The flying doctors

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Television series
German title The flying doctors
Original title The Flying Doctors
R.FDS (Spin-Off)
Country of production Australia
original language English
Year (s) 1985-1993
length 45 minutes
Episodes 6 (mini series) +
221 (original series) +
13 (spin-off)
music Garry McDonald ,
Laurie Stone
First broadcast March 12, 1985 (mini-series) ,
May 15, 1986 (original series) ,
January 21, 1993 (spin-off) on Nine Network
German-language
first broadcast
March 26, 1991 (mini series) ,
April 25, 1991 (original series) ,
June 13, 1994 (spin-off) on ZDF
occupation

The Flying Doctors ( The Flying Doctors ) is the common German title three consecutive Australian television series of Crawford Productions, which the audience the first time the reality of RFDS ( Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia brought) closer. The original series has six seasons with a total of 221 episodes.

background

The flying doctors started in 1985 as a six-part mini - series in which Dr. Tom Callaghan arrives as the new doctor in the sleepy Nest Cooper's Crossing and has taken over the management from Harry Sinclair . After the great success, the series was continued in 1986, Dr. Chris Randall as the new doctor. After 16 episodes, Andrew McFarlane left the series and a new doctor, Dr. Geoff Standish , was introduced.

The individual episodes of the series are self-contained stories. However, there are also actions that build on one another. The slowly developing love affair between the nurse Kate Wellings and Dr. To name Geoff Standish , who finally get married in season 5 and later also have a child. McFarlane returns to the series in season five, playing Dr. Tom Callaghan for 37 more episodes. Other significant characters are the pilot Sam Patterson and the mechanic Emma Plimpton , who get married at the end of the second season. Also the local cop Jack Carruthers and the two bar owners Vic and Nancy Buckley .

After 221 episodes, the actual series was discontinued. In 1993, however, started a spin-off with the original title RFDS , of which a total of 13 episodes were produced. Sophie Lee played one of the main roles as Penny Wellings , who also appeared in the original series. In Germany, all three series were shown under the title The Flying Doctors and the broadcast went seamlessly into one another.

Characters

The doctors

  • Andrew McFarlane plays Tom Callaghan : a young doctor who takes over the RFDS base in Cooper's Crossing from Harry Sinclair at the end of the miniseries. With the young doctor Dr. Chris Randall, who joins the series at the beginning of season 1, begins a love affair. In episode 16, Callaghan leaves Australia to go to Africa with an aid service. In episode 113, he returns as a broken personality. After episode 156, he only comes back once in episode 201 (The Diary).
  • Liz Burch plays Chris Randall : As the first doctor in Cooper's Crossing, she initially met with a lot of rejection from the residents of Cooper's Crossing. But she soon wins their hearts and, despite the end of her love affair with Dr. Tom Callaghan. In episode 146, she leaves Cooper's Crossing to stay with her sick father in Melbourne. She also comes back for episode 201. Together with Tom Callaghan she decides to go to Africa.
  • Robert Grubb plays Geoff Standish : In episode 17, he takes over the management of the RFDS base from Tom Callaghan. After initially being rejected by the residents of Cooper's Crossing, he becomes one of the most popular characters. His slowly developing relationship with nurse Kate Wellings plays an important role in this.
  • Brett Climo plays David Ratcliffe . He was added in episode 101 and died serial death in episode 171.
  • David Reyne plays Guy Reid .

Pilots

Seasons

  • Mini-series: 6 episodes (1985)
  • Season 1: 1–26 (1986)
  • 2nd season: 27-64 (1987)
  • Season 3: 65-100 (1988)
  • 4th season: 101-136 (1989)
  • 5th Season: 137-172 (1990)
  • Season 6: 173-221 (1991)
  • Spin-Off: 13 episodes (1993)

Movie locations

Trivia

  • The scenes on the plane were shot in a discarded Nomad without wings in the studio. As the lift kept breaking, the machine was finally shaken thanks to several technicians.
  • Lenore Smith was once married to Gary Sweet, who was a guest mail aviator. Her first husband Matt Kay also made a guest appearance.
  • The Fokker F-27 Friendship , which Tom Callaghan had brought to Cooper's Crossing in the first episode of the miniseries, was a real machine from Ansett Australia (actually / before MacRobertson Miller Airlines ) with the aircraft registration VH-MMS. This was withdrawn from service between November 1984 and January 1985 for repainting.
  • After Andrew McFarlane left , the producers tried to find a replacement. They chose to refer to the new doctor as the exact opposite of Dr. Tom Callaghan to conceive.
  • The development of the relationship between Kate and Geoff was shaped by the two actors.
  • In one episode, Geoff and Sam are held captive in a car by a vicious dog. They escape by rolling the car and jamming the dog's chain. This story goes back to an experience of Sam Neill while filming My Brilliant Career , to whom exactly the same happened during a break in filming . Robert Grubb was also on the set and later told this story at the Flying Doctors.
  • Peter O'Brien's wife , Miranda Otto , had a guest role as Amy Brodie in episode 68 "Accidents".
  • Maurie Fields and Val Jellay were also married in real life. Her son Marty Fields made a few minor appearances on the series.
  • In Germany, the episodes of the original series were split into nine seasons for release on DVD.
  • On December 22nd, 2017 the series ( FSK  12) was published in a complete box in German with 63 DVDs (9868 min.).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Australian Television Information Archive
  2. The Nomad , on the-flying-doctors.de
  3. VH-MMS Fokker F.27-2002 Friendship on AussieAirliners.org