What were some of your favourite Australian TV shows?
I’m trying to download, archive, and upscale as much older Australian TV content as I can, and would love to see what other people watched or enjoyed so I can try to preserve it as well.
This. I know OP asked for old shows, but Bluey is so good you can (luckily) watch the same episode a hundred times over and still enjoy it.
Skip the first season though - it was clearly run on a shoe string budget and doesn't have nearly the same quality as season two onwards. Go back and watch it when you're a fan.
I think Kath and Kim is a keeper. Like Kingswood Country, the suburban social commentary runs deeper than the gags make it appear. Based on your mention of The Sullivans, I would also recomend Power Without Glory if you can find it. That is a largely true story from that era which was very well done.
Rake is excellent, and pretty grounded in real events, boy eats universe is new, and they're probably cultural relevance to some of the dozens of reality and daytime/morning shows out there, and the chaser for the same reason. I also think a lot of kids' stuff is worth archiving - some because it's great, others because it's bizarre, others because it's a cultural touchstone that'll almost certainly be lost - round the twist, Liftoff, Aggro, cheez TV, ship to shore, ocean girl, the ferals... I'm showing my age.
I think the ABC have some kind of archive that's probably a great start for home grown content.
In case you weren't aware "The Archive" runs a pretty substantial repository of Australian TV shows. r/DownUnderTv has instructions on how to get access.
Oh, that's a real shame. It's been a while since I found it and grabbed some old shows not available anywhere else ( The Chaser, CNNNN, The Mole). Hopefully it makes a comeback at some point.
Doctor Doctor (also known outside of Australasia as The Heart Guy) is an Australian television drama created by Tony McNamara, Ian Collie and Alan Harris, which premiered on the Nine Network on 14 September 2016, lasting five seasons, concluding on 23 June 2021. The cast includes Rodger Corser, Nicole da Silva, Ryan Johnson, Tina Bursill, Hayley McElhinney and Steve Bisley, and follows the story of Hugh Knight, a rising heart surgeon who is gifted, charming and infallible. He is a hedonist who, due to his sheer talent, believes he can live outside the rules. His "work hard, play harder" philosophy eventually comes to 'bite' him.
All of Mr Inbetween is incredibly good. It's just a shame they stopped at three seasons. And hat off to Fox for actually making some good Aussie content for once.
I watched a lot of crap. I didn't realise it was crap at the time, I just didn't know any better. In the 80's/early 90's I was watching:
A Country Practice
Early Home & Away
Flying doctors
Some show where Georgie Parker was a female firefighter (Gasp!).
Some hospital show with Georgie Parker as the main character
Comedy Company
Hey Hey its Saturday
Its a Knockout
Hey, Dad (This one has been tainted now it turned out that the Dad was not wholesome at all)
As to what to actually preserve, some of those shows likely haven't aged well. The Paul Hogan Show was great, but a product of its time. I'm sure it would never be allowed on the air today. Same with Number 96 (not that I was supposed to be watching that one).
While these are the answer to your question - what were my favourite shows at the time, I wouldn't nominate any of them for preservation.
Anyone remember Secret Valley? At one point my family was planning on moving to a largish property in/near bushland and me and my brothers had drawn up detailed blueprints for a fortified base complete with treetop platforms connected by rope swings, pitfall traps and catapults, inspired by the show.
Recent show, 'Pine Gap.' US/Australian electronic intelligence monitoring station. Political drama, and interpersonal drama. Supposedly getting a second season.