Ryan (TV series): Difference between revisions
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==Synopsis == |
==Synopsis == |
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The title character |
The series title relates to the character of Michael Ryan a dashing [[private investigator]] played by [[Rod Mullinar]]. (A few years prior Mullinar had briefly taken the lead role in similar Crawford's series ''[[Hunter (Australian Crawfords TV series)|Hunter]]'' (1967) in its closing episodes after the original lead actor [[Tony Ward (Australian actor)|Tony Ward]] left the show.) Ryan's assistant Julie King was played by [[New Zealand]]-born actor [[Pamela Stephenson]], soon to leave for England and a successful television career.<ref name="Moran, Albert 1993. p 398"/> Other regular characters were Tony Angelini ([[Luigi Villani]]), a taxi driver and Ryan's regular informant, while Detective Cullen ([[Colin McEwan]]) was Ryan's main liaison with the police force.<ref name="CAT">Storey, Don. ''TV Eye - Classic Australian Television'', [http://www.classicaustraliantv.com/Ryan.htm TV Eye - Classic Australian Television]</ref> |
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==Production== |
==Production== |
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Australian television was still in the process of transitioning to colour broadcasting in 1973, while key international markets were already in colour and would more readily purchase a colour series. Though many Australian series shot their interior scenes on videotape in the studio using a [[multiple-camera setup]] with only outdoor scenes shot on film, many television studios were not yet equipped with colour equipment. This meant ''Ryan'' had to be shot entirely on film. In another concession to international marketability Mullinar was instructed to play the role using a Mid-Atlantic American accent.<ref name="CAT"/> |
Australian television was still in the process of transitioning to colour broadcasting in 1973, while key international markets were already in colour and would more readily purchase a colour series. Though many Australian series shot their interior scenes on videotape in the studio using a [[multiple-camera setup]] with only outdoor scenes shot on film, many television studios were not yet equipped with colour equipment. This meant ''Ryan'' had to be shot entirely on film. In another concession to international marketability Mullinar was instructed to play the role using a Mid-Atlantic American accent.<ref name="CAT"/> |
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==Broadcast== |
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The series premiered in May 1973, rating well in [[Brisbane]] and [[Adelaide]], but failing in the crucial [[Melbourne]] and [[Sydney]] markets. A key reason for low ratings was the fact that the [[Nine Network]] had moved the highly popular police drama ''[[Division 4]]'' to a new night to compete with the much-hyped new series. ''Ryan'' was moved around the schedules in order to find an audience, but ratings remained mediocre. After the initial 39 episodes were in the can the ''Ryan'' crew were, in expectation of a second series, retained by |
The series premiered in May 1973, rating well in [[Brisbane]] and [[Adelaide]], but failing in the crucial [[Melbourne]] and [[Sydney]] markets. A key reason for low ratings was the fact that the [[Nine Network]] had moved the highly popular police drama ''[[Division 4]]'' to a new night to compete with the much-hyped new series. ''Ryan'' was moved around the schedules in order to find an audience, but ratings remained mediocre. After the initial 39 episodes were in the can the ''Ryan'' crew were, in expectation of a second series, retained by Crawford's and put to work on ''[[Homicide (Australian TV series)|Homicide]]'' - whose output was increased to two episodes a week - on that show's second weekly episode. This resulted in one cross-over episode, with the ''Ryan'' regular characters appearing in an episode of ''Homicide''. One regular cast member, Pamela Stephenson, did not appear, having opted to leave the series during the recess.<ref name="CAT"/> Ultimately ''Ryan'' was not renewed by the Seven Network due to insufficient ratings.<ref name="CAT"/> The ''Homicide'' production reverted to one episode a week. While some of the ''Ryan'' crew were rolled into new Crawford's serial ''[[The Box (soap opera)|The Box]]'', that show featured little outdoors filming so inevitably some of the ''Ryan'' crew were retrenched - the first time Crawford's had ever retrenched staff.<ref name="CAT"/> |
