Number 96 was a popular
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n
soap operaA 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,...
set in a
SydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
apartment block. Don Cash and Bill Harmon produced the series for
Network TenNetwork 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...
, which requested a
Coronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
-type serial, and specifically one that explored adult subjects. The premise, original story outlines, and the original characters were devised by
David SaleDavid Sale is an Australian-based author and television screenwriter. He has contributed to many TV drama series, provided special material for Australia's leading entertainers, and has worked as producer, director, actor and journalist....
who also wrote the scripts for the first episodes and continued as script editor for much of the show's run. The series proved to be a huge success, running from 1972 until 1977. It was known for its sex scenes and nudity, somewhat risque at the time, and for its comedy characters. The series was the first Australian soap opera to feature a gay character
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~alga/collection.htm#videos.
Background
Number 96 was launched on 13 March 1972 with a simple promotional campaign - each night for several weeks before its debut, the message "Number 96 Is Coming" would appear on screen during Network 10's advertisements. No explanation was given, and it stimulated curiosity. When the series premiered viewers were presented with a level of titillation and taboo subjects that had never been seen on Australian television before, and the event came to be known as "the night Australian television lost its virginity."
Characters and storylines
Storylines of the series explored the relationships of the residents of a small, inner-city apartment block named Number 96, after its fictional street address, 96 Lindsay Street,
PaddingtonPaddington is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Paddington is located 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of the City of Sydney and the Municipality of Woollahra...
(actually Moncur Street,
WoollahraWoollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. The Municipality of Woollahra takes its name from the...
). Stories focused on topics such as
racismRacism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
,
drug useRecreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
,
rapeRape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
,
marriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
problems,
adulteryAdultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
and
homosexualityHomosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, along with more prosaic
romanticRomance is the pleasurable feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.In the context of romantic love relationships, romance usually implies an expression of one's love, or one's deep emotional desires to connect with another person....
and domestic storylines. The building's two ground floor businesses - a delicatessen and a chemist (later to become a winebar) - along with a nearby launderette, provided venues for the various characters to meet. The show featured a
multiracialThe terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
cast, had frequent nude scenes, and featured a long-running
gayGay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
male relationship that drew no particular interest from any of the show's other characters. It is believed that the series was the world's first to include a portrayal of a gay couple as normal people fully accepted by and integrated into their community.
Playing the role of
malaproppingA malapropism is an act of misusing or the habitual misuse of similar sounding words, especially with humorous results. An example is Yogi Berra's statement: "Texas has a lot of electrical votes," rather than "electoral votes".-Etymology:...
gossipGossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others, It is one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and variations into the information transmitted...
Dorrie Evans, actor Pat McDonald won the Best Actress
Logie AwardThe TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
in 1973, 1974, 1976, and won the Gold Logie in 1974. Playing the part of
Bev HoughtonBev Houghton was a fictional character in the 1970s Australian soap opera Number 96. She was the daughter of wealthy socialite Claire Houghton , and despite her beauty and revealing costumes was revealed to be a virgin afraid of sex...
,
AbigailAbigail 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...
quickly emerged as the show's most famous
sex symbolA sex symbol is a celebrity of either gender, typically an actor, musician, supermodel, teen idol, or sports star, noted for their sex appeal. The term was first used in the mid 1950s in relation to the popularity of certain Hollywood stars, especially Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte...
. She left the series suddenly in June 1973 in a burst of publicity. Grasping magazine editor Maggie Cameron (
Bettina WelchBettina Welch was an Australia-based theatre and television actor who became best known for her role as scheming businesswoman Maggie Cameron in the 1970s television soap opera Number 96.-Early career:...
) became part owner of the building and sustained acrimonious enmities with several of the residents and the other owners. Her friend and sometimes rival was Flat 7 resident Vera Collins (
Elaine LeeElaine Lee is an Australia-based theatre and television actor best known for her long-running role in the 1970s television soap opera Number 96....
) who would be perpetually unlucky-in-love. Lawyer Don Finlayson (
Joe HashamJoseph Christopher "Joe" Hasham OAM is a Lebanese Australian actor who became famous in Australia in the 1970s through his long running role of dependable and decent gay lawyer Don Finlayson in soap opera Number 96.- Early life and education :Hasham graduated from the National Institute of...
