Alan Cassell

Blue Heelers was one of Australia's longest running weekly television drama series. Blue Heelers is a police drama series set in the fictional country town of Mount Thomas. Under the watchful eye of Tom Croydon (John Wood), the men and women of Mount Thomas Police Station fight crime, resolve disputes and tackle the social issues of the day. We watch their successes and their failures and learn to grow with them and their loved ones as the heart of the series develops.

The Flying Doctors is an Australian drama series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the real Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. It was initially a 1985 mini-series based in the fictional outback town of Cooper's Crossing starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. Tom Callaghan. The success of the mini series led to its return the following year as an on-going series with McFarlane being joined by a new doctor, Chris Randall, played by Liz Burch. McFarlane left during the first season and actor Robert Grubb came in as new doctor Geoff Standish. The series' episodes were mostly self-contained but also featured ongoing storylines, such as Dr. Standish's romance with Sister Kate Wellings. Other major characters included pilot Sam Patterson, mechanic Emma Plimpton, local policeman Sgt. Jack Carruthers and Vic and Nancy Buckley, who ran the local pub/hotel, The Majestic. Andrew McFarlane also later returned to the series, resuming his role as Dr. Callaghan. The popular series ran for nine seasons and was successfully screened internationally.

Rafferty's Rules was an Australian television drama series which ran from 1987 to 1990 on the Seven Network. Rafferty's Rules was one of the first programs undertaken by the Seven Network's then new in-house drama unit, going into production in May 1985 as "a 15-part courtroom drama". The program had started out as a pilot episode, recorded in early 1984 with the actor Chris Haywood in the lead role. When the pilot episode was remounted later in 1984, Chris Haywood wasn't available and the lead role was re-cast to John Wood. This second recording was eventually broadcast as the program's first episode.

Halifax f.p. is an Australian television crime series produced by Nine Network from 1994 to 2002. The series stars Rebecca Gibney as Doctor Jane Halifax, a forensic psychiatrist investigating cases involving the mental state of suspects or victims. The series is set in Melbourne. The producers of the film were Beyond Simpson Le Mesurier; Australian Film Finance Corporation and aired on the Nine Network Australia Pty Ltd 21 Episodes of 90 and 102 minutes each were produced, and the series has screened in more than 60 countries. The budget for each episode was an average of $1.3 million. Funding came in part from the Australian Film Finance Corporation and Film Victoria.

Mission: Impossible is an American television series that chronicles the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force. The show is a revival of the 1966 TV series of the same name. The only actor to return for the series as a regular cast member was Peter Graves who played Jim Phelps, although two other cast members from the original series returned as guest stars. The only other regular cast member to return for every episode was the voice of "The Tape", Bob Johnson.

Janus is an Australian drama television series screened on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1994 and 1995. Two series were produced, with a total of 26 episodes. Janus was a spin-off series from the earlier ABC-TV crime series Phoenix. Loosely based on the true story of Melbourne's Pettingill family and the Walsh Street police shootings, Janus follows the bitterly-fought prosecutions of a notorious criminal family, the Hennesseys, from the viewpoints of the family, the police and, in particular, the lawyers, prosecutors, barristers and judges involved in all aspects of the story. When the series begins, four members of the infamous Hennessey clan are acquitted of the shooting of two young policemen in a bungled bank heist. The city of Melbourne is shocked as brothers Mal and Steve, along with brother-in-law Darren Mack and friend Ken Hardy, walk free. The prosecutors, judges, magistrates and police—many modelled heavily on real-life legal figures—are determined to put the Hennessey members behind bars if they can. But corruption, legal loopholes, delays, and stretched resources combine to make the quest to jail the group far from straightforward.

The Power, The Passion is an Australian television daytime soap opera produced by the Seven Network in 1989. The series was devised to lure audiences away from American imports such as The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless but failed to make an impact and was cancelled due to low ratings after 168 episodes. The cast included Kevin Miles, Olivia Hamnett, Ian Rawlings, Danny Roberts, Jill Forster, George Mallaby, Nick Carrafa, Allan Cassell, Ross Thompson, Jane Clifton, Jon Finlayson and Julian McMahon in his TV debut.

Bony is an Australian television series made in 1992. The series of 13 episodes followed on from a telemovie made in 1990. The series was criticised for casting a white man (Cameron Daddo) as the title character Detective David John Bonaparte, under the tutelage of "Uncle Albert", an elderly Aborigine (Burnham Burnham). Bony was supposed to be a descendent of the Bony character created by Arthur Upfield in dozens of novels from the late 1920s until his death in 1964.

Sara Dane is a 1982 Australian television miniseries about a woman transported from England to Australia for a crime she did not commit.

Special Squad was an Australian television series m The series focused on an elite division of the Victoria Police, which handled crimes either too sensitive or specialist for regular squads. The Special Squad was headed by Det. Insp. Don Anderson, with his main operatives being Det. Snr. Sgt. Greg Smith, and Det. Sgt. Joel Davis.

The trials and tribulations of the Goddard family after the entry of Australia into the Vietnam War.

During the Boer War, three Australian lieutenants are on trial for shooting Boer prisoners. Though they acted under orders, they are being used as scapegoats by the General Staff, who hopes to distance themselves from the irregular practices of the war. The trial does not progress as smoothly as expected by the General Staff, as the defence puts up a strong fight in the courtroom.

A group of crooks plan a heist to steal twenty million dollars from a Security Firm counting house.

Up-and-coming senator Nick Rast's young son is terminally ill with leukemia. A mysterious faith healer, Gregory Wolfe, appears and seems to cure the boy. Rast's wife Sandy falls in love with Wolfe, but the powerful interests behind Rast's career, represented by geriatric monster Doc Wheelan are less happy with events.

After a highly successful raid on Singapore Harbour, soldiers of Z Special Unit lead a new expedition in Singapore, with disastrous results.

Two 'very straight' old timers have to learn how to pass as a loving gay couple after falsely claiming same-sex status to take advantage of newly legislated tax laws.

Two teenage surf chicks from the southern suburbs of Sydney ingratiate themselves with a new group of boys.

The club buys a talented young player, Geoff, for a record sum of money. The team members do not like their new star and friction develops immediately. Game after game is lost until Geoff begins to realize that there is more at stake than just his own career.

Kate McLelland's life is a normal one of a girl her age in the eastern suburbs, until her discovery that she is adopted. This is the story of her search for her natural mother and the resulting relationship.

John Brandy is an ex-cop on holiday in Singapore with his girlfriend Ginger when he hears an old Perth banker friend of his, Frank Newman, has committed suicide. He travels to Perth and discovers that Newman killed himself after being drugged at a party and found himself in a pornographic film; he was blackmailed and embezzled money to pay off his tormentors, but when the film was distributed anyway he decided to take his own life. Newman and Ginger decide to investigate who is behind the blackmail racket.