Stormy Petrel (TV series): Difference between revisions

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*Ep 10 "Rebellion"
*Ep 10 "Rebellion"
*Ep 11 ' Aftermath"
*Ep 11 ' Aftermath"
*Ep 12 "The Way Back" - Bligh returns to England to give evidence at the court martial of Major Johnston
*Ep 12 "The Way Back" - Bligh returns to England to give evidence at the court martial of Major Johnston. Bligh's widowed daughter Mary becomes betrothed to Macquarie's aide, Maurice O'Connell, while Bligh's secretary, Griffin, who loves Mary, looks on.


==Reception==
==Reception==
Coming at a time when Australia produced few dramatic television series, ''The Age'' called it a ''"successful serial"'' and commented ''"These colorful - and factual - Australian series are a "must" for Australian television"''<ref>{{cite news|title=Standard set by Petrel|newspaper=The Age|date=29 December 1960|page=9|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_4RVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sqkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4403%2C4392016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=MDQ-9Oe3GGUC&dat=19600609&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|newspaper=The Age|title=Serial on Bligh is Good TV|date=June 9, 1960}}</ref>
Coming at a time when Australia produced few dramatic television series, ''The Age'' called it a ''"successful serial"'' and commented ''"These colorful - and factual - Australian series are a "must" for Australian television"''<ref>{{cite news|title=Standard set by Petrel|newspaper=The Age|date=29 December 1960|page=9|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_4RVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sqkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4403%2C4392016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=MDQ-9Oe3GGUC&dat=19600609&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|newspaper=The Age|title=Serial on Bligh is Good TV|date=June 9, 1960}}</ref>


The ''Woman's Weekly'' said Dean was to be "cogratulated on a production (made difficult, I'm sure, by budget-balancing) marked by a simplicity that has been the trademark of some of the
⚫
The ''Woman's Weekly'' called it "an outstanding production."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46237339 |title=20th century wisdom |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |volume=28 |issue=11 |location=Australia, Australia |date=17 August 1960 |accessdate=16 March 2017 |page=55 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
B.B.C. adaptations of famous classics. You may cock a snoot at Australian history, but "Stormy Petrel" makes Australian history come alive in absorbing TV."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46234157 |title=They don't socialise |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |volume=28, |issue=4 |location=Australia, Australia |date=29 June 1960 |accessdate=16 July 2020 |page=57 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref> At the end of the series' run the ''Woman's Weekly'' called it "an outstanding production."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46237339 |title=20th century wisdom |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |volume=28 |issue=11 |location=Australia, Australia |date=17 August 1960 |accessdate=16 March 2017 |page=55 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>


According to director [[Colin Dean]] "I got the results from Audience Research - the average audience for ''Stormy Petrel'' was the same as a years run in her Majesty's Theatre including matinees. I thought to myself - that is unbelievable. That is what we have been missing. We never had audiences like that before. What a great thing we done!"<ref>{{cite web|website=ABC Gore Hill|url=http://www.abctvgorehill.com.au/assets/contributions/colin_dean.htm|title=Interview with Colin Dean}}</ref>
According to director [[Colin Dean]] "I got the results from Audience Research - the average audience for ''Stormy Petrel'' was the same as a years run in her Majesty's Theatre including matinees. I thought to myself - that is unbelievable. That is what we have been missing. We never had audiences like that before. What a great thing we done!"<ref>{{cite web|website=ABC Gore Hill|url=http://www.abctvgorehill.com.au/assets/contributions/colin_dean.htm|title=Interview with Colin Dean}}</ref>


It was repeated by the ABC in 1974.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110721634 |title=1960 series on Bligh was worth repeating |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=48 |issue=13,821 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=31 July 1974 |accessdate=16 March 2017 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
It was repeated by the ABC in 1974.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110721634 |title=1960 series on Bligh was worth repeating |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=48 |issue=13,821 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=31 July 1974 |accessdate=16 March 2017 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
==Sequel==

⚫
In November 1960 it was announced that Rex Rienits and Colin Dean would reunite on a sequel that would focus on William Redfern but feature many characters from ''Stormy Petrel''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51193413 |title=A.B.C. plans new historical serial |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |volume=28, |issue=[?] |location=Australia, Australia |date=2 November 1960 |accessdate=16 July 2020 |page=74 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref>
==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

Revision as of 12:47, 16 July 2020

Stormy Petrel
Genrehistory
Created byRex Rienits
Directed byColin Dean
StarringBrian James
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes12
Production
Running time30 mins
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseMay 29, 1960 (Melbourne)[1] –
31 July 1960 (Sydney)
14 August 1960 (Melbourne)

Stormy Petrel was an early Australian television drama. A period drama, the 12-episode serial told the story of William Bligh and aired in 1960 on ABC.

It was based on a script by Rex Rienits adapted from his 1948 radio serial.[2] The radio serial was rebroadcast in 1953.[3]

Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.[4] Other period drama series produced by ABC in the early 1960s included The Outcasts (1961), The Patriots (1962), and The Hungry Ones (1963). Additionally, in 1964 the broadcaster aired The Purple Jacaranda, a serial with a contemporary setting. Telerecordings (also known as Kinescope recordings) of the series are held by National Archives of Australia.

