contains many interesting political references. The acting and direction is superb, and there is no irritating canned laughter'. Similarly, Moran, in his Guide to Australian Television Series, describes the sit-com as 'a very likeable and funny comic inversion of the Seymour play'.

'A reformed crim - and old friend of Ryan's - is caught breaking into a factory and shot dead by the security guard, but Ryan stubbornly refuses to believe that he was involved in anything illegal.

'The friend's widow is interrogated and beaten by a man posing as a police detective and Ryan pulls out all the stops. He quizzes the security guard and alienates the police, upsets the factory owner and treads on all sorts of toes in an effort to clear his friend's name. He is treading on more dangerous toes than he realises. It isn't a simple factory break-in - Ryan has stumbled into the middle of preparations for a gang war - and both sides see him as a threat to be removed.'

Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'SHIRLEY GREEN: She's in her mid-to-late 20's. She's not pretty but is sympathetic. Had a very bad car accident once - no sign of injury but she now wears a wig. Very conscious of this when agitated. Has suffered from deadening of her personality, depression. Joe brought her out of this.

'DAVE FERGUSSON: 40ish. Heavy build, an ugly, dull, stupid man. Works as a security guard - not in uniform. Has criminal tendencies, wants to get rich. Kills a man the way most people would kill a rabbit. Able to drive.

'MAX MILLER: 40ish. A hard man, has served plenty of time in prison where he would have been number 2 or 3 in the hierarchy. Some intelligence. A lot of ambition, wants power, wants to take over the Melbourne gangs. But knows deep down he hasn't quite got what it takes.

'REGINALD CHURCH: 50ish. Church is 'the man'. Once a very tough standover man, he displayed brains, relished his work and rose fast. Totally treacherous. Now he's No. 1 in Melbourne, with all the power he wants, but always totally watchful, always afraid of losing his position. Has a veneer of style, but the rough edges show. Well dressed, but no taste for anything that isn't conservative. He got where he is by being largely unnoticed in the early days, and likes to keep it that way. Able to drive.

'SERGEANT HENRY CULLEN: Cullen, an established character is [sic] heavily built, a slow, careful and ambitious policeman. His ability doesn't match his ambition. No love for Ryan - or for many other people.

'JACK JONES: 30ish. Solid. Looks like a cop - short haired. A flat-nosed useful heavy who likes to take orders. Tough, but Ryan is too tough for him. Able to drive.

'HARRY FISHER: A nice crim, really. 29ish, slim build, some brains but not really enough guts to get near to top. Drives well, and is attached to Miller. Believes in him. Able to drive.

'CHARLIE BELL: 35ish. Squat build, a "pom" with an accent - Midlands probably. He and Fisher make a good brains/brawn team, but separated they're not so reliable. Able to drive.

'JOE GREEN: 30ish. A small man, a small time crim, anxious about everything until he met and married Shirley. Loves her. Needs her. So he reformed. But he has associated with Miller in prison, knows too much and has to die - puzzled, alone and frightened.

'WOOD: Petty crim. Thirties. One scene.

'2 DETECTIVE EXTRAS:

'POLICE EXTRA:

'2 SECURITY GUARDS:

'DRIVER:

'POLICE DRIVER:

'SPEEDBOAT DRIVER'.

Another Crawford Productions soap opera, The Box was set in a Melbourne television-production studio. According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian Television Series:

The setting for the continuous drama was a television station populated by a series of familiar types. These included Sir Henry Usher, chairman of the company; Max Knight, the harrassed station manager; Tony Wild, the egotistical star of the station's on-air detective series; the inevitable tea lady; Paul Donovan, a harrassed station executive, and many others. Most memorable of all was a wonderful bitch-figure in the person of reporter Vicki Stafford.

Like Number 96, The Box was designed for a late-night timeslot, and so focused on 'adult themes', including adultery and bisexuality.

Moran also suggests that The Box was 'very important to Crawford's in generating a cash flow at a time when they were losing the contracts on their police dramas' and that writers used the character of television police officer Tony Wild as 'an opportunity to settle the books against the egotism of some of the actors in Crawford's police series'.