) was revealed as gay in an early episode and had several boyfriends over the course of the series; his most enduring relationship was with film buff Dudley Butterfield (
Chard HaywardChard Hayward is a former Australian and later US-based television actor. In Australia, he was best known for his long-running role of Dudley Butterfield in the 1970s television soap opera Number 96....
).
As the series progressed it increasingly focused on comedy characters such as brassy winebar proprietor Norma Whittaker (
Sheila KennellySheila Kennelly is an English born Australian actress of theatre, television and film, with a vast repotoire spanning over 50 years in the industry, born in Sussex, UK she has played several television soap opera and comedy roles starting in the 1970s....
), her inventor husband Les (
Gordon McDougallGordon McDougall was an Australian-based theatre and television actor.McDougall trained at the Glasgow Athenaeum and began acting in 1936, working in various facets of the entertainment industry...
), no-nonsense Flo Patterson (
Bunney BrookeBunney Brooke was an Australian actress best known for her television acting roles including the long-running role of Flo Patterson in soap opera Number 96 in the 1970s, and Vi Patchett in E Street in 1990.Brooke was adopted at an early age and had an unhappy early life...
), and the bookish Arnold Feather (
Jeff KevinJeff Kevin is an Australian actor best known for his role of Arnold Feather in the television soap opera Number 96, a role he played from mid 1972 until the series ended in August 1977....
) who proved irresistible to the ladies. Reg and Edie MacDonald (
Mike DorseyMike Dorsey was an English theatre and television actor. He rose to fame in Australia and is best known for his long-running role of Reginald "Daddy " MacDonald in the 1970s television soap opera Number 96....
and
Wendy BlacklockWendy Blacklock was an Australia-based theatre and television actor best known for her long-running role of Edith "Mummy" MacDonald in the 1970s television soap opera Number 96....
) and their bubbly daughter Marilyn (
Frances HargreavesFrances Hargreaves born 1954, a South-African-born actor who became famous in Australia in the 1970s through her long running role of Marilyn McDonald in soap opera Number 96....
) arrived at the start of 1974 as three more comedy characters.
The series made good use of end-of-episode and end-of-year
cliffhangerA cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...
s, and
whodunitA whodunit or whodunnit is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader or viewer is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final...
type storylines proved particularly popular. These included a panty snatcher dubbed the Knicker Snipper, and a serial killer called the Pantyhose Murderer.
Feature film
A
feature filmIn the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
version of the serial was shot in December 1973 in colour on 16mm film. It carried the same title as the TV series.
The film features nearly all the show's regular cast from that time and the story of the film features various interwoven story threads that occupy the characters to varying degrees. These include the return to Number 96 of former resident Sonia (
Lynn RainbowLynn Rainbow is an Australian-based theatre and television actor who was educated at Ascham School, The Sorbonne and Dante Alighieri in Italy. Lynn was the daughter of Judge Alfred Rainbow and the granddaughter of Sir Benjamin Fuller a theatrical entrepreneur....
) after her release from a mental asylum. Sonia is now married to newspaper journalist Duncan Hunter (Alister Smart). Many of the residents become embroiled in the major plans for Dorrie and husband Herb's (
Ron ShandRon Shand was Australian actor and comedian who worked extensively in theatre, vaudeville and television.Shand started his career in the circus with his parents as a clown, and later performed as a song and dance man in vaudeville, did tent shows and performed comedy...
) Ruby Wedding Celebrations; those that aren't are roped in by Les to assist in his new business venture: a sauna in the building's basement. Vera endures a troubled romance with politician Nick Brent (
James CondonJames Condon is an Australian actor.He has made many appearances on television, including The Story Of Peter Grey, Homicide, Matlock Police, Number 96 , Bellamy, The Young Doctors, Carson's Law, Sons and Daughters, Prisoner, The Flying...
), not helped when she meets his son Tony (
Patrick WardPatrick Ward is an Australian actor noted for several performances on Australian television.-Career:Ward played a guest television role in police procedural Matlock Police in 1973...
). Meanwhile Maggie and Vera start a new business venture with Simon Carr (
John OrcsikJohn Orcsik is an Australian actor of Hungarian descent.In the early 1970s he appeared in soap opera Bellbird, and played various guest roles in the Crawford Productions police dramas Homicide, Division 4 and Matlock Police...
