''Ryan'' is an Australian adventure

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

screened by the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

from 27 May 1973. The series was produced by

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 ...

and had a run of 39 one-hour episodes.Moran, Albert. ''Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series'', Allen & Unwin, 1993. p 398

Synopsis

The series title relates to the character of Michael Ryan, a dashing

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...

played by

Rod Mullinar Rodney Mullinar (born 1942) is a British Australian actor, noted for his roles on Australian television. Biography Early life Mullinar born in Hereford, Hertfordshire, emigrated to Australia in 1966, at the urging of an Australian friend in ...

. A few years prior Mullinar had briefly taken the lead role in similar Crawford's series ''

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

'' (1967) in its closing episodes after the original lead actor Tony Ward left the show. Ryan's secretary Julie King was played by

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

-born actor

Pamela Stephenson Pamela Stephenson, Lady Connolly (born 4 December 1949) is a New Zealand-born psychologist, writer, actress and comedian. She moved with her family to Australia in 1953 and studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). After playi ...

, soon to leave for England and a successful television career.Some storylines were built around the character of Julie. Tony Angelini ( Luigi Villani), a taxi driver and Ryan's regular informant and assistant was the third key player in every episode while Detective Cullen (

Colin McEwan Colin McEwan (1941 – 21 August 2005) was an Australian actor, host, comedian and radio announcer. He was best known for appearing on both the stage and TV versions of '' The Naked Vicar Show'', and the sequel on which it was based, opposite ...

) was Ryan's main liaison with the police force.Storey, Don. ''TV Eye - Classic Australian Television''
TV Eye - Classic Australian Television
/ref> When McEwan appeared in an episode, he would be credited as one of the four main cast members.

Production

''Ryan'' was shot entirely on film and in colour with an eye to potential international sales.

Hector Crawford Hector William Crawford CBE AO (14 August 191311 March 1991) was an Australian entrepreneur, conductor and media mogul, best known for his radio and television production firms. He and his sister Dorothy Crawford founded Crawford Productions ...

told the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'' that the show was 'probably the most significant breakthrough for us, and for the Australian television industry, since we first produced ''

Homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

'' eight years ago.' An initial sale of 39 episodes to the Seven Network recouped only 55% of the series' relatively high production costs. An international sale was therefore crucial to the show's continued feasibility. Australian television was still in the process of transitioning to colour broadcasting in 1973, while key international markets were already in colour and would more readily purchase a colour series. Though many Australian series shot their interior scenes on videotape in the studio using a

multiple-camera setup The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, multi-camera or simply multicam is a method of filmmaking, television production and video production. Several cameras—either film cameras, film or professional video cameras—are ...

with only outdoor scenes shot on film, many television studios were not yet equipped with colour equipment. This meant ''Ryan'' had to be shot entirely on film. In another concession to international marketability Mullinar was instructed to play the role using a Mid-Atlantic American accent. One of Crawfords' directors, David Lee, designed a gun, in collaboration with Melbourne CIB ballistics, specifically for Mullinar to use in the show: 'a Colt with a 4-inch barrel.'

Broadcast

Locally

''Ryan'' premiered in May 1973, rating well in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

and

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, but failing in the crucial

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 ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

markets. A key reason for low ratings was the fact that the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and 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 the five main free-to-air television ...

had moved the highly popular police drama ''

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series broadcast by the Nine Network and created by Crawford Productions airing between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first to follow up on the enor ...

'' to a new night to compete with the much-hyped new series. ''Ryan'' was moved around the schedules in order to find an audience, but ratings remained mediocre. After the initial 39 episodes were in the can the ''Ryan'' crew were, in expectation of a second series, retained by Crawfords and put to work on ''

'' - whose output was increased to two episodes a week - on that show's second weekly episode. This resulted in one cross-over episode, with the ''Ryan'' regular characters appearing in an episode of ''Homicide'' with the exception of Pamela Stephenson, who had opted to leave the series during the recess. Ultimately ''Ryan'' was not renewed by the Seven Network due to insufficient ratings. The ''Homicide'' production reverted to one episode a week. While some of the crew were rolled into the new Crawfords serial '' The Box''. However, that show featured little outdoors filming so inevitably some of the ''Ryan'' crew were retrenched - the first time Crawfords had ever retrenched staff.

Internationally

''Ryan'' debuted in Canada in September 1975, in the US eleven days later on 27 September 1975 and in the UK on the 6 July 1976.'Radio and Television', London ''Daily Telegraph'' 6 July 1976 p. 27

Cast

Main

as Michael Ryan *

as Julie King * Luigi Villani as Tony Angelini *

as Detective Sergeant Dan Cullen

Guests

Episodes

DVD release

The complete series was released on DVD in June 2018. It and other Crawford Productions series are available to international viewers from Eaton Films in the UK and Australia and New Zealand based buyers from Crawfords DVD. As well as the full run of 39 episodes, the DVD set includes the ''Homicide'' crossover episode "As Simple As ABZ".

References

External links

''Ryan''
at ''Crawford Productions'' * {{IMDb title, id=0165058
''Ryan''
at

AustLit AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource (also known as AustLit: Australian Literature Gateway; and AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature) is a national bio-bibliographical database of Australian literature. It is an internet-based, ...

episode "Catalyst"
at

Australian adventure television series 1973 Australian television series debuts 1974 Australian television series endings 1970s Australian crime television series Seven Network original programming Black-and-white Australian television shows Television series by Crawford Productions ja:私立探偵ライアン