Shows
Bookmark ThisOff Stage - The Wild Western Talent PoolHave you ever noticed how many of our most famous acclaimed exports come from Western Australia? Heath Ledger. Kate Mulvaney. Tim Minchin. This episode - three ‘Perthies’ who’ve made it big in theatre, film and music talk to OFF STAGE about what’s in the water across in the West of Australia and why they think it bats above its average in terms of artistic success. Marcus Graham tells the story of what made him leave WA. Genevieve Hegney talks about the incredible scene when she was starting out. Iain Grandage looks to the future o...2022-11-0320 minBookmark ThisOff Stage - Crime Scene to Rock SceneMartin Philbey began his photography career capturing every part of a crime scene. It was the beginning of a life in photography that would see him becoming so acclaimed he’d be hung in the National Portrait gallery of Australia as a rock photographer. How do you go from crime scene to rock scene? Martin talks about this and the music industry he’s been a part of for the last thirty years. Links: National Library of Australia On Stage Exhibition Martin Philbey Website Martin Philbey Instagram 2022-10-1318 minBookmark ThisOff Stage - David's PartyIn the late sixties, an engineering lecturer had a wild party at his home in suburban Melbourne. It was election night, and tensions were high. The lecturer had aspirations to be a playwright and what he saw going on around him, well, he reckoned it might make a good play. The aspiring playwright was David Williamson, and the party inspired Don’s Party, one of Australia’s first ever home grown blockbusters. Here, we chart the story from an AV Jennings stage in Bundoora to the many, many productions since. Lin...2022-09-0816 minBookmark ThisOff Stage - Mount Gambier's first superstarSir Robert Helpmann’s legacy remains relatively strong in 2022: his face adorned the program of the NLA’s On Stage exhibition and his name is immortalised in our biggest theatre awards, The Helpmann’s. Yet, how many of us know much about his extraordinary life? A life that started on a farm in Mount Gambier and would go on to perform, direct, dance and choreograph in pretty much every major theatre in the world. Links: National Library of Australia On Stage Exhibition Papers of Sir Robert Helpmann at the...2022-08-2522 minBookmark ThisOff Stage - Rose Quong's Midlife CrisisBy the time we’re in our mid-forties, most of us feel as though our life is pretty much sorted out. Not Rose Quong. After twenty-seven years, she left her public service job in Melbourne to pursue life as an actress in London. She continued to chase adventure for all the years of her life afterwards. Links: National Library of Australia On Stage Exhibition Papers of Rose Quong at the National Library of Australia Guests: Professor Angela Woollacott, Manning Clar...2022-08-1127 minBookmark ThisOff Stage - Just DessertsThroughout the late 1800s and a lot of the 1900s, there was one name on most of the posters of shows that made it big in Australia: JC Williamson. JC Williamson Ltd was one of the biggest production companies of our history, and it was started by a man called James Cassius Williamson. This episode looks at the life and legacy of JC Williamson’s, and one of the biggest touring stars they brought to Australia - ballerina Anna Pavlova. And yes, we can’t talk Pavlova without getting deep into meringue choices and...2022-07-2728 minBookmark ThisOff Stage - When Theatre is CriminalIn 1796, the theatre was the place to be. In the growing colony Sydney, people would pack into the theatre to see ex-convicts perform the latest popular plays for them. The NLA’s exhibition On Stage has an exquisite treasure from this time: a playbill once belonging to the Lieutenant-Governor of NSW, Philip Gidley King. On our first episode of Off Stage, host Melanie Tait takes you inside the theatre to meet the characters involved the production of Jane Shore, remembered forever through this precious playbill. Links: National Library of Au...2022-06-1723 min
WeepiesAn ACP Finale Of The ACP FinaleA Country Pals,
We've loved making this podcast for you over the last two years, but this is our last episode for the foreseeable future. We hope you've loved it as much as we have. Joining Mel & Kim this week is our formidable Social Media Manager Chez Robbie, who is pretty much the world's foremost ACP expert. And, Great Podcast Talent, as you'll discover. Thank you for listening, we hope you love our chat about the series finale of ACP. ACP Finale Ep 1 & ACP Finale Ep 2 A COUNTRY PODCAST on F...2022-04-0758 min
WeepiesLots Of Kisses Before Lots Of Dying (With Special Guest Chez Robbie!)It's here: the episodes we lose Shirley Gilroy in a plane crash.