), a character they had a previously had romantic rivalry over in the television version of
Number 96 in 1972. Sonia's old friend Jack Sellars (
Tom OliverTom Oliver is an English television, film and theatre actor best known today for playing the role of Lou Carpenter in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.-Career:...
) and his new girlfriend, flight attendant Diana Moore (
Rebecca GillingRebecca Gilling is an Australian actress. Her first acting role was in Stone but who came to prominence as the "bad girl" flight attendant Diana Moore in the feature film version of soap opera Number 96 , in which she had several nude scenes...
) who has moved in to flat 6, worry about Sonia's increasingly erratic and apparently deranged behaviour.
The film was released in May 1974 and became a major box office success.
Series evolution
Number 96 was Australia's highest rating program for 1973 and 1974. The series was shot on
videotapeA videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
initially in
black-and-whiteBlack-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
but switching to color in late 1974. Unfortunately, many black and white episodes are now lost, falling victim to the
wipingWiping or junking is a colloquial term for action taken by radio and television production and broadcasting companies, in which old audiotapes, videotapes, and telerecordings , are erased, reused, or destroyed after several uses...
of videotapes for re-use, which was the official Channel Ten policy at the time.
The series began taping in colour in late 1974. This period also saw the series shift its emphasis from sexual situations and drama to focus more on comedy, however by mid 1975 ratings had gone into decline so a bold new storyline was concocted in the hope of revitalising the series. The Mad Bomber storyline, in August–September 1975, came in the wake of news from periodical
TV WeekTV Week is a weekly television magazine in Australia, first published as a Melbourne-only publication in December 1957 , and bearing a strong affiliation to television station GTV.The publication is still publishing weekly...
that the ratings for
Number 96 had dropped to just half what they had been at the beginning of 1974. In an unprecedented move, 40 complete scripts were discarded and rewritten, while the
Number 96 set was sealed off to non-essential personnel. The new storyline involved a mysterious figure planting a time bomb in Number 96, following a series of warnings and false alarms. The dramatic storyline was intended to draw back viewers and to provide a mechanism to quickly write out several existing characters in a bid to fresh up the cast of characters and revamp the storylines.
On 5 September 1975, a bomb exploded in the delicatessen, destroying it and the adjacent wine bar which was crowded with customers. The makers of the show made a bold move, killing several long running cast favourites, including Les, and Aldo and Roma Godolfus (
Johnny LockwoodJohnny Lockwood is an English, Australian-based actor and comedy performer, possibly best known for his role in the 1970s television soap opera Number 96, playing Hungarian Jewish deli-proprieter Aldo Godolfus.-Career:...
and Philippa Baker), and then revealing schemer Maggie Cameron as the bomber and sending her off to prison (she never planned for the bomb to kill anyone and merely wanted to scare residents into moving to facilitate a sale of the building). However, despite the publicity and major changes it brought, the bomb-blast storyline resulted in only a temporary boost to the program's ratings figures.
By October two more central figures - Alf and Lucy Sutcliffe (played by original cast members
James ElliottJames "Jimmy" Elliott was a Scottish-born Australian theatre and television actor best known for his long-running role of Alf Sutcliffe in the 1970s television soap opera Number 96....
and
Elisabeth KirkbyElisabeth "Liz" Kirkby was an Australia-based theatre and television actress and politician known as a long time member of the New South Wales Legislative Council....
) - were written out of the series. New, younger characters were added to the show, most of whom didn't last out the series. Two that did were orphaned teenage sisters Debbie and Jane Chester (
Dina MannDina Mann is an Australian actress recognised for several television soap opera and film roles in the 1970s and 1980s.In the 1970s Mann specialised in playing characters much younger than herself in adult-themed dramas and comedies...
and Suzanne Church). Other enduring characters amongst the high cast turnover of the later period were the new blond sex-symbol Jaja Gibson (Anya Saleky), and Giovanni Lenzi (
Harry MichaelsHarry Michaels is an Australian television producer and director. he is also a former actor and television host. He has been involved in the companies Harry Michaels Productions and zer0-1-zer0 . His wife, Effie Michaels, was one of the aerobics demonstrators on the Aerobics Oz Style television...
), an exuberant Italian who worked in the deli.
A later whodunit storyline was the Hooded Rapist in May 1976. Numerous episodes around the time of the 1000th episode (June 1976) saw an increase in location shooting, including Moncur Street,
WoollahraWoollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. The Municipality of Woollahra takes its name from the...
