DELTA
FEATURE
ARTICLE
HOME
INTERVIEWS
CHRONOLOGICAL
OVERVIEW
F.A.Q.
LINKS
EXPLANATION
OF EPISODE
GUIDE TERMS
|
EPISODES:
23.
LENGTH:
60
mins.
FORMAT:
Mono, Film.
PRODUCTION: ABC Production, Sydney. 1969 (Series 1), 1970
(Series 2).
RUNNING ORDER:
Airdate.
NETWORK:
ABC.
CAST:
Inger Petri.......KIRRILY NOLAN
Jeff Mallow.......JOHN GREGG
Jackie Stuart.......PATSY TRENCH (eps
12 - 23)
Brian Fitch.......KEVIN MILES
CREW:
Producer.......DAVID GODDARD
Executive Producer.......DAVID GODDARD
Series created by.......COLIN FREE
Music.......GEORGE DREYFUSS with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
AWARDS:
1970 Awgie: Tony Morphett for ep.
19 'A Touch Of DFP'.
1970 AFI Bronze Reel Award: ep. 13 'The Short Sell'.
|
EPISODE TITLES
Series 1
1. The Devil Take The Bluetongue Fly
2. Stresspoint
3. Wish Upon A Fallen Star
4. A Pocketful Of Bones
5. Welcome To Sunhaven
6. The Trouble With Daisy
7. There's A Lot Of It About
8. The Initiates
9. Delicate Balance
10. A Beautiful Burn
11. D Is For Destruction
12. R.I.P.
First Patsy Trench
Series 2
13. The Short Sell
14. Look Thy Last
15. The Fatted Calf
16. Hannah
17. Death Walk
18. A Bite Of History
19. A Touch Of DFP
20. The Honeywind Blows
21. Blackout
22. Too Many Masters
23. Overkill
|
SERIES 1
1. The Devil Take The Bluetongue Fly
Jim Mitchell.......Robert Bruning
Bill Prescott.......Richard Meikle
Pettit.......Brian Adams
Clive Selwyn.......Jeff Ashby
Slade.......Harry Lawrence
Lawler.......Edward Howell
Hazel.......Shirley Smith
Bart.......Leslie Wright
Buck.......Steve Dodd
Worker.......Dennis Grosvenor
Script.......Colin Free
Director.......Brian Faull
Synopsis: Bill Prescott, a sheep farmer
hit by drought, is about to sell to an American buyer. Some of the stock are diseased and
although Prescott knows this, he tries to pass it off as a skin ailment. Finally Prescott
allows Delta to investigate, and Brian Fitch discovers the rare plague of Bluetongue,
which could virtually wipe out the sheep industry. The disease could spread at the rate of
50 miles a day, and it takes the combined efforts of Delta and the Australian Military
Forces to prevent a national disaster.
Airdate:
Sydney & NSW regional 25/9/69
Canberra 25/9/69
Melbourne & VIC regional 26/9/69
Brisbane & QLD regional 26/9/69
|

Ep. 1: Brian Adams

Ep. 1: John Gregg.
|
2. Stresspoint
Janosek.......Wyn Roberts
Nyholme.......Ronald Falk
Director.......Wolfgang Storch
Synopsis: The Australian Navy calls in Delta to investigate death and
possible sabotage causing delays in the building of two destroyers. The
real problem lies with discrimination against a migrant worker - he is
blamed for the death of a man by his workmates, who then start a victimisation campaign.
Airdate:
Sydney & NSW regional 2/10/69
Canberra 2/10/69
Melbourne & VIC regional 3/10/69
Brisbane & QLD regional 3/10/69
|

