''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 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 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, 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'' 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 prima ...
'' 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 Crawfor ...
' 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 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 ho ...
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 – Tony Harris
*
Steven Grives – Steve Colby
*
Malcolm Cork – 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 – 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
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