"What About Next Year" is the eighth
television play
A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movi ...
episode of the first season of the Australian anthology television series ''
Australian Playhouse
''Australian Playhouse'' was an Australian anthology TV series featuring the work of Australian writers.
It ran for two series consisting of 40 episodes. Among the featured productions were works by Pat Flower who was the main writer hav ...
''. "What About Next Year" was written by
Richard Lane and directed by
Patrick Barton
Patrick Barton is an Australian TV director best known for his productions in the 1960s.
Select credits
*''You Can't Win 'Em All'' (1962)
*''The Gioconda Smile'' (1963)
*''Night Stop'' (1963)
*''Double Yolk'' (1963)
*''The Angry General'' (1964)
...
and originally aired on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
on 6 June 1966 in Melbourne and Sydney
Plot
A man, Fred Taylor, investigates the disappearance of a friend, Pete Hayes. He talks to the missing man's wife and daughter, unaware the daughter is insane.
Cast
*
Dennis Miller
Dennis Michael Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American political commentator, stand-up comedian, talk show host, writer, actor and former sportscaster.
Miller was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' fro ...
as Fred Taylor
* Terry Aldred as Laura Ogilvie
* Victoria Grace as the daughter
*
Edward Howell
Reception
''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
'' called it "an effective suspense play."
''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' felt that, like many ''Australian Playhouse'' scripts there was "insufficient time to develop the theme adequately" but thought "the acting was of the same high quality that characterised all the plays in the series."
''
The Canberra Times
''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times.
History
''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...
'' said the production "was marred by weak sound, especially in voice production, and there was a singular lack of emotion and reaction from Mrs Laura Ogilvie (Terry Aldred), the mother of the piece" adding "although this play was no masterpiece, it does show that plays can be written for the ABC if they are professionally enough done on those once-taboo subjects, insanity and sex, and "gotten away with" even if they have to be judiciously censored for family viewing."
''
The Bulletin'' said the play "creaked in almost every joint. It is bad when the viewer knows that a character moving toward a door is going to pause on the threshold and utter a Significant Statement before he or she exits. As for the significant shotgun blast off set, followed by a re-entry, and the question, “Is he dead?” what could be more pitiful? One can only remark that ABC Television producers are the world's most stubborn in refusing to learn anything from other producers and directors in their own medium. With such direction as one sees in much of “Playhouse,” even a good script would look bad."
See also
*
References
External links
*
*
{{Patrick Barton
1966 television plays
1966 Australian television episodes
1960s Australian television plays
Australian Playhouse season 1 episodes
Black-and-white television episodes