5 February 1968(1968-02-05)– 4 May 1970(1970-05-04)
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (known commonly as Skippy) is an Australian television series created by Australian actor John McCallum, Lionel (Bob) Austin and Lee Robinson produced from 1967 to 1969 (airing from 5 February 1968[2] to 4 May 1970[3]) about the adventures of a young boy and his highly intelligent pet kangaroo, and the various visitors to the fictional Waratah National Park, filmed in today's Waratah Park and adjoining portions of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park near Sydney.[4][5]
A total of three series comprising ninety-one 30-minute episodes were produced.[3] Additionally, a full-length film titled Skippy and The Intruders was released to theatres in 1969.[5]
Plot and setting
"Skippy", the show's namesake star, is a female eastern grey kangaroo, who is befriended by 9-year-old Sonny Hammond, who with 16-year-old brother Mark are the children of widower Matt Hammond, the Head Ranger of Waratah National Park. The stories revolved around events in the park, including its animals, the dangers arising from natural hazards, and the actions of visitors (featuring numerous stars, predominately of the period in guesting roles). The boys' mother is said (in Episode 48 "The Mine") to have died shortly after Sonny was born.
The small and unusually intelligent Skippy was not a pet and it was often reiterated in the series that Skippy lived in the park and was free to come and go as she pleased. Skippy was found in the bush as a baby by Sonny—an orphan, her mother having been killed by shooters. It was always understood that once Skippy was old enough to look after herself she would go back to the bush, but a strong bond had been built up between Skippy and Sonny and the rest of the Hammond family. Skippy was a remarkable kangaroo. Capable of near-human thought and reasoning, she could understand everyone, open doors, carry things in her pouch, cross streams on narrow logs, foil villains, rescue hapless bushwalkers, untie ropes, collect the mail and even operate the radio. In one episode she plays drums in a band, in another she places a bet - and wins - on a horse at Randwick Racecourse.
Sharing the Ranger Headquarters residence was the helicopter pilot, Flight Ranger Jerry King, aged in his mid-20s. Later several female characters were introduced to the series, including Dr. Anna Steiner, a research scientist working in the park, and school girl Clancy Merrick, the teenage daughter of another park ranger who boards with the Hammonds.[5] Members of the Aboriginal Theatre from Yirrkala in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory made guest appearances in three episodes.[5][6]
The series was often characterised as an Australian or kangaroo version of Flipper or Lassie.[7]
Cast
Ed Devereaux as Matt Hammond, Head Ranger of Waratah National Park
Tony Bonner as Jerry King (episodes 1-78), flight ranger (helicopter pilot)
Liza Goddard as Clarissa 'Clancy' Merrick (episodes 9-75), the teenage daughter of a ranger stationed at another section of the park. When her father is transferred to a park in northern New South Wales, Matt invites Clancy to stay with the Hammond family so that her music studies are not disrupted by the move north. She leaves the series when her character is awarded a musical scholarship to study in London.
John Warwick as Sir Adrian Gillespie, Head of NSW National Parks Board
Elke Neidhardt as Anna Steiner, a German doctor and playing a support role only in season one.
Three series were made with a total of 91 episodes and production was wound up in September 1969. It was never intended to make more, partly because 91 episodes was considered enough, and partly because the child actor who played Sonny, Garry Pankhurst, was growing up.[5][6]
Production
The Skippy TV series was produced by Fauna Productions. During 1963, British film director Michael Powell had visited Australia to pre-produce his film, They're A Weird Mob. There he met actor and theatre businessman John McCallum and legal expert Bob Austin who used their local knowledge to find finance from Australian backers. The film did well, and McCallum and Austin together with veteran Australian producer Lee Robinson went on to set up Fauna Productions. The business made its reputation with Skippy, produced in association with Frank Packer's TCN Channel 9 Sydney. Fauna Productions went on to produce the TV series Barrier Reef and Boney as well as the feature film Nickel Queen. Fauna Productions is still in business, now being run by two sons of the founders, Philip Austin and Nick McCallum. It holds copyright over the original Skippy TV series while the Nine Network holds the trademark.[10][6]
Most episodes were directed by Max Varnel or Eric Fullilove with scripts written by Australian writers. Producer Lee Robinson said "Each story has the underlying thought, which is the preservation of wild life".[5][6]
Accomplished musician, band-leader and composer Eric Jupp was responsible for the theme and incidental music for Skippy. "It took me a few days to write the Skippy theme," said Jupp. 'I'd already written three or four versions and then rejected them. But the effort has proved worthwhile because about 30,000 records of the theme have been sold in Australia alone.'.[5][6]
Location filming
The series was shot in northern Sydney, on then undeveloped Crown land west of Namba Road now known as Waratah Park. Permission to film and build structures on the site was given by Warringah Council.[11] Also necessary was the cooperation of the newly created NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, under government minister Tom Lewis, and the Ku-ring-gai Chase Trust to allow access to a further 202 hectares (500 acres) within the adjacent Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.[6] Following preparatory work, filming commenced in May 1967.
