| Something in the Air | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Soap opera |
| Created by | Roger Simpson |
| Developed by | Roger Simpson Robyn Sinclair |
| Theme music composer | John Kane and Mark Walmsley [1] |
| Opening theme | "Something In The Air Theme" |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 320 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Production locations | Clunes and Nyora |
| Running time | 25 minutes 60 minutes (44 episodes) |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | ABC TV |
| Release | 17 January 2000 – 2 May 2002 |
Something in the Air is an Australian television soap opera that was broadcast on ABC TV from 17 January 2000 until 2 May 2002. It was one of the first programs in Australia to be filmed in widescreen. It won the AACTA Award for Best Television Drama Series in 2001.
Something in the Air was the first nightly soap opera to be created and shown on ABC in over 30 years. [3] The network had wanted to revamp its 6:30pm timeslot and contacted several production companies and producers in a bid to find a show that would be the new lead-in to the flagship news bulletin at 7pm. [3] ABC's head of drama Sue Masters thought a "locally made serial" would work particularly well and found the concept from writer-producers Roger Simpson and Roger Le Mesurier ( Halifax f.p ) was the right fit. [3] Masters stated "What sold the show was its freshness, veracity and unembarrassed humanity. It was warm and funny with clear appeal to the broad demographic we hoped to attract, yet it threw in some truly bold shocks and played with such unexpected characters and storytelling we knew it would engage an audience." [3] The network commissioned 160 episodes, hoping that it would be as successful as radio serial Blue Hills and television drama Bellbird . [3]
Something in the Air takes place in the fictional Emu Springs, a struggling former gold-mining town. Storylines are "woven" around the local radio station and its announcers, including a football player, priest and socialite. [3] The town is changed by the chaos caused by the arrival of "dethroned Sydney talkback-radio king" Tom Dooley, played by Colin Moody. [3]
The series initially screened four episodes weekly, Monday to Thursday at 6:30 pm, and was a moderate success. Ratings began to drop after the show was moved to Saturday evenings, and was cut down to two episodes shown in a one-hour block. It later resumed its four-episode weekly run, but it was screened in a 6:00 pm timeslot, putting it up against the high-rating Seven and Nine news bulletins, and that ultimately led to its cancellation. [4]
The series was repeated on the-then ABC2 from 11 February 2008. [4]
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 160 | 17 January 2000 | 19 October 2000 | |
| 2 | 112 | 3 March 2001 | 29 November 2001 | |
| 3 | 48 | 11 February 2002 | 2 May 2002 | |
The cast and crew of Something in the Air won two Australian Film Institute Awards and were nominated for seven more.
| Year | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Best Episode in a Television Drama Series (Long) | "Movers and Shakers" – Roger Le Mesurier, Roger Simpson, Ros Tatarka | Nominated | [5] |
| "We Will Remember Them" – Roger Le Mesurier, Roger Simpson, Ros Tatarka | Nominated | |||
| Best Achievement in Direction in a Television Drama | Richard Jasek for "We Will Remember Them" | Nominated | ||
| Best Screenplay in a Television Drama | Katherine Thomson for "We Will Remember Them" | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama | Anne Phelan for "We Will Remember Them" | Won | ||
| 2001 | Best Television Drama Series | That One Defining Moment" – Roger Le Mesurier, Roger Simpson and Alan Hardy | Won | [6] |
| "Into Thy Hands" – Roger Le Mesurier, Roger Simpson and Alan Hardy | Nominated | |||
| "Living in the Past" – Roger Le Mesurier, Roger Simpson and Alan Hardy | Nominated | |||
| Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama | Steve Adams for "That One Defining Moment" | Nominated | ||
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