''Waterloo Station'' was a short-lived Australian television

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

created by

Reg Watson Reginald James Watson (27 August 1926 – 8 October 2019) was an Australian television producer and screenwriter. He was executive producer on ''Crossroads (British TV series), Crossroads'' and created Australian media exports serials such as ' ...

and produced by the

Reg Grundy Organisation Reg Grundy Organisation (founded as Reg Grundy Enterprises, later known as both Reg Grundy Productions and Grundy Television and known informally as Grundy's) was an Australian-based multinational mass media company, primarily involved in tele ...

for the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

in 1983.

Synopsis

''Waterloo Station'' focused on two sisters, both married to policemen, and their adult children starting careers in the police force. The main locations were a police station, a police training academy in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, and a large boarding house that provided accommodation for several characters. ''Waterloo Station'' was an attempt by Grundy's to reproduce for Channel Nine the success of their earlier shows ''

The Restless Years ''The Restless Years'' is an Australian soap opera which followed the lives of several Sydney school-leavers and the drama and relationships faced by young adults. It was created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for N ...

'' and ''

The Young Doctors ''The Young Doctors'' is an Australian early-evening soap opera originally broadcast on the Nine Network and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, it aired from Monday, 8 November 1976 until Wednesday, 30 March 1983. The series is primar ...

'' which focused on youth situations. Like

Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, also known as Crawfords ...

' successful police series ''

Cop Shop ''Cop Shop'' is a long-running Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that ran for seven seasons between 28 November 1977 and 23 July 1984. It comprised 582 one-hour episodes. The show The show revolved ar ...

'',Peter Robson and Jennifer L Schulz (editors) ''Waterloo Station'' combined

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

elements with domestic situations involving the police personnel and their families. The series was recorded at the

Eric Porter Eric Richard Porter (8 April 192815 May 1995) was an English actor of stage, film and television. Early life Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to bus conductor Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth (née Spall). His parents hope ...

studios in North Sydney.

Cast

* Ron Graham – Jack Edwards * Sally Tayler – Sally Edwards * Pam Western – Liz Edwards * Danny Roberts – Trevor Brown * Julianne White – Stacey Daniels *

John Bonney John Bonney (21 May 1946 – 20 February 2022) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda Football Club, St Kilda. A wingman recruited from the small Tasmanian club Cooee Football Club, Cooee, Bonney played in the St Kilda gra ...

– George Logan *

Jenny Ludlam Jennifer Kay "Jenny" Ludlam (born 23 July 1951 in Taumarunui, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born actress, who remains best known for her roles in Australian television. Acting roles In Australia, she was a regular cast member in the short-li ...

– Ann Logan *

Bartholomew John Bartholomew John (born 24 August 1952 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is an actor best known for his roles on television in America and Australia. In 1974, his single "Someone" peaked at number 75 in Australia. Career He played Dr. Chris Piper in ...

– Tony Harris * Steven Grives – Steve Colby *

Malcolm Cork Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to: People * Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Clan Malcolm * Maol Choluim de Innerpeffray, 14th-century bishop-elect of Dunkeld Nobility * Máel C ...

– David Keller *

Tex Morton Tex Morton (born Robert William Lane in Nelson, New Zealand, also credited as Robert Tex Morton; 30 August 1916 – 23 July 1983) was a pioneer of New Zealand and Australian country and western music, vaudevillian, actor, television host and ...

– Harry McDowell *

Gerry Sont Gerard Sont, also known as Gerry Sont and Gera4d Sont (billing as) is an Australian actor and TV host. Biography Sont played the titular Melvin in ''Melvin, Son of Alvin''. Sont played recurring character Brett Mackin on ''Home and Away' ...

– Rick Thompson * Paul Smith – Joey Daniels * Jennifer West – Rosie Wallace * Andrew Clarke – Chris Cooper * Patrick Phillips – criminal

Episodes

Season 1 (1983–1984)

Home Media

There is yet to be a DVD Release of Waterloo Station.

Screening

The series was programmed against the popular new series ''

Carson's Law ''Carson's Law'' is an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for the Ten Network between 1982-1984. The series was a period piece set in the 1920s and starred Lorraine Bayly as progressive solicitor Jennifer Carson. The ep ...

'' in key markets including Melbourne, and achieved only mediocre ratings. It was cancelled after 40 episodes. Andrew Clarke, Danny Roberts and Sally Tayler all subsequently found greater success as regular cast members of another Grundy produced soap opera, '' Sons and Daughters''. After ''Waterloo Station'', on 18 April 1983, Grundy launched ''

Starting Out ''Starting Out'' is an Australian television soap opera made for the Nine Network by the Reg Grundy Organisation in 1983. Background The five-night-a-week series was created by Reg Watson as the network's replacement for the long-running s ...

'' which featured youthful characters attempting to enter the ''medical'' profession. This series was similarly short-lived. During late 1987 while “The Midday Show” was taking a summer Christmas holiday break Nine network Sydney replayed Waterloo Station TV series weekdays at 12pm followed at 1.00pm “Private Benjamin” US comedy TV series. It has never been replayed since on commercial or pay TV here in Australia.

References

External links

* Australian television soap operas Nine Network original programming 1983 Australian television series debuts 1984 Australian television series endings English-language television shows Television series produced by The Reg Grundy Organisation {{Australia-tv-prog-stub