person or book cover
Screen cap from opening credits
form y separately published work icon The Thorn Birds single work   film/TV  
Adaptation of The Thorn Birds Colleen McCullough , 1977 single work novel
Issue Details: First known date: 1983... 1983 The Thorn Birds
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

This four-part mini-series, set in Australia, covers forty-two years in the life of Ralph de Bricassart, a Roman Catholic priest who engages in a constant struggle between his calling and his carnal desires. In part one, a young Father Ralph is sent to administer a parish in outback Australia and finds himself drawn into a relationship with Mary Carson, owner of a massive sheep station. Here, too, he begins a close friendship with Carson's niece, Meggie Cleary, then a child. In part two, a bush fire destroys the Carson home and much of the station and stock. Later, having previously succumbed to their mutual passion, Father Ralph and Meggie experience an uncomfortable reunion. The politically ambitious Ralph also forms a strong and beneficial alliance with Archbishop Contini-Verchese, one of Rome's most influential religious leaders. Part three finds Meggie disillusioned after entering into an unhappy marriage. She eventually ends up working as a housemaid on a Queensland sugar-cane plantation, but later finds out that she is pregnant. The final episode, part four, covers a timespan of nearly thirty years (1935-1962) and focuses on the lives of Meggie's children, the flamboyant aspiring actress Justine and would-be priest Dane, neither of whom are initially aware of the past relationship between their mother and Father Ralph (aka Cardinal de Bricassart).

Notes

  • Mini-series.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Film Offspring Anna Byrne , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 23 July 2016; (p. 19)
Waves of Fosters, Crocodiles and Ockers : Representation of Australia and Australians in American Popular Culture Nathanael O'Reilly , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australasian Journal of Popular Culture , vol. 1 no. 2 2012; (p. 247-254)
'This article presents a broad overview of the Australian presence in American popular culture since 1995, focusing on a variety of cultural productions, including television, film, restaurants, beer advertisements, clothing and music. I argue that Australia and Australians are depicted in American popular culture in an exaggerated, exoticized manner. The representations of Australia and Australians in American popular culture usually consist of exaggerated stereotypes that are constructed in order to serve commercial interests, and this the representations serve to perpetuate stereotypes, such as the Ocker image that is so dominant in American popular culture, rather than to increase knowledge of Australia and Australians within the United States.' (Author's abstract p. 247)
Thorn Birds Set A-Twitter 2009 single work column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 6 April 2009; (p. 7)
Thorn Birds Set A-Twitter 2009 single work column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 6 April 2009; (p. 7)
Waves of Fosters, Crocodiles and Ockers : Representation of Australia and Australians in American Popular Culture Nathanael O'Reilly , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australasian Journal of Popular Culture , vol. 1 no. 2 2012; (p. 247-254)
'This article presents a broad overview of the Australian presence in American popular culture since 1995, focusing on a variety of cultural productions, including television, film, restaurants, beer advertisements, clothing and music. I argue that Australia and Australians are depicted in American popular culture in an exaggerated, exoticized manner. The representations of Australia and Australians in American popular culture usually consist of exaggerated stereotypes that are constructed in order to serve commercial interests, and this the representations serve to perpetuate stereotypes, such as the Ocker image that is so dominant in American popular culture, rather than to increase knowledge of Australia and Australians within the United States.' (Author's abstract p. 247)
Film Offspring Anna Byrne , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 23 July 2016; (p. 19)
Last amended 12 Dec 2014 12:55:32
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