In October 1958, ATN-7 in Sydney debuted the well-received soap opera "Autumn Affair", which was likely the first Australian-produced dramatic television series ("The Adventures of Long John Silver" was filmed in Australia, but was not produced for Australian television). In early 1959, GTV-9 in Melbourne tried their luck at a dramatic TV series.
I watched an episode of this recently (via a NFSA access copy that I viewed at the Melbourne Mediatheque). This series, it is said, was ended after it was savaged by a reviewer in a major newspaper.
The episode I viewed, however, was quite decent, if not particularly plausible.
In the episode, a man is hit by a car and is taken to hospital, though with only minor injuries. Suffering from a mental disorder brought on by over-work and his wife leaving him, he goes out a ledge at the top of the hospital building and threatens suicide, and it is up to the people at the hospital to save him from himself.
The plot is absurd, but the acting is quite decent, and the sets are better than those in early episodes of "Autumn Affair". "Emergency" was not live, rather it was kinescoped in advance. The episode I viewed also featured a fair number of filmed inserts.
"Emergency" is not a great TV series, but I feel it should have been given a chance. The episode I viewed was quite enjoyable regardless of its faults.
I watched an episode of this recently (via a NFSA access copy that I viewed at the Melbourne Mediatheque). This series, it is said, was ended after it was savaged by a reviewer in a major newspaper.
The episode I viewed, however, was quite decent, if not particularly plausible.
In the episode, a man is hit by a car and is taken to hospital, though with only minor injuries. Suffering from a mental disorder brought on by over-work and his wife leaving him, he goes out a ledge at the top of the hospital building and threatens suicide, and it is up to the people at the hospital to save him from himself.
The plot is absurd, but the acting is quite decent, and the sets are better than those in early episodes of "Autumn Affair". "Emergency" was not live, rather it was kinescoped in advance. The episode I viewed also featured a fair number of filmed inserts.
"Emergency" is not a great TV series, but I feel it should have been given a chance. The episode I viewed was quite enjoyable regardless of its faults.
