Cirrus@Austlit

Much like its predecessors The Rovers and Barrier Reef, The Outsiders was predicated on the conceit that the central characters (Pete Jarrett and his grandfather Charlie Cole) were nomadic protagonists: travelling across Australia, they spent each episode in a new location with a new guest cast.

Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series, says of the concept that 'They are in effect fictional tourists, a perfect foil for a series that starred a German and a British actor in the lead roles, carried overseas as well as local crew, and British and German investment.'

A co-production with a German production company, The Outsiders had two non-Australian actors in the lead roles: German actor Sascha Hehn as Pete and Scottish actor Andrew Keir as Charlie. Don Storey, in his Classic Australian Television, notes that Hehn's dialogue was over-dubbed by Andrew Harwood, because Hehn's English was deemed to be too heavily accented. Storey concludes that

In most episodes, The Outsiders has a storyline that is effective in its simplicity. There is plenty of action and stunt work, but it's the interplay between the characters and the understated atmosphere of the series which gives it depth. Technically, the series is excellent, with superb camera work, skilful writing, good direction and competent acting. The only minor criticism is the dubbed voices of the German actors.

'After a robbery in London an insurance investigator, Tully, follows the thief to Sydney to recover the stolen valuables and currency before the rest of the gang get there. His investigations eventually lead to the climax of the chase at The Sydney Opera House.'

Source: Screen Australia.

A co-production between the ABC and television companies in both Scotland and Germany, the series followed the adventures of the survivors of the Mary Jane, wrecked in her passage across the Pacific with a mixed group of passengers, including convicts, militia, and settlers. The survivors, finding themselves on what Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series, calls 'a nondescript Pacific island', accustom themselves to their new surroundings, including interacting with the island's native occupants and with the survivor of an earlier shipwreck.

As a co-production, the series used British, German, and Australian actors, and a mixed British and Australian crew. According to Moran, 'The series was not the first ABC drama series shot on film but it was to be a sign of things to come at the newly acquired Atransa Studios at Frenchs Forest. There the trend was towards coloured film productions with fairly high production values, often historical in setting, in familiar genres such as action adventure and in conjunction with overseas investors'.

An Australian, German, and Scottish co-production filmed on location in Sri Lanka, Elephant Boy was an adaptation of 'Toomai of the Elephants', a story from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1894). 'Toomai of the Elephants' had already been made into a successful 1937 film (also called Elephant Boy), starring Sabu, and the earlier film largely overshadows the later re-make.

The program has no discernable Australian content, but did include some Australian actors, notably Kevin Miles (who played Prince Paddam) and Ric Hutton (who played Colonel Shannon). It also employed Australian script-writers, including Tony Morphett. Post-production took place at the Artransa Park studios in Sydney.

The first episode of Elephant Boy, 'The Tyrant', is available on YouTube:

Part One: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrxYbVh_z2A&feature=related

Part Two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbecrbNuLPM&feature=related

(Sighted 27/10/2011)