(outside the building used in the credits), local parks,
ChinatownSydney's Chinatown is an urban locality in the southern part of the Sydney central business district, in New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Haymarket, between Central Station and Darling Harbour...
, and even
Luna ParkLuna Park Sydney is an amusement park, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
.
The final year of
Number 96 featured an increased emphasis on younger characters and the reintroduction of sexual situations and nudity. The show's final months in 1977 included a range of shock storylines including the exploits of a group of Nazi bikers and a psychopathic blackmailer.
Another bold move in the show's final months saw
Number 96 feature what was publicised as Australian television's first full frontal nude scene when new character Miss Hemingway (
Deborah GrayDeborah Gray is a former Australian high fashion model and actress who is now best known as an internationally best selling author of "magickal" non-fiction spell books and jazz singer.-Biography:...
) made the first of several unveilings in April 1977. Although an earlier scene showing brief and distant full-frontal nudity appeared in the debut episode of
Matlock PoliceMatlock Police was an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network between 1971 and 1975....
in February 1971 while in
Number 96 in late 1976 a bit-part nurse fleeing Dudley's bedroom had revealed a full frontal nude flash, this was the first time the nudity was shown front and centre in protracted scenes. Other bedroom farce comedy sequences of the period featured increasing levels of male and female semi-nudity, and some other instances of full frontal female nudity. Meanwhile, a scene where Jane Chester becomes a prostitute and is asked to whip her male client, new Number 96 resident Toby Buxton (
Malcolm ThompsonMalcolm Thompson is a former Australian-based television actor, best known for his role in 1970s soap opera The Restless Years.Thompson was born in Yorkshire, England in 1949 and began acting in England in weekly-repertory and other theatre companies, including The Bristol Old Vic, The Mermaid...
) gave viewers a brief glimpse of full frontal male nudity.
These changes to the series were made to combat falling viewing figures. However, they were not a success, and in July 1977 the series was cancelled due to declining ratings at which point, with 1218 episodes, it held the record as Australia's longest running drama serial. Long-running characters Dorrie and Herb Evans, Flo Patterson, Don Finlayson, Arnold Feather, and Reg and Edie MacDonald, all continued in the series to the end.
Series format
Each episode began with a shot of the building while audio from the previous episode's final scene could be heard. The shot would zoom in on the apartment in which that scene occurred, as the show's title was displayed. The vision would then switch to the scene in question as a recap of the previous episode's cliffhanger.
The feature film has a pre-credits sequence involving Vera being raped, followed by the film's opening titles. After this the opening shot is a zoom-in on the exterior of Flat 3 after which the action starts with the interior activities of Flat 3.
The series was broadcast as five half-hour episodes each week for its first four years. From the beginning of 1976 episodes were broadcast as two one-hour episodes each week in most areas, however from an internal perspective episodes continued to be written and compiled in half-hour instalments.
Series crew
The production supervisor on the series was Kevin Powell, son of British film director
Michael PowellMichael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
. The show's studio directors were Peter Benardos and Brian Phillis. Audio directors included Terry Green, Ross Boyer, Larry Price, Robert Judson and Steve Wakely. Director's Assistants included Gillian B. Brown and Maggie Powell. Benardos was director of the 1974 feature film version of the serial. Executive Producer of the series and the feature film was Bob Huber. Series producers included David Hannay and Ted Jobbins. Network producers were
Nancy Sales CashNancy Sales Cash is a journalist and television producer. A native of North Carolina, her career includes journalism Nancy Sales Cash (born March 28, 1940, in North Carolina) is a journalist and television producer. A native of North Carolina, her career includes journalism Nancy Sales Cash...
of Cash Harmon Television. Lighting directors included George Poole, Adrian O'Bearn, Phil Cullen, Paul Gilfeather, Richard Curtis and Peter Richardson. Floor managers included Keith Walker and Murray Graham. Credits director and opener and closer director was Monica Pendegast. Audio boom operators included Laurie Hutchins, Vladimir Lozinski, John Dodds, Paul McCloskey, Jack O'Brien, Steve Wakely (later a series audio director).
Some Cameramen who worked on the shows over the years, Max Cleary, Allan Catt, Bob Henderson, Keith Watson, Dennis Livingston, Ian O'Brien, Chris Fraser, John Bott, Roy Chivers, Murray Kelso, Phil Lomas.