This is a brilliant episode from Season 12 - it shows the beginning of Tom and Anna's romance, Esme falls a little in love with Percy... and young journalist Max Blair comes to town, dying of HIV AIDS.
The thing is - Mel and Kim aren't great on the later series and this ep is going to hurt for the purists. So, we've got Chez Robbie in as our fact checker, thank goodness.
Watch A Kiss Before Dying Part 1 & A Kiss Before Dyin...2022-03-2450 min
WeepiesGreen Card (With Gabrielle Rumble)CONTENT WARNING: There is discussion of sexual assault and violence in this episode.
Who knew Green Card was a weepy? For a teenage Gabrielle Rumble it certainly was, and remained that way well into her twenties. Will it still have the same weepy qualities with 2022 specs on?
This week we look at the classic Peter Weir comedy, starring a post-partum Andie McDowell and Gerard Depardieu in his first role in an American film, launching him to international stardom.
Gabrielle Rumble is the Content Director at ABC Canberra, and one of the favourite friends of...2022-03-2349 min
WeepiesStepmom (With Ebony Bennett)We've managed to bring one of the Greatest Movie Weepers Of All Time into the podcast - the excellent Ebony Bennett. In real life, Ebony is the Deputy Director of the think tank The Australia Institute and the host of Follow The Money podcast.
Ebony nominated Stepmom as it's her go-to cry movie. Julia Roberts plays the title role for two young children called Ben and Anna - she's young and hip, while Susan Sarandon plays the OG mom. The film navigates them all trying to be a family, while Ed Harris does his best in the b...2022-03-1547 min
WeepiesThe Full Shane Withington 'Brendan' ExperienceThis week, it's the complete interview we did with the extremely lovely Shane Withington.
You'll hear so much about the beginning of ACP, the friendships he made, being part of that scene, life after Molly, and life after ACP.
A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.2022-03-1028 min
WeepiesAnne of Green Gables (With Mandy Hose)When the orphan Anne Shirley came to Green Gables, a lot of lives were changed and you've never met a character who got into more scrapes and touched more hearts.
Mandy Hose is the co-host of one of our favourite podcasts, Too Peas in a Podcast, and since the 1980s, she's been Anne-obsessed. She's even been to Prince Edward Island.
How does Anne of Green Gables hold up in a 2022 setting? Does it still bring the tears, and why?
Watch Anne of Green Gables on Gazebo
Follow Mandy Hose and Too Pea...2022-03-0848 min
WeepiesBrief Encounter (With Rae Earl)Yet again, we're weeping to a film about two lonely people having an affair. It's the film that Guardian called the Number 1 Romantic Film Of All Time, and has been recommended to us by the brilliant author and screenwriter Rae Earl.
Brief Encounter is a 1945 British classic, written by Noel Coward, that tells the story of a brief affair between housewife Laura Jessen and Doctor Alec Harvey, who meet at a train station.
This is an illuminating discussion on Brits and crying, and class. Don't miss this chat, even if you've not seen the movie. Yo...2022-03-0150 min
WeepiesBeing Trans in Wandin Valley... In 1985It's 1985 in Wandin Valley and this is a big episode that many of you have suggested we talk about: it has both a trans storyline, and deals with childhood obesity.
We meet Alice McKenna, a woman living in the Valley with a secret that comes out when she goes into hospital with diabetes. Alice is a trans woman.
And, we gave her friend, Gavin, a little boy teased for being fat.
How does Wandin Valley treat these people? Like the leftie Utopia we think it is? Or is it more complicated, and, well, 1980s...2022-02-2445 min
WeepiesAbout TimeGosh, but About Time is a complicated Weepy.
It's meant to be a rom com, but Mel & Kim wish it was just about a father and son who can time travel (which is where the heart and tears of this story come from).
Written and directed by Richard Curtis in 2013, it was mostly critically smashed, but remains in many hearts because of the howling it produces.
Watch About Time on StanLet us know what you think on the Weepies Community Facebook Page.
Weepies Hosts and Producers: Melanie Tait and...2022-02-2241 min
WeepiesForrest Gump (With Dan Ilic)Podcaster and Comedian Dan Ilic has had a life that's been full of adventure - not unlike Forrest Gump, which is why he's chosen the Tom Hanks classic as his weepy.
