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.
Cast and characters
Main cast members
The following characters are credited as "starring" in the opening credits:
Andrew McFarlane as Tom Callaghan (series 1, 5–7, episodes 1–16, 113–156; guest series 9, episode 201)
A young male doctor who takes over the R.F.D.S base in Coopers Crossing after proving himself to its original boss, Harry Sinclair. He brings along Chris Randall as his assistant. Tom leaves the show after 16 episodes, to volunteer for World Vision in Africa. He returns midway through series five, before leaving again early into series seven, although he remained in the opening credits for the rest of the year. Tom makes a final appearance in series nine, when there is a town celebration in Coopers Crossing.
Liz Burch as Chris Randall (series 1–6, episodes 1–146; guest series 9, episode 201)
A female doctor who accompanies Tom Callaghan to run the R.F.D.S base in Cooper Crossing. When Tom leaves for Africa, she decides to stay in Coopers Crossing, remaining until the end of series six, when she moves to Melbourne to take care of her sick father. She returns in series nine for the town celebration, and falls in love with Tom Callaghan again, deciding to join him in Africa.
Robert Grubb as Geoff Standish (series 1–9, episodes 17–221)
The doctor who takes over the R.F.D.S base from Tom Callaghan. Geoff is one of the longest-running characters in the series, and stayed until its finale. His relationship with Nurse Kate Wellings was a key storyline, they share a daughter by the end of the series.
Lenore Smith as Nurse Kate Wellings Standish (series 2–9, episodes 27–221; supporting series 1, episodes 1–26)
Nurse and the only medical staff who stayed through the entire show, as a supporting cast member in the miniseries and first series, before joining the main cast from series two. She eventually begins a romance with Dr. Standish.
Peter O'Brien as Sam Patterson (series 2–5, episodes 27–118)
Pilot, he makes his first appearance in series two, as a replacement for Gibbo.
Brett Climo as David Ratcliffe (series 5–8, episodes 101–171)
A young doctor who joins the staff in series five and stays until the first five episodes of series eight, when he decides to leave to do something else with his life. However, his final rescue mission goes terribly wrong and he dies after falling off a cliff.
Nikki Coghill as Nurse Jackie Crane (series 8–9, episodes 167–221)
David Reyne as Dr. Guy Reid (series 8–9, episodes 167–221)
A charming womaniser who arrives in series eight and soon begins a relationship with the nurse Jackie Crane.
Christopher Stollery as Johnno Johnson (series 8–9, episodes 167–221; supporting series 7, episodes 147–166)
Sarah Chadwick as Dr. Rowie Lang (series 8–9, episodes 175–221)
Supporting cast members
The following characters appear regularly and are credited in the closing credits alongside the guest actors:
Pat Evison as Violet Carnegie (miniseries, series 1–3), local store owner and town gossip
Max Cullen as Horace "Hurtle" Morrison (miniseries, series 1–3), local mechanic
Gil Tucker as Joe Forrest (miniseries, series 1), radio operator
Bruce Barry as George Baxter (miniseries, series 1–5), local property tycoon
Maurie Fields as Vic Buckley (miniseries, series 1–9), local pub owner, later carried over to the spin-off RFDS
Val Jellay as Nancy Buckley (miniseries, series 1–9), Vic's wife, later carried over to the spin-off RFDS
Mark Little as Ron Miller "the Roughneck" (miniseries, series 1), works for Hurtle
John Frawley as Dr. Frank Turner (miniseries, series 1), runs the local hospital
Carmel Millhouse as Matron Ingrid Fischer (miniseries, series 1)
Terry Gill as Sgt. Jack Carruthers (miniseries, series 1–6), local police officer
Kylie Belling as Sharon Herbert (series 1), Aboriginal receptionist at the base
Brian Mannix as Lionel (series 1), local eccentric who renames himself "Max" after Mad Max
Rebecca Gibney as Emma Patterson (series 1–5), Hurtle's niece, later Sam's wife
Lewis Fitz-Gerald as David "Gibbo" Gibson (series 1), pilot who dies as result of a plane crash
Sydney Jackson as Father Cliff "Jack" Jackson (series 2; guest season 1)
George Kapiniaris as Demetrios "DJ" Goannides (series 2–6), radio operator
Michaela Abay as Zoe Buchannan (series 2), teenager who Chris takes under her wing
Mark Neal as Marty Jarvis (series 3–4), DJ's friend, troublemaker, mechanic
Anita Cerdic as Soula Polites (series 3; guest series 2), DJ's love interest
Shane Withington as Mike Lancaster (series 3), married geophysicist, Chris' love interest
Marie Redshaw as Maggie Hutton (series 3–4), takes over Violet's shop
Simon Thorpe as Senior Constable Larry O'Connor (series 3)
Vikki Blanche as Paula Patterson (series 3–5), Sam's sister, nurse
Gerard Kennedy as Luke Mitchell (series 4–6), works at Vic's pub
Beverly Dunn as Clare Bryant (series 6–9), radio operator
Melita Jurisic as Dr. Magda Heller (series 7–8), young doctor from Germany
Sophie Lee as Penny Willings (series 8–9), Kate's sister, later carried over to the spin-off RFDS
Paul Kelman as Steve MacCauley (series 8–9), mechanic
Call signs
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.
MSF, or Mike Sierra Foxtrot, is the aircraft, a GAF Nomad carrying registration VH-MSF (the show's producers probably chose the letters 'MSF' because they are short for Médecins Sans Frontières ["Doctors Without Borders"], the international medical charitable organisation).
VCC, or Victor Charlie Charlie, is the RFDS base at Coopers Crossing.
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: The Inside Story was written by Australian journalist James Oram
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.
Home media
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.
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