Cast
Short term cast members included:
Briony BehetsBriony Behets is a British-born actress who found fame acting in Australian soap operas of the 1970s.-Early life:...
,
Vivienne GarrettVivienne Garrett is an Australian-based theatre and television actor. She was born in Sydney and now lives in Perth. Garrett graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1970....
,
Norman YemmNorman Yemm is an Australian actor who is probably best known for his long-running role as Norm Baker in the television drama The Sullivans....
,
John OrcsikJohn Orcsik is an Australian actor of Hungarian descent.In the early 1970s he appeared in soap opera Bellbird, and played various guest roles in the Crawford Productions police dramas Homicide, Division 4 and Matlock Police...
,
Carmen DuncanCarmen Joan Duncan is an Australian actress.-Biography:Carmen Duncan is known to Australian audiences as a character actress in films and on television...
,
Jill Forster-Career:Fortster has been in numerous Australian television dramas including Motel, Number 96, The Box, The Restless Years, Starting Out, Prisoner, A Country Practice, The Flying Doctors, The Power, The Passion and SeaChange...
,
Candy RaymondCandida Raymond is an Australian actress active in film during the 1970s and early 1980s. she attended St Ives High School in Sydney. She is the sister of actress Victoria Raymond....
, Anne Louise Lambert,
CarlottaCarlotta is an Australian cabaret performer and television celebrity. She began her career as an original member of the long-running Les Girls cabaret show, performed entirely by heavily costumed males, which started in 1963 in the purpose built Les Girls building which stood on a prominent...
,
Lorrae DesmondLorrae Desmond, MBE is a Australian singer, entertainer, and character actress, with a career spanning over 50 years...
,
Penne Hackforth-JonesPenne Hackforth-Jones is an American-born Australian actress and writer.She has a number of television credits such as Bellbird, Homicide, Matlock Police, Division 4, Tandarra, Cash and Company, Young Ramsay, Punishment, Bellamy, A Country Practice, Mother and Son, Tanamera - Lion of Singapore,...
,
Diana McLeanDiana McLean is an Australian actress.She is best known for her role as Sister Vivienne Jeffries in the television soap opera The Young Doctors from 1978 until 1982....
,
Wendy Hughes-Career:Hughes began her career on television in the early 1970s with appearances in Homicide, Number 96, Matlock Police and in 1976, ABC Mini-Series, Power Without Glory...
,
Josephine KnurJosephine Knur was an Australian actress recognised for her role in television soap opera Number 96 in the 1970s. She was born in Melbourne....
,
Tristan RogersTristan Rogers is an Australian–American actor. He is best known for playing Robert Scorpio on the ABC soap opera General Hospital...
,
Peter AdamsPeter John Adams was a New Zealand-born actor, best remembered for his performances in Australian television.-Early life:Born in Karanarunui, New Zealand, Adams later emigrated to Australia...
, Pamela Garrick,
Chantal ContouriChantal Contouri is an Australian actress.Contouri has had starring roles in Australian films and played guest and recurring roles in various television series. Television roles including nurse Tracey Wilson in the soap opera Number 96 in 1974–1975...
,
Judi FarrJudi Farr is an Australian theatre, film and television actor best known for several situation comedy roles on Australian television.She first became known for her role of Rita in the situation comedy My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?...
,
Chris KingChris King is an Australian actor and entertainer.After a brief appearance in soap opera Number 96, King became best known for his six year stint as orderly Dennis Jamison in Channel Nine's long running soap opera The Young Doctors .He subsequently set up and now runs his own talent school...
,
Aileen BrittonAileen Britton was an Australian actress.Britton made her acting debut in Tall Timbers in 1937. She then worked on stage until the reemergence of Australian cinema in the mid-1970s.-Film appearances:...
,
Paula DuncanPaula Margaret Duncan is an Australian actress. She is prominent mainly in the genre of soap opera. Her sister is fellow soap actress Carmen Duncan....
,
Margaret LaurenceMargaret Laurence is an Australian actress, best known for several soap opera roles.She trained in Britain, and then worked in America on stage and in several daytime soap operas....
,
Vince MartinVince Martin or Vin Martin , born Vincent Markesteijn, is a television and film actor. He mostly acted in film and television productions in Australia, where he was raised and started his career....
