Classic Australian TV Trivia Quiz

Answer: Police

"Division 4" premiered on the 11th of March 1969 and ran for 7 seasons with 301 episodes in total. The show was set in the fictional Yarra Central police station in Melbourne and followed both the Uniform and Criminal Investigation branches.

The show centered around Frank Banner, played by Gerard Kennedy, who lost his wife in the first episode when she went into premature labour after being terrorised by a violent thug. The series was cancelled after Gerard left the show at the end of the 7th season.

At 226 episodes, the show earned the Australian record for the longest-running series without a single cast change. Its production company also has the unique distinction of having three drama programs running simultaneously on the three major networks. These other shows, "Homicide" and "Matlock Police," were also highly successful police dramas.

"Division 4" won 10 Logie Awards during its run. Officially the "TV Week Logie Awards" these awards are given over 20 categories and winners are chosen by the Australian public. They are awarded annually at a huge gala affair.

Answer: Police

With its premiere on the 10th of September 1993, "Blue Heelers" had 510 episodes over its 13 year run. The series is named after a breed of Australian cattle dog which has a protective nature and is naturally intelligent and intuitive. It is also blue which is the uniform colour of the Australian police force.

The series was set in Mount Thomas, a small country town in Victoria, and focused on what its sergeant stated was 'country policing'. While centered around the police station it also followed the personal lives of the officers and the town residents.

The crimes are always shown from the police point of view. The show's creator made the rule that cameras could only be on anywhere if there was a police officer in the room thus the audience only ever knew what the police force did. An exception to the rule was the local publican who was a regular on the show.

The show received 40 Logie nominations and won 25. It tied with "Homicide" for the record of most episodes in a weekly prime time drama series. John Wood, who played the show's sergeant, was in every episode.

Answer: Police

"Water Rats" premiered in 1996 on the 12th of February and ran until 2001 with 177 episodes over 6 seasons. The show was based on the Sydney Water Police whose officers solve crimes in, on, or around Sydney Harbour and its waterways.

The series was shot on Goat Island in the Harbour where there was an unused office building but, as it is only accessible by boat, they gave it a mainland address and had to film any scenes with cars elsewhere. All exterior shots were filmed around the harbour or at sea but underwater scenes were filmed in special tanks. They also used real-life morgues in the first season.

The two main characters left the show in 1999, which led to a decrease in ratings and, with the main replacement character deciding to leave at the end of season 6, the network cancelled the show.

It won 3 Logie Awards during its run out of 17 nominations.

Answer: Medical

One of our longest-running shows with 1088 episodes over 14 seasons was "A Country Practice," which premiered on the 18th of November 1981 and finally ended in 1994. This was made even more remarkable by the fact that it had two one-hour episodes per week instead of the usual one.

This fact has led to much debate as to whether it was a soap opera or a serial. General consensus is that it was a serial as each week's 2 hours contained a single storyline thread but as it also followed the social lives of the regular characters others still disagree.

The series was set in a small country hospital in the town of Wandin Valley in New South Wales, along with its connected doctor's surgery and its two general practitioners. It also covered the local police station, the veterinary surgery, and the local pub.

In general, the week's main storyline often involved visitors to the area with a multitude of medical issues. The series was known for covering many current topical issues such as domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, and youth suicide.

It was also a huge winner at the Logies being nominated for 34 and winning 29.

Answer: Medical

Okay, a bit of a lead in to this one as it isn't exactly what I would label as 'classic' per se but its predecessor definitely was. "The Flying Doctors" (which I couldn't use for obvious reasons) began as a three-part miniseries in 1985 with a series beginning the following year. It ran for 221 episodes over 9 seasons.

Set in the fictional town of Coopers Crossing in Victoria it followed the lives of the doctors, pilots, and staff at the RFDS base and characters from the town and the communities they serviced. The show finished in October 1992 due to poor ratings and loss of its regulars.

It was rebooted the following year as "R.F.D.S" with a change of location to Broken Hill in New South Wales, following the publicans from "The Flying Doctors" to a new town. It premiered on the 21st of January 1993 and only screened for 13 episodes.

In August 2021 a different drama named "RFDS: Royal Flying Doctor Service" began screening but apart from the subject matter and location, it has no connection to either of the earlier series.

Answer: Medical

"All Saints" premiered on the 24th of February 1998 and ran for 493 episodes over the next 12 years, finally ending in 2009. The show followed the lives of the nursing and medical staff on Ward 17 at All Saints Western General Hospital.

Ward 17 was an 'overflow' ward at the hospital that enabled it to have patients with multiple different medical issues at any given time. Staff ranged from first year nurses through the ranks to medical consultants.

The show started to lose ratings in 2004 and, rather than cancelling, the producers took a different route and closed ward 17, moving all the staff down to the Emergency Department. With new staff members and a different patient base, the show picked up for another 4 years.

In 2009, they tried a similar tactic and introduced a medical response unit that would travel to remote locations to stabilise patients and bring them back to the ED. This move was not successful and the show ended that year.

The show was nominated for 56 Logies but only won 9.

Answer: Drama

"The Sullivans" began its 8-season run on the 15th of November 1976 and filmed 1114 half-hour episodes during this time. The show was a period drama set during the Second World War and its aftermath. It began on the 1st of September 1939 with the declaration of war against Germany and ended on the 22nd of August 1948.

