Cirrus@Austlit

'Patricia Edgar has been named one of the ten most influential people in the development of Australian television production. Her candid memoir is a provocative insider's look at the television industry and its politics over 30 years. Dr Edgar was the first Australian woman appointed to a national role in television regulation. As a policy maker and regulator, she fought for more locally produced, first-release children's drama on Australian television. Her take-no-prisoners style won her great fans but also made her bitter enemies, particularly inside the commercial networks and the ABC.

In the early 1980s she helped establish the Australian Children's Television Foundation. For 20 years as its founding director, Dr Edgar spearheaded the creation of a celebrated canon of children's television programs, including Round the Twist, which sold into more than 100 countries. Her work brought her into close contact—and in some cases, conflict—with the likes of Bruce Gyngell, Janet and Robert Holmes à Court, Phillip Adams, Paddy Conroy, Simon Townsend, Jennifer Byrne, Galarrwuy and Mandawuy Yunupingu, Bob Ellis, Paul Jennings, and overseas with senior executives from the BBC and Disney. Bloodbath also tells Patricia Edgar's own story—of how a young girl from Mildura became a leading innovator in children's television, and a voice to be reckoned with in a tough business. In the fiftieth year of Australian television, this is the media memoir of the year.'

Source: Author's Website (Sighted 16/3/11)

Saskia (living in Australia) has on online friendship with Noah (living in the UK). Each 'deceives' the other with their online personas, Indy (for Saskia) and Max Hammer (for Noah): Indy and Max allow Saskia and Noah to be the people they hope to be, without any of their own anxieties and uncertainties. Despite this element of deceit, the friendship between the two is presented as genuine and strong. The program received much praise when it first aired for offering a counter-argument to the anxiety that often marks debates about online friendships.

According to Patricia Edgar's account of the creation of this program,

To take such an abstract philosophical concept and create involving stories with appealing characters was a difficult task for any writer. Elaine and I needed smart observers of people and situations who understood the world Noah and Saskia inhabit, who had a flair for sharp, witty dialogue for a modern, pacy story. With the different components in the United Kingdom, Australia and cyberspace, it could be structurally confusing. Chris Anastassiades, who had written the Yolngu Boy script and worked for several other ACTF projects, was the answer, along with Sam Carroll, a young woman who had not yet been spoiled by the demands of writing formulaic drama. She brought her youth and vitality to Saskia; Chris would write Noah.

(Source: Patricia Edgar, Bloodbath: A Memoir of Australian Television, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2006, p.401.)

Further Reference:

'Interview with Paul Nichola'. The Making of Noah and Saskia. ABC.(http://www.abc.net.au/rollercoaster/noahandsaskia/behind_the_scenes/making_of/paul_interview.htm). (Sighted: 12/9/2012).

'Interview with Pino Amenta'. The Making of Noah and Saskia. ABC. (http://www.abc.net.au/rollercoaster/noahandsaskia/behind_the_scenes/making_of/pino_interview.htm). (Sighted: 12/9/2012).