'When an ex-member of Parliament comes to Ryan with compromising photographs of his wife's activities with a group of bikies, Ryan thinks it's either divorce or a case of simple but sordid blackmail.

'But, as he works deeper and deeper into the case, he discovers viciousness and double-dealing at every level of society - from the primitive, inhuman bikies to the manipulating millionaires who are destroying the politician, his marriage, and most of all, his wife.

'Ryan blackmails the blackmailer to get possession of the negatives - and thinks he's finished with the case. But by now he too has become a pawn in the millionaires' game. He keeps his cool while they try to manipulate him but, when a final shocking twist occurs and the politician's wife is really put out of circulation, Ryan commits himself to revenge.'

Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'KATE MORRIS: Married to a different man she'd be a happy, laughing, beautiful woman. Marriage to John has meant five years of unrelieved tension and she's ready to break. When her baby died, the one time she really needed a strong man, John was concerned only with his career; was no help at all. She has become a neurotic drinker. Ryan almost immediately sees the woman who was - and the woman who could be - rather than the taut, fragile drinker she now is. Intelligent, sensitive, very beautiful. 28 -32.

'JOHN MORRIS: When we first meet him he's a strong, resolute man, concerned with important public affairs. He's a little impatient with his neurotic wife, but perhaps that's not unreasonable. Later we begin to realise he's a frightened man - afraid of failure, equally afraid of the responsiblities which would accompany success - which will never come. He's a loser. Not vital, but a few tennis strokes may be called for. Drives. 35.

'MATT VINCENT: To make several million dollars in less than ten years required some sacrifices - one of which was a degree of personal integrity. He's aware of it and regrets it - "I used to just kid I was tough and cynical. It's getting to be a habit." He's admirable. Under different circumstances he and Ryan could become good friends - though they'd never stop competing. Should play tennis or squash. 35.

'SIR DAVID FARNHAM: He inherited great wealth and power, and has trebled it in his own lifetime. Almost all his associates work for him, and that of employer/employee is the only human relationship he really understands. He'd be shocked if anyone suggested that he do something illegal - but in fact he's more despicable than half the crims in Pentridge. He avoids responsibility for the things he does by hinting to others what he wants, then letting them do it. One or two strokes of tennis may be called for. 60.

'FRANK PALMER: Sleazy, small-time private enquiry agent. Operates on the fringe of the law. Ryan despises him and probably would have put him out of business years ago - but he's too petty to worry about. 40.

'PADDY MORGAN: Should be something of a "character". He's a wealthy stockbroker but doesn't really look or act the part. He rather envies Ryan's image and lifestyle, but freely admits he couldn't handle it. Gets some vicarious thrills through his association with Ryan. They're very good friends. Should play tennis, squash, or royal tennis. 40.

'SAM MYER: Sir David's chauffeur-bodyguard. He regards Ryan as something of a colleague, and even while he's thumping him he sees it as a professional relationship - there's no animosity. Ryan has pretty much the same attitude - it's just part of the job. Drives. 40.

'BARNEY: Sir David sometimes hires him to help Sam when there's "heavy" work to be done. He's vicious, enjoys the work. 40.

'SQUIB / TOBY / BOB: Bikies (Toby drives a car as well). They're predatory animals, vicious, inhumane, totally lacking in morals. We can tell ourselves it's not their fault, but it doesn't help much, they're still despicable. Toby may have fractionally more sensitivity than the others, and is therefore not quite so tough. 20 -25.

'RECEPTIONIST: Cool, confident. Enjoys her power a bit too much, but doesn't really abuse it. 30.

'BUSINESSMAN: A drunk. Timid, but gets his thrills by drinking with the bikies. 30 -40.

'STEVE VINCENT: Nine years old, loves his dad, no lines.

'BARTENDER I: Extra.

'BARTENDER II:

'MATRON: Extra.

'EXTRAS IN SALOON BAR (MAINLY BIKIES) (5)

'EXTRAS IN BAR (3)

'ROYAL TENNIS COMMENTATOR (ACTUAL)

'ROYAL TENNIS PLAYER (ACTUAL)'.

