CLASSIC AUSTRALIAN TELEVISION

F.A.Q.

Frequently Asked Questions about this site:


Copyright © 2008 Don Storey.  All rights reserved.


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WHAT IS TV EYE MAGAZINE?

TV Eye first appeared in September 1993, filling a large void in Australian television nostalgia, and contained articles, interviews and episode guides about the first twenty years of Aussie television drama. The only prior reference work of any note on the subject was a book by a certain Albert Moran, which unfortunately contained trainloads of errors.

TV Eye was a non-profit, volunteer effort and spanned 15 quarterly issues. Produced whenever other commitments permitted, time and financial constraints eventually reached the point where TV Eye in its printed format was no longer viable. Production ceased in favour of establishing this web site. Apart from the much wider audience potential, a web site also allows a significantly higher technical standard and provision for regular updates.

DID ALL THE MATERIAL ON THIS SITE PREVIOUSLY APPEAR IN TV EYE?

No. Some of the articles were originally published in TV Eye magazine, but most articles and photographs are new to the web site. Interviews featured here appear exactly as they did in TV Eye. Previously published articles and episode details have been revised, re-written and expanded for the web site.

ARE ANY OF THESE SHOWS AVAILABLE ON DVD OR VHS?

Very few. DVD series releases have been limited to Skippy, Whiplash and The Adventures Of Long John Silver. Serials and mini-series from the era that have been released so far include Seven Little Australians, My Brother Jack and Power Without Glory. The Lost Islands has been released on DVD in France, and a few episodes of Homicide and Whiplash have been released on VHS video in the past. Slightly later stuff, just outside the time-frame covered by this website, such as Against The Wind, Father Dear Father In Australia, Doctor Down Under, The Last Outlaw and Ride On Stranger have also been released on DVD. There is an abundance of more recent stuff from the 90s and 00s, but unfortunately classic Australian nostalgia has so far been largely neglected for DVD release.

ARE ANY OF THESE SHOWS PLANNED FOR DVD RELEASE IN THE FUTURE?

I don't know. I can only suggest checking the 'coming soon' sections of retailer and distributor websites.

CAN YOU GET COPIES OF THE SHOWS FOR ME?

No I cannot, and I don't know where you can. There is only one possible exception - there are fans out there who have some stuff in their private collections, which they may make available to trade if you have something juicy to offer them in return, but they will not sell or give away stuff. So if you have an old recording of something, let me know and I will ask around. Otherwise, forget it.

WHY DON'T YOU PUBLISH A BOOK?

Maybe one day I will. However, all research is not yet complete, so it will still be quite sometime, if ever, before a book is published. In the meantime, available information will be posted on this web site.

WHY ARE THESE SHOWS NOT BEING SCREENED ANYMORE?

Some are: WIN-TV are currently playing Division 4 and Matlock Police in an early morning timeslot. Young Ramsay has been recently played, Alvin Purple has been shown on pay-TV, and Spyforce and Skippy still turn up spasmodically at weird times in the middle of the night.

Most other shows are not seen for a number of reasons. Quite a few need to be transferred to a modern broadcast format. Also, in many cases the stations no longer own the rights to the shows. Consequently the ratings they would attract would not be sufficient to justify the expense of acquiring new rights, especially when cheap American programs are readily available. In some cases residuals - their cost, and the time and effort in administering them - and/or the rights to the soundtrack music can be a stumbling block.

WILL YOU BE PROVIDING ACTOR BIOGRAPHIES?

No. Interviews that originally appeared in TV Eye are featured, however the purpose of this site is to cover actual programs, not individual acting careers. There are a number of books and web sites that cater for star-struck fans, and there is no need for the information to be repeated here.

THERE ARE SOME SERIES THAT YOU HAVE NOT COVERED. WHY NOT?

There are a small number of series (self-contained episodes) that obviously fit the parameters of this site and should be included, but they have not been. This is simply because I have not been able to find out enough about them.

WHY AREN'T YOU COVERING MINI-SERIES, SERIALS AND SOAP OPERAS?

Mainly because the work load would be too great and I need to draw the line somewhere.

WHY DON'T YOU JAZZ UP YOUR PAGES WITH VISUAL EFFECTS?

Maybe it will happen one day. Readers who want information are generally unappreciative of their bandwidth being consumed by 'bells and whistles'. At this point in time I prefer to place the emphasis on content rather than appearance.

WILL YOU POST THEME TUNES OR VIDEO CLIPS ON THE SITE?

I have no plans to do so, due to copyright problems and bandwidth limitations.

HAVE THE DIVISION 4 AND MATLOCK POLICE EPISODES CURRENTLY PLAYING ON WIN-TV BEEN EDITED?

Yes, but not to any great extent. There has been the odd scene or line of dialogue cut, but usually the only editing has been the repositioning of the commercial breaks, removing the 'return-from-commercial' integration, and replacing the original network logo on the end credits.

WHY DIDN'T WIN-TV PLAY DIVISION 4 EP. 102A AND MATLOCK POLICE EP. 194?

How am I supposed to know?