,
Anne CharlestonAnne Charleston is an Australian actress currently based in Galway, Ireland and the UK. She is known for her roles as Madge Bishop in the Australian soap opera Neighbours and Lily Butterfield in Emmerdale.-Early career:...
,
Rowena WallaceRowena Wallace is a Gold -Logie winning Australian actress, best known for her role as Patricia in Sons and Daughters.-Early life and budding career:...
,
Justine SaundersJustine Florence Saunders, OAM was an Australian stage, film and television actress. She was a member of the Woppaburra indigenous people, from the Kanomie clan of Keppel Island in Queensland. She was born next to a railway track. At the age of 11, she was removed from her mother Heather, and...
,
Joseph FurstJoseph Fürst was an Austrian international film and television actor known for his English language roles....
,
Mary Ann SeverneMary Ann Severne is an actress active in Australian made films and television programs from the 1970s.She began her acting career in various theatre productions including playing Paola in a production of There's a Girl in My Soup, and she was part of a company at the Wayside Chapel, Sydney...
,
Henri SzepsHenri Szeps OAM is an Australian actor best known for his role as Robert Beare in the ABC situation comedy series Mother and Son.-Early life:...
,
Pat BishopPat Bishop was an actress noted for her performances in Australian theatre, film and television.She received an Australian Film Institute award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her representation of Jenny in the 1976 film Don's Party.Bishop also appeared frequently on television, with...
,
Lynette CurranLynette Curran is an Australian actress best known for her roles in Australian television series and films. Between 1967 and 1974 she was a regular in soap opera Bellbird. She also acted in the film version of the serial, Country Town ....
,
Julieanne NewbouldJulieanne Newbould is an Australian actress who first came to prominence in the 1970s.She was a popular original cast member in soap opera The Restless Years. The series started in late 1977; Newbould left the series in early 1979. She later played two roles in Prisoner. She appeared first in 1982...
,
Arianthe GalaniArianthe Galani is an Australian actress.Galani played a regular role in soap opera Number 96 from late 1976 until the end of the series in August 1977, and then took a regular role in Australian Broadcasting Corporation situation comedy series Home Sweet Home...
,
Judy McBurneyJudy McBurney is an Australian actress famous in several television soap opera roles.In 1974 McBurney was cast in the role of key new character Marilyn McDonald in Number 96 but before any of her scenes had gone to air and with about 30 scenes in the can she had to withdraw from the role due to...
,
Chelsea BrownChelsea Brown, born , Chicago, Illinois, is an African-American actress who appeared as a regular performer in comedy series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.Guest roles include appearances in Marcus Welby, M.D., Ironside, Matt Lincoln...
,
June SalterJune Marie Salter AM was an Australian actress.-Biography:June Salter was born in Bexley, New South Wales, the youngest of six children. As a child she studied piano and elocution and attended Kogarah Secondary School...
,
John McTernanJohn McTernan is an Australian-based actor, known for several television and theatre roles.John's career spans thirty years working in theatre, television and film. He has appeared with all the major theatre companies and began is career training and then performing at the Ensemble Theatre in...
,
Deborah GrayDeborah Gray is a former Australian high fashion model and actress who is now best known as an internationally best selling author of "magickal" non-fiction spell books and jazz singer.-Biography:...
,
Malcolm ThompsonMalcolm Thompson is a former Australian-based television actor, best known for his role in 1970s soap opera The Restless Years.Thompson was born in Yorkshire, England in 1949 and began acting in England in weekly-repertory and other theatre companies, including The Bristol Old Vic, The Mermaid...
,
Ray MeagherRay Meagher surname pronouned "Marr" , is a veteran Australian character actor. He has appeared regularly in Australian film and television since the mid 1970s, and is notable as the longest continuing performer in an Australian television role, as Alf Stewart on Home and Away, having played the...
,
Joanna LockwoodJoanna Lockwood is an Australian actress who has played regular roles in various television series. After completing a brief stint in the closing episodes of soap opera Number 96 in 1977 she played the on-going lead role of police officer's wife and former stripper Valerie Johnson in police drama...
,
Shane Porteous John Shane Porteous is an Australian television character actor, TV screenplay scriptwriter, theatre actor, animation layout artist, and animation voice artist.-Biography:...
.
