The Young Doctors
| The Young Doctors | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Reg Watson |
| Starring | Michael Beecher Cornelia Frances Alfred Sandor Gwen Plumb Mark Holden John Dommett Peta Toppano Chris King Tim Page Lyn James Judy McBurney Tony Alvarez Paula Duncan Lynda Stoner Bartholomew John Anne Lucas Diana McLean Rebecca Gilling Alan Dale Eric Oldfield Brian Moll |
| Country of origin |  Australia |
| No. of episodes | 1396 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Nine Network |
| Release | 8 November 1976 – 31 March1983 |
The Young Doctors is an Australian early evening soap opera. The series was set in the fictional Albert Memorial hospital and primarily concerned with romances between younger members of the hospital staff. The series was particularly popular with women and teenage fans. Despite the medical setting, medical procedures rarely figured in storylines.
The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and screened on the Nine Network from Monday 8 November 1976 until Wednesday 30 March 1983. When it ended after 1396 thirty-minute episodes it held the record of Australia's longest running television drama series, having surpassed the previous record of 1218 thirty-minute episodes held by Number 96. This was later surpassed by A Country Practice and then Neighbours, which is the current record-holder of longest-running Australian series.
The Young Doctors holds the distinction, rare among long-running Australian dramas, of having never won any sort of television award. Alan Coleman produced the show for most of its run until being replaced by Sue Masters, shortly before the series finished production in late 1982.
The show was contemporaneous with another long-running Nine Network serial, The Sullivans, which had a budget three times higher than The Young Doctors.
The serial was repeated by the Nine Network in the late 1980s. Initially in an early evening timeslot, before switching to a late night slot after a few months.
Selected episodes of the serial were released on DVD in October 2006. Umbrella Entertainment have confirmed that they are in plans to release the complete series [citation needed]. A second set of selected episodes, under the title of Classic Cliffhangers, was released in February 2008.
Cast
| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| Dr Brian Denham | Michael Beecher |
| Mrs Ada Simmonds | Gwen Plumb |
| Dr Graham Steele | Tim Page |
| Helen Gordon | Lyn James |
| Dennis Jamieson | Chris King |
| Dr Raymond Shaw | Alfred Sandor |
| Sister / Matron Grace Scott | Cornelia Frances |
| Nurse / Sister Tania Livingston | Judy McBurney |
| Nurse Kate Rhodes | Ros Wood |
| Nurse JoJo Adams | Delvene Delaney |
| Nurse Kim Barrington | Lynda Stoner |
| Nurse Lisa Brooks | Paula Duncan |
| Nurse Jill Gordon | Joanne Samuel |
| Dr John Forrest | Alan Dale |
| Nurse / Dr Liz Kennedy | Rebecca Gilling |
| Sister Vivienne Jeffries | Diana McLean |
| Sister Suzanne Gibbs | Susanne Stuart |
| Sister Eve Turner | Anne Lucas |
| Dr Craig Rothwell | John Walton |
| Dr Mike Newman | Peter Bensley |
| Dr Tony Garcia | Tony Alvarez |
| Dr Ben Fielding | Eric Oldfield |
| Dr Gail Henderson | Peta Toppano |
| Dr Jim Howard | John Dommett |
| Dr Chris Piper | Bartholomew John |
| Dr Peter Holland | Peter Lochran |
| Dr Greg Mason | Mark Holden |
| Dr Robyn Porter | Joy Chambers |
| Dr Susan Richards | Judy Lynne |
| Dr Russell Edwards | Peter Cousens |
| Dr Lance Wilkinson | Michael Gow |
| Dr Matt Blake | Nick Holland |
| Dr David Henderson | Graham Harvey |
| Dr Vicki Daniels | Sally Tayler |
| Dr Rod Langley | Chris Orchard |
| Dr Nick Barrett | Adrian Van Den Bok |
| Dr Vincent Snape | Brian Moll |
| Dr Andrew Baxter | Andrew Sharp |
| Ian Parrish | Serge Lazareff |
| Nurse Maggie Gordon | Jackie Woodburne |
| Nurse Sherry Andrews | Karen Pini |
| Nurse Jody Carter | Julie Wilson |
| Nurse Julie Holland | Lisa Aldenhoven |
| Nurse Dolly Davis | Christine Harris |
| Nurse Linda Wilson | Julie Nihill |
| Nurse Zelda Baker | Genevieve Lemon |
| Sister Erin Cosgrove | Babs McMillan |
| Nurse Virginia Mason | Rosie Bailey |
