person or book cover
Cast members from The Restless Years (screen cap from a television promotion for the program)
form y separately published work icon The Restless Years series - publisher   film/TV  
Issue Details: First known date: 1977... 1977 The Restless Years
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Another soap opera from Grundy's, The Restless Years followed a group of teenagers from the end of school to early adulthood: the 'restless years' of the title.

According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series,

On paper, The Restless Years should not have worked because the central idea of a group of teenagers and adults variously involved with a kids' refuge was not a particularly strong one. Nevertheless, the series did click with audiences and the program built up a loyal band of viewers who tuned in each evening to watch this tale of lost, confused teenagers and adults. Chief among the latter was the essentially castrating mother played by June Salter.

Mimicking the title of Lesley Stern's article (below), Moran sums up The Restless Years as 'this most Freudian of serials'.

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon Goede tijden, slechte tijden Netherlands : RTL Nederland , 1990- 21523404 1990 series - publisher film/TV

This long-running soap opera was an adaptation of Australian soap opera The Restless Years, but diverged from the original's plotlines during its third season.

form y separately published work icon Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten Germany : RTL , 1992- 21523324 1992 series - publisher film/TV

Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten drew its inspiration from Australian soap opera The Restless Years, especially for its first year's worth of episodes (230 episodes): after this point, it diverged into original storylines.

Notes

  • According to Moran, The Restless Years 'was the first local television soap opera to obtain a serious critical analysis'. The paper in question is Lesley Stern's 'Oedipul Opera: The Restless Years', Australian Journal of Screen Theory 4 (1978): 39-48. (Note: Moran, who doesn't provide the full bibliographical reference for Stern's article, mistakenly gives the publication as the Australian Journal of Cultural Studies.)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Reg Grundy Enterprises , 1977 .
      person or book cover
      The Restless Years title screen (screen cap)
      Extent: 781x60min. episodesp.
      Description: Produced on videotape; colour

Works about this Work

Oedipul Opera: The Restless Years Lesley Stern , 1978 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Australian Journal of Screen Theory , vol. 4 no. 1978; (p. 39-48)
According to Albert Moran, this was the first serious critical examination of an Australian-made soap opera.
Oedipul Opera: The Restless Years Lesley Stern , 1978 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Australian Journal of Screen Theory , vol. 4 no. 1978; (p. 39-48)
According to Albert Moran, this was the first serious critical examination of an Australian-made soap opera.
Last amended 13 Apr 2021 14:17:20
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