Cirrus@Austlit

'A small group of tourists board an old sailing boat, The Sea Tramp, for a tropical island-hopping cruise through a largely overlooked corner of Micronesia. It should have been the holiday of a lifetime but five days from port they rescue Minh-Tam, a young Vietnamese woman from her sinking fishing trawler. As they attempt to outrun Minh-Tam's attackers, a fire breaks out and the boat sinks. Only a handful of the crew and passengers survive the twin perils of pirates and a fire to reach an uninhabited island that is too dangerous to live on and too dangerous to leave.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 25/2/2014)

'Inspired by true events, Stingers reveals the shadowy and ambiguous world of undercover cops — people with covert lives and constantly changing identities. They are police who defeat crime from within the criminal world — always without a badge and frequently without protection. The series follows the lives of the operatives as they befriend and betray those on the other side of the law. For these select few, it is a deadly way of life.The undercover cops of Stingers are a unique breed. They must juggle their own lives — love, laughter, family and humanity — with the tension of the criminal personas they adopt in their passion for justice.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 7/6/2013)

Inspired by A. B. Paterson's classic poem and set in a fictional Snowy Mountains township called Paterson's Ridge, this turn-of-the-nineteenth-century adventure concerns wealthy cattle-station owner and widower Matt McGregor and his three children, Colin (the town preacher), Rob (played by Guy Pearce), and Danni (the tomboyish youngest daughter). Unresolved sexual tension comes in the shape of Matt's independent, free-spirited childhood friend, the recently widowed Kathleen O'Neil, who returns to Paterson's Ridge with her son after having spent many years in England.

'Bluey recognises a sweet set-up when he sees one. Bust into a man's home, hold his family under threat of death while the victim is forced to open and empty his safe at the office, promise death to the family if the victim gives any descriptions or assistance to the police. That is a sweet set-up!

'There is one thing that even threats of violence cannot conceal or disguise. All the hold-ups have been from branches of the one organization - Federal Housing Services.

'If victims will not give information, there has to be some other way and in every game Bluey always has one ace up his sleeve - Truscott!

'But the search for the felons takes the men of Department B far from suburbia and the quiet, carpeted office of the world of commerce, through the raw, real, bustling life of the markets, through sleazy nightclubs, through areas only really safe for criminals - and Bluey.'

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):

'JANOS (PRONOUNCED YANOS): A likeable Yugoslav in his late 20's - early 30's. He craves acceptance and friendship. His English is not brilliant and was mostly learned in the markets and sleazy night clubs. In spite of his criminal activities, it's hard not to feel sorry for Janos. He's the original loser. Drives a motorbike.

'GINGER MORGAN: Early 30's. A tough hard case. He'd rather fight than make love and he'd rather make love than work. Basically he's a heavy and that's the way he likes it. Australian. Drives.

'BERT TOMKINS: He'd be a good used car salesman if he wasn't a crim. In his early 40's, Bert Tomkins can look back on a career of violence and mayhem. He's smarter than most of his type, but only just. Australian. Drives.

'JENKINS: Early 50's. A humourless business man - and a white-collar crim who treats people like animals. He is confident and has a superior manner towards the less fortunate. He is the Branch Manager of a Housing Society, thus giving him access to a small fortune.

'JANEY (Judy McBurney): Already established ("The First Bloody Day"). She's a lithesome young call girl who fancies Bluey.

'DAVIES: About 40. A working class battler who's come up the hard way only to find the trip wasn't worth it. He is one of those poor unfortunate victims of the inflationary trend and the capitalistic class system.

'JOHN GRANGER: Late 40's. A respectable business man with little backbone. Drives.

'MRS. GRANGER: Mid-40's. An average housewife who prefers not to get involved and can't handle it when she is.

'SALLY GRANGER: About 17. Very pretty - has a good figure. She could almost be sexy, but Sally has the same dull mind as her mother has.

'MRS. JENKINS: Mid-40's and doing nothing to hide it. Very respectable and not aware of her husband's criminal activities.

'UNIFORMED CONSTABLE: No lines.

'DETECTIVE: Few lines.

'TRUCK DRIVER: Aggressive type - few lines. Drives.'

According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian Television Series, Bluey (and its Sydney-based rival, King's Men) 'constituted an attempt to revive the police genre after the cancellations of Homicide, Division 4 and Matlock Police'.

