Kingswood Country is an Australian sitcom that screened from 1980 to 1984 on the Seven Network

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

. The series started on 30 January 1980 and was a spin-off from a sketch on comedy program The Naked Vicar Show

The Naked Vicar Show

The Naked Vicar Show was a satirical Australian radio, television series. The classic Australian sitcom Kingswood Country was spawned from sketches in the series....

that had featured Ross Higgins

Ross Higgins

Ross Higgins is an Australian actor, best known for his role as Ted Bulpitt in the television situation comedy series Kingswood Country....

 as a blustering bigot. It was produced by RS Productions

RS Productions

RS Productions was a Television and Radio production company best known for producing the 1980-1984 sitcom Kingswood Country. The company was founded by Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler, originally to produce comic sketches such as The Novels of Fiona Wintergreen and "anti-ads" for ABC youth radio 2JJ...

.

Premise

While some condemned its racist and sexist humour, this was often simply a plot device to show and mock the bigotry

Bigotry

A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance, and animosity toward those of differing beliefs...

 of the main character, Edward Melba "Ted" Bullpitt (Ross Higgins

Ross Higgins

Ross Higgins is an Australian actor, best known for his role as Ted Bulpitt in the television situation comedy series Kingswood Country....

), a white

White people

White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

 Australian, conservative, bigoted, Holden

Holden

GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931...

 Kingswood

Holden Kingswood

The Holden Kingswood is a full-size car that was manufactured by General Motors-Holden's, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors , from the beginning of the HK series in 1968 through to the conclusion of the WB series in 1984...

-loving putty factory worker and WWII

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 veteran who recalls his difficult childhood in ever more exaggerated ways.

He lives for three things: his beloved chair in front of the TV, his unsuccessful racing

Greyhound racing

Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....

 greyhound

Greyhound

The Greyhound is a breed of sighthound that has been primarily bred for coursing game and racing, and the breed has also recently seen a resurgence in its popularity as a pedigree show dog and family pet. It is a gentle and intelligent breed...

s Repco Lad & Gae Akubra and his worshipped Holden Kingswood car (late in the show's run Ted traded-in the Kingswood, which had gone out of production around the time the series began, for Holden's replacement mid-range family car, the Commodore

Holden Commodore

The Holden Commodore is an automobile manufactured since 1978 by the Holden subsidiary of General Motors in Australia, and, formerly, in New Zealand. In the mid-1970s, Holden established proposals to replace the long-serving Kingswood nameplate with a smaller, Opel-based model...

). His long-suffering wife, the vague and dithering Thelma (Judi Farr

Judi Farr

Judi Farr is an Australian theatre, film and television actor best known for several situation comedy roles on Australian television.She first became known for her role of Rita in the situation comedy My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?...

), was cast as a traditional housewife trapped by Ted's conservative family views, but she often got her own back on Ted.

Humour was generated by the conflict of Ted's traditional views and his children's progressive nature. For example, his son Craig (Peter Fisher

Peter Fisher (Australian actor)

Peter Fisher is an Australian film and television actor who was most active in the period from the mid-1970s to the late-1990s. In the early 1990s he started to move into the area of corporate communications. In 1995 he created "Act One!" in Sydney, a company that specialises in corporate...

) is portrayed as a sexually rampant medical student and is referred to as an "Al Grassby

Al Grassby

Albert Jaime Grassby, AM , Australian politician, was Minister for Immigration in the Whitlam Labor government. He initiated sweeping reforms in immigration, human rights, and is often known as the father of Australian "multiculturalism".-Early life and state politics:Born Albert Grassby in...

 Groupie", a reference to a flamboyant Australian Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 politician of the Whitlam era

Whitlam Government

The Whitlam Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. It was made up of members of the Australian Labor Party in the Australian Parliament from 1972 to 1975.-Background:...

. His daughter, Greta (Laurel McGowan), is portrayed as a feminist and is married to Bruno (Lex Marinos

Lex Marinos

Lex Marinos OAM is an Australian television actor, director and writer. Notable for his acting role as 'Bruno', the Italian son-in-law of bigot Ted Bullpitt, on the Australian comedy television series Kingswood Country as and host of Late Night Legends on ABC2, he was also a presenter on radio...

), the son of Italian immigrants, to which Ted strongly objects (often referring to him as a "bloody

Bloody

Bloody is the adjectival form of blood but may also be used as an expletive attributive in Australia, Britain, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, South Africa , New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Anglophone Caribbean and Sri Lanka...

 wog"). Other politically incorrect

Politically incorrect

The phrase "politically incorrect" may refer to:* Someone or something which does not meet a standard of political correctness* Politically Incorrect, a late-night U.S. political talk show* Politically Incorrect, a German political blog...

 humour includes Ted's references to Neville, the concrete Aboriginal garden statue.

At other times, humour was based on the more traditional comedic methods of poorly thought-out schemes of Ted's (usually get-rich-quick); class differences (between the suburban Bullpitts and Ted's upwardly-mobile sister-in-law Merle) and simple misunderstandings leading to a chain of humorous events.

Reruns currently air on cable

Cable

A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables are used to carry...

 and satellite

Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....

 channel FOX Classics

FOX Classics

Fox Classics is an Australian cable and satellite channel that specializes in showing classic movies and television series from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and some content from the 80s and 90s.-History:...

.

Current Airings

The Comedy Channel

The Comedy Channel

The Comedy Channel is an Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television.-History:...

