Family and Friends
Encyclopedia
Family and Friends was a short-lived Australian television
soap opera
debuted on 7 February 1990.
The series was intended to be the Nine Network
's response to the already successful soaps on the rival channels - Neighbours
on the Network Ten
and Home and Away
on the Seven Network
.
Set in a suburban community the series focused on two families - the Chandler and the Italian-Australian Rossi families - who were linked by a long-standing vendetta stemming from an accidental death in the 1950s. Old enmities were renewed by the Romeo-and-Juliet style romance between Jennifer Chandler (Roxane Wilson
, credited as Roxanne Wilson) and Robert Rossi (Renato Bartolomei
).
Despite a strong cast that included Diane Craig
, Anne Phelan
, Abigail
, Jonathan Hardy
, Dinah Shearing, Ross Newton
, Adrian Lee and Alyce Platt
, the series failed to catch on with the viewers. Episodes were initially broadcast in one-hour installments up against Ten's E Street but ratings were disastrous. The show was promptly reformatted as half-hour episodes stripped at 5.30 weeknights, but ratings remained very low. And now that it was lead-in to National Nine News
's 6pm bulletin its low ratings meant it remained in a precarious position.
The series then underwent a major revamp which included the loss of six cast members and addition of new cast members including Rebecca Rigg
. A week's worth of episodes were produced in the new format, when the series was abruptly cancelled on 26 April 1990. The final episodes went to air in a late-night timeslot during the 1990-1991 summer non-ratings period. In total 96 episodes had been produced.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
debuted on 7 February 1990.
The series was intended to be the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
's response to the already successful soaps on the rival channels - Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
on the Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
and Home and Away
Home and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
.
Set in a suburban community the series focused on two families - the Chandler and the Italian-Australian Rossi families - who were linked by a long-standing vendetta stemming from an accidental death in the 1950s. Old enmities were renewed by the Romeo-and-Juliet style romance between Jennifer Chandler (Roxane Wilson
Roxane Wilson
Roxane Wilson is an Australian actress best known for her roles in Water Rats, Stingers and The Alice. She was born in Durban, South Africa to an Italian Mother and an English Father. She lives in Los Angeles with her children.- Early life :...
, credited as Roxanne Wilson) and Robert Rossi (Renato Bartolomei
Renato Bartolomei
Renato Bartolomei was born in Australia of Italian descent.Starting his acting career in Australia, he is now a prominent actor in New Zealand, who had a prominent role as Craig Valentine in Shortland Street....
).
Despite a strong cast that included Diane Craig
Diane Craig
Diane Mary Craig is an actress born in County Down, Northern Ireland but who is best known for her performances on Australian television....
, Anne Phelan
Anne Phelan
Anne Mary Phelan, OAM , is a much awarded Australian actress, who has appeared prominently in Theatre, Australian television productions and soap operas, including Prisoner where she played the role of 'Top Dog' Myra Desmond and Monica Taylor in Something in the air...
, Abigail
Abigail (actress)
Abigail is an actress who emigrated to Australia in 1968 and via the media of television became one of that country's significant sex symbols of the mid-1970s. Although born in England, she was educated in France. Her mother was a Ceylonese of Dutch Burgher/Eurasian ethnicity...
, Jonathan Hardy
Jonathan Hardy
- Stage :He was part of the cast in the first public performance of Kenneth G. Ross's important Australian play Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts, presented by the Melbourne Theatre Company at the Athenaeum Theatre, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on Thursday, 2 February 1978.-Film:His film...
, Dinah Shearing, Ross Newton
Ross Newton
Ross Newton is an Australian actor, best known for playing Greg Marshall in the television soap opera Home and Away.His other TV credits include: The Flying Doctors, Family and Friends, Pacific Drive, All Saints and Farscape....
, Adrian Lee and Alyce Platt
Alyce Platt
Alyce Platt is an Australian actress known for her roles in television soap operas, and as a television presenter.Her acting roles include Amanda Morrell in Sons and Daughters from 1983–1985, a guest role in the short-lived serial Family and Friends in 1990, and the on-going part of Jen Handley in...
, the series failed to catch on with the viewers. Episodes were initially broadcast in one-hour installments up against Ten's E Street but ratings were disastrous. The show was promptly reformatted as half-hour episodes stripped at 5.30 weeknights, but ratings remained very low. And now that it was lead-in to National Nine News
National Nine News
Nine News is the news service of the Australian Nine Network.Nine News's flagship bulletin is the nightly 6:00pm localised bulletin, produced by networked owned-and-operated stations in Sydney , Melbourne , Brisbane and Darwin alongside localised bulletins produced by the WIN-owned Nine Network...
's 6pm bulletin its low ratings meant it remained in a precarious position.
The series then underwent a major revamp which included the loss of six cast members and addition of new cast members including Rebecca Rigg
Rebecca Rigg
Rebecca Rigg is an Australian actress. She was once best known by Australian audiences as the bratty but troubled teenager, Gabrielle "Gabe" Baker, in the 1980s drama series A Country Practice.- Early life and career :...
. A week's worth of episodes were produced in the new format, when the series was abruptly cancelled on 26 April 1990. The final episodes went to air in a late-night timeslot during the 1990-1991 summer non-ratings period. In total 96 episodes had been produced.