Butterfly Island

Last updated

Butterfly Island
Written byDavid Phillips
Directed by Howard Rubie
Starring Grigor Taylor
Mouche Phillips
Penne Hackforth-Jones
Country of origin Australia
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes8 (series one)
22 (series two)
16 (series three)
Production
Producer Stanley Walsh
Running time30 mins
Original release
NetworkABC (series one)
Seven (series two)
Release1985 (1985) 
1987 (1987)

Butterfly Island is an Australian children's drama television series. The first season cost $1.6 million, the second $3.2 million. [1] This was the first mainstream Australian TV show where an Asian actor, David Phu An Chiem was given a lead role. [2]

Contents

The first eight part series aired on the ABC in 1985. It followed the Wilson family who run a holiday resort. Also featured are a Vietnamese refugee and a crooked property developer. [3] [4] The second 22 part season moved to Channel 7 in 1987. [5] A planned third season was axed in 1987 after a casting dispute with the Actors' Equity over the use of an American actress. [6] The series was revived in 1991. [7]

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Spader</span> American actor (born 1960)

James Todd Spader is an American actor. He is known for often portraying eccentric and morally ambiguous characters. He started his career in critically acclaimed independent films before transitioning into television for which he received numerous awards and acclaim including three Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, and ten Screen Actors Guild Awards.

<i>Family Ties</i> American television sitcom (1982–1989)

Family Ties is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the social shift in the United States from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. Because of this, Young Republican Alex P. Keaton develops generational strife with his ex-hippie parents, Steven and Elyse Keaton.

Nicholas John Tate is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as pilot Alan Carter in the 1970s science fiction series Space: 1999 and James Hamilton in the 1980s soap opera Sons and Daughters.

A miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. "Limited series" is a more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. As of 2021, the popularity of miniseries format has increased in both streaming services and broadcast television.

<i>Kath & Kim</i> Australian comedy television series

Kath & Kim is an Australian sitcom originally airing in the prime-time slot on ABC Television from 2002 and 2005 and subsequently on the Seven Network in 2007 and 2022. The show was produced by Riley and Turner Productions, the firm of Jane Turner and Gina Riley, who star as the titular characters of Kath Day-Knight, a cheery, middle-aged suburban mother, and Kim, her narcissistic daughter. Additional cast members include Glenn Robbins as Kel Knight, Kath's metrosexual boyfriend ; Kim's henpecked husband Brett Craig, and her lonely "second-best friend" Magda Szubanski as Sharon Strzelecki. The series is set in Fountain Lakes, a fictional suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The series received highly positive reviews from critics, who praised the humor and cast performances, particularly of Turner and Riley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Waterman</span> English actor and singer (1948–2022)

Dennis Waterman was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his tough-guy leading roles in television series including The Sweeney, Minder and New Tricks, singing the theme tunes of the latter two.

Brian Caswell is an Australian author of young adult fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Woodward</span> English actor (1930–2009)

Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE was an English actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he began his career on stage. Throughout his career, he appeared in productions in both the West End of London and on Broadway in New York City. He came to wider attention from 1967 in the title role of the British television spy drama Callan, earning him the 1970 British Academy Television Award for Best Actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Albert</span> American actor (1951–2006)

Edward Laurence Albert was an American actor. The son of actor Eddie Albert and Mexican actress Margo, he starred opposite Goldie Hawn in Butterflies Are Free (1972), a role for which he won a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. He was nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Albert starred in more than 130 films and television series, including Midway, The Greek Tycoon, Galaxy of Terror, The House Where Evil Dwells, The Yellow Rose, Falcon Crest and Power Rangers Time Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Friels</span> Australian actor

Colin Friels is a Scottish-born Australian actor of theatre, TV, film and presenter.

Alexandra Fowler is an Australian actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Angela Hamilton in Sons and Daughters (1982–84) and Zoe Davis in Neighbours (1986); both series were produced by the Grundy Organisation, and in 1985, she was cast in another Grundy serial, Possession, just before that series was cancelled.

Rafferty's Rules is an Australian television drama series which ran from 1987 to 1991 on the Seven Network.

<i>Only the Heart</i> Novel written by Brian Caswell and David Phu An Chiem

Only The Heart is a novel written by Brian Caswell and David Phu An Chiem about the Vietnamese boat people. It was first published in 1997. In contrast to Caswell's mainly futuristic style, such as his widely acclaimed Deucalion series, this book is written in the present-past style. The book is said to be based on David's life. The book is classified as young adult fiction and is one of the most successful books by the author.

Peter Mochrie is an Australian actor whose career spans over forty five years in the industry, primarily featuring in television serial dramas such as The Restless Years, Water Rats and Janet King. He has also worked in New Zealand, where he spent six years as Dr. Callum McKay in the soap opera Shortland Street.

The first series of Australian crime television drama series Underbelly originally aired from 13 February 2008 to 7 May 2008 on the Nine Network and is loosely based on the real events of the 1995–2004 gangland war in Melbourne. It depicts the key players in Melbourne's criminal underworld, including the Carlton Crew and their rival, Carl Williams. The series is based on the book Leadbelly: Inside Australia's Underworld, by journalists John Silvester and Andrew Rule, and borrows its name from the successful Underbelly true crime anthology book series also authored by Silvester and Rule. An alternative and significantly updated tie-in novel, Underbelly: The Gangland War, was released as their 13th book in the series. The series is produced by the Australian Film Finance Corporation, in association with Film Victoria. The executive producers are Des Monaghan and Jo Horsburgh.

Mark Kounnas is an Australian actor and television presenter. Mark has had many acting roles on television and films and is probably best known for his role in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome as Gekko. He has also been a television presenter on the ABC children's television series Seeing Is Believing with his sister and fellow actor Melissa Kounnas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Neill</span> New Zealand actor (born 1947)

Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill is a New Zealand actor. Neill's career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one of the most versatile actors of his generation.

<i>Total Drama</i> Canadian animated comedy

Total Drama is a Canadian animated television series created by Jennifer Pertsch and Tom McGillis that premiered on Teletoon in Canada on July 8, 2007, and on Cartoon Network in the U.S. on June 5, 2008. The series is both a homage and satire of common conventions from reality television competition shows like Survivor.

Yelena Vsevolodovna Safonova is a former Soviet and a Russian actress. She is an Honored Artist of Russia (2011). She was made famous by the 1985 melodrama Winter Cherry and its two sequels. In 1988, she was awarded the David di Donatello Italian film award for her starring turn in Nikita Mikhalkov's film Dark Eyes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Chiem</span> Vietnamese entrepreneur

David Phu An Chiem, better known as David Chiem, is a Vietnamese-born Australian entrepreneur, author and actor. He is the Founder CEO and Executive Chairman of MindChamps Preschool Limited. MindChamps has over 80 centres globally.

References

  1. Albert Moran, Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series, AFTRS 1993 p 96
  2. Alexis Carey (4 March 2019). "Incredible rags-to-riches story behind Aussie entrepreneur's success". news.com.au.
  3. Watson, Bronwyn (15 July 1985), "Island family drama", The Sydney Morning Herald
  4. Voumard, Sonya (11 July 1985), "Drama in the Tropics", The Age
  5. Bellamy, Louise (26 March 1987), "Tropical warmth will help ease those winter chills", The Age
  6. Hooks, Barbara (24 June 1987), "No Butterfly Island thanks to actors' union", The Age
  7. "New film studio", The Canberra Times, 28 October 1991