Joyce JacobsJoyce Jacobs is an English born Australia character actress adept at playing gossips and interfering busybodies....
had a long-running uncredited role as a one-line extra, usually as a customer in the delicatessen.
Awards
Aside from the four Logies won by cast member Pat McDonald during her run with the show,
Number 96 won the "Best Drama" Logie in 1974, 1975 and 1976. Actor Bunney Brooke won the "Best Actress" Logie Award for her work as Flo in 1975.
Impact
The series cast became stars in Australia and for the show's first few years the cast would take the train together to Melbourne for the annual
TV WeekTV Week is a weekly television magazine in Australia, first published as a Melbourne-only publication in December 1957 , and bearing a strong affiliation to television station GTV.The publication is still publishing weekly...
Logie Awards in specially-organised
whistle stop train tourA whistle stop or whistle-stop tour is a style of political campaigning where the politician makes a series of brief appearances or speeches at a number of small towns over a short period of time...
style journeys. The train was christened
Spirit of 96.
In 1975 the
Number 96 Cookbook was released in Australian by the publisher
Family CirclePacific Magazines is a magazine publisher operating in Australia and New Zealand, owned by Seven Media Group. It has it roots in the Southdown Press, the publishers of New Idea and long owned by the Murdoch family...
; it featured recipes from eight members of the cast.
The series celebrated 1000 episodes in 1976 with a compilation special,
Number 96: And They Said It Wouldn't Last, which reviewed the show's most famous story lines and recounted the exploits of its departed main characters.
And They Said It Wouldn't Last was repeated at the start of the 1977 TV season, its final year of production, with a new ending presented by
Dina MannDina Mann is an Australian actress recognised for several television soap opera and film roles in the 1970s and 1980s.In the 1970s Mann specialised in playing characters much younger than herself in adult-themed dramas and comedies...
.
The final episode (#1218) was significant in that it gave over considerable air time to a cast reunion
curtain callA curtain call occurs at the end of a performance when individuals return to the stage to be recognized by the audience for their performance. In musical theater, the performers typically recognize the orchestra and its conductor at the end of the curtain call...
, of popular actors past and present. A week after the airing of the final episode in Sydney, a televised public auction of props and costumes from the series was held in the grounds of Channel TEN-10.
In 1980 a short-lived US remake of the same name on
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
retained the comedy, but it toned down the sexual elements of the series. The series was launched over three consecutive nights. US television and
TV GuideTV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
promotions for the series utilised advertising
hyperboleHyperbole is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally....
, suggesting that the series had been "banned in Australia." The nudity and racy content of the original series was not present in the remake; it would likely not have been allowed in the US due to censorship standards there, so the US version only hinted at the sexual content that had been on display in the original. The US version of
Number 96 was quickly cancelled due to low ratings; the US show was finally aired in parts of Australia in 1986.
Channel 10 Sydney started a repeat run of the series on 4 February 1980, starting from the first episode fully produced in colour, episode number 585. Episodes were screened Monday through to Thursday, at midnight.
The 1976 special,
And They Said It Wouldn't Last, was repeated by Ten in a prime time slot in 1994. This edition of the special dropped the "And" from the original title and included a new introduction by
AbigailAbigail 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...
. It concluded with a replay of the final episode's curtain call of actors.
Number 96 was rated number 9 in the 2005 television special
50 Years 50 Shows50 Years 50 Shows is a television special that marked 50 years of television in Australia. Broadcast on Sunday 25 September 2005 on the Nine Network and hosted by Eddie McGuire, the special counted down the top 50 greatest Australian television programmes....
which counted-down Australia's greatest television programs.
A two-disc DVD of the
Number 96 feature film (with commentary), plus
And They Said It Wouldn't Last, was released in July 2006. The DVD included archive footage of one of the
Spirit of 96 train journeys, and a new documentary
The Final Years, which featured clips from the series and new (2006) interviews with actors
Elaine LeeElaine Lee is an American actor, playwright, comic book colorist and comic book writer.-Theatre:She received a 1980 Daytime EMMY nomination for her role on NBC-TV’s The Doctors and was a founding member and artistic director of Manhattan-based theatre company, Wild Hair Productions.Wild Hair began...
,
Sheila KennellySheila Kennelly is an English born Australian actress of theatre, television and film, with a vast repotoire spanning over 50 years in the industry, born in Sussex, UK she has played several television soap opera and comedy roles starting in the 1970s....
