TV WEEK October 23, 1982

The Doctors pack their bags

Television's greatest survivor, The Young Doctors, has faced the biggest test of its five year life and this time the prophets of doom were right. The end of October is the scheduled end of production for the show which has survived crisis before but finally succumbed to the ratings pressure of game shows and overseas repeats.

In its chequered career, The Young Doctors withstood everything thrown at it by the opposition and was an important factor in Nine having a strong lead-in to its evening news in most states. Though simple in format and production values the show gave experience and introduced some of the top young TV performers of the present day.

The program is expected to be seen on air well into 1983 as Nine has five or six months of episodes in the can. Over the past few months there have been several reports that the show would be axed. These became stronger recently when Nine in Sydney moved the program from primetime to 5pm viewing because of poor ratings. It is understood that Nine will be scheduling the program at 6pm during the summer non-ratings period.

The demise of The Young Doctors marks the end of an era in Australian television. The series, which began out of the ratings season on November 8, 1976, has become the longest-running television series in Australia. It even surpassed the popular Number 96, which ceased production in 1977 with episode 1218.

When The Young Doctors first went to air it received mixed reviews from the critics and its future looked bleak. In fact, the Nine Network decided to drop it after 13 episodes. However, the program received a last minute reprieve and all the staff at the Albert Memorial Hospital faced a healthy future. Among the original cast were Michael Beecher, Alfred Sandor, Lyn James, Gwen Plumb, Chris King, Peta Toppano, Delvene Delaney, Cornelia Frances, Judy McBurney, former King of Pop Mark Holden and the late Beryl Cheers. Ugly Dave Gray even dropped the "Ugly" from his name in order to tackle his first dramatic acting role.

Later episodes introduced Abigail, Tony Alvarez, Paula Duncan, Barry Creyton, Bartholomew John, Tim Page, Joanne Samuel, Joe Hasham, Karen Pini, John Jarratt, John Dommett, Lynda Stoner, Peter Lochran, Alan Dale and Eric Oldfield.

Among others to ply their medical know-how in the series were Susanne Stuart, Lisa Aldenhoven, Diana McLean, Rebecca Gilling, Judy Lynne, Margaret Laurence, Anne Lucas and Rosie Bailey. Guest artists who contributed their talents to various episodes included Willie Fennell, Bunney Brooke, John Ewart, Arianthe Galani, Karol Lopez, Gordon McDougall, James Condon, Joan Bruce and Lois Ramsay.

NOTES: Whoever wrote this obviously didn't watch the show! Later episodes did not introduce Abigail (Hilary Templeton), Tim Page (Dr Graham Steele), Joanne Samuel (Jill Gordon) or John Dommett (Dr Jim Howard) - they were all original cast members. Judy McBurney (Tania Livingston), however, first appeared in the show when it had already been broadcasting for 4 months).

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