Kirrily Nolan.
|
3. Wish Upon A Fallen Star
Major Brunning.......Nigel Lovell
Acker.......Eddie Hepple
Joe.......John Armstrong
Synopsis: The Delta field team are trying to locate an ancient Aboriginal
burial ground which contains valuable artefacts, when they receive a call from the Army to
help look for a space capsule which has crashed in the
outback. The satellite had been carrying dangerous viruses into space as
part of a research programme. Inger and Mallow are at first reluctant to agree to Major Brunning's request
because the burial ground is in danger of flooding - and Brunning at first refused to tell
them the capsule's contents. There is little to guide them in the search for this deadly
capsule, but they know it could have broken open on impact. If the capsule is not found
soon a plague could be unleashed, causing widespread disease and death. Two old bush
characters, Acker and Joe, find the capsule and puncture it, and it becomes a race against
time.
Airdate:
Sydney & NSW regional 9/10/69
Canberra 9/10/69
Melbourne & VIC regional 10/10/69
Brisbane & QLD regional 10/10/69
|

Ep. 3: Kirrily Nolan and John Gregg. |
4. A Pocketful Of Bones
Diane.......Carmen Duncan
Hilda.......Enid Lorimer
Synopsis: When Inger Petri and Brian Fitch are exploring for blue metal
deposits, they uncover a cave with wall paintings. At first sight these appear to be
Aboriginal relics, but a sinister discovery nearby causes them to think otherwise: a
skeleton exhibiting signs of skilled modern surgery.
Airdate:
Sydney & NSW regional 16/10/69
Canberra 16/10/69
Melbourne & VIC regional 17/10/69
Brisbane & QLD regional 17/10/69
|

Kirrily Nolan and John Gregg. |
5. Welcome To Sunhaven
Dr. Brian Doyle.......Peter Sumner
Mayor Firland.......Don Reid
Winifred Marsh .......Gabrielle Hartley
Director.......Wolfgang Storch
Synopsis: Delta is proud of its work on the newly designed filtration
plant at Sunhaven, but then a tourist dies after eating polluted oysters. Inger Petri and
Jeff Mallow investigate, but they can find no malfunction in the plant -
the effluent is clear, though a strange foam keeps forming a short
distance from the outlet. In spite of protests, the militant Dr. Doyle,
who has campaigned for years against river pollution, manages to get the
plant closed down. Delta is feeling the heat, especially in the face of
bad publicity from well-known journalist Fred Marsh. In reality, Fred is
actually a woman - Winifred Marsh - and this makes it difficult for Mallow
to remain scientifically detached. Then Inger turns up the first clue and
risks her life in an attempt to prove a theory.
Airdate:
Sydney & NSW regional 23/10/69
Canberra 23/10/69
Melbourne & VIC regional 24/10/69
Brisbane & QLD regional 24/10/69
Adelaide & SA regional 27/10/69
|

Kirrily Nolan. |
6. The Trouble With Daisy
Alan Tibbett.......Harold Hopkins
Dakin.......Tom Farley
Gail Dakin.......Maria Goddard
Alan Tibbett Snr........Ron Roberts
Mrs. Osmond.......Thelma Scott
Linda Owens.......Peg Christensen
Bill Owens.......Bob Haddow
Synopsis: The Dakins are struggling to make their dairy farm pay. Dakin
keeps getting scientific advice but stubbornly refuses to act on it, and the Delta team
discover that the dairy produce is third-rate. Family tradition and rivalry in the small
dairying community force the Delta team to abandon science and make use of female cunning,
and they recommend that an old family employee should be sacked and part of the land which
has been fenced off should be opened up.
Airdate:
Sydney & NSW regional 30/10/69
Canberra 30/10/69
Melbourne & VIC regional 31/10/69
Brisbane & QLD regional 31/10/69
|

John Gregg and Kirrily Nolan. |
7. There's A Lot Of It About
Rankin.......Stewart Ginn
Carpenter.......Peter Collingwood
Synopsis: Cranks cause Delta more headaches than the toughest of
assignments, so when a crate of weeds arrives for investigation, laborious and unrewarding
checks must be made. An amateur herbalist, Carpenter, has been sending unsolicited specimens to Delta
for years, but it comes as a surprise when a routine check shows an unusual creeper weed, Marsdenia, contains medically valuable analgesic properties.
Carpenter suspects DELTA of trying to claim his discovery, but when an
earthmoving firm arrives with heavy equipment it appears that nobody will
get the credit.
Airdate:
Sydney & NSW regional 6/11/69
Canberra 6/11/69
Melbourne & VIC regional 7/11/69
Brisbane & QLD regional 7/11/69
|