The Ranger Headquarters and residence was purpose-built for the series and used for both exterior and interior scenes. Power and water supply had to be connected and roads constructed, together with a helipad and helicopter servicing area. Other national parks were also utilised for filming, as well as the streets and beaches of Sydney and surrounding districts. "The Australian bush provided an excellent scenic backdrop, which was much appreciated by local and overseas viewers alike."[5][6]
Animal actors
Between nine and fifteen kangaroos were used for each show. The apparent manual dexterity was often achieved by using separate arms in the hands of human operators. Skippy's trademark "tchk tchk tchk" noise was entirely fictional. Kangaroos make no such sounds. But some sort of sound was needed for the series, and someone came up with the idea of clicking their tongue to make the sound. To this day, many people believe that kangaroos make "tchk tchk" noises.[5][6] To make Skippy move her mouth, supposedly creating the vocalisations, production staff gave the kangaroos chocolate, chewing gum or grass and, in some cases, an elastic band around the lower jaw.
A menagerie of other animals and birds were utilised for the show, including dingoes, possums, emus, galahs and koalas, all trained and managed by Scotty Denholm, a former NSW police dog trainer. In theory there was only one Skippy, but in reality there were many stand-ins. "Like people, some kangaroos are brighter than others," said producer Dennis Hill. Nonetheless there are limits to what you can get a kangaroo to do. Often the actors could be noticed patting the kangaroo to get her to move, or holding her to prevent her moving. Kangaroo paw bottle-openers, of a type that could be purchased at any souvenir shop, were utilised for close-up scenes of Skippy opening doors or picking up objects. There was also a stuffed kangaroo from a taxidermist used for scenes from behind, or when Skippy was required to jump into a confined space such as the helicopter.[5][6]
Feature film
Filming of the Skippy movie commenced in October 1968. Entitled "The Intruders" or "Skippy And The Intruders", the movie was largely filmed on the Waratah Park set as well as near the south coast town of Mallacoota. "Basically a feature-length episode, the movie was seen as a good rollicking adventure yarn and was well-received by Skippy fans."[5][6]
Popularity and awards
Skippy was the first Australian series to be heavily merchandised. The "Skippy Club" boasted over 67,000 members. In Japan, short 8MM colour films were on sale. In Australia and many overseas countries you could buy Skippy pyjamas, ice-creams, toys, jewellery, soap, comics, jelly-beans, rulers, pencils, puzzles, toothpaste, shampoo, T-shirts, towels and soft drinks. The Commercial Banking Company had Skippy moneyboxes, the contents of which could be banked with the details entered into a Skippy passbook. There were LP and EP records, an adventure story narrated by John McCallum, several books and in 2009 you could still buy Skippy Corn Flakes. The popularity of Skippy was summed up by Fauna's Marketing-Merchandising Manager, Kevin Gleeson: 'Skippy is clean, non-violent fun with no sex. It's wholesome, family-type entertainment. . . most importantly, any necessary violence is innocuous and insignificant, with the old Skippy coming to the rescue at the end of each episode.'.[5][6]
Skippy won a number of awards: a 1968 Logie Special Award for Best Export Production, a 1968 Logie for Michael Wright, writer of episode 4, "The Poachers", a 1968 Penguin for Best Live Show and a 1969 Charlie Award for Best Promotion and Contribution to the Australian entertainment industry. All three series of Skippy plus the movie "The Intruders" have been released on DVD.[5][6]
The series sold around the world, reportedly shown in 128 countries. It is still being shown in some countries, some 51 years after it was made.[12][6]
Lee Robinson says the series only recovered its costs in 1976.[13]
Broadcast history
Domestic
The show was produced for global distribution and filmed in colour. It premiered outside of Australia. The domestic premiere in Sydney (on TCN-9) and Melbourne (GTV-9)[4] was Monday evening, 5 February 1968.