The movie is now baked into our culture through quotes and iconic shots - but does it still have the ability to pull at our heartstrings the way it did in the nineties?
Watch Forrest Gump on Netflix
Listen to A Rational Fear with Dan Ilic
Dan Ilic on Twitter
Weepies Hosts and Producers: Melanie Tait and Kim Lest...2022-02-1542 min
WeepiesWhen Matron Maggie Sloan Came To Wandin ValleyAfter getting to know A Country Practice a lot better, by watching it as adults, we're both mad for Maggie Sloan and Esme Watson.
So, here we are watching the episode where Maggie Sloan comes to Wandin Valley. She's a bit of a punish, we don't see the softness in her that we come to love, but she's still a bit of legend.
What has ACP got to say about being a middle aged woman? These eps seem to have a lot to say.
In today's episode, Kim looks at the Dutch Reform Chu...2022-02-1054 min
WeepiesLion (With Zoya Patel)Do you remember the first time you saw Lion? Can you actually even claim to have seen Lion in its entirety because the tears start so early and don't end?
Lion tells the story of Saroo Brierly, who was adopted into a Tasmanian family after being lost from his mother and siblings in rural India as a child. When he becomes and adult and learns of Google Earth, he looks for his Indian family. Lion tells that story. Starring Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman and David Wenham.
Our guest this week to take us through this A+...2022-02-0852 min
WeepiesAn Affair To Remember (With Calla Walquist)This is a weepy so pungent with weepiness there's a whole comic routine in one of the biggest rom-coms ever (thank you Rita Wilson and Nora Ephron).
It's An Affair To Remember, one of the greatest romances of all time showcasing the talent and charisma of Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. They're two nice people who begin an affair on a ship, even though they're both betrothed to two nice people who keep them in pretty great lives in New York City. They agree to meet in three months time at the Empire State Building after they've b...2022-02-0153 min
WeepiesBeachesWe're kicking off our new podcast with the Ultimate Weepy - Beaches, starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey.
It's the story of pen pals who become BFFs.
Where does it make you cry? Why does it make you cry? How does it hold up in 2022?
We're going to get into the nitty gritty: who was the better friend? Would you ever tell your bestie her lipstick made her look like a corpse?
Until then: GUESS WHO GOT THE LEAD IN THE FALCON PLAYERS NEW MUSICAL?!
Watch Beaches on Disney+
2022-02-0154 min
WeepiesCry, Baby, Weepies Is Nearly Here!Welcome to Weepies, pod pals, the movie podcast for people who love to ugly cry about pretend stuff because it beats screaming into a pillow when life gets too real.
Hosts Melanie Tait (veteran cryer) and Kim Lester (reluctant cryer) from A Country Podcast take their friendship to the next level by sharing their favourite weepy movies with each other and inviting their most emotionally intelligent friends to do the same.
In the words of CC Bloom's mum Leona, 'It'll keep you honest' or as Kim/Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own would...2022-01-2801 min
WeepiesAutism, Cops The Musical and John Leary's First TV RoleWelcome to the first ep of our last season!
These eps offer an opportunity to look at how the national conversation has changed around autism when little Daniel is taken in to Lucy and Matt's house. And, there's also a look at what sexual harassment looked like in the early 1990s.
We're joined by Australian actor and podcaster John Leary (The Newsreader, Glitch,The Letdown) to talk about his very first TV performance and what it taught him, going forward in his career which endures until today.
A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHo...2022-01-271h 01
WeepiesSummer Special: The Man From Snowy RiverThis year's summer special looks at the 1982 Australian classic The Man From Snowy River. How does it hold up? Is it a feminist film? Are you team I love Jim Craig or team I love Clancy of the Overflow?
Plus Melanie and Kim have some big news about A Country Podcast as we go into 2021.
A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.2022-01-0648 min
WeepiesMOLLY LIVES! Anne Tenney On TV's Biggest Moment1985. Brendan and Chloe are playing in the paddock with a kite, while Molly watches on from a lounge. The screen fades to black as Brendan yells 'Molly!'.
And, just like that - after a 13 episode arc, Molly is dead of leukaemia.
Over the years, the episode gathers legendary status in the history of Australian TV, with people wanting to talk about how they felt watching it, where they were and how they never got over it.