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Ultimately ''Ryan'' was not renewed by the Seven Network due to insufficient ratings.<ref name="CAT"/> The ''Homicide'' production reverted to one episode a week. While some of the ''Ryan'' crew were rolled into new Crawfords serial ''[[The Box (soap opera)|The Box]]'', that show featured little outdoors filming so inevitably some of the ''Ryan'' crew were retrenched - the first time Crawfords had ever retrenched staff.<ref name="CAT"/> |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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Revision as of 13:35, 8 August 2024
| Ryan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Crawford Productions |
| Starring |
|
| Music by | Garry Hardman |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 39 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Terry Stapleton |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Crawford Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Seven Network |
| Release | 25 May 1973 – 13 April 1974 |
| Related | |
| Homicide | |
Ryan is an Australian adventure television series screened by the Seven Network from 27 May 1973. The series was produced by Crawford Productions and had a run of 39 one-hour episodes.[1]
Synopsis
The series title relates to the character of Michael Ryan a dashing private investigator played by Rod Mullinar. (A few years prior Mullinar had briefly taken the lead role in similar Crawford's series Hunter (1967) in its closing episodes after the original lead actor Tony Ward left the show.) Ryan's assistant Julie King was played by New Zealand-born actor Pamela Stephenson, soon to leave for England and a successful television career.[1] Other regular characters were Tony Angelini (Luigi Villani), a taxi driver and Ryan's regular informant, while Detective Cullen (Colin McEwan) was Ryan's main liaison with the police force.[2]
Production
Ryan was shot entirely on film and in colour with an eye to potential international sales. An initial sale of 39 episodes to the Seven Network recouped only 55% of the series' relatively high production costs. An international sale was therefore crucial to the show's continued feasibility.[2]
Australian television was still in the process of transitioning to colour broadcasting in 1973, while key international markets were already in colour and would more readily purchase a colour series. Though many Australian series shot their interior scenes on videotape in the studio using a multiple-camera setup with only outdoor scenes shot on film, many television studios were not yet equipped with colour equipment. This meant Ryan had to be shot entirely on film. In another concession to international marketability Mullinar was instructed to play the role using a Mid-Atlantic American accent.[2]
Broadcast
The series premiered in May 1973, rating well in Brisbane and Adelaide, but failing in the crucial Melbourne and Sydney markets. A key reason for low ratings was the fact that the Nine Network had moved the highly popular police drama Division 4 to a new night to compete with the much-hyped new series. Ryan was moved around the schedules in order to find an audience, but ratings remained mediocre. After the initial 39 episodes were in the can the Ryan crew were, in expectation of a second series, retained by Crawford's and put to work on Homicide - whose output was increased to two episodes a week - on that show's second weekly episode. This resulted in one cross-over episode, with the Ryan regular characters appearing in an episode of Homicide. One regular cast member, Pamela Stephenson, did not appear, having opted to leave the series during the recess.[2] Ultimately Ryan was not renewed by the Seven Network due to insufficient ratings.[2] The Homicide production reverted to one episode a week. While some of the Ryan crew were rolled into new Crawford's serial The Box, that show featured little outdoors filming so inevitably some of the Ryan crew were retrenched - the first time Crawford's had ever retrenched staff.[2]
Cast
Main
- Rod Mullinar as Michael Ryan
- Pamela Stephenson as Julie King
- Luigi Villani as Tony Angelini
- Colin McEwan as Detective Sergeant Dan Cullen
Guests
- Alfred Sandor as Miklos / Knight (2 episodes)
- Alister Smart as Colin Brown
- Anne Scott-Pendlebury as Katrina
- Anthony Hawkins as Adler (1 episode)
- Brian Moll as Warburton / Topley
- Bruce Spence as Wally Scott (1 episode)
- Carmen Duncan as Anne (1 episode)
- Cecily Polson as Gail Scott / Vicki (2 episodes)
- Christine Amor as Jennifer (1 episode)
- Diane Craig as Lacey Glen (1 episode)
- Dina Mann as Nikki (1 episode)
- Elspeth Ballantyne as Rhoda Bitov (1 episode)
- Graeme Blundell as Flip Mitchell / Slade (2 episodes)
