This article is about the 1959 Australian television series. For the similarly titled 1972 – 1979 U.S. television series, see Emergency!

Emergency!

Emergency! is an American television series that combines the medical drama and action-adventure genres. It was produced by Mark VII Limited and distributed by Universal Studios...

Emergency is an Australian television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 series produced by GTV-9

GTV-9

GTV is a commercial television station in Melbourne, Australia owned by the Nine Network. The station is currently based at a new high-tech, purpose-built studios at 717 Bourke Street, Docklands.-History:...

in 1959.

The series was set in the busy casualty department of a major Melbourne hospital, and is notable for being one of the first-ever dramas shown on Australian television.

Made by Melbourne's GTV-9 in co-operation with the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and based on Britain's "Emergency Ward 10", "Emergency" starred Brian James as Dr. Geoffrey Thompson, Syd Conabere as orderly George Rogers, and Judith Godden as Nurse Jill Adamson. Moira Carleton also featured as Matron Evans.

The series was produced primarily in the GTV-9 studio, with brief (usually pre-credit) exterior sequences shot on 35mm film by newsreel cameramen. The episodes were not broadcast live, but were "kinescoped" to meet programming requirements, and facilitate later screening in Sydney.

The series' premise was simple: a basic dramatic exploration of cases passing through the Casualty ward. Scripts were written by GTV staffers Roland Strong (series producer) and Denzil Howson (series director) under pseudonyms.

Sponsorship came from British Petroleum, and a contract was signed for 52 half-hour episodes. The series debuted on GTV-9 on 16 February 1959, and on Sydney's ATN-7 a week later. Critics initially appeared fairly neutral, however a highly negative article on the series in a Sydney newspaper caused BP to withdraw sponsorship 16 weeks into the series run. Faced with having to carry the production expenses alone, GTV-9 discontinued production, with the final episode airing in Melbourne on 1 June 1959.

Following the series demise, Brian James went on to lead roles in the ABC serial "Stormy Petrel" in 1960, and ATN-7's period drama "Jonah" in 1962, later appearing as George Tippit in the drama serial "Skyways" (1979–81).

Conabere and Carleton appeared in guest roles in most of the Australian TV dramas on the 1960s and 1970s.

External links

• TV Eye — Classic Australian Television