| Nurse Genevieve Ridgeway | Susan Stenmark |
| Mark Holland | Robert Leys |
| Toni Sheffield | Tottie Goldsmith |
| "Flint" Stone | Robert Korosy |
| Hilary Templeton | Abigail |
| Caroline Fielding/Morgan/Jamieson | Kim Wran |
| Laura Denham | Joanna Moore-Smith |
| Ken Hansen | Joe Hasham |
| Heinrik Smeaton | Joseph Furst |
| Bunny Howard | Ugly Dave Gray |
| Anne-Marie Austin | Judi Connelli |
| Sir Clifford Langley | Mike Dorsey |
| Nurse Diana Trent | Julianne White |
| Mr Cox | Brian Wenzel |
| Maureen Parker/Howard | Virginia Rudeno |
| Rosalie Parker | Carol Raye |
| Erika Hoffman/Shaw | Karen Petersen |
| Arthur Simmonds | Willie Fennell |
| Dr Judith-Anne Napier | Carole Skinner |
| Clarrie Baker | Peter Adams |
Deceased cast members
| Actor | Year of death |
|---|---|
| Alfred Sandor | 1983 |
| Michael Beecher | 1993 |
| Tony Alvarez | 1997 |
| Gwen Plumb | 2002 |
| John Dommett | 2004 |
| Joseph Furst | 2005 |
Deceased Crew Members
Max Varnel (Director) (1996)
Ian Coughlan (Director & Writer) (2001)
Richard Lane (Writer) (2008)
International screenings
In the United Kingdom the programme was acquired by 13 of the 14 weekday members of the ITV Network. Scottish Television never purchased the programme. Central Television pioneered the programme in their Tuesday and Thursday 12:30 slot in 1982 while all other ITV contractors were screening The Sullivans. This was then increased to a daily 15:30 screening. Central switched the programme back to the lunchtime 12:30 slot before finally reaching the end of the series in the 14:40 slot in July 1992. Most other regions initially screened the programme at their own regional pace in their 15:30 slot on Mondays and Tuesdays although Granada Television screened the programme on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays instead. Border Television followed the same format as Granada and screened their episodes via the Granada feed. Years later in 1988, Yorkshire Television had a vacant 12:30 weekday slot and filled it with The Young Doctors. Most regions eventually ended the programme at their own pace in the early 1990s. Yorkshire Television decided to skip 254 episodes of the programme at the end of 1992 to enable them to catch up to Tyne Tees Television. From January 1993 both regions screened exactly the same material. London based Carlton Television ended the programme within days of Yorkshire and Tyne Tees concluding the programme in December 1994. Shortland Street replaced the show in the Yorkshire and Tyne Tees regions.
ITV Regional Scheduling
ITV Region |
Programme Schedule Pattern
| ||
Start Date |
Days Screened |
End Date
| |
| Central Television | January 1982 | August 1992 | |
| Yorkshire Television (YTV) | June 1988 | 16 December 1994 | |
| Granada Television | September 1983 | March 1993 | |
| Television South (TVS) | 1993 | ||
| Television South West (TSW) | Axed in January 1995 at episode 10?? | ||
| Channel Television | As TSW | As Meridian | |
| Thames Television | 29 December 1994 | ||
| Anglia Television | |||
| Tyne Tees Television | 16 December 1994 | ||
| Scottish Television (STV) | |||
| Grampian Television | 20 September 1994 | ||
| HTV | |||
| Border Television | |||
| Ulster Television | Axed in 1993 at Episode 320 | ||
The Young Doctors (under the title "Jeunes Docteurs") was scheduled in France, on the second national-wide channel Antenne 2, at 8.30, from March 21 1986.
The Young Doctors was also one of three Australian soap operas screened in the mid to late 1980s on Sky Channel before it became Sky1 in 1989 (the others being A Country Practice and The Sullivans). During the mid-to-late 1980s, it was transmitted at 17:00. From 1989 until 1992, The Young Doctors screened at 10:00. When Sky purchased newer Australian soap E Street in 1992, they dropped The Young Doctors to accommodate an afternoon repeat of E Street.
Remake
In November 2007, the Nine Network announced plans to remake the series in conjunction with FremantleMedia. Originally, it was set to be broadcast in 2008, but due to script delays, the premiere date has been pushed back to 2009. The remake is currently set to be named Young Doctors.[1]