Don Storey, in his Classic Australian Television, summarises the program as follows:

Bluey is a maverick cop who breaks every stereotype image. He drinks, smokes and eats to excess, and therefore is rather large, but it is his unusual investigative methods that set him apart. He has bent or broken every rule in the book at some stage, to the point where no-one else wants to work with him. But he gets results, and is therefore too valuable to lose, so the powers-that-be banish him to the basement of Russell Street Police Headquarters where he is set up in his own department, a strategem that keeps him out of the way of other cops.

Moran adds that 'Grills, Diedrich and Nicholson turned in solid performances in the series and the different episodes were generally well paced, providing engaging and satisfying entertainment.'

The program sold well overseas, especially in the United Kingdom. But though it rated well domestically, it was not the success that the Seven Network had hoped for, and was cancelled after 39 episodes.

Bluey had an unexpected revival in the early 1990s when selections from the video footage (over-dubbed with a new vocal track) were presented during the second series of the ABC comedy The Late Show as the fictional police procedural Bargearse. (The Late Show had given ABC gold-rush drama Rush the same treatment in series one.)

Set in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell during World War Two, The Sullivans follows the lives of Dave and Grace Sullivan and their children John, Tom, Dave, and Kitty. However, the storylines reach beyond the immediate Sullivan family, allowing viewers to see their extended family, friends, and neighbours also struggle through everyday war-time life.

The series also featured war-action sequences involving various characters. Arguably the most dramatic moment, and the event that effectively became a turning point in the series, was the death of Grace Sullivan in a London air raid. The series finished after a seven-year run, by which point most of the original cast had left the series and the remaining characters had settled into a new life in the post-war era.

'Detective Sergeant Bluey Hills has been transferred in and out of every branch of the Police Force. He is as rough-as-guts, master of every trick in the book and a few that aren't even in there yet. Is it any wonder he is called in when David McIntyre, a second generation policeman, is blasted to death as he turned the key in the ignition of his car.

'It is Bluey's first job since transfers have left him with no alternative but to form his own department - Department B - "B" for BLUEY, hidden away in the basement of Russell Street Police Headquarters.

'Bluey's task is seemingly complicated by his new assistant, Detective Gary Dawson. Gary, in spite of the fact that he is a top graduate of the Police Academy, arrives late for work the first day and, much to Bluey's disgust, quickly displays a fetish to dot every "I" and cross every "T".

'In spite of this handicap, Bluey launches himself headlong into the investigation. He turns up a bikie who was heard threatening the dead McIntyre. He uncovers a possible case of mistaken identity. He clashes with a belligerent club-owner named Petrakis and discovers an associate of Petrakis, Martin Gruman, has something to hide.

'A savage assault on Gruman's girlfriend, Karen Wallace, further compounds the urgency to find the killer before other people die violently.

'Frustrated by Bluey's failure to immediately bring the assassin to justice, McIntyre's father, now retired from the Force, takes matters into his own hands and starts a private investigation. And McIntyre Senior's experience is vast enough to keep him uncomfortably close to Bluey all the way through the inquiry. In fact, it develops into a neck and neck struggle to see who will unmask the killer first - or, if indeed either of them will before the murderer makes good his escape from the country.'

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

One of the scripts for this episode (the copy modified to reflect a Melbourne setting) held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes:

'TRUSCOTT: Forties, forgettable, a highly talented undercover cop who has become an accepted part of the crim scene. One passion in life. Fishing. DRIVES.

'PETRAKIS: Forties, Greek, a successful businessman who has made his pile out of gaming and girls. No "Mr. Big". A seasoned professional who does what has to be done.

'GEORGE FOWLER: Thirtyish, tough, a thoroughly nasty, personal assistant and standover man for Petrakis. He may have some good points, but we don't get around to seeing them. DRIVES.

'MARTIN GRUMAN: Forties, a prosperous Jewish clothing manufacturer with two weaknesses - gambling and Karen Wallace.

'KAREN WALLACE: Twenties, attractive, an emotional derelict who has been a gambling club hostess for Petrakis and, on occasions, a fringe benefit for his bigger-spending patrons. That's how she met Martin Gruman.

'"MAC" McINTYRE: About 60, a former policeman-mate of Bluey, retired through ill-health, embittered to the point of obsession by the death of his only son and by the precious few comforts a lifetime of honest police work has won him.

'WAYNE HUMPHRIES: Early twenties, a former bikie builders labourer. Trying to go straight, but you'd never know. RIDES A MOTOR CYCLE.