Kevin Miles and John Gregg. |
8. The Initiates
Peter Spencer.......Tristan Rogers
Dr. Spencer.......Frank Thring
Tony Spencer.......Max Phipps
Script.......Tony Morphett
Synopsis: Dr. Spencer, a distinguished anthropologist, has retired to
Australia. He made his reputation with a classic study of the New Guinea
Kaibu tribe. At the request of a distinguished professor, Dr. Spencer has set up a reconstruction of a
Kaibu village on
his property for post-graduate study of their life and religion. Inger Petri is invited to
attend the school, but it soon appears to her that something more sinister than
anthropological studies are being catered for. Her suspicions are strengthened by the
doctor's strange son, Peter, and she panics when she discovers that the school is
virtually cut off from the outside world by the express orders of Dr. Spencer,
and Delta finds itself involved in a ritual murder.
Notes: Segments filmed on location at
an historic homestead at Appin, just south of Sydney.
Airdate:
Sydney & NSW regional 13/11/69
Canberra 13/11/69
Melbourne & VIC regional 14/11/69
Brisbane & QLD regional 14/11/69
|

Ep. 8: Frank Thring, Kirrily Nolan and John
Gregg. |
9. Delicate Balance
.......Martin Harris
Director.......Tom Jeffrey
Synopsis: When Inger Petri takes a well-deserved holiday, she stays with
friends on the coast. Unexpectedly, the Delta mobile laboratory arrives with Jeff Mallow
and a metallurgist, who have been sent to the area to estimate the mineral content of the
beach sands. Delta finds that when an ardent conservationist meets a rutile miner, the
situation becomes explosive - with gelignite.
Airdate:
Sydney & NSW regional 20/11/69
Canberra 20/11/69
Melbourne & VIC regional 21/11/69
Brisbane & QLD regional 21/11/69
|

John Gregg and Kirrily Nolan. |
10. A Beautiful Burn
Fire Chief Rawson.......Tony Ward
.......Anna Bowden
Director.......Oscar Whitbread
Synopsis: To prevent the disaster of future bushfires to a mountain town that is
regularly razed by fire, Delta, with considerable difficulty, arrange a
pattern of controlled burning to create an artificial firebreak. It is a
massive operation using the combined efforts of the Army and the local
fire brigade. Rawson, the local fire brigade
officer at Shallow Creek, scoffs at progress and, resenting the intrusion, prevents its completion,
claiming it is dangerous and ill-conceived. Because
of his stupidity he causes the death of one man and nearly kills himself and others when a
spectacular fire threatens the town.
Airdate:
Sydney & NSW regional 27/11/69
Canberra 27/11/69
Melbourne & VIC regional 28/11/69
Brisbane & QLD regional 28/11/69
11. D Is For Destruction
Mother.......Pat Bishop
Father.......Ray Taylor
Stevie.......Matthew Crosby
Script.......John Kiddell
Director.......Tom Jeffrey
Synopsis: Delta investigates a human problem when Inger Petri goes to the
sixth birthday party of her godson Stevie, an intelligent child who cannot, or will not,
learn to read or write. He is a difficult child who goes into a tantrum if crossed. His
parents are high-living social climbers who blame each other for the child's behaviour.
Meanwhile, Jeff Mallow clashes with some bikies who destroy equipment in the mobile
laboratory.
Airdate:
Sydney & NSW regional 4/12/69
Canberra 4/12/69
Melbourne & VIC regional 5/12/69
Brisbane & QLD regional 5/12/69
12. R.I.P.
Sawtell.......Chips Rafferty
Director.......David Goddard
Synopsis: A ghost mining town in the
Blue Mountains is the proposed site of a multi-million dollar American leisure centre.
Delta operator Jackie Stuart has been given the task of surveying the area and she heads
for the uninhabited town. After making her base in an old bar she explores the area and
discovers an empty tent. Returning to the bar she finds signs that someone has visited it
during her absence. In a panic Jackie tries to start her Landrover - only to find that the
distributor arm is missing. Other 'ghostly' events turn an adventure into a nightmare as
it becomes obvious someone is trying to scare her off.
Notes: First episode with Patsy Trench as Jackie
Stuart. Filmed at the abandoned mining town of Harvey Vale, NSW.
Airdate:
Sydney & NSW regional 11/12/69
Canberra 11/12/69
Melbourne & VIC regional 12/12/69
Brisbane & QLD regional 12/12/69
|