The Australian series was one of the most popular exported television programs. Skippy was broadcast in all Commonwealth countries, including in Canada where it was adapted in Quebec for the Standard French market as Skippy le kangourou.
Making its debut in the UK on 8 October 1967 on ATV (four months before it was released in its native Australia), Skippy rivalled Doctor Who and The Avengers in terms of popularity in Britain’s TV Comic.[15]
Skippy was broadcast in Mexico, where it was dubbed into Spanish and known as Skippy el canguro, and has been seen in most Spanish-speaking countries, including Cuba and Spain, where it became very popular. In Latín America, the show was broadcast on free TV in 1970s, and on pay TV (Cable, Satellite and IPTV) vía Sundance Channel (Channel 520 of DIRECTV).
In the Netherlands, Skippy was first broadcast between 1969 and 1972. In Germany, it was known as Skippy, das Buschkänguruh, while in Italy was known as Skyppy il canguro and broadcast by RAI Television. The show was popular in Scandinavia, and in Norway a chain of shopping centres were named in honour of the programme.[16] The series crossed the Iron Curtain and was broadcast in Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union during the 1970s and 1980s.
The series was also widely distributed in Ghana where it aired weekly on the GBC. The series was also broadcast in Iran.[5]
Skippy was syndicated in the United States during the late 1960s; it was frequently scheduled on weekends, with other children's programmes.[citation needed]
The Adventures of Skippy
The series was revived in 1992 as the short-lived The Adventures of Skippy. This revival series focused on the now adult Sonny Hammond (played by Andrew Clarke) – having followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a ranger at a wildlife park – who now had his own family and a pet kangaroo named Skippy.[5][17]
The complete series of 39 episodes has been released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment.[19]
Later history
In 1998, an animated spin-off series was produced, known as Skippy: Adventures in Bushtown. It featured a version of Skippy, portrayed as a male, anthropomorphic kangaroo, working as a park ranger.
In 1999, Skippy starred in advertisements for the chocolate confectionery Rolo Cookies.[20]
In September 2008, actor Tony Bonner sued the production company seeking residuals from merchandising and DVD sales from the series.
On 17 September 2009, a documentary Skippy: Australia's First Superstar was broadcast on the ABC in Australia and the BBC in the UK. The documentary was produced by Western Australian-based documentary production company Electric Pictures.[21]
In popular culture
The original series was parodied in a recurring sketch as part of the British comedy series Goodness Gracious Me under the title "Skipinder, the Punjabi Kangaroo": the parody redubbed scenes from the original Skippy. The show was also parodied in the 1989–1992 Australian sketch comedy TV show, Fast Forward.[22]
Home media
Title
Format
Ep #
Discs
Date/Region
Special Features
Distributors
The Adventures of Skippy
DVD
39
3
30 December 2003 1 (United States)
None
Platinum Disc Corporation
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
DVD
8
1
2004 2 (Netherlands & Belgium)
None
Indies Home Entertainment
The Adventures of Skippy: The Vandals
DVD
4
1
2005 0 (United States)
None
Digiview Entertainment
Skippy: The Bush Kangaroo: The Complete First Season
DVD
39
5
10 July 2006 2 (United Kingdom)
None
Fabulous Films
The Complete Skippy: The Bush Kangaroo
DVD
91
14
1 June 2011 4 (Australia)
None
Umbrella Entertainment
Skippy and The Intruders
DVD
Film
01
1 April 2015 4 (Australia)
None
Umbrella Entertainment
Skippy: Australia's First Superstar
DVD
Film
01
1 February 2017 4 (Australia)
Bonus Scenes with Directors Commentary
The Academics' View
The Crews' View
Photo Gallery
Umbrella Entertainment
The Adventures Of Skippy (Complete Series)
DVD
39
5
4 April 2018
None
Umbrella Entertainment
Related Research Articles
Edward Sidney Devereaux, better known professionally as Ed Devereaux, was an Australian actor, director, and scriptwriter who lived in the United Kingdom for many years. He was best known for playing the part of Matt Hammond the head ranger in the Australian television series Skippy the Bush Kangaroo. He was also involved in the series behind the scenes, Devereaux writing the script and directing the episode The Veteran (1969), for which he received much critical acclaim. Devereaux based the story of the episode "Double Trouble" on an idea conceived by his children, wrote the screenplay of "Summer Storm" and the script for "The Mine". He also played the part of Joe in the Australian 1966 film They’re a Weird Mob. The film was a local success.
