Relative Merits

Relative Merits
Written by	Lisa Benyon Terry Larsen Sara Dowse Michael Cove Jane Oehr
Directed by	Colin Englert Kate Woods Peter Fisk Karl Zwicky Ron Elliott
Starring	Odile Le Clezio Brendan Higgins Madeleine Blackwell
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of episodes	10
Production
Producer	Martin Williams
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	15 June (1987-06-15) – 17 August 1987 (1987-08-17)

Relative Merits is a 1987 mini series about three months in the life of a radio journalist. ^[1] Due to new rules at the ABC the series was given a late night time slot which Robin Oliver from the Sydney Morning Herald said all but killed the series. ^[2]

Louise Bellamy of The Age commenting of the first episode said "Unfortunately, their lives hold as much interest as Ken and Barbie doll. But it's early days" ^[3] Also in the Age Barbara Hooks wrote "'Relative Merits' obviously has something worth saying, but the message may be lost if it proves too bitter a pill." ^[4] Bronwyn Watson wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald that "Relative Merits is uneven, rather slow-moving in parts, but it has to be praised because at least it has the guts to tackle an up-to-date subject." ^[5]

References

1. Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford University Press, 1996 p226
2. Oliver, Robin (22 June 1987), "Buried alive: How to kill a good drama - after hours", The Sydney Morning Herald
3. Bellamy, Louise (11 June 1987), "Yuppies up the pole", The Age
4. Hooks, Barbara (15 June 1987), "Priority crises and pearls of fashion wit", The Age
5. Watson, Bronwyn (15 June 1987), "Relative Merits", The Sydney Morning Herald

External links

• Relative Merits at IMDb