'MR GOLDMAN: Jo's father. In the rag trade. Does not approve of Jo's taste in the choice of gear in her Jeans Boutique. A pleasant straight concerned father. DRIVES.

'TIM: An effeminate helper in Jo's shop.

'ANNIE: Was to have been old Mac's daughter-in-law, which will now never happen. In total sympathy with Mac, and a strength for him.

'MRS. GRUMAN: A traditional Jewish wife. Has possibly known of Gruman's association with Karen Wallace, but only now has it confirmed.

'CONSTABLE DAVID McINTYRE: Pleasant young constable.'

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'.

'Ryan is assigned to protect a visiting foreign Trade Minister and Premier Elect when it is learn [sic] that the Minister is the target for assassination by extremists.

'Tension mounts when the Minister's young daughter is injured in a letter bomb explosion, obviously intended for the Minister.

'During the subsequent investigation, Ryan is forced to match wits with a brilliant professional assassin.'

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):

'CONRAD: 55. Trade Minister and Premier elect for his country - based somewhere in East Europe. Conrad is a man of great power and dignity. He is determined to win an important trade deal for his country while in Australia. In spite of personal danger and family tragedy, he continues on with his work to the admiration of those surrounding him. We feel a great deal of sympathy for this man as his ideals and hopes are violently challenged by the opposing extremists.

'ZITA: 26. A naturally beautiful young woman with little or no affectation. She is Conrad's mistress and his daughter's governess. Zita is caught in a terrible dilema [sic] between love for Conrad and the totalitarian extremism of her party. Whatever she does - people she cares for are going to die. Once we realise her position we will feel sorry for her. She is a warm creature living a terrible lie.

'STEFAN KESSLER: 48. Conrad's Security Chief. A brutal man. Kills. He is prepared to take the action of a storm trooper or secret police to get what he wants. His methods and loyalty are put into question when matched with Ryan's approach to the same problems. Must drive.

'RACHEL: 9. We'll love Rachel from the first time we meet her. She's every father's daughter. Likes to help Conrad in his work and has an innocent inquiring mind.

'VALDIS: 28. East European. A student from Conrad's country. He is also a political extremist of the worst kind. He departs from standing orders to attempt Conrad's assassination himself. Valdis is prepared to kill almost without qualm. He dislikes Kane - fears him. Must drive.

'CURT: 26. East European. A student from Conrad's country. He is more sensitive, a more concerned person than Valdis. But just as deadly. His enormous fear of Kane could be judged to be his prime motivating factor. Curt is just a pawn - a lightweight - to be used and then discarded.

'KANE: 38. A superb speciman of man. Big. Rugged. A professional assassin. No trace of an accent - we don't know where he came from. There's never been one like him. A mind like a computer. Nerves of steel. Rarely, if ever, shows any emotion. He dresses well. Everything Kane does is totally professional. He's the best. It's as simple as that.

'VIC DARCY: 45. Attached to the Australian Security Force. He is cold almost a thug like figure. He gets Ryan into this gambit and sticks around to make sure there are no slip-ups.

'MARTY: 32. A working class, small time crim. Specialises in plastic explosives. Generally a cocksure little man, he sticks to a code of criminal ethics. However, under Ryan's pressue he disintegrates rapidly.

'NANCY: 25. Marty's sister. A good looking bird, with a working class background. One scene - one line.

'COURIER: Should be roughly the same age, size, and height as Valdis. Must ride a motor bike. No lines.

'GUARDS: The guards should be tough, hard looking men. The type that could be mistaken for killers. They're no pushover in a fight.

'GUARD ONE

'" TWO

'" THREE A couple of lines

'" FOUR

'" FIVE

'AMBULANCE DRIVER: Stock type - must drive - any age will do.

'AMBULANCE ATTENDANT: Stock type - any age will do - a few lines.'

'Holly Beckett, a high class, sensuous call girl, and one of her clients, are bashed and robbed by two thugs at her flat.

'Her client, Novak, threatens Holly when she attempts to seek assistance. However, when he leaves, she goes to Ryan, an old friend, and he agrees to help her recover her jewellery which has great sentimental value to Holly.

'Ryan's investigations uncover a crime of far greater magnitude than robbery, but unfortunately, not before there has been a kidnapping and a murder.'

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):

'HOLLY GREEN: Late twenties. A high class, sensuous call girl. She has no hangups about what she is or why she does it. For Holly, it pays well and she's good at it. That's all there is to it. She appears to be light headed, almost frivolous, but when it comes right down to it - she's got guts. She's all woman. Her relationship with Ryan is not defined - there's something - some past emotional involvement - between them that holds each close to the other.