Ken James is an Australian former actor and celebrity chef. He is most widely known for his role in children's TV show Skippy the Bush Kangaroo as Mark Hammond to which be became known locally and to international audiences Since his debut in Skippy, James continued to work in film, television and theatre for another 36 years. In December 2009, James was diagnosed with stage three non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which escalated to stage four by 2011. James started chemotherapy, and as of November 2020 the cancer is in remission. James was also actively involved in the Victorian Police Force as an unsworn member from 1993 to 2013.
Intruders or The Intruders may refer to:
Eric Stanley Jupp was a British-born musician, composer, arranger and conductor who gained wide popularity in Australia after settling there in the 1960s, hosting a long-running light music TV show and composing for film and TV. He is best remembered for his theme music to the TV series Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.
Skippy: Adventures in Bushtown is an Australian animated children's series created by Yoram Gross, set in a fictionalised Australian town. It is based on the character Skippy from the 1968 live-action series Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.
John Neil McCallum, was an Australian theatre and film actor, highly successful in the United Kingdom. He was also a television producer.
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Anthony Frederick Bonner is an Australian television, film, and stage actor and singer. Bonner became famous in the 1960s children's television series Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, later moving on to lead roles in the dramas Cop Shop and Skyways.
Barrier Reef was an Australian television series that was first screened domestically in 1971. However, 19 episodes had already premiered on British television on BBC1 between 5 October 1970 and 15 February 1971 and four more aired between 5 April and 3 May 1971 in advance of Australian broadcast.
Boney is an Australian television series produced by Fauna Productions during 1971 and 1972, featuring New Zealand actor James Laurenson in the title role of Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte. Two series, each of thirteen episodes, were filmed. They were adapted from the twenty-nine novels by Arthur Upfield featuring his title character, published from 1929 to 1964.
The Rovers was an Australian ocean-based family adventure television show originally screened from 21 August 1969 until 12 June 1970 and was broadcast on the 0-Ten network, the precursor of Network Ten
Lee Robinson was an Australian producer, director and screenwriter who was Australia's most prolific filmmaker of the 1950s and part of the creative team that produced the late 1960s international hit television series Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.
The Intruders is a 1969 Australian film directed by Lee Robinson. It is a spin-off of the popular Skippy the Bush Kangaroo TV series.
Ross Napier was one of Australia's leading radio and TV writers from the 1950s to 1990s, as well as an accomplished novelist. Born in Sydney in 1929, he began writing short stories for magazines while still in high school, selling his first script at 17. Shortly after, he became a staff writer for Grace Gibson Radio Productions, and during the 1950s and 1960s his radio serials were broadcast Australia-wide and internationally. This firmly established Napier as one of Australia's leading drama writers. Whilst at Gibson's he met Ann Fuller, who he married in 1953.
Joy Cavill was an Australian screenwriter and producer.
Shannon's Mob is an Australian TV series about an Australian intelligence agency. It was the last TV series from Fauna Productions, who were responsible for Skippy the Bush Kangaroo among others.
Fauna Productions is an Australian TV and film production company established by Lee Robinson, Lionel ('Bob') Austin and John McCallum who met during the making of the film They're a Weird Mob (1966).
Phil Judd is an Australian sound engineer, managing director of PhilmSound Pty. Ltd., who is credited with post-production work on many well-known movies and several television series. He is not related to the New Zealand musician Phil Judd.
Waratah Park is a heritage-listed former Aboriginal land and fauna sanctuary and now Aboriginal title claim at 13 Namba Road, Duffys Forest in the Northern Beaches Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It is also known for serving as the fictional Waratah National Park, the filming location for the Australian television series Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, when the area was still undeveloped Crown land. After the series ended, the Crown land remained mostly undeveloped, with the government granting management of the area to a series of operators until August 2014, when the government passed full ownership of the land to the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 27 February 2015.
1 2 3 "Skippy - Episode Details". Classic Australian Television. Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
↑ Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. p.458. ISBN0-8108-1651-2.
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