What about the woman at the centre of it? The woman who played the beloved Molly? How...2021-12-2156 min
WeepiesACP 40th: The Brendan Grieving Scene with Shane WithingtonWe all remember the moment - Molly's death scene. Do we really need to start revising it and remembering that it's also Brendan's grieving scene? He's the one who has the line ("Molllllllllly!"), remember?
We're so excited to have Shane Withington on the show today, who played Brendan Jones for five years on A Country Practice - the way he talks about the show will have you wanting to jump into a time machine and audition to be part of the cast.
We'll be watching the very first episodes of ACP for today's ep - We...2021-12-091h 01
WeepiesACP 40th: Georgie Parker Knew Being Lucy Gardiner Was Her Big MomentHappy 40th Birthday ACP! When Georgie Parker was cast in A Country Practice as Lucy Gardiner, she knew it was going to change her life.
Georgie tell us all about it, and how it set her up for a life in Australian tv and theatre.
We'll be watching the very first episodes of ACP for today's ep - The Pilot Ep 1 and The Pilot Ep 2, and talking about birth control in Australia and the extraordinary life of Arkie Whitely.
Guest: Georgie Parker A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Prod...2021-11-251h 03
WeepiesWas Season 14 Really Such A Big Disaster?Season 14 is nothing if not controversial among die hard fans of A Country Practice. Some refuse to engage with it and pretend it never happened, that ACP ended with Terrence and Matron's wedding and everyone rode off into the sunset.
The show got a lot of things wrong: for a start, it relocated to Victoria. It lost half its stars. It used a soft filter none of us can work out.
Andrew Mercado is Australia's leading historian, and he watched it all unfold in real time in 1994. He's with us to talk about what the sh...2021-11-1159 min
WeepiesFrom Stagehand To Showrunner: The TV School That Is ACPThis episode: we meet Tim Pye, he started out as a stagehand on A Country Practice in the early eighties and has had a huge career in television since. We'll find out what A Country Practice taught him,
And, we look at the From The Ashes episodes - there's been a fire in Wandin Valley - how will the town cope?
A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Fro...2021-10-2857 min
WeepiesKate Raison: The Full InterviewWarning: for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners, this episode contains the mention of, and naming of a First Nations actor who is dead. Hey A Country Friends,
Something a bit different this week - MT has been a bit under the weather the last couple of weeks, so we decided to bring you the complete Kate Raison interview as we loved talking with her so much.
We'll be back next fortnight with a brand new episode with some excellent tea on what ACP was like behind the scenes for creatives with so...2021-10-1432 min
WeepiesWhen Dementia Comes To Wandin ValleyWe're heading back to Wandin Valley in the early eighties: Molly's still alive and she and Brendan are having a visit from Brendan's parents. Something is up.
How did ACP deal with dementia? We're joined by Dr Marita Long from Dementia in Practice is going to let us know whether their eighties interpretation of the illness is on the money.
And, Melanie looks at the extraordinary career of the bloke who plays Brendan's Dad (who popped up before on this pod as Baker McKay!) - Ron Graham - whoo happens to be the actual dad of...2021-09-3057 min
WeepiesLucy & Matt Marry! Plus We Get The Scoop On The ACP Wardrobe DepartmentWho doesn't need a TV wedding right now? We're in Season 10, it's Matt and Lucy's wedding but we're kind of longing for a classic A Country Practice wedding mishap.Kim looks at Australia's weird hang ups with sectarianism and Melanie looks at the life of Jill Perryman. A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
LINKS
Episodes
Season 10 Episode 67 When a Girl Marries Part 1 https...2021-09-1657 min
WeepiesRaison Our Expectations: Kate On Life As Ranger Cathy HaydenGuess who's back for Season Three of A Country Podcast!
We are!
This week you'll hear from the delightful Kate Raison on what it was like playing the very capable Ranger Cathy Hayden.
And we're heading to Season 8 and having all sorts of feelings about Alex and Terrence's relationship and when Cathy and Matron Sloane are in a plane crash.