'NOVAK: In his mid-forties - German, but only a hint of accent. He's well educated. A crisp, good looking man, wears his hair very short. Used to money and easy living. Has a passion for call girls. Probably because he's deep down, an insecure person - weak - easily frightened. It's something he can't control. Drives.

'HENDERSON: Late forties to early fifties. Rough, Australian. A professional killer. Deadly. Drives, fights, shoots.

'GRANGER: Late fifties. International accent. The all powerful boss. Magnetic, dynamic, persuasive. A fanatic who wants to set the world right.

'LARRY LEWIS: About 28. Australian, working class. A two bit crim. Larry is shifty, nervous, unpredictable. Resorts to violence when the going gets tough. Larry makes his living working over and thieving from the clients of his sister Tina. Drives.

'BERT: About 28. Works for a wrecker. Like Larry he's a small time crim. They work together on jobs. Bert's a cool, more rational person than Larry.

'TINA LEWIS: About 26. A call girl. But not in the same class as Holly. Greedy. Tough. A tart.

'RITA: About 19. A hard looking chic [sic] - the sort bikies go for. She's mean and vicious. Plays snooker.

'CHLOE: About 18. A more sensitive person than Rita. Hangs around Billiard rooms looking for pickups. She's pretty dumb. Plays snooker.

'CLAUDE: About 26. High camp. A hairdresser. Few lines.

'DAVE: A crotchity [sic] old man of 65. Runs a wrecker's yard.

'HAL: 30's - Granger's Secretary. Bodyguard. Cool, efficient.

'WLADYSLAW: 50-ish. A Polish mate of Ryan's with resistance movement experience. Likeable, amusing. One key scene

'POLICE CONSTABLE (STUDIO): About 22. Young, inexperienced, easily put off.

'SENIOR DETECTIVE (STUDIO): About 40. Easy going - professional.

'TWO UNIFORMED POLICEMEN (EXTERIOR): No lines. Could be actuals.'

Ryan focused on the titular Michael Ryan, a private detective with a stringent code of ethics and a background as a soldier, police officer, and social worker. Ryan's work doesn't focus on divorce and domestic problems, but on serious crimes that, for some reason, the victims are unwilling to take to the police. He is supported by his secretary Julie King (who often becomes involved in fieldwork), cab driver and later assistant Tony Angelini, and police liaison Detective Sergeant Dan Cullen.

According to Don Storey in Classic Australian Television,

'The production standards of Ryan are very high -- good writing, solid acting performances, smooth direction and excellent camera and editing work combined to form a polished and professional product. And Ryan was very successful overseas -- proportional to the number of episodes made, Ryan has probably done better overseas than most other Crawford shows. Yet it was the first Crawford show not to do well locally'.

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

'CARLOS COSTELLO: About 25. A good looking Italian, with only a trace of accent. However, this becomes more pronounced when he is under stress. Over reacts when his emotional stability is attacked.

'SUSIE JACOBS: About 21. A country girl, with an upper middle class background. She is no longer a little girl, but has not yet learned to handle womanhood.

'JULIA HAMILTON: 5 years older than her husband. Stern woman with strict moralistic attitude to life. Bordering on the bigoted.

'ROGER HAMILTON: Early forties. Basically a weak man seeking an easy way out of his problems.

'IRENE DAVIES: About 33. Unmarried. Enjoys looking after her lover. Tends to be bitchy when pushed.

'MRS COSTELLO: About 42. Typical over emotional Italian widow, with no control over her son. Good hearted.

'MARIA: About 18. An attractive Italian peasant. Romantic. Has poor command of English.

'BARNEY RICHARDS: About 55. Successful Solicitor. A well dressed man who respects Fox, his job and public duty.

'FIRST CONSTABLE BILL HIGGINS: About 30. An efficient uncomplicated man who knows his district intimately.

'ALAN SMITH (FORENSIC): About 32. Easy going, efficient.

'MAN: About 60. Retired Army officer.

'TOM MARSHALL: About 48. Jovial.

'LIZ MARSHALL: About 45.

'MRS. WILSON: About 70'.

'The mind of a wistful young girl is nearly destroyed when Ryan investigates the events surrounding the mysterious disappearance of her father three years ago.'

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):

'ANASTASIA JONES 18. A warm, beautiful young girl, with an air of childish innocence. Cruelly manipulated and used as a pawn by a gang who are looking for her father. For part of the episode she is drugged and her behaviour is highly charged and irrational.