- Jack Thompson as John Mitchell / Brian Duncan (2 episodes)
- John Clayton as Hunt / Harry (2 episodes)
- John Stanton as Johnson
- Kate Sheil as Ellen Cornell (1 episode)
- Kevin Golsby as Trevor Armstrong (1 episode)
- Kevin Miles as John Hiller
- Maurie Fields as Bob Clark (1 episode)
- Norman Yemm as Carl Hoffman / Max Miller (2 episodes)
- Pat Bishop as Elaine Duncan (1 episode)
- Penne Hackforth-Jones as Jana / Helen (2 episodes)
- Peter Gwynne as Raymond Fitch (1 episode)
- Roger Ward as Don (1 episode)
- Rowena Wallace as Kate / Sue Ogilvie / Zita / Holly Beckett (4 episodes)
- Serge Lazareff as Patrick
- Sheila Florance as Lorna Russell (1 episode)
- Simon Chilvers as Joe / Fat man / Henderson (3 episodes)
- Terry McDermott as Matt
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Liz" | Simon Wincer | Morton S. Fine Terry Stapleton | 25 May 1973 |
| 2 | 2 | "This Little Piggy Went to Pieces" | Andrew Swanson | Peter Schreck | 1 June 1973 |
| 3 | 3 | "Firing Squad" | Gary Conway | Colin Eggleston | 8 June 1973 |
| 4 | 4 | "Nut File" | Gary Conway | Neil Atkinson Terry Stapleton | 15 June 1973 |
| 5 | 5 | "King's Bishop to Queen Three" | Gary Conway | Peter Schreck | 22 June 1973 |
| 6 | 6 | "Catalyst" | Gary Conway | Ron McLean | 29 June 1973 |
| 7 | 7 | "Death Watch" | Ian Bennett | Phil Freedman | 6 July 1973 |
| 8 | 8 | "Come the Liberation" | Simon Wincer | William Froug | 13 July 1973 |
| 9 | 9 | "Messenger Birds" | Ian Crawford Andrew Swanson | James Wulf Simmonds | 20 July 1973 |
| 10 | 10 | "Tribe" | Simon Wincer | Dennis Paul Peter Schreck | 27 July 1973 |
| 11 | 11 | "The Girl with the Golden Slippers" | Simon Wincer | David Boutland | 3 August 1973 |
| 12 | 12 | "Miss Ogilvie Repents" | Andrew Swanson | Dennis Paul | 10 August 1973 |
| 13 | 13 | "Man with a Mission" | Simon Wincer | James Wulf Simmonds | 17 August 1973 |
| 14 | 14 | "But When She Was Bad" | Gary Conway | David Boutland | 24 August 1973 |
| 15 | 15 | "Moon Monkey" | Gary Conway | Everett De Roche | 31 August 1973 |
| 16 | 16 | "Nobody's Perfect" | Ian Bennett | José Luis Bayonas | 8 September 1973 |
| 17 | 17 | "Person or Persons Unknown" | David Johnstone | David Boutland | 15 September 1973 |
| 18 | 18 | "Fibber the Dancing Galah" | Simon Wincer | Everett De Roche | 22 September 1973 |
| 19 | 19 | "Hamlet's Horse" | Simon Wincer | Dennis Paul | 29 September 1973 |
| 20 | 20 | "Where Thunder Sleeps" | Simon Wincer | Ian Jones | 6 October 1973 |
| 21 | 21 | "The Far Away Girl" | Simon Wincer | John Blair | 13 October 1973 |
| 22 | 22 | "Hickory Dickory Dock" | Ian Bennett | José Luis Bayonas | 20 October 1973 |
| 23 | 23 | "Pipeline" | Gary Conway | Michael Harvey | 27 October 1973 |
| 24 | 24 | "Three-Legged Duck" | Gary Conway | Everett De Roche | 3 November 1973 |
| 25 | 25 | "A Bag Full of Miracles" | Ian Bennett | José Luis Bayonas | 10 November 1973 |
| 26 | 26 | "Giant, Giant Had a Great Fall" | Simon Wincer | Neil Atkinson | 17 November 1973 |
| 27 | 27 | "Way Back" | Simon Wincer | Terry Stapleton | 24 November 1973 |
| 28 | 28 | "Negative Proof" | Gary Conway | John Edwards | 1 December 1973 |
| 29 | 29 | "A Little Something Special" | George Miller | William Froug | 8 December 1973 |
| 30 | 30 | "Red Alert" | Ian Bennett | John Blair | 15 December 1973 |
| 31 | 31 | "A Deep Dark Place" | Gary Conway | David Boutland | 25 January 1974 |
| 32 | 32 | "A Song for Julie" | Ian Bennett | Everett De Roche | 1 February 1974 |
| 33 | 33 | "The Man in Room 16" | Andrew Swanson | Ian Jones | 18 February 1974 |
| 34 | 34 | "Give Them the World" | Simon Wincer | David Boutland | 2 March 1974 |
| 35 | 35 | "Wild About Harry" | Simon Wincer | Ian Jones | 9 March 1974 |
| 36 | 36 | "King Hit" | Gary Conway | José Luis Bayonas | 16 March 1974 |
| 37 | 37 | "Goodbye Holly Beckett" | Ian Bennett | John Blair Terry Stapleton | 23 March 1974 |
| 38 | 38 | "There's Going to Be a War" | Gary Conway | David Boutland | 30 March 1974 |
| 39 | 39 | "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Altar" | Gary Conway | Neil Atkinson Terry Stapleton | 13 April 1974 |
DVD release
The complete series was released on DVD in June 2018. It and other Crawford Productions series are available to international viewers from Eaton Films in the UK and Australia and New Zealand based buyers from Crawfords DVD. As well as the full run of 39 episodes, the DVD set includes the Homicide crossover episode "As Simple As ABZ".
| Title | Format | Ep # | Discs | Region 2 (UK) | Region 4 (Australia) | Special Features | Distributors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan (Complete Collection) | DVD | 39 | 10 | June 2018 | June 2018 | HOMICIDE - Episode 408 featuring Ryan | Crawford Productions |