,
Wendy BlacklockWendy Blacklock was an Australia-based theatre and television actor best known for her long-running role of Edith "Mummy" MacDonald in the 1970s television soap opera Number 96....
,
Deborah GrayDeborah Gray is a former Australian high fashion model and actress who is now best known as an internationally best selling author of "magickal" non-fiction spell books and jazz singer.-Biography:...
, and series creator,
David SaleDavid Sale is an Australian-based author and television screenwriter. He has contributed to many TV drama series, provided special material for Australia's leading entertainers, and has worked as producer, director, actor and journalist....
.
The series was featured in the cinema documentary,
Not Quite HollywoodNot Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! is a 2008 Australian documentary film about the Australian New Wave of 1970s and '80s low-budget cinema...
(2008). Interviewees included
Number 96 alumni, actors
Rebecca GillingRebecca Gilling is an Australian actress. Her first acting role was in Stone but who came to prominence as the "bad girl" flight attendant Diana Moore in the feature film version of soap opera Number 96 , in which she had several nude scenes...
,
Wendy Hughes-Career:Hughes began her career on television in the early 1970s with appearances in Homicide, Number 96, Matlock Police and in 1976, ABC Mini-Series, Power Without Glory...
,
Lynette CurranLynette Curran is an Australian actress best known for her roles in Australian television series and films. Between 1967 and 1974 she was a regular in soap opera Bellbird. She also acted in the film version of the serial, Country Town ....
,
Briony BehetsBriony Behets is a British-born actress who found fame acting in Australian soap operas of the 1970s.-Early life:...
,
Candy RaymondCandida Raymond is an Australian actress active in film during the 1970s and early 1980s. she attended St Ives High School in Sydney. She is the sister of actress Victoria Raymond....
, Deborah Gray, Roger Ward,
Norman YemmNorman Yemm is an Australian actor who is probably best known for his long-running role as Norm Baker in the television drama The Sullivans....
, and an associate producer of
Number 96 and
The UnisexersThe Unisexers is an Australian television soap opera made by Cash Harmon Television for the Nine Network in 1975.The series was produced by the same company that had made the smash hit soap opera Number 96...
, David Hannay.
DVD releases
The feature film of
Number 96 and the 1976 special
And they said it wouldn't last were released on DVD in 2006. An audio commentary featured star
Elaine LeeElaine Lee is an American actor, playwright, comic book colorist and comic book writer.-Theatre:She received a 1980 Daytime EMMY nomination for her role on NBC-TV’s The Doctors and was a founding member and artistic director of Manhattan-based theatre company, Wild Hair Productions.Wild Hair began...
, creator
David SaleDavid Sale is an Australian-based author and television screenwriter. He has contributed to many TV drama series, provided special material for Australia's leading entertainers, and has worked as producer, director, actor and journalist....
and TV historian, Andrew Mercado.
A DVD set of the complete Pantyhose Strangler storyline was released in September 2008. Comprising 32 episodes on four discs, it started with Episode #645 (originally aired 1974-11-04) and culminated with #680 (original airdate 1975-01-27) and included a stills gallery and a new commentary with actor
Chantal ContouriChantal Contouri is an Australian actress.Contouri has had starring roles in Australian films and played guest and recurring roles in various television series. Television roles including nurse Tracey Wilson in the soap opera Number 96 in 1974–1975...
.
On 13 March 2010, another batch of episodes was released on DVD. Again comprising 32 episodes on four discs,
Aftermath of Murder included episode #681 (original airdate 1975-01-28) through to #712 (original airdate 1975-03-12), archival
ChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
messages from 1975, and new commentaries with actors
Elisabeth KirkbyElisabeth "Liz" Kirkby was an Australia-based theatre and television actress and politician known as a long time member of the New South Wales Legislative Council....
and
Carol RayeCarol Raye is an Australian-based theatre and television actress and comedienne.Trained as a ballet dancer, Raye was discovered by choreographer Freddie Carpenter at age 16. She played lead roles in many musicals and television programs in the UK...
.
The forthcoming 40th anniversary DVD set, due in 2012, will include a selection of sixteen early black and white episodes (#1-10, #13, #31, #33-35 and #450) plus the complete, sixteen-episode Mad Bomber storyline in colour, Episodes #832 (originally aired 1975-08-27) to #847 (original airdate 1975-09-16).
External links