Cast

  • Brian James as William Bligh
  • Muriel Steinbeck as Mrs Bligh
  • Walter Sullivan as John MacArthur
  • Margo Lee as Mrs MacArthur
  • Alistair Duncan
  • Richard Perry
  • Ric Hutton as John Putland
  • Delia Williams as Mary Bligh, Bligh's daughter
  • Charles McCallum as the Minister
  • Ric Hutton as Lt John Putland
  • Annette Andre as Ann Bight
  • Elizbath Waterhouse as Elizabeth Bligh
  • Moray Powell as Dr Warren
  • Geoffrey King as Sir Joseph Banks
  • Owen Weingott
  • Nat Levison
  • Nigel Lovell as Major Johnston
  • Charles McCallum
  • Walter Pym as Lt-Gen Keppel

Production

The series was based on a radio play which Rex Rienits had written in 1948. Rienits said he believed Bligh "was a great man."[5] The play was a great success when broadcast. Rienits sold it to the BBC and the ABC rebroadcast it in 1953.[6]

Episode Guide

  • Ep 1 "The Assignment" - Sir Joseph Banks offers Bligh the governership of NSW
  • Ep 2 "The Voyage Out"
  • Ep 3 "The Arrival"
  • Ep 4 "Enter John MacArthur"
  • Ep 5 "Storm Clouds"
  • Ep 6 "The Challenge"
  • Ep 7 "The First Skirmish"
  • Ep 8 "The Storm Gathers" - Bligh clashes with MacArthur in a second court action
  • Ep 9 "The Storm Breaks"
  • Ep 10 "Rebellion"
  • Ep 11 ' Aftermath"
  • Ep 12 "The Way Back" - Bligh returns to England to give evidence at the court martial of Major Johnston. Bligh's widowed daughter Mary becomes betrothed to Macquarie's aide, Maurice O'Connell, while Bligh's secretary, Griffin, who loves Mary, looks on.

Reception

Coming at a time when Australia produced few dramatic television series, The Age called it a "successful serial" and commented "These colorful - and factual - Australian series are a "must" for Australian television"[7][8]

The Woman's Weekly said Dean was to be "cogratulated on a production (made difficult, I'm sure, by budget-balancing) marked by a simplicity that has been the trademark of some of the B.B.C. adaptations of famous classics. You may cock a snoot at Australian history, but "Stormy Petrel" makes Australian history come alive in absorbing TV."[9] At the end of the series' run the Woman's Weekly called it "an outstanding production."[10]

According to director Colin Dean "I got the results from Audience Research - the average audience for Stormy Petrel was the same as a years run in her Majesty's Theatre including matinees. I thought to myself - that is unbelievable. That is what we have been missing. We never had audiences like that before. What a great thing we done!"[11]

It was repeated by the ABC in 1974.[12]

Sequel

In November 1960 it was announced that Rex Rienits and Colin Dean would reunite on a sequel that would focus on William Redfern but feature many characters from Stormy Petrel.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Aust TV Serial About Bligh". The Age. 26 May 1960. p. 14.
  2. ^ "STARS OF THE AIR". Wodonga and Towong Sentinel (Vic. : 1885 - 1954). Vic.: National Library of Australia. 17 December 1948. p. 1. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  3. ^ ""THE STORMY PETREL"-NEW A.B.C. SERIAL ABOUT BLIGH". South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus (NSW : 1900 - 1954). NSW: National Library of Australia. 3 August 1953. p. 2 Section: South Coast Times AND WOLLONGONG ARGUS FEATURE SECTION. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  4. ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  5. ^ "STARS OF THE AIR". The Grenfell Record And Lachlan District Advertiser. Vol. 81, no. 95. New South Wales, Australia. 16 December 1948. p. 4. Retrieved 16 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ ""THE STORMY PETREL"-NEW A.B.C. SERIAL ABOUT BLIGH". South Coast Times And Wollongong Argus. Vol. LIII, no. 60. New South Wales, Australia. 3 August 1953. p. 2 (South Coast Times AND WOLLONGONG ARGUS FEATURE SECTION). Retrieved 16 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Standard set by Petrel". The Age. 29 December 1960. p. 9.
  8. ^ "Serial on Bligh is Good TV". The Age. 9 June 1960.
  9. ^ "They don't socialise". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 28, , no. 4. Australia, Australia. 29 June 1960. p. 57. Retrieved 16 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  10. ^ "20th century wisdom". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 28, no. 11. Australia, Australia. 17 August 1960. p. 55. Retrieved 16 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "Interview with Colin Dean". ABC Gore Hill.
  12. ^ "1960 series on Bligh was worth repeating". The Canberra Times. Vol. 48, no. 13, 821. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 31 July 1974. p. 12. Retrieved 16 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "A.B.C. plans new historical serial". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 28, , no. [?]. Australia, Australia. 2 November 1960. p. 74. Retrieved 16 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)


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