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| (continued
from here)
Despite this, the show continued to gain in popularity, going from
three to four, then five times a week. Throughout the rest of the
70's the show became a high profile success, despite frequent bashings
from critics and newspaper commentators. Alan Coleman's answer to
their griping: " We are making the show for the viewers, not
the critics."
On June
22nd 1982, The Young Doctors became the longest running series in
Australian television history. Episode 1219 beat the record previously
held by defunct soap Number 96. The docs kept their record for seven
years, until it was broken by A Country Practice.
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| However,
the celebrations were short lived. Shortly after the show hit its
record breaking episode, the axe fell. The Young Doctors' popularity
had already begun to wane, due a number of factors. Alan Coleman,
who had been the brains behind the show for most of its run, left
to form his own production company. By that time, many of the most
popular cast members, such as Peter Lochran (Dr Holland) and Diana
McLean (Sister Jeffries) had already left. Others, such as Chris King
and Kim Wran (Dennis and Caroline Jamison) were to follow. New characters
came and went with alarming regularity, not giving the viewers enough
time to come to care for them - a huge mistake in any soap. The advent
of one day cricket meant that the show was often moved around in the
schedules. This proved to be the final nail in the coffin. However,
the last episode wasn't screened in Australia until 1983, as the soap
was recorded six months ahead of transmission. In an emotional finale,
the Albert Memorial Hospital closed down, and the doctors and nurses
went on to find work elsewhere. In the last scenes the characters
gathered in Bunny's Place, the bar opposite the hospital, for a tearful
rendition of Auld Lang Syne. Finally, Ada Simmonds, the kiosk lady
who had been the heart of the show from the beginning, took a last
look round the familiar reception area that had been the scene of
so much drama. The lights went out, and an era in Aussie soap history
came to an end. |
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