We're watching On A Wing and.A Prayer Part 1 and On A Wing and.A Prayer Part 2
Kim looks at farm accidents and Melanie looks at the life of Stev...2021-09-0253 min
WeepiesToni Collette's Favourite ACP Character Is Matt Tyler***language warning - Melanie was super tired and kept saying the 's' word where it was hard to edit out***A Country Pals! It's our last episode of the season, and we're joined by John Tarrant AKA Matt Tyler to tell his incredible post ACP story. You'll love it, promise.
And, we're getting to the nitty-gritty of the complicated soul known as Toni Collette, who has her first appearance in the eps we're watching today - The Sting Part 1 and The Sting Part 2.
A COUNTRY PODCAST on Facebook
Melanie T...2021-06-171h 00
WeepiesWhen Wendy Strehlow Met Kim Lester: Rocky's Two Greatest Exports Together At Last.content warning - suicide and euthanasia
Judy Loveday is in the house! And, she's (or, Wendy Strehlow, the actor who plays Judy Loveday) interviewed by fellow Rockhampton gal Kim Lester.
Wendy takes us through how she got her job on the show and how she came to realise it was one of the most special sets she ever worked on.
The episode we look at today is a tough one - it deals with two elderly characters attempting to take their lives and all that goes with that.
Swan Song Part 1
2021-06-0357 min
WeepiesRemembering Lorrae Desmond... With Special Guest Shane PorteousLorrae Desmond, who played Shirley Gilroy on ACP for 11 years, has died after a short illness.
She was 91.
Lorrae was an absolute force of nature: she had a career that took her all over the world as well as Wandin Valley.
Mel & Kim look back on her incredible life (complete with a bunch of recordings of Lorrae's beautiful voice!) and talk with her long time colleague and friend Shane Porteous. * APOLOGIES FOR THE SOUND A COUNTRY PALS, Melanie's computer is ancient and it finally decided to die for this recording*
2021-05-2429 min
WeepiesBeing Gay In Wandin Valley: Did ACP Get It Right?*Content warning: suicideThis week, Mel & Kim look at Kim's favourite episode, with a very special guest - the playwright and screenwriter Tommy Murphy. Tommy adapted one of the most seminal texts of the 1980s HIV AIDS epidemic, Holding The Man, and he's also a rusted on ACP fan.
MATES tells the story of the two men who own the local grocery store, and are outed as a gay couple when one of them becomes sick.
Plus, we look at the long links between A Country Practice and Playschool.
A COUNTRY POD...2021-05-1351 min
WeepiesAsk Us Anything, A Country Pals!Our glorious listener Kathleen suggested we do an ASK US ANYTHING podcast, and she couldn't have timed her suggestion any better, as you'll find out.
Inside this ep: find out which characters Mel & Kim don't like, which characters they relate to, who they'd like to be on the show and... which genius came up with the idea for A Country Podcast.
This is a pod for the die-hards. It's pretty indulgent, but also super fun. Promise.
A COUNTRY PODCAST on Facebook
Melanie Tait on Twitter Kim Lester on Twitter D...2021-04-2927 min
WeepiesWhen I Grow Up I Wanna Be... Josephine Mitchell!If you're around forty years old in 2021, there's a big chance that when you were little you wanted to be Josephine Mitchell. Or, Josephine Loveday, the character Josephine Mitchell played on A Country Practice. She had it all: smarts, Shirley as 'mum', cute clothes and an even cuter boyfriend.
This week, Mel and Kim fangirl/interview Josephine Mitchell and find out what life was like for her on set.
Links:
On the Threshold Part 1 On the Threshold Part 2 A COUNTRY PODCAST on Facebook
Melanie Tait on Twitter Kim Le...2021-04-151h 06
WeepiesWhen PM Bob Hawke Came To Wandin ValleyOnce upon a time, Australia had a Prime Minister who gave a speech on a popular weekly TV show called A Country Practice. His name was Bob Hawke, and we've got the full story on how it all happened.
Mel & Kim are joined by Leon Saunders, who wrote over 50 ACP eps, including the one where Bob Hawke appeared. What was Bob Hawke like? Did he learn his lines?
Listen to the Children Part 1Listen to the Children Part 2
A Country Podcast Facebook Page Melanie Tait Twitter
Kim Lester Face...2021-04-0158 min
WeepiesSimon Says It's Time To Interview Grant DodwellContent warning - this episode contains the discussion of sexual assault, with language used in 1983
We're calling it: Season Two of A Country Podcast is going to be obsessed with Dr Simon Bowen and his journey from preppy city snob to Wandin Valley's most progressive citizen.
