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More Aussie TV and Radio classics coming your way

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More Aussie TV and Radio classics coming your way

Another batch of classic Australian television and radio shows are heading your way in the very near future.

Via Vision Entertainment will be releasing the complete thirteenth season of A Country Practice on the 2nd December. In these thrilling episodes a fourteen-year-old runaway blows into town with a bikie gang and to make matters worse it transpires that she’s in the family way. A drug addict from the big city causes grief for the locals and there’s heartache for all when a young girl who is dying from leukaemia is admitted to the bush nursing hospital.

Frank Gilroy (Brian Wenzel) dreams of becoming the first Mayor of Wandin Valley, a depressed Esme Watson (Joyce Jacobs) contemplates moving into an old people’s home, and Bernice Hudson (Judith McGrath) is diagnosed with cervical cancer. Perce Hudson (Allan Penney) has trouble with his prostate, and there are wedding bells in the air for Terence Elliott (Shane Porteous) and Rosemary Prior (Maureen Edwards). Meanwhile, a bushfire is raging out of control which threatens to wipe out the entire town and all those who reside there.

Guest artists appearing in these episodes include Raina McKeon from The Young Doctors; Vincent Ball from Crossroads; Peter Phelps from Sons & Daughters; Elaine Lee and Bunney Brooke from Number 96; Moya O’Sullivan, Rebekah Elmaloglou and Delta Goodrem from Neighbours; Michael Caton from The Sullivans; Anna Hruby from Home & Away; Tim Elston from Richmond Hill; and Noel Trevarthen from Carson’s Law. Other familiar faces cropping up in the action include Colleen Clifford, Noel Ferrier, Mitch Matthews, and Frankie J. Holden. Long term Country Practice fans will be pleased to see the return of former series regulars such as Joan Sydney, Penny Cook and Diane Smith in cameo roles.

A Country Practice season 13 can be pre-ordered now from the Via Vision website.  https://viavision.com.au/shop/a-country-practice-season-thirteen/

Left: Wandin Valley faces oblivion in A Country Practice season 13. Right: Frank Gilroy (Brian Wenzel) won’t be manning the bar for much longer if the bushfire burns down the RSL Club in A Country Practice

If you are looking for some light relief during these challenging times then you might like to know that Via Vision has released every episode of the sitcom Kingswood Country on DVD.

The action revolves around the bigoted and politically incorrect Ted Bullpitt (Ross Higgins), a World War II veteran who struggles to come to terms with a rapidly changing world.

Ted’s more liberal-minded wife Thelma (Judi Farr) has to contend with his regular outrageous outbursts, as does their playboy son Craig (Peter Fisher) who is a medical student. Even a year down the track, Ted is still horrified that his feminist daughter Greta (Laurel McGowan) chose to marry Bruno (Lex Marinos), the son of New Australian’s of Italian origin.

Lots of familiar faces appear in Kingswood Country including Louise Howitt, Cornelia Frances, Deborah Gray, and Joseph Furst from The Young Doctors; Lenore Smith from The Flying Doctors; Maggie Dence, Tom Oliver, and Moya O’Sullivan from Neighbours; Ray Meagher from Home & Away; and Sheila Kennelly and Johnny Lockwood from Number 96. Others appearing in the series include Candy Raymond, Max Cullen, Liddy Clark, Graham Kennedy, Donald McDonald, Bruce Spence and Noeline Brown.  You can order Kingswood Country now from the Via Vision website. https://viavision.com.au/shop/kingswood-country-the-complete-series/

You’ll be laughing like a drain with Kingswood Country.

More laughs can be yours to enjoy because Umbrella Entertainment have decided to re-issue every episode of the rock’n’roll fuelled sitcom All Together Now on one bumper DVD box set. The action follows ageing rocker Bobby Rivers (Jon English) who had been at the top of the pop charts during the 1970s with his band Still Waters.

It’s now the 1990s, the glory days are long gone and Bobby is left living in a time warp reliving his past successes. His life is thrown into chaos when he learns that he’s the father of fifteen-year-old twins Anna (Jane Hall) and Thomas (Steven Jacobs). The generation gap is a hard bridge to overcome but fortunately, Bobby has the support of his friends Tracy Lawson (Rebecca Gibney), former roadie turned aspiring actor Doug Stevens (Garry Who), an agent to the stars Wayne Lovett (Bruno Lucia). Wayne, however, spends more of his time chasing the ‘Chicky Babe’s’ rather than focussing on getting work for his struggling clients.

Familiar faces appearing in the show include Lynda Stoner, Robyn Gibbes and Tottie Goldsmith from The Young Doctors; John Wood from Blue Heelers; Tommy Dysart and Kerry Armstrong from Prisoner; Robert Grubb from The Flying Doctors; Megan Williams from The Sullivans; and Georgie Parker from A Country Practice. Other well-known performers who crop up in the action include Nadine Garner, Glenn Ridge, Tina Arena, John Waters, Gary Sweet, Saskia Post, Ernie Bourne, Radha Mitchell, and Ray Martin.

You can pre-order All Together Now on the Umbrella Entertainment website, the release boasts several bonus features including a couple of goof reels from the show.   https://www.umbrellaent.com.au/tv/3723-all-together-now-the-complete-collection.html

Ageing rocker Bobby Rivers (Jon English) is back in All Together Now.

Grace Gibson Productions have released another batch of vintage radio serials for your listening pleasure.

The latest hilarious release of the political satire How Green Was My Cactus deals with a royal baby, a bogan budget and Barnaby’s cannabis – all in the best possible taste of course.

In more good news the theatre of the air returns with volume 6 of Starlight Theatre which boasts a further fifteen plays written by leading overseas writers and adapted to suit Australian tastes. This edition features plays including Country Doctor, A Woman Scorned, Marriage by Prescription and Help Wanted – A Gunman.

We head back to the 1950s for The Beauty Makers, a romantic serial adapted from the novel by N.B. Lamont. This is a tale of love and intrigue set against the glamorous backdrop of a New York based cosmetics business called The House of Vermayer.

Left: Enjoy more political satire with How Green Was My Cactus. Right: The theatre of the air returns with Starlight Theatre.

We meet the attractive female employees as they test out new nail varnishes and creams before they are launched onto the market, and wonder if the new company president Paul Vandenberg will fall for the charms of the stunning Sigrid Anderson who is on his payroll. Cast members include Keith Eden, Carl Bleazby, Betty Randall, Patricia Kennedy and Don Crosby.

Science fiction fans will enjoy The Black Cloud which was adapted from the novel by astrophysicist Sir Fred Hoyle. Produced during the 1950s this serial opens in the year 2021 and deals with an event which occurred 57 years previously. An intruder from outer space who travels in a black cloud appears from nowhere and threatens the continuation of life on the planet Earth.

The alien is surprised to find that an intelligent form of life exists on Earth but what transpires is a stand-off between the logic of scientists and the nuclear might of politicians who are faced with an unknown foe from beyond the stars. The cast includes Brian James, Carl Bleazby, Judith Thompson, Robert Peach and Neil Fitzpatrick.

All of these radio serials and a wealth of others can be purchased on CD, USB drive or as digital downloads from the Grace Gibson website. https://gracegibsonradio.com/

Left: Science fiction fans will love The Black Cloud. Right: Romance and glamour are on the cards with The Beauty Makers.

Images copyright- JNP/Via Vision Entertainment. RS Productions/Via Vision Entertainment. Telltale Films/Nine Network/Umbrella Entertainment. IRS Grace Gibson Productions.

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