'Ryan arranges a meeting between an ex-drug addict and a crusading cop. When the addict is found dead, shot with the policeman's gun, Ryan vows to find the man responsible. He had promised the addict protection - the pathetic little man died, and now someone is going to pay for it.

'Ryan moves into the Melbourne underworld, meets the pimps and thugs and junkies on their own ground - sleazy nightclubs and back alleys. He's on the move - hammering his way through to find the killer.

'When the policeman's son dies from a drug overdose, Ryan's sympathy is mixed with cold suspicion - the cop had a motive for the killing. And the fact that the policeman was once Ryan's best friend counts for nothing.'

Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'JACK NELSON: Until recently he was an average cop, a good friend to have. His fairly normal middle-age blues and career frustrations were offset by a satisfying family life. Now his son is a dying drug addict and his wife is leaving him. He's a strong man eroding fast. (45).

'JAN TAYLOR: On the surface she's a brassy stripper; cynical, not too bright. Beneath the stage make-up she's a vulnerable, sensitive girl .... and a frightened one, out of her depth. She's a semi-reformed drug addict and though we'd like to believe otherwise, she will never be fully cured. (27).

'BILLY MAXWELL: Fat, slimy, physically repulsive, fringe crim, morally depraved - you name it, if it's nasty - he's it. He likes being around the big crims, and blusters a lot to kid himself he's one of them; but inside he's scared. The audience has to squirm when he fondles Jan and cheer when Ryan king-hits him. (30).

'ERIC FRASER: Another reformed addict, but again he'll never overcome the damage done by drug abuse ... he'll be physically and psychologically frail for the rest of his life (which proves to be short anyway). Had he lived, he and Jan Taylor may have been able to lean on each other enough to make a go of it. We only meet him once but we're sorry when he dies. (30).

'PAUL THOMPSON: On the surface he's a well educated man, a concerned, responsible citizen who has devoted his life to helping addicts. In fact he gained his university degrees which combine to qualify him as a "sociologist" because his wealthy grandmother virtually paid him to be a "professional student". When he got too old for that, and his grandmother died, he had to get a job - but was ill-equipped for most business positions. His family connections got him into the privately endowed Drug Action Group organisation. His work brought him into contact with hundreds of addicts, and dozens of suppliers. He picked the "best" of them to form his own organisation. He is totally amoral. (40).

'FLIP MITCHELL: A thug, though fractionally more intelligent than most. He is one of Thompson's key pushers. (35).

'NOBBY WALKER: Hangs around with Flip Mitchell, dresses a bit better. He has a greater sense of cause and effect than Mitchell, and lacks his friend's stupid courage. He is therefore a less successful "fringe crim". Some people claim there is a homosexual relationship between them, and it might be true. (35).

'MARGARET NELSON: Rather plain, not very bright, suburban housewife. She is a tense, nervous person, who for the first twenty years of their married life relied on the strength of her husband. Not that's going, and so is she. (42).

'DAVID NELSON: Sensitive boy, scared of life. Has one line only, but we should care when he dies. (20).

'VICKIE ANDERSON: She's a drug addict. She'll probably be dead within five years. She used to be a stripper, but as she says, "Nobody would pay to see it now" - the drugs have had their effect. (One scene.) (25).

'ADDICT: As with all the other addicts in this episode there is about him an air of sadness, of pathos - an inevitability of death - such that some young people watching the show might be discouraged from experimenting with hard drugs. (One scene.) 25.

'CABBIE: Not much education but lots of native cunning. Enjoys life, loves his job, an old mate of Ryan's (Two scenes.) (30).

'BOB CLARK: A very good policeman, but also a bit conservative and authoritarian - his way is the right way. He's Jack Nelson's boss, and used to be his friend. (50).

'GREG WILLIAMS: Jack's partner. A vestige of friendship remains, but it's strained. (40)

'BARTENDER:

'UNIFORMED POLICEMAN 1: One line.

'UNIFORMED POLICEMAN 2:

'DOCTOR: (Maybe an extra)

'UNIFORMED POLICEMAN: (Maybe an extra)

'NEWSBOY: Extra.