'JACOB JONES Late 50's. Anastasia's father. Carrying a heavy burden of guilt and wanting only to be reunited with Anastasia. Basically a warm, shy, compassionate man.

'DOCTOR SAUNDERS 50's. A weak, nervous alcoholic, unwittingly involved in a plot he cannot escape from. We feel a sympathy for Saunders as the pressure around him builds to a climax.

'NURSE PORTER Mid 30's. Coldly attractive. On the surface she appears an efficient nurse, with great devotion to Anastasia. Beneath this thin veneer, she is cold, ruthless and deadly.

'MR QUINN Late 50's. Anastasia's solicitor and legal guardian. An old friend of Jacob's. A worrier with a kind heart.

'ROLLO Early 40's. Second in command for the Syndicate. Ruthless, efficient, brutal. Fights and kills.

'WARD 50-60. Head of the Syndicate. An all powerful man. He has a style and calmness about him only great men inherit after years of success. Crime is a business he runs with outstanding ability. Has a gentlemen's agreement with Ryan. (Same character as in "Nut File".)

'HARRY Late 30's. A tough stand-over merchant working for the Syndicate. He takes his orders from Rollo without question. There is an air of cruel violence about him. Drives a car.

'SAM Late 30's. Harry's off-sider. Equally dangerous and committed to Rollo. Drives a car.

'DRIVER Gives Anastasia a lift. Any age.'

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

'RONALD PAGE: About 40 years. Bachelor. Council Inspector. His mother died recently leaving him alone. To fend for himself. Outwardly quiet, but always polite and helpful. Inwardly he is a tormented man unable to find peace through normal pursuits. Co-operative with police and a good witness. Does not smoke or drink. Drives.

'LENNIE WALKER: About 45 years old. Married, one daughter. Impotent since a car accident three years ago. No longer works, but occasionally scavenges around for pocket money. A regular pub drinker. After a few beers he likes to look at young girls. School girls. He doesn't know why or what it means. Lennie is a working class man, bordering on illiterate and has virtually no powers to reason.

'RITA WALKER: About 43 years. Married to Lennie. Mother of Maureen. She doesn't understand what is wrong with her husband. He used to be a steady worker. She was in the same car accident as Lennie, but was unaffected. She is a cleaner, working shifts. Night and day. Recently she has been playing it up with another man. She needs sex and understanding. Rita is not a thinker - but has a natural cunning inherent among the lower classes. Pregnant when married, she expects much the same from her daughter. She is embarrassed when called upon to give evidence in court about her private life.

'MAUREEN WALKER: 15 years. Factory worker. She could be described by many people as a slut. Although outwardly hard there is still much of the little girl within her. She is unhappy that her family has crashed around her following the car accident her parents were involved in. After 6 months' pregnancy, there is a change in her character - she is quieter, more mature.

'TOM BOWEN: 21 years. Comes from a good lower class family. The boyfriend of Maureen Walker. He plays the passive role in this relationship and feels largely out of his depth when faced with the turmoil surrounding the Walker family.

'JUDITH JONES: 12 years. Budding womanhood. Outgoing and friendly.

'ANNE JONES: 8 years. (Sister of Judith). Product of a middle-class family. Tendency to shyness. Well mannered with a quiet nature. She remains bewildered by her sister's death of which she knows very little.

'MRS NELSON: About 45 years. Middle class, church-going suburban dweller. Tries to be helpful, but she doesn't understand what is expected of her. Quite genuine, if mundane, in her approach to life.

'CONSTABLE FRASER: About 30. Late-comer to the Force - about five years' service but earnest and ambitious. However, he is an officious person who enjoys the power of his uniform. Being involved in a murder case is an added bonus to his normal routine. Blunders in court.

'MR. CARTER: About 38 years. Respectable, executive-type, middle-class, family man. Emotional.

'JENNY CARTER: 10 years. A beautiful, innocent child. Slightly retarded - has the mind of a 5 year old. Loves people.

'JAMES MARTIN: About 26 years. Main line heroin addict. His speech and mannerisms are those of the "hip" generation - pop culture.

'LARRY HYLAND: About 24 years. A clean-cut youth, he is fastidious about his appearance. Nervous around police. Prone to acting without thinking. Has a record for interfering with young girls.

'GOVERNMENT PATHOLOGIST (MILLS): About 50 years. Thoroughly experienced about medicine and the law. A confident, easy going man. Accustomed to giving evidence in court.

