Titles curated by Anne Lucas
23 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year
1960s
My Name’s McGooley, What’s Yours? – End of the Line television program – 1967
McGooley, starring Gordon Chater and set in Balmain in the ’60s, was Australia’s first homegrown sitcom success.
1970s
Bellbird television program – 1970
Australia’s first successful national weekly serial, dealing with the lives and loves of ordinary people in a small country town.
The Fourth Wish television program – 1974
An obstinate single father struggles to grant his terminally ill son three wishes.
Certain Women – Episode 166 television program – 1976
The final episode of this long-running serial about a family of strong-minded women who take on a changing world in the 1970s.
The Sullivans – On the Brink of War television program – 1976
The first four episodes of the long-running hit series cover the period leading up to the declaration of the Second World War in Australia on 3 September 1939.
Ride On Stranger television program – 1979
Bookworm Shannon Jones heads for the Harbour City to learn about life, love and politics in the 1930s.
Young Ramsay – Natural Selection television program – 1979
Young Ramsay is perfect family viewing from a time when there was usually only one television in the house and families sat down to watch it together.
1980s
A Hard God television program – 1980
A Hard God, based on the play of the same name, is the story of a working-class Irish-Australian Catholic family in Sydney in the 1940s.
Lucinda Brayford television program – 1980
Wendy Hughes, Sam Neill, Carol Burns and Barry Quin feature in the saga of an Australian heiress who marries into British aristocracy.
A Town Like Alice television program – 1980
This mini-series, based on the novel by Nevil Shute, tells an epic love story that begins in Malaya during the Japanese occupation of 1941–45.
All the Rivers Run television program – 1983
This program won a swag of awards and has arguably been watched by more people, more often, than any other Australian mini-series of the prolific ’80s.
Mail Order Bride television program – 1984
A hard-hitting drama about racism, sexism and xenophobia in a small country town.
A Fortunate Life television program – 1985
While most viewers will be aware of a strong note of irony underlying the story, there is no doubt that in the final analysis it is one of hope, endurance and faith in humanity.
The Flying Doctors – Public Property television program – 1986
The Flying Doctors is a drama series set in the fictional town of Coopers Crossing and based on the work and lives of the men and women of the outback medical service.
Edens Lost television program – 1988
A beautiful woman’s obsession with one man damages the lives of all around her.
1990s
Phoenix – Top Quality Crims television program – 1991
Seminal procedural police drama, loosely based on the bombing of Victoria’s Russell Street Police Station in 1986.
Sylvania Waters – Episode 5 documentary – 1992
One of the first ‘fly on the wall’ reality TV shows, this co-production between the ABC and BBC was a hit here and in the UK.
Correlli – Rat Tamer television program – 1995
Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness star in a drama about a psychologist and her relationships with the staff and inmates of an all-male prison.
The Games – Series 1 Episode 8, Rural and Environment television program – 1998
In mockumentary style, The Games charts the progress of the fictitious Logistics and Liaison Division of SOCOG in the run-up to the Sydney Olympics.
2000s
The Dream – Days 9 and 15 television program – 2000
A lighthearted live show by Roy Slaven and HG Nelson on the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
My Brother Jack television program – 2001
This acclaimed mini-series is based on the classic Australian novel, a record of the changing social mores of the restless time between the First and Second World Wars.
Curtin television program – 2007
The Curtin telemovie is like a skilfully painted miniature: small in size and scope but, on closer examination, high on well-researched detail.
The Librarians – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 2007
This situation comedy series is set in a fictitious ‘Interactive Learning Centre’, known more prosaically as the local library.