'GREEK: Extra.

'DRINKER IN BAR: Extra.'

'A beautiful young girl believes she has murdered her lover. Ryan is hired - and fired; but in between he has followed a mystifying and violent trail which ends in his discovery of Liz's chilling secret.'

Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'LIZ MASON: 20. Attractive, sensitive, impulsive. A highly strung, appealing girl, who has something of the Mia Farrow image about her. Her delicate, nervous personality is often punctuated with moments of anger, fire and insight.

'ERIC STAHL: 50's. Liz's father. Of European origin, has built a large and profitable empire in Australia, only half of which is legitimate. A large and powerful man, used to possessing power and using it. A veneer of manners, and a genuine concern for Liz.

'JOAN MASON: 40's. Liz's mother, Stahl's ex-wife. An attractive, brittle, unstable woman. A carefully acquired sophistication and fiercely protective attitude towards Liz which is born out of guilt.

'BETTY SIMPSON: 25. An attractive nurse. One scene.

'LORNA RUSSELL: 60's. An ex-matron. Assured, human. One scene.

'GEOFFREY BAXTER: About 50. Very Australian. An aggressive, chip-on-the-shoulder, talkative person, who would always been full complaints, at great length.

'SENIOR SERGEANT KEN WADE: 45. A tough, experienced detective who used to be Ryan's boss. One scene, could recur.

'CHRIS: 20's. A ravishing American girl with few morals or scruples, but managing nevertheless to be quite an appealing character. She is on Stahl's payroll.

'JOE: 40-ish. Tough crim on Stahl's payroll.

'BILLY: 30-ish. Tough crim on Stahl's payroll.

'DR. PAUL MITCHELL: About forty. Smooth, attractive. No lines. We see him as a dead body and in a couple of subliminal flashbacks having an argument.

'POLICEWOMAN CARTER: 25. Attractive, couple of lines.

'SENIOR DETECTIVE CULLEN: 45. Tough detective. One scene.

'DETECTIVE GREEN: 30. Detective. One scene.

'BILL: 40-50. An inebriated party guest.

'WOMAN: 40-ish. Bill's wife. Few lines.

'HENCHMAN NO. 1: About 30. Tough-looking. Few lines. Must be able to run and fight.

'TWO OTHER HENCHMEN: Also in the employ of Stahl.

'PARTY GUESTS'.

'Ryan's client is 10 years old. Maria Bitov is worried because some men have been frightening her daddy.

'Thus, Ryan is drawn into the nightmare world of Anton Bitov - a proud, secretive, tormented Russian immigrant. Why does he fiercely reject Ryan's help? Why does he endure the bashings and the bombings?

'Ryan finds the answers, but by then Anton has suicided, Maria is being held hostage, and Ryan is given an impossible deadline to produce the ransom money.

'An interesting feature of this episode is a sequence shot during an Australina Rules football match.'

Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'RHODA BITOV. Anton Bitov's second wife. Is 24ish. Pretty. An Australian girl of limited education but with feeling and perception. She fell into instant love with Anton and Maria. She thinks him a fine man, respecting his ideals, his concern for others.

'ANTON BITOV. Is 40. Born and raised in Yalta, on the Crimea. A Russian Russian despite his years in Australia - arrived in 1962. Was a teacher in Russia, but has worked as a process worker in Australia. A man of conscience forced into a nightmare of guilt. Actor able to drive.

'MARIA BITOV. Is 10. Raised by her father, a little precocious, she tends to "take care" of the adults in her life. Born in Australia.

'NATALIA BITOV. Anton Bitov's first wife. Is 39ish. Has been in Australia the same length of time as Anton, but though she still has an accent, she is much more "Australianised" than Anton. She has no love for Anton or Maria. She wanted freedom and the fun life in Australia - and now she is lonely, fat, and totally lethargic and apathetic.

'ANDREW TAYLOR. Mid 20's. Bank teller wounded in a hold-up who is permanently disabled. Used to fly light aircraft as a hobby. Sly and secretive man.