Ep. 10: Kirrily Nolan and John Gregg.

Kirrily Nolan |
SERIES 2
13. The Short Sell
James Garrick.......John Meillon
Jack le Fevre.......Ron Randell
Hilary Harris.......Audine Leith
Bruce Arnold.......Allan Lander
Sir Philip Galton.......Gordon McDougall
Girl.......Judy Morris
Staines.......John Derum
Lady Galton.......Hilary Bligh
Journalist.......Edward Lansdowne
Intruder.......Roger Milliss
Script.......Martin Stormill
Director.......Wolfgang Storch
Synopsis: Jack le Fevre, a Canadian
geologist working for wealthy Jim Garrick, has made a promising mineral discovery and
Delta is asked to provide an independent valuation of the field. Delta finds the discovery
is limited, but this doesn't stop Garrick from falsifying the report and sending the
company's shares rocketing. As a result Mallow is accused of accepting a bribe and
suspended pending investigation. Mallow then attempts to prove his innocence.
Notes: This episode won an Australian
Film Institute Bronze Reel Award.
Airdate:
Melbourne & VIC regional 10/7/70
Sydney & NSW regional 10/7/70
Canberra 10/7/70
Brisbane & QLD regional 24/7/70
|

Ep. 13: John Gregg and Ron Randell.
|
14. Look Thy Last
Skade.......Harry Lawrence
Scottie.......Keith Lee
Lambert.......Don Reid
Kell.......Peter Corbett
Script.......John Martin
Director.......Tom Jeffrey
Synopsis: Coal mine workings are
operating dangerously near an old flooded shaft. The old hands are wary and believe there
is danger; the young men and management are more worried about bonus and output. Delta is
asked to give an independent assessment of the situation, and Jackie and Mallow are
assigned. Mallow sets off down the mine - there is a blast and he and Scottie, the union
representative, and a troublemaker named Skade are trapped in a sealed
chamber by a rockfall.
Notes: Filmed on location at the Awaba
colliery, Newcastle. Kirrily Nolan does not appear in this episode. The script was used in
the textbook Close-Up.
Airdate:
Melbourne & VIC regional 17/7/70
Sydney & NSW regional 17/7/70
Canberra 17/7/70
Brisbane & QLD regional 31/7/70
|

Ep. 14: Harry Lawrence and Keith Lee. |
15. The Fatted Calf
Leo Falstone-Green.......Michael Pate
Wilson.......Peter Gwynne
Paul Falstone-Green.......Alister Smart
Ryan.......Brian Adams
Director.......David Goddard
Synopsis: Jackie Stuart is invited to
the property of Leo Falstone-Green, a domineering cattle station owner, for a holiday. It
soon becomes obvious that Falstone-Green thinks his cattle station needs a strong owner,
and he looks on Jackie as potentially an ideal wife for his spineless son Paul. Jackie has
disliked Paul ever since they were children and she likes him even less now. Delta is
about to drill for oil on the property, and Falstone-Green is opposed to the plan in spite
of the fact that Delta has government permission. Jackie's loyalties are put to the test,
especially when Delta takes a tough line and Falstone-Green takes an even more violent
line.
Airdate:
Melbourne & VIC regional 24/7/70
Sydney & NSW regional 24/7/70
Canberra 24/7/70
Brisbane & QLD regional 7/8/70
|

