A Chronological History of Australian Soap

[Willie Oleson]

When an actress is literally exhausted by her soap alter ego...."Patricia" simply had to be stopped.
She's done the best years of Sons and Daughters, the timing was good and there was so much suspense in the recast/reboot storyline that it almost looked as if it had been planned that way, regardless of Ms. Wallace's decision.
And together with nasty Leigh Palmer it added a (perhaps much needed) variety to the show that had already reached its peak.
The Golden Girls shenanigans in season 5 and 6 didn't really fit the tone of the series (imho) and unfortunately some of it rubbed off on Alison.
I wonder what the reason was to do it that way, as the first episodes of season 5 looked very promising. It was also the introduction of the tackiest Sons and Daughters set ever: the gym. John Palmer never needed a reason to be naked, I'm just saying.

 

[AndyB2008]

When an actress is literally exhausted by her soap alter ego...."Patricia" simply had to be stopped.
She's done the best years of Sons and Daughters, the timing was good and there was so much suspense in the recast/reboot storyline that it almost looked as if it had been planned that way, regardless of Ms. Wallace's decision.
And together with nasty Leigh Palmer it added a (perhaps much needed) variety to the show that had already reached its peak.
The Golden Girls shenanigans in season 5 and 6 didn't really fit the tone of the series (imho) and unfortunately some of it rubbed off on Alison.
I wonder what the reason was to do it that way, as the first episodes of season 5 looked very promising. It was also the introduction of the tackiest Sons and Daughters set ever: the gym. John Palmer never needed a reason to be naked, I'm just saying.

The reason for the gym was probably to cash in the aerobics craze at the time.

But in shades of the Lexie/Boy George stuff on Prisoner, Grundy had devised the Bumps n Grinds stuff on SAD at the time the craze was dying out (what with the John Travolta film Perfect flopping at the box office as a sign, although one scene from that film was later recreated for the infamous Call On Me video)

 

[Willie Oleson]

The reason for the gym was probably to cash in the aerobics craze at the time.

Fiona was doing that in 1982. She was, of course, a very progressive woman.
But the very idea that Charlie would set foot in a gym....vraiment!

 

[Marika]

Regarding "The Restless Years": The show's concept was exported to Europe two decades later: In the Netherlands, "Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden" debuted in 1990, and in Germany, "Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten" debuted in 1992. During their first year on the air, both shows used the same set of characters and storylines as "The Restless Years" with only minor alterations.
In the German adaption, the Archer family remained intact while in the original version, Louise and Clive were written out quite early in the show's run. The German pendants of Jeff and Carol Archer only had a few appearances whereas in the Dutch adaption, they became main characters. Also in the German version, the first incarnation of Heather Russell turned out to be an impostor when the actresses needed to be switched, which apparently didn't happen in the Australian nor the Dutch version.
Both the Dutch and the German adaption are still on the air as of today. GZSZ is the most successful show in Germany and has aired over 7.200 episodes.

Here's a comparison of the original characters ... I linked the German counterparts with character profiles (with English translations) so you can read what happened to these characters in the German adaption. The show was heavily retooled after the first 230 episodes with many of the original characters leaving and being replaced by newbies.

The Restless Years | Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten | Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden

Peter Beckett – Peter Becker – Peter Kelder
Alan Archer – Heiko Richter – Arnie Alberts
Barry King – Patrick Graf – Rien Hogendoorn
Alison Clarke – Elke Opitz – Annette van Thijn
Penny Russell – Tina Ullrich – Linda Dekker
Raelene Geddes – Marina Geppert – Myriam van der Pol
Olivia Baxter– Julia Backhoff – Suzanne Balk
Elizabeth McKenzie – Elisabeth Meinhart – Helen Helmink
Bruce Russell – Frank Ullrich – Simon Dekker
Louise Archer – Vera Richter – Laura Alberts
Clive Archer – Clemens Richter – Robert Alberts
A.R. Jordan – A.R. Daniel – Daniël Daniël
Rita Merrick – Lilo Gottschick – Martine Hafkamp

Recurring characters and later additions during the first 230 episodes:
Jean Hutton Stafford – Claudia Wedemaier – Stephanie Kreeft
Unknown – Bertram Köhler – Jan van Ede
Unknown – Denise Köhler – Petra van Ede
Unknown – Oswald Löpelmann – Nico Stenders
Unknown – Jessica Naumann – Wil de Smet
Richard Dawson – Michael Döring – Marc de Waal
Unkown – Rüdiger Opitz – David van Tijn
Unknown – Richard Graf – Herman Hogendoorn
Heather Russell – Helga Ullrich – Jeanne Dekker
Unknown – Robert Linden – Rolf Huygens
Unknown – Alexandra Linden – Alexandra Huygens
Carol Archer – Carola Richter – Karin Alberts
Jeff Archer – Wilfried Richter – Jef Alberts
Shane Archer – Karsten Richter – John Alberts
David Harker – André Holm – David Harkema
Unknown – Holger Bachstein – Govert Harmsen
Unknown – Markus Born – Mickey Lammers
Maurice Brown – Armin Braun – Maurice de Bruin
Unknown – Sybille Vogler – Angela Nieuwkoop
Unknown – Jo Gerner – Frits van Houten
Unkown – Saskia Rother – Emma Driessen
Diane Archer – Diana Richter – Dian Alberts
Tim Watson – Tommy Walter – Tim Waterman

And here are detailed summaries of the German adaption's first year:
Episodes 1 to 100
Episodes 101 to 200
Episodes 201 to 300

 

[Englishboy]

One thing I’ve often wondered is what is meant by the “non ratings period” in the context of Australian television?

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

One thing I’ve often wondered is what is meant by the “non ratings period” in the context of Australian television?

Funnily enough, I heard it mentioned briefly on a podcast yesterday and wondered about it too as the impression they gave was that ratings weren't counted during that period but that they kind of were. From what I've gleaned from the below articles, it's the equivalent of a show premiering during the summer months in the UK or the US. The thought process is that it's summer time, so people are either on holidays or outside enjoying the weather, rather than watching TV. Also, a lot of network staff take leave during this period. So they save the big shows for the autumn when more people will be watching TV and churn out repeats, imports and reality shows during the non-ratings period in the run up to Christmas and into January. From what I can gather, the big difference from UK TV, is that they don't officially report on ratings in Australia during this period but unofficial figures are available. So for example, shows that air during this period aren't included in the official end of year ratings tally, even though unofficial ratings are available.

Explaining TV's non-rating period

Reasons behind TV's summer, non-rating period.

www.crikey.com.au

How do Australian TV networks get away with non-ratings period?

HOW do you know it’s summer time in Australia? The huge increase in British and Kiwi accents on our TV screens.

www.news.com.au

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

It was also the introduction of the tackiest Sons and Daughters set ever: the gym. John Palmer never needed a reason to be naked, I'm just saying.

The reason for the gym was probably to cash in the aerobics craze at the time.

It's mentioned in the book, where they compare it to Number 96's hammy attempt to ride the disco wave near the end of it's run.

 

[Ceindreadh]

I loved A Country Practice.
When they aired it in Ireland, they did it as half hour episodes running 5 days a week. I don't think we caught up fully until it had stopped airing in Australia.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

I loved A Country Practice.
When they aired it in Ireland, they did it as half hour episodes running 5 days a week. I don't think we caught up fully until it had stopped airing in Australia.

It's original run ended on RTE in 1997. It ran in a few different timeslots but my main recollection of it is it airing weekdays at 5.30pm on RTE1. I remember it on UTV too but I don't know when it finished it's run there.