The series centered around the Sullivans, an average middle class family in the Melbourne suburbs, and their neighbors and friends. The family consisted of Dave and Grace and their three sons (John, Tom, and Terry) and only daughter (Kitty).

The show was nominated for 15 Logies and won 12 but its popularity waned after Grace died in season 4 and then the actor playing Dave wanted out at the end of season 8 and the show ended.

A telemovie was made in 1979 called "The John Sullivan Story" which tells the tale of the years he was missing in action during the main series.

Answer: Drama

"McLeod's Daughters" began as a telemovie in 1996. The movie was a huge success but the series wasn't picked up for 5 years commencing on the 8th of August 2001 and running for 8 seasons with 224 hourly episodes, finally finishing in 2009.

The series focused on Drover's Run, a large cattle station in South Australia belonging to Jack McLeod. On his death, his daughter Claire takes over the property but her estranged half-sister Tess turns up claiming half of the property and wanting to sell. Talked into staying by Claire the girls create an all-female workforce at the station with the housekeeper Meg, her daughter Jodi (who ends up also being Jack's daughter), and station hand Becky, which lasted for the first three seasons.

The actresses playing both Claire and Becky decided to leave and were written out in season 3. Becky leaves for agricultural school but Claire is killed in a car crash.

The location that is used for Drovers Run was a working station, but was purchased by the TV network in 1999. Once part of a 30,000 acre property, it was then a 135 acre hobby farm. The producers kept the farm running with a hundred cattle and 150 sheep and the stockmen were often used as stunt doubles.

The show was nominated for 41 Logie Awards and won 8.

Answer: Drama

The most recent of the shows listed "Packed to the Rafters" ran for 6 seasons from the 26th of August 2008 until 2013 with a total of 122 episodes. Set in suburban Sydney it follows the lives of Dave and Julie Rafter and their 3 adult children (Rachel, Ben, and Nathan) and baby Ruby, from season 2.

The premiere has them celebrating their 25th Wedding Anniversary, celebrating all their kids moving out, and finally having the house to themselves - until they all start moving back in again, including Julie's widowed father.

The series had an element of humour but also tackled some serious social issues including domestic violence, infidelity, and drug abuse. It was nominated for 42 Logies and won 13 but producers decided they wanted to end it on a high rather than losing actors and ratings.

Amazon Prime released a 6 episode sequel in 2021 called "Back to the Rafters," which is set 6 years after the end of the original series.

Answer: Sitcom

"Kingswood Country" was a half hour sitcom that premiered on the 30th of January 1980. It ran for 6 seasons and ended in 1984 after 89 episodes. The premise for the show began as a series of sketches on the comedy series "The Naked Vicar Show".

The series focuses on the Bullpit family (Ted and Thelma) and their children: Craig and Greta, and Greta's husband Bruno. Thelma is consistently vague, Craig is a medical student with a very different ideology from his father, and Greta is a staunch feminist.

Ted is a white Australian conservative with very traditional views and doesn't mind letting everyone know them. He thoroughly disapproves of Bruno, the son of Italian immigrants, and constantly refers to him as 'the bloody wog'. His 3 joys in life are his 2 racing greyhounds, his chair in front of the TV, and his beloved Kingswood car.

The Kingswood is referenced frequently, Ted is forever hiding the keys to prevent anyone from borrowing it and the catch cry "Not the Kingswood!" is heard often. Surprisingly the car is never actually seen.

The series won the Logie Award for Best Comedy in 1982 and 1983.

Answer: Sitcom

Premiering on the 16th of January 1984, "Mother and Son" ran for 42 half-hour episodes over 6 seasons. The show revolved around Maggie Beare and her divorced son Arthur who was in his forties. Her other son Robert and his wife and kids were also regulars.

The premise of the show was an unlikely one for a sitcom but the actors playing Maggie and Arthur skillfully managed to bring comedy to the series. Maggie is in the early stages of some form of dementia and Arthur lives with and takes care of her. Maggie is definitely forgetful but is lucid enough to use it to manipulate Arthur into feeling guilty and getting her own way.

Arthur loves his mother but is constantly frustrated at the limitations it places on him to have any life of his own. His brother Robert always has a reason why he can't possibly help out but turns up with gifts for Maggie who always favours him over poor Arthur.

The show won 4 Logies throughout its run.

Answer: Sitcom

"Acropolis Now," another half-hour sitcom, ran for 63 episodes over a 4 year period after premiering on the 9th of August 1989. The series is set in a cafe in Melbourne. In the premiere, the cafe owner is returning to Greece and leaves the cafe in the hands of his son Jim.

Jim's best friend Ricky, a young Spanish-Australian, takes on the management and Memo is a Greek waiter. Jim's hairdresser cousin Effie becomes a regular as does Skip, a young Australian cook from the bush who knows nothing about Greek culture.

As you can probably imagine the culture clash and over-emphasized misconceptions about certain migrant groups were high on the list of humour. The difference was that, in this case, the three main actors actually created and wrote the show.

The three boys were already well-known in Australia from a highly successful touring comedy stage show titled "Wogs Out of Work." Being called a 'wog' was a derogatory term used for Greek, Spanish, and Italians and the show featured (and poked fun at) ethnic stereotypes of these first and second-generation Australians.

By parodying themselves they changed a slur into a word that their communities used with pride. It was so successful that the creators even trademarked the word.