Ep. 15: Brian Adams and John Gregg. |
16. Hannah
Dr.
Hannah Thompson.......Dinah Shearing
Margaret.......Moya O'Sullivan
Saxon.......Reg Livermore
Synopsis: Dr. Hannah Thompson, a one-time distinguished scientist with a
secret government department, consults a spiritualist. Delta becomes
involved when the spiritualist, Saxon,
becomes a threat to national security, as Dr. Thompson is working on a
top secret project and the government fears Saxon may trick her into
revealing confidential information.
Airdate:
Melbourne & VIC regional 31/7/70
Sydney & NSW regional 31/7/70
Canberra 31/7/70
Brisbane & QLD regional 14/8/70
|

John Gregg and Kirrily Nolan. |
17. Death Walk
McCrainor.......Owen Weingott
Rand.......Wyn Roberts
Script.......Robert Peach
Director.......Wolfgang Storch
Synopsis: Inger Petri and Jeff Mallow
visit the desert salt pans of Lake Eyre in South Australia at the
invitation of Rand, and electronics expert, to visit his experimental
station and observe television reception
tests. When they arrive they find the equipment dismantled, the water
supply gone, a hostile half-crazed engineer armed with a gun and attempted murder. Soon they find
themselves having to fight for survival with an injured man, and no food, water, radio,
compass or map.
Notes: Filmed at Lake Eyre, South
Australia. Considerable difficulties were experienced during filming due to adverse
weather conditions, the shoot taking 17 days instead of the allocated 11. Because of
excessive rain, some scenes had to be re-shot in sand dunes near Newcastle and at
Cronulla, Sydney.
Airdate:
Melbourne & VIC regional 7/8/70
Sydney & NSW regional 7/8/70
Canberra 7/8/70
Perth & WA regional 14/8/70
Hobart & TAS regional 14/8/70
Brisbane & QLD regional 21/8/70
Adelaide & SA regional 21/8/70
|

Ep. 17: Kirrily Nolan and John Gregg. |
18. A Bite Of History
Vicki.......Tina Grenville
Mrs. Sutcliffe.......Mary Mackay
Orlando.......Peter Reynolds
Hobson.......Rhoderick Walker
Director.......Frank Arnold
Synopsis: Mrs. Sutcliffe is determined to will her historic home to the
National Trust, but it stands on extremely valuable real estate which developers have
their eyes on. Delta is called in by the National Trust to evaluate the condition of the
house.
Airdate:
Melbourne & VIC regional 14/8/70
Sydney & NSW regional 14/8/70
Canberra 14/8/70
Brisbane & QLD regional 28/8/70
Adelaide & SA regional 28/8/70
|

Kirrily Nolan and
John Gregg. |
19. A Touch Of DFP
Jenni.......Lyndall Rowe
Bartlett.......Peter Adams
Milburn.......Don Barkham
Selwyn.......Jeff Ashby
Claudia.......Elke Neidhardt
Carter.......John Warwick
Script.......Tony Morphett
Synopsis: Inger Petri and Jeff Mallow are working on a routine
assignment checking the safety of crop-dusting solution for Carters
Laboratories when Mallow is sprayed by a
crop dusting plane and collapses, near death. Inger suspects foul play.
Notes: Tony Morphett was joint winner
of an Awgie Award for Best Script For A TV Drama Series (1970) for this episode (shared
with John Dingwall for Homicide episode 208 'Everyone Knows Charlie').
Airdate:
Melbourne & VIC regional 21/8/70
Sydney & NSW regional 21/8/70
Canberra 21/8/70
Brisbane & QLD regional 4/9/70
Adelaide & SA regional 4/9/70
|

