person or book cover
John Stanton in the title screen for Bellamy (screen cap)
form y separately published work icon Bellamy series - publisher   film/TV   detective   crime  
Issue Details: First known date: 1981... 1981 Bellamy
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

A crime drama devised for Grundy's by Ron McLean (Don Storey suggests, on Classic Australian Television, that it evolved from an earlier concept called The Killer Stalks), Bellamy was not successful when it aired on Australian television.

According to Albert Moran in his Guide to Australian TV Series, the problem was that Bellamy was, by the time it aired, an archaic concept:

Police series production had effectively come to an end in 1975 and women had become a more important part of Australian television, both on screen and in the audience. Yet the Network went against the tide by commissioning this police series starring ex-Homicide star John Stanton in the title role. As conceived and executed by Grundy's, Bellamy and underling Mitch had little or nothing in the way of a personal life and were pitted against monstrous villains, almost invariably murderers who lacked social backgrounds and psychological complexity. As a result many of the episodes had strong similarities, with a two-dimensional Batman and Robin duo pursuing such villains in the threadbare chase narratives.

The program was cancelled even before the first set of episodes had been completed.

Notes

  • An episode of Bellamy is available to watch on YouTube, beginning with part one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aij8V6DftAc (Sighted: 24/11/2011)
  • Award-winning and individually published episodes in this series are included on AustLit.

Includes

25
form y separately published work icon Fizz Luis Bayonas , Sydney : Reg Grundy Enterprises , 1981 6040692 1981 single work film/TV crime Sydney : Reg Grundy Enterprises , 1981

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Forgotten Australian TV Writers : Ron McLean Stephen Vagg , 2021 single work essay
— Appears in: FilmInk , 5 December 2021;
Forgotten Australian TV Writers : Ron McLean Stephen Vagg , 2021 single work essay
— Appears in: FilmInk , 5 December 2021;
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