A soap opera, daytime drama, or soap for short, is typically a long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers. The term was preceded by "horse opera", a derogatory term for low-budget Westerns.
The Restless Years is an Australian soap opera which followed the lives of several Sydney school-leavers and the drama and relationships faced by young adults. It was created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for Network Ten.
The Young Doctors is an Australian early-evening soap opera originally broadcast on the Nine Network and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, it aired from Monday 8 November 1976 until Wednesday 30 March 1983. The series is primarily set in the fictional Albert Memorial Hospital, as well as the restaurant/nightclub Bunny's Place, and is fundamentally concerned with the romances and relations between younger members of the hospital staff, rather than typical medical issues and procedures.
Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera, which broadcast on Network Ten from February 27 (Melbourne) February 26 (Sydney) 1979 to December 1986 (Melbourne), though the series finale would not screen until September 1987 in Sydney, where it aired as a three-hour film that was split into three one-hour episodes at the much-later time-slot of 10:30 p.m., running eight seasons and 692 episodes.
Glenn Maxwell Robbins is an Australian comedian, writer, actor, television and radio presenter. He is best known for The Comedy Company, portraying Kel Knight in Kath & Kim and adventurer Russell Coight in All Aussie Adventures. Robbins has appeared on The Panel, Thank God You're Here and Have You Been Paying Attention?.
Reginald James Watson was an Australian television producer and screenwriter and executive.
Sons and Daughters is an Australian Logie Award-winning soap opera/drama serial, broadcast by the Seven Network between January 1982 and December 1987 and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation. It was created by executive Reg Watson, and is distributed by Fremantle.
Blankety Blanks is an Australian game show based on the American game show Match Game. It was hosted by Graham Kennedy on the 0-10 Network from 1977–1978.
Reg Gorman was an Australian television and film actor, and comedian, he was known best for his role in TV serial The Sullivans, as Jack Fletcher. and children's series Fergus McPhail as Harry Patterson.
Punishment is an Australian television soap opera made by the Reg Grundy Organisation for Network Ten in 1981.
Richmond Hill is an Australian television soap opera made in 1988 by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the Ten Network. It was devised by Reg Watson who also created Neighbours. It debuted on 27 January 1988 in a two-hour episode on Network 10 at 7.30pm. The series was only moderately successful and was cancelled on 22 June 1988. A total of 92 episodes were produced. As of March 2021, there has been no DVD Release of Richmond Hill.
Until Tomorrow is an Australian television soap opera created by Reg Watson. The series was produced in colour by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the Seven Network in 1975. It was the second soap opera made by the Reg Grundy Organisation, the first having been Class of '74. It is notable for having been made in Brisbane as opposed to Sydney or Melbourne, and was one of the few Australian soap operas produced for a daytime slot, screning at 2.30 pm in the afternoon in Sydney and 1.30pm in Melbourne.
Dangerous Women is a syndicated nighttime American soap opera about a group of women who served time in prison together. It was created and written by Reg Watson and produced by Reg Grundy Productions.
Boys From The Bush is a British television series produced by the BBC. It was created and written by Douglas Livingstone. Two series, each of ten 50-minute episodes, were made between 1991 and 1992. Although never achieving mainstream success, the series has since gathered a dedicated cult following.
Chopper Squad is an Australian television series produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the 0-10 Network.
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap Sons and Daughters. Although successful in Melbourne, Neighbours underperformed in the Sydney market and was cancelled by Seven four months after it began airing. It was immediately commissioned by rival Network Ten for a second production season, which began screening on 20 January 1986. Neighbours became the longest-running drama series in Australian television history. In 2005, it was inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame.
Fremantle Australia Pty Ltd. is the Australian arm of global British production and entertainment company Fremantle. It was formed in 2006 by the merger of market leader Grundy Television and comedy specialists Crackerjack Productions, which had both been acquired previously by Fremantle.
This article is a summary of 1981 in Australian television.
Godfrey Pettersson Philipp was an English-born pioneering television producer/director of Australian children's television during the 1960s and 1970s.
The first season of the crime drama television series Wentworth originally aired on SoHo in Australia. The season consisted of 10 episodes and aired between 1 May and 3 July 2013. It was executively produced by FremantleMedia's director of drama Jo Porter. The series is a remake of Prisoner, which aired on Network Ten from 1979 to 1986. Lara Radulovich and David Hannam developed Wentworth from Reg Watson's original concept. The season was shot over four months from 10 October 2012.