 9.30 am Monday to Friday and 11.30 am on comedy +2 Monday to Friday

Analysis

The series reflected the changing culture of Australia through Ted's inability to accept this change from traditional culture to multiculturalism

Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...

, from basic to advanced education levels and from conservative to more liberal politics.

Several elements of the show, and indeed the overall premise and the character types of the show, were similar to British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 sitcom Til Death Us Do Part

Til Death Us Do Part

Till Death Us Do Part is a British television sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1965 to 1968, 1970, and from 1972 to 1975. First airing as a Comedy Playhouse pilot, the show aired in seven series until 1975. Six years later, ITV continued the sitcom, calling it Till Death......

. Coincidentally, just as the wife character in Til Death Us Do Part left the series before its end, so too did Thelma in Kingswood Country when Judi Farr decided to leave the series. Her absence was explained in the story by having Thelma going on an extended cruise, with Bruno's mother Rosa (Sheila Kennelly

Sheila Kennelly

Sheila Kennelly is an English born Australian actress of theatre, television and film, with a vast repotoire spanning over 50 years in the industry, born in Sussex, UK she has played several television soap opera and comedy roles starting in the 1970s....

) moving in to look after Ted. Thelma much later sent word she would not be returning to Ted.

Guest stars in the series included Graham Kennedy

Graham Kennedy

Graham Cyril Kennedy, AO was an Australian radio, television and film performer, often called Gra Gra and The King of Australian television.-Childhood:...

, Robert Hughes

Robert Hughes

-Politicians:*Robert Hughes, Baron Hughes of Woodside , British Labour politician, MP for Aberdeen North*Robert Gurth Hughes , British Conservative politician, MP for Harrow West-Sportsmen:*Robert Hughes , of Stamford FC...

, Noeline Brown

Noeline Brown

Noeline Brown is an Australian actor and comedian. She has appeared in many films, television shows, plays and radio programs....

, Ray Meagher

Ray Meagher

Ray Meagher surname pronouned "Marr" , is a veteran Australian character actor. He has appeared regularly in Australian film and television since the mid 1970s, and is notable as the longest continuing performer in an Australian television role, as Alf Stewart on Home and Away, having played the...

 and Bruce Spence

Bruce Spence

Bruce Spence, born September 17, 1945 is an actor, having spent most of his career performing in Australia. Bruce attended Henderson High School in West Auckland....

. The show won the Most Popular Comedy Award in 1981 and 1982 at the Logies.

Edward Melba 'Ted' Bullpitt

Ted is the main character of the series. He is racist and sexist and has a particular hatred of Catholics. Ted was part of a kitchen unit captured by the Italians in World War Two. His favourite thing, over his wife and family, is his Holden Kingswood. He enjoys reading Mandrake and sitting in his chair in front of the television.

Ted is a decendant of Lord Stokely Bullpitt of Kingswood who died in 1786 as he fell from his horse during a nun hunt. His only son was illegitimate so therefore could not claim his father's title. That son married an Italian kitchen maid named Maria Bertaluchim - a relative of Bruno's. The title was first bestowed by Henry VIII to a man whom he gave a large section of his forest or the King's Wood, hence the title.

Catchphrases

The series has spawned some catchphrases such as:

• "Don't 'Dad' me boy/girl, I'm your father!"
• "Pickle me grandmother!"
• [when surprised from behind] "Give a man a heart attack!"
• "Strike me Catholic!"
• [when someone asks to drink his beer] "Money on the fridge!"
• "Somebody/someone should blow [current object of annoyance] up!"
• "The Kingswood! You're not taking the Kingswood!..." [insert far-fetched excuse] e.g. "I've just duco
  Duco
  Duco was a trade name assigned to a product line of automotive lacquer developed by the DuPont Company in the 1920s. Under the Duco brand, DuPont introduced the first quick drying multi-color line of nitrocellulose lacquers made especially for the automotive industry...
  
  ed the tyres" or "I've just glad-wrapped the aerial!" or "I've just polished the number-plate!"
• "When I was a boy... " [insert long-winded, far-fetched story] Always responded to with "Yeah, yeah sure Ted/Dad."
• "Hate, hate, vomit!"
• [when asked how his day went] "Bloody shambles, of course!"
• [the universal insult for a miserable, miserly old man] "Grumblebum!"
• E.G. Hmmm, the receptionist said bull... (S**t)"[Ted] No, everyone says that. Its Bull-PITT"
• "Where's the bloody Kingswood!?"
• "Attila the Nun"
• "Mick Midgets" (aka spotty little Damiens, cut-off cardinals, bonzied bishops)
• "Bloody woman!"
• "Blow 'em all up!"
• "Watch it mate!
• "No wonder the country's in a mess"
• "I win, you lose, and I'm the king of the castle"

DVD

A 'Best Of' DVD was released in 2003 featuring 13 out of the 89 episodes as well as the original skit on The Naked Vicar Show that spawned the series. A second 'Best Of' featuring an additional 13 episodes was also released in 2006. Then in September 2008 a third best of set was released.. On 12 May 2010 The Best Of Kingswood Country Volume 4 was released with another 13 episodes, which will mean that 52 out of 89 episodes will be available on DVD Commercially.

Bullpitt!

A spin-off to the series was the short-lived, much panned Bullpitt! in 1997. Of the original show's cast only Ross Higgins had a regular role. Elaine Lee

Elaine Lee (actor)

Elaine Lee is an Australia-based theatre and television actor best known for her long-running role in the 1970s television soap opera Number 96....

co-starred. A Best Of Set was released in September 2008.

External links

• Kingswood Country at the National Film and Sound Archive