''Barley Charlie'' was an Australian television

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

which aired in 1964. It was the second television sitcom produced in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

; being preceded by the 1957–1959 series ''

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

'', although that

Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian Media (communication), 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, a ...

sitcom had only aired in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. Some of the creatives went on to be involved in the serial drama '' Undercurrent'' (1965).

Overview

''Barley Charlie'' aired for 13 episodes, produced by

GTV-9 GTV is a commercial television station in Melbourne, Australia, owned by the Nine Network. The station is currently based at studios at 717 Bourke Street, Docklands. GTV-9 is the home of the Australian Open tennis coverage. History GTV-9 was ...

and also shown on other stations across Australia. Though short-lived, the series was a ratings success. The main cast were Sheila Bradley, Robina Beard, and Edward Hepple. The

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

hold at least four episodes of ''Barley Charlie'' as well as some documentation.

Cast

Main

* Edward Hepple as Charlie Appleby * Robina Beard as Shirley Muggleton * Sheila Bradley as Joan Muggleton * Stewart Weller as Stinger

Guests

* George Whaley (1 episode) * Joe McCormick as Harrison Blake, Jr (1 episode) * Michael Duffield as Inspector (1 episode) * Terry Norris as Herb (1 episode) * Wynn Roberts as Jim Fogarty (1 episode)

Premise

The premise was developed by the British scriptwriting team of Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe while they were visiting Australia in the wake of the worldwide success of ''

The Rag Trade ''The Rag Trade'' is a British television sitcom broadcast by the BBC between 1961 and 1963 and by ITV (TV network), ITV between 1977 and 1978. Although a comedy, it shed light on gender, politics and the "class war" on the factory floor. Th ...

.'' Joan and Shirley Muggleton are two cityslicker sisters who inherit a roadhouse café and garage midway between Melbourne and Sydney. Working there is Charlie Appleby, a lazy and clueless mechanic.

Episodes

All episodes were produced and directed by

Rod Kinnear Rodney Scott Kinnear (11 May 1931 – 2 May 2006) was an Australian director, best known for his work in TV. He worked at the BBC in London then returned to Australia to work for Colin Bednall at GTV-9. Kinnear started as a cameraman but soon bec ...

. The first six episodes were written by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney and adapted for Australian audiences by Alan Hopgood; the remaining seven were written solely by Hopgood. The series was first broadcast in Melbourne; selected episodes were later broadcast for the first time in Adelaide.

References

External links

* * * {{Rod Kinnear 1964 Australian television series debuts 1964 Australian television series endings 1960s Australian television sitcoms Nine Network original programming Black-and-white Australian television shows Australian English-language television shows Australian workplace comedy television series Works by Alan Hopgood