'BILLY HALL. 22ish. Psychopathic little youth, lacking empathy or guilt. His sexual identification is with Jack Bell. Actor able to drive.

'JACK BELL. 30ish. Heavier build. More quietly dominating type. Nicer, more normal sort of criminal but very hard and vicious just the same. Actor able to drive.

'FATS. Is 40ish. Fat. A gentle criminal who works for the big men and knows exactly what goes on. One scene.

'MR. GARDENER. 60ish. A hard, thin man, wears glasses, used to working outdoors and skilled with his hands. Respected by all crims. One scene.

'TOM MOORE. Outdoor type. Ruddy. Finds body. No lines.

'CAR DRIVER. Just a fast driver. Stuntman, perhaps.

[...]

'TWO DOGS; ONE BIG, ONE SMALL.'

'Danny Scott, the hot tempered skipper of a fishing trawler, is lost at sea.

'Is it murder, as the grieving widow claims? Was it accidental? Or is Danny still alive, hiding out, until his "widow" joins him with the insurance money? Ryan finds out, treading a narrow and dangerous path through a maze of callousness, double-dealing and treachery.'

Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'OTTO SILVESKI: 30's Peter Aanesson type. Possibly Scandinavian. Professional fisherman, powerful, commanding, no-nonsense.

'GAIL SCOTT: 20's. Physically attractive wife of missing fisherman. It's hard to imagine why a woman like Gail ever married a pig like Danny ... until we get to know her better. Must drive. Should smoke.

'WALLY SCOTT: 30's. Roger Ward type. Dim-witted brother of missing fisherman. Physically imposing, but with a predominately gentle nature. Like some lumbering dinosaur that doesn't realise it's [sic] own strength. Suffers from claustrophobia, and stutters severely when under stress. Must drive.

'SENIOR SERGEANT WADE: Established character.

'NIGEL COX: Over-zealous, underhanded insurance investigator. The antithesis of everything that Ryan should be.

'HOOKER: Crew member and professional fisherman. Reasonably likeable man.

'DANNY SCOTT: 30's. The missing fisherman, Gail's husband and Wally's brother. His crew refers to him as Captain Bligh, Julie refers to him as a monster, and his own wife says quite certainly that everyone hated his guts. All are true. Drives.

'NAPOLEON: 60's. Professional fisherman of the "Old Salt" variety.

'BARMAN: At local pub.

'SECRETARY: Early 20's, few lines.

'HOTEL DRINKERS.'

'An investigation into the death of an old friend has Ryan moving in two different worlds. He follows his leads from the depths of derelict humanity to the glitter of high society.'

Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'HORACE CHAPMAN: A reformed criminal with a history of crime and drunkenness of which he is now ashamed. He is a big, once powerful man now showing his 70 years. He moves slowly, talks slowly and, at times, seems vague. After coming out of jail at the age of 55 his wife's devotion to him in spite of his many trips to jail made him resolve to go straight.

'ELSIE CHAPMAN: Horace's wife, about 65-70, small, work-worn, weary but happy in the work she does with her husband. She feels that Horace has found his way at last and that his work at the mission is wiping out the iniquities of his past.

'TREVOR ARMSTRONG: Tall good-looking Englishman, about 35. A plausible con-man, he has made good with the Toorak set and extracts large sums of money from them, ostensibly to help the mission. Ostensibly dedicated to helping his fellow man, he is in fact helping himself. A polished, vivid personality. Must drive.

'DONALD ANDERSON: Mid-50's. A solicitor. Well educated Australian accent. Conservative dresser.

'MRS. FELICITY CLARKE: About 30. A beautiful, shapely young widow who falls for Armstrong's line. Well educated, well dressed, drives a late model luxury sports car. Should look good in a bikini.

'JACK BAKER: Tough, rough, about 25-30, working the racket with Armstrong. Must be able to drive and fight.

'MINISTER: No lines.

'ALF CLARRIE: Deadbeat, 30-50, disreputable. Couple of lines.

'BILLIARD SALOON OWNER - About 50 / CAB DRIVER - About 40 / PROSTITUTE - About 30: These three characters appear in a brief montage sequence, each speaking to Tony. But the sequence is covered by music, so none of their lines will be heard.