'MARGARET HAYES (BODY): 12 years. A pretty girl.

'GIRL: 13 years. Innocent. Youthful figure. She has a young girlish sensuality about her. Few lines.

'UNIFORM POLICE INSPECTOR (GREEN): About 55 years. A stern, awe-inspiring figure. Military approach to his job, but with an understanding for children.

'UNIFORM POLICEMEN "A" AND "B": Stock types.

'UNIFORM POLICEMAN "C": About 26 years. Stock type. No lines.

'UNIFORM POLICEMAN "D": About 30 years. Stock type. No lines.

'TAXI DRIVER "A": Stock type.

'FOUR EXTRAS: Appear in line up.

'JUDGE: 60. Distinguished, experienced and highly respected Judge of the Victorian Supreme Court. Before his elevation to the bench, he was a Crown Prosecutor and he retains the patience and restraint of his former position. However, he has little time for dramatics from the Defence and will quickly counter if they overlap the mark. Note - he is an Australian, with a good, educated Australian accent, and in no way does he resemble the traditional English stereotype.

'JUDGE'S ASSOCIATE: 45-50. Tall and distinguished, stern-featured.

'CRIER:

'PROSECUTOR (MORRIS): Mid-40's. A thoroughly experienced Crown Law barrister. Acts with restraint and impartiality.

'SOLICITOR FOR THE PROSECUTION: About 40. Professional-looking type.

'DEFENCE COUNSEL (RANDALL): Late 40's. A thoroughly experienced criminal barrister with an impressive track record. His stature allows him to get away with minor dramatics but he only employs them when absolutely necessary (e.g. to unease a witness). Before the decision is made to plead insanity, he feels he has an uphill battle to get Walker off, but nevertheless fights aggressively and earnestly to do the best he can. He is much more confident and relaxed after the insanity decision.

'TAYLOR (SOLICITOR FOR THE DEFENCE): Mid-50's. Senior partner of a medium-sized city firm. A commercial lawyer specialising in insurance work, he has had relatively little experience in criminal law and is heavily reliant on Randall in this case. A sort of G.P. - specialist relationship, to use the medical analogy.

'SHORTHAND WRITER: Very efficient looking man or woman.

'PRISON OFFICER: Detached, unconcerned. Ready to have a joke out of court.

'UNIFORM POLICEMAN "E": Stock type. Appears in court scenes.

'JURORS: 11, including 3 women.

'"JURYMAN A": A not highly intelligent, round-faced man who enjoys being on the jury, and we feel that in private life he could often be irritating.

'MRS JONES: 35. Normally a strong woman, but the trial is a terrible ordeal.

'DR. FARRINGTON (PSYCHIATRIST): Late 30's. A man with impressive academic qualifications, but possibly a trifle ill equipped on the practical side. He has given evidence in criminal proceedings before, but not as frequently as the Government Pathologist.

'TAXI DRIVER "B": Stock type.'

Running for twelve years and a total of 510 episodes, Homicide was a seminal Australian police-procedural program, set in the homicide squad of the Victoria Police. According to Don Storey in his Classic Australian Television, it represented a turning point for Australian television, prompting the development of local productions over the purchase of relatively inexpensive American dramas. Indeed, Storey quotes Hector Crawford as saying that his production company intended three outcomes from Homicide: demonstrating that it was possible to make a high-quality local drama series, counteracting criticism of local performers, and showing that Australian audiences would watch Australian-made dramas.

As Moran notes in his Guide to Australian TV Series, the program adopted a narrative structure focusing on crime, detection, and capture, rather than on character studies of the lead detectives. The early episodes were produced by a small crew (Storey notes that the crew was frequently limited to four people: cameraman, grip, director, and assistant director), requiring some degree of ingenuity to achieve a polished result (including, in some cases, the actors performing their own stunts). However, the program received extensive support from the Victoria Police (who recognised, in its positive portrayal of police officers, a valuable public-relations exercise) and, as its popularity grew, from the public.

The program's cast changed extensively over its twelve years on the air, though it remained focused on a small group of male detectives, with the inclusion of irregular characters such as Policewoman Helen Hopgood (played by Derani Scarr), written on an as-required basis to reflect the involvement of women in the police force. In Moran's words, 'The other star of Homicide was the location film work. These ordinary, everyday familiar urban locations were what gave the series a gritty realism and familiarised audiences with the shock of recognition at seeing themselves and their milieus on air'.