person or book cover
Script cover page (from the Crawford Collection at the AFI Research Collection)
form y separately published work icon Final Devotion single work   film/TV   crime  
Issue Details: First known date: 1976... 1976 Final Devotion
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'A person dies, but the memory lingers on. Unfortunately, in some cases, the memory does more harm than good. This is the case of Steven Berry.

'A father's reputation in crime 15 years ago is brought to light at his death and the son must learn to cope with the malicious and doubting attitudes of a world quick to judge a man, not for himself alone, but for the stigma attached to his father.

'Rejected by the parents of the girl he is to marry, Steven goes through an emotional upheaval which leads him to the brink of suicide. However, outside influences take a hand and he finds himself embroiled in a one-way situation - a seige [sic] with hostages.

'Bluey finds it difficult to deal with such an explosive problem especially with other members of the police force hindering his every move. His unorthodox approach places him at the other end of a gun - as a hostage.

'An enforced wedding ceremony, and events take a turn for the worst; a long day ending in tragedy.'


Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).



The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'STEVE BERRY 23. A good looking young man. Totally sympathetic. He is completely in love with Sue and his world is shattered when their wedding is called off. A set of circumstances gradually wear him down from a frightened man to one who sees his only salvation being at the right end of a gun.

'SUE GOLDING 20. Attractive. A slightly weak person because she is torn between two loves. That of Steve's and that of her parents. As Steve's character weakens, hers gets stronger. She does love and care for Steve.

'BERT GOLDING 45. The ruler of the family. His word goes. He and his wife, Tina, have over the years, lost a certain amount of closeness. To Bert, position in a community is very important. He refuses to believe Sue knows what she is doing. A protector.

'TINA GOLDING 40. She cares for Sue much more than she cares for Bert. A woman prone to hysteria - but nothing like this has ever happened to her before and her safe world is threatened.

'IDA BERRY 45. A woman who has seen a lot of life. Has no trouble with reality. She loved her husband and equally loves her son. Kind and warm.

'INSPECTOR BILL DERMOT 40 ish. Duty Officer. Operates by the book. Generalises his cases. His whole experience in siege situations is aimed at protecting the innocent - the man with the gun is the enemy - a person not to know.

'PRIEST Catholic.

'MOURNERS (3) Men of about 45/50.

'P/C #1

'P/C #2 Young and efficient cops.

'P/C #3

'P/C #4 Dermot's sharpshooters.'


Notes

  • This entry has been compiled from archival research in the Crawford Collection (AFI Research Collection), undertaken by Dr Catriona Mills under the auspices of the 2012 AFI Research Collection (AFIRC) Research Fellowship.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

      1976 .
      person or book cover
      Script cover page (from the Crawford Collection at the AFI Research Collection)
      Extent: 64p.
      (Manuscript) assertion
      Note/s:
      • The script is copied on white paper with yellow cover page and character notes, labelled on the cover page 'Code 11532' and 'Episode No. 38', although it aired as episode thirty three. Unlike most other Bluey scripts in the Crawford Collection, this is not an original script. There is no indication on the cover page of to whom this copy of the script was designated.
      • There are no signs of annotation on this copy of the script.
      • The file contains the following ancillary material, access to some of which is restricted:
        1. 13-page document titled 'Bluey Location Times and Schedules', copied on yellow paper and labelled 'Denise Morgan' in blue ink on the top of the front page.
        2. 13-page document titled 'Bluey Episode 11532 "Final Devotion" One Liner', copied on white paper (from an original that has clearly been typed and then modified in ink) and labelled 'Denise Morgan' in lead pencil in the top right-hand corner of the front page.
        3. Cast list.

      Holdings

      Held at: AFI Research Collection
      Local Id: SC BLU : 33
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Crawford Productions , 1977 .
      Extent: 47 min., 47 secs (according to the script)p.
      Series: form y separately published work icon Bluey Robert Caswell , Vince Moran , Everett de Roche , James Wulf Simmonds , Tom Hegarty , Gwenda Marsh , Colin Eggleston , David Stevens , Peter A. Kinloch , Keith Thompson , Gregory Scott , Peter Schreck , Denise Morgan , Monte Miller , Ian Jones , John Drew , David William Boutland , Jock Blair , Melbourne : Crawford Productions Seven Network , 1976 Z1815063 1976 series - publisher film/TV crime detective

      According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian Television Series, Bluey (and its Sydney-based rival, King's Men) 'constituted an attempt to revive the police genre after the cancellations of Homicide, Division 4 and Matlock Police'.

      Don Storey, in his Classic Australian Television, summarises the program as follows:

      Bluey is a maverick cop who breaks every stereotype image. He drinks, smokes and eats to excess, and therefore is rather large, but it is his unusual investigative methods that set him apart. He has bent or broken every rule in the book at some stage, to the point where no-one else wants to work with him. But he gets results, and is therefore too valuable to lose, so the powers-that-be banish him to the basement of Russell Street Police Headquarters where he is set up in his own department, a strategem that keeps him out of the way of other cops.

      Moran adds that 'Grills, Diedrich and Nicholson turned in solid performances in the series and the different episodes were generally well paced, providing engaging and satisfying entertainment.'

      The program sold well overseas, especially in the United Kingdom. But though it rated well domestically, it was not the success that the Seven Network had hoped for, and was cancelled after 39 episodes.

      Bluey had an unexpected revival in the early 1990s when selections from the video footage (over-dubbed with a new vocal track) were presented during the second series of the ABC comedy The Late Show as the fictional police procedural Bargearse. (The Late Show had given ABC gold-rush drama Rush the same treatment in series one.)

      Number in series: 33
Last amended 20 Jan 2014 17:24:49
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