'UNIFORMED POLICE SERGEANT: About 40, solid type, few lines. One scene.

'UNIFORMED POLICE CONSTABLE: One scene, no lines.

'A GARDENER: About 50-60. Two lines.

'10 DEADBEATS: Varying ages. To appear in three mission scenes.

'6 SOCIETY LADIES: From the Toorak set. Ages 30-60. Appear in one scene.'

'Signor Jaconelli arrives from Italy to be reunited with his daughter-in-law Melina, and his tiny grandson. Inexplicably they are not there to meet the ship. Where are they ...?

'They are currently the subject of a state-wide police hunt, and Melina is suspected of murder.

'Ryan is called in, and in an atmosphere complicated by Mediterranean emotionalism, eventually solves the murder, uncovers an elaborate call-girl racket, and most importantly, reunites Signor Jaconelli with his loved ones.'

Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'MELINA JACONELLI: She is a young Italian widow who lost her husband in a car smash before the birth of their son, Pietro. She works for the Pegasus Messenger Service and lives with her son in a small, single-fronted weatherboard house in an inner suburb. She is about 25, dark, long hair, good looking and shapely. Speaks English with Italian accent. Does not smoke. Must be able to drive.

'PIETRO JACONELLI: Melina's son. About 4 months old. A very good-looking Italian type babe.

'ENZO JACONELLI: Early fifties. Average height, broad build, dark hair now turning to grey. He speaks English with a pronounced Italian accent. He has come from Italy to meet his grandson for the first time. He is a smart but old-fashioned dresser, likes cigars. His one big interest is his grandson who will carry on the family name. He likes Melina but Pietro is more important to him.

'ELSA HARVEY: Late twenties. Prostitute. One scene.

'JOHN HILLIER: Australian, about 45. A mean man, possessing sufficient business acumen to run a prostitution racket under the cover of legitimate business.

'FATHER DALTON: About 35. Good-looking priest, not afraid to use his fists. A very capable down-to-earth man.

'MRS. MURPHY: Father Dalton's Irish housekeeper. Mid fifties. Inclined to fret and mother her charge, and so comes in for a certain amount of ribbing from Father Dalton.

'CARL HOFFMAN: A big blonde mountain of a man. About 30. Lower class Australian of German extraction. He is Hillier's standover man. He is particularly brutal with women but enjoys bashing anyone. Smokes. Must be able to drive.

'CHRIS TURNER: A hard-faced prostitute known to Ryan from his Police days. She smokes. She is in her late thirties. Once good looking, now worn, but holds her shape well. She speaks with a middle-class accent but uses crim parlance at times. Must be able to drive. Has blonde hair.

'MOTOR CYCLE POLICEMAN:

'DETECTIVE CULLEN: Stock character.

'CAB DRIVER: Australian of Italian descent. One scene, few speeches.'

Division 4, which Don Storey notes in Classic Australian Television was 'the only drama series on Australian television to rival the popularity of Homicide', was created as a vehicle for Gerard Kennedy, who had risen to popularity playing the complicated enemy agent Kragg in spy-show Hunter, after Tony Ward's departure left Hunter's future in doubt.

According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian Television Series:

The series differed from Homicide in being more oriented to the situation and milieu of a suburban police station staffed by a mixture of plainclothes detectives and uniformed policemen. This kind of situation allowed Division 4 to concentrate on a range of crimes, from major ones such as murder to minor ones such as larceny.

Though set in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Yarra Central, 'Sets were constructed that were replicas of the actual St Kilda police station charge counter and CIB room, with an attention to detail that extended to having the same picture hanging on the wall', according to Storey.

Division 4 ended in 1976. Storey adds:

Division 4's axing was a dark day for Australian television, as within months the other two Crawford cop shows on rival networks, Matlock Police and Homicide, were also axed. It was widely believed, and still is, that the cancellation of the three programs was an attempt by the three commercial networks--acting in collusion--to wipe out Crawford Productions, and consequently cripple the local production industry.