The Flying Doctors | |
---|---|
Starring | |
Theme music composer | Garry McDonald and Laurie Stone |
Country of origin | Australia |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 9 (10 including R.F.D.S.) |
No. of episodes | 3 (miniseries) 221 (regular series, 234 including R.F.D.S.)(list of episodes) |
Production | |
Production location | Australia |
Running time | 55 minutes |
Production company | Crawford Productions |
Budget | $3 million (mini-series) [1] |
Original release | |
Network | Nine Network |
Release | 26 May 1986 – 6 October 1992 |
The Flying Doctors is an Australian drama TV series produced by Crawford Productions that revolves around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. Tom Callaghan.
The series started as a 1985 mini-series set in the fictional outback town of Cooper's Crossing (Minyip in north-western rural Victoria), and originally ran for over seven years. Several early online episode listings split the 221 episodes into six seasons, [2] however the National Film and Sound Archive confirms nine. [3] [4] Crawford Productions have released the show in DVD and on streaming in ten seasons (including the 13 episodes of the 1992 spin-off R.F.D.S.).
The series' episodes were mostly self-contained medical dramas, but also explored social issues, such as domestic violence, alcohol abuse, and the struggles faced by Indigenous Australians.
The following characters are credited as "starring" in the opening credits:
The following characters appear regularly, however are credited in the closing credits alongside the guest actors:
One prominent feature in the show is the communication between the aircraft and the base station in Cooper's Crossing. Their designations are spelled out using the NATO phonetic alphabet.
Series | Episodes | Originally released | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First released | Last released | |||
Miniseries | 3 | 29 April 1985 | 1 May 1985 | |
1 | 26 | 26 May 1986 | 17 November 1986 | |
2 | 24 | 9 July 1987 | 25 February 1988 | |
3 | 26 | 3 March 1988 | 1 September 1988 | |
4 | 24 | 8 September 1988 | 11 May 1989 | |
5 | 26 | 18 May 1989 | 16 November 1989 | |
6 | 20 | 8 February 1990 | 28 June 1990 | |
7 | 20 | 5 July 1990 | 21 November 1990 | |
8 | 26 | 24 January 1991 | 25 July 1991 | |
9 | 29 | 1 August 1991 | 6 October 1992 |
By 1993, the ratings were in decline, and few original characters remained in the much-changed cast. The show was then revamped under the title R.F.D.S. (working title: The New Flying Doctors), and its setting was changed to Broken Hill. [5] The spin-off ran for one season on the Nine Network from January 21, 1993 to February 4, 1994 and screened internationally.
The only original cast members that were retained in the show were supporting cast members Maury Fields and Val Jellay as Vic and Nancy Buckley, along with Sophie Lee as Penny Wellings. The storyline had the Buckleys move from Cooper's Crossing pub to Broken Hill. The show lasted just one season in this new incarnation. [6]
Australian pay-TV channel Fox Classics secured the rights to the program from 3 July 2006. Streaming services currently include the spin-off as the tenth season of The Flying Doctors.
The show is not to be confused with the series RFDS , which shares the same premise but was produced by Endemol Shine Australia and aired on Seven Network from 2021.
The Flying Doctors was successfully broadcast in the UK. The original 1985 3-part mini-series was aired three times on Channel 4; first in 1985, a repeat the following year from 30 May 1986 at 10:25. A third repeat aired in 1988.
The ongoing series then broadcast on BBC One. The series initially aired on Fridays at 20:10 from 1 July 1988. On 20 August 1988, the series was moved to a Saturday early evening slot at around 17:15 where it gained a loyal audience of about 6 to 8 million viewers, until 24 August 1991. [7] During the summer of 1992, episodes were repeated Monday to Friday at 11:05, around 8 weeks worth. From September 1992, the series settled into a new regular Friday afternoon slot, usually at around 14:30. The BBC concluded Series 6 in spring 1996 but continued to air repeats in various slots until January 1997.
The Flying Doctors was also broadcast on the satellite and cable channel UK Gold. The channel repeated all 221 episodes weekdays at 15:00 from 1998.
The Flying Doctors briefly returned to free to air when WIN Television, parent company of Crawford Productions commenced reruns of the program on 17 August 2007 at midday week day afternoons.
The series was also aired in some parts of Europe and was particularly popular in the Netherlands where it aired on VARA at 8pm on Saturday nights from 1987 to 1993. The series aired in Ireland on RTÉ One from 1988 to 1996. The series aired in Germany in the early 90s on state broadcaster ZDF. [8] The series aired originally in Sweden and has been re-broadcast on TV4 Guld in 2017 with back to back episodes on weekdays.
The show also aired in New Zealand on TVNZ, where the entire series was shown in primetime, and was very popular.
From 1988 to 1992, it was broadcast in Nigeria by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Channel 5.
The Flying Doctors was made available to purchase in Australia. All 221 episodes plus the 13 spinoff-episodes are on a 51 disc set, complete with cast interviews, episode synopses and stills gallery. [9] In region 2, Mediumrare Entertainment have released all nine seasons of The Flying Doctors including the miniseries also called The Flying Doctors in region 2.
The series was filmed at: [10]
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