John Gregg and Kirrily Nolan. |
20. The Honeywind Blows
Daphne.......Dina Mann
'Halloween' Jones.......Robert Dunlap
Maria.......Lyndall Barbour
Job Winton.......John Armstrong
Director.......Frank Arnold
Synopsis: When Delta is commissioned to
investigate Winton Honey, which is claimed to have magical powers to cure illness, Inger Petri
and Jeff Mallow come across an outbreak of voodooism and faith healing. They are joined at
a bush camp of three honey farmers by 'Halloween' Jones and Maria, who is a fortune teller
and a witch.
Notes: American actor Robert Dunlap, who had a lead role
in the U.S. serial Peyton Place, makes a guest appearance in this episode.
Airdate:
Melbourne & VIC regional 28/8/70
Sydney & NSW regional 28/8/70
Canberra 28/8/70
Brisbane & QLD regional 11/9/70
|

Ep. 20: Robert Dunlap and Dina Mann. |
21. Blackout
Jennifer McKenzie.......Jeanie Drynan
Bill Keegan.......Peter Sumner
Lawson.......Ben Gabriel
Mac McKenzie.......Brian James
Nigel.......Athol Compton
Melodie.......Steve Dodd
Aboriginal man.......Ben Blakeney
Barman.......Allan Penney
Script.......John Martin
Director.......Tom Jeffrey
Assistant Director.......Allan Penney
Script Editor.......Barbara Vernon
Synopsis: Delta investigates the tuna fishing industry and the racism of
local fishermen in a small town when an educated half-caste Aboriginal, who is involved
with a white girl, plans to build a small fleet of fishing boats to be manned by his
people.
Notes: Patsy Trench does not appear in
this episode.
Airdate:
Melbourne & VIC regional 4/9/70
Sydney & NSW regional 4/9/70
Canberra 4/9/70
Brisbane & QLD regional 18/9/70
|

Ep. 21: Peter Sumner and Jeanie Drynan. |
22. Too Many Masters
Len Reeves.......Peter Gwynne
Ronnie.......Nigel Lovell
Veronica Graham-Woods.......Margo Lee
Derek.......Jim Smillie
Butch.......Phillip Clifton
Director.......Frank Arnold
Synopsis: Wealthy art collector Veronica Graham-Woods seems to be so
lucky at finding valuable paintings that she can afford to let friends have
some now and then. She sells a Conder
painting to a friend of Inger Petri, and Inger becomes suspicious, remembering that this
particular painting was lost in a fire many years ago. Delta investigates an art
fraud, leading them to Len Reeves, an art forger.
Notes: First Australian television
acting role for Peter Gwynne. For her role as Veronica Graham-Woods,
Margot Lee took along lots of hats - more than the character could
possibly wear. "I was determined that this society woman should wear as
many hats as possible," said Margot. "It was better to have too many on
location than too few."17
Airdate:
Melbourne & VIC regional 11/9/70
Sydney & NSW regional 11/9/70
Canberra 11/9/70
Brisbane & QLD regional 25/9/70
|

Kirrily Nolan and John Gregg. |
23. Overkill
Thorgens.......Katy Wild
Mara.......Maria Goddard
Judge.......Don Pascoe
Scientist.......Phil Avalon
Script.......Colin Free
Synopsis: Delta scientist Brian Fitch
has been in the mountains conducting investigations into pollution. When
he does not contact the team for three
weeks, Inger and Mallow go to find him. When they reach his camp they find it deserted with
the Delta radio smashed, a bottle which once contained ether on the floor,
and an unidentified
decomposed body floating in the well. They later discover a weird deserted farm, inhabited only by what appear
to be driverless bulldozers and vans. A scientist, Judge, operates the ultra-mechanised
farm from a computer complex beneath the house. He is assisted by Thorgens and Mara - a 14-year-old girl with a mind like a computer who shows no emotion.
Airdate:
Melbourne & VIC regional 18/9/70
Sydney & NSW regional 18/9/70
Canberra 18/9/70
Brisbane & QLD regional 2/10/70
17.
TV Times, May 6, 1970.
|

Ep. 23: Maria Goddard. |