form y separately published work icon A Second Opinion single work   film/TV   crime  
Issue Details: First known date: 1971... 1971 A Second Opinion
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    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Crawford Productions ; Network Ten , 1971 .
      Extent: 42 min. 53 secs (as at 22.4.71, according to the script)p.
      Series: form y separately published work icon Matlock Police Terry Stapleton , Ian Jones , Everett de Roche , Ian Jones , Terry Stapleton , Keith Hetherington , Patrick Edgeworth , Tom Hegarty , Douglas Tainsh , Graeme Koetsveld , Peter A. Kinloch , Sonia Borg , Don Battye , Robert Caswell , George T. Miller , Gwenda Marsh , Cliff Green , Vince Moran , Luis Bayonas , David William Boutland , Phil Freedman , Keith Thompson , Denise Morgan , C.F. Barnes , Robert Bruce , Alan Cram , Vern Perry , Martin Robbins , John Dingwall , George Mallaby , Jim Stapleton , Simon Wincer , Melbourne Australia : Crawford Productions Network Ten , 1971-1976 Z1638563 1971 series - publisher film/TV detective crime

      The Matlock Police series (originally simply titled Matlock) was commissioned from Crawford Productions by ATV-0, in response to the popularity of rival-network police dramas such as Homicide and Division 4. Crawford's was initially reluctant to create another police series, but ATV-0 pressured the company for some time. Eventually, Ian Jones and Terry Stapleton devised the concept of a regional (Victorian) police series to provide viewers with something different. The more relaxed atmosphere of the country-town setting also allowed the writers to delve into the private lives of the main characters, rather than focusing heavily on big-city organised crime. In this respect, the series was situated somewhere between Homicide/Division 4 and Bellbird. The series did, however, cover typical rural policing, including such issues as break and enters, domestic issues, itinerant workers, brawls, petty crime and robberies, road accidents, the occasional homicide, and cattle rustling. On other occasions, the Matlock police also assisted Melbourne police in locating criminals on the run (among other problems). The idea behind the show was to reflect the causes of crime in a small community and show the effects on both the community and the officers themselves.

      The fictional town of Matlock (loosely based on Shepparton in Victoria) is situated inland on the Central Highway, approximately 160 kilometres north of Melbourne. Although the town's population is only seventeen thousand, this increases to around seventy-five thousand when the district is included. The Matlock Police Station is typical of a Victorian country town, with a Uniform Branch and a Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB). The CIB is headed by Detective Sergeant Vic Maddern, who grew up in the Matlock district and is an accomplished bushman. Second in command is Detective Allan Curtis, aged in his mid-twenties. Previously from Melbourne, Curtis has just been sent to his first country posting (against his will) when the series begins. Head of the Uniform Branch is Sergeant Bert Kennedy, an Englishman who migrated to Australia in 1950. A thorough but also easy-going man with a good sense of humour, Kennedy is married to Nell and enjoys the country life in Matlock, so much so that he has knocked back promotion to avoid moving to Melbourne. Several constables are attached to the Uniform Branch, but the most prominent is a motorcycle cop, Constable Gary Hogan, who performs a wide variety of duties. Hogan is about thirty, a friendly, easy-going person who grew up in the country and is always willing to help in whatever work is going.

      Number in series: 18
      1971 .
      person or book cover
      Script cover page (Crawford Collection at the AFI Research Collection)
      Extent: 64p.
      (Manuscript) assertion
      Note/s:
      • The Crawford Collection holds two copies of this script, both copied on pink paper and labelled 'Episode 2Y' on the cover page. Neither copy shows any indication on their cover pages of to whom these copies are designated.
      • Both copies are identical and neither shows any signs of annotation.
      • The final page of both copies includes a list of crew credits:
        Written by Doug Tainsh.
        Edited by Graham Foreman.
        Typed by Phyllis Bayne, Jenny Barty, Brenda Eterovic, Elizabeth Cotterill, Sandie Siebel, Christine Paterson, Nola Stone.
        Checked by Phyllis Bayne, Brenda Eterovic, Elizabeth Cotterill, Christine Patterson, Nola Stone.
        Duplicated by Dennis Ingham.
        The section below these for 'Producer's Remarks' has been left blank.
      • The file contains the following ancillary material, access to which is restricted:
        1. Casting call sheets.

      Holdings

      Held at: AFI Research Collection
      Local Id: SC MAT : 18
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