This ep, we're talking to the actor who brought him to life - Grant Dodwell.
And this week we're looking at one of the most sophisticated episodes ACP broadcast A Lady's Choice Part 1 and Part 2.
Links:
Links: A Country Podcast Facebook Page ...2021-02-1857 min
WeepiesCreating A Country Practice: Meet James DavernWe've all had ideas for TV shows, haven't we? Sure we have. Some people actually make them.
Who's idea was A Country Practice? James Davern's.
Mel and Kim have heard so much about James Davern and the happy workplace he provided for the cast and crew of ACP. He joins us on the podcast to tell us all about ACP from its humble beginnings to its cancellation to the possibility of new life for the 40 year old show.
Also this week: we look at the extraordinary life of Penny Cook.
Links: A...2021-02-041h 00
WeepiesBonus: The Full Shane Porteous ExperienceThere wasn't enough Shane Porteous in our last episode of Season 1. We know that. So, here's the full interview where the man formerly known as Dr Terence Elliot where he generously shared everything from how he got the job, to how he started writing, to how much ACP characters got paid! If you have a second, please 'rate and review' us, so we can introduce more people to the joys of Wandin Valley and Dr Terence's excellent hair.
A Country Podcast on Facebook
Melanie Tait on Twitter Kim Lester on Twitter Se...2021-01-141h 04
WeepiesThe Original Mc Dreamy: Shane Porteous & Being Dr Terence For Over A DecadeSince the beginning of A Country Podcast, there's been one guest who's been the star of each episode, like he was the star of each episode of A Country Practice: Shane Porteous.
Dr Terence Elliot was the nucleus of the ACP world, and today Shane Porteous joins Mel and Kim to talk about his time on the show as an actor and writer.
Mel and Kim dig into six of the most wrenching episodes of Dr Terence's time in Wandin Valley: the Bethany stories.
Links:
Leigh Spence Obituary by Andrew Mercado 2020-12-101h 07
WeepiesBonus: Diane Smith Extended InterviewWe loved talking to Di Smith so much about her time on ACP, how Alex Fraser came about and what she's been doing since... that we thought it wasn't enough what we gave you last week!
Hope you enjoy this extended interview with Di Smith.
Links: Ep 7 of A Country Podcast 'Diane Smith on the politics and romance of Dr Alex Fraser' Melanie Tait on Twitter Kim Lester on Twitter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.2020-12-0338 min
WeepiesDiane Smith On The Politics And Romance Of Dr Alex FraserDr Alex Fraser was not only one of Wandin Valley's most beloved characters, but also became red headed representation on mainstream television for gingers everywhere.
This week, she takes us inside her time on A Country Practice, the politics of Dr Fraser, and the famous romance with the much older Dr Elliot.
Mel and Kim discuss an episode where Shirley
Links: Indigenous Healthhttps://www.naccho.org.au/about/aboriginal-health-history/history/https://ctgreport.niaa.gov.au/overviewGary Foleyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Foley...2020-11-2645 min
WeepiesACP's Serial Killer: Writer Judith Colquhoun Talks Murdering Molly & The RestShe killed Molly. She killed Sophie. She killed Alex and Terrence's baby.
This week, we meet Judith Colquhoun, known in ACP circles as someone who can 'do a good death'.
Jude wrote more episodes than anyone else of A Country Practice, so if you love ACP, you'll love her. She shares with us what it was like to kill off beloved characters, how Esme Watson became the character she was and what it took to get her to kill Alex's baby.
Mel and Kim are looking at Sophie Part 1-4, where Terrence's daughter So...2020-11-1249 min
WeepiesWhy Didn't Lorrae Desmond Date David Bowie? Meet Shirley Gilroy at 91Shirley Gilroy was the warm, beating heart of Wandin Valley, and today we're going to hear from Lorrae Desmond, the star who played her.
Lorrae takes us inside the show, who she loved working with and how David Bowie came to be a fan of the show.
Kim takes us inside the complicated history of adoption in Australia, Melanie does a deep dive on the Buchanan siblings.
Links:
Little Voices Part 1 on 7 Plus
Little Voices Part 2 on 7 Plus
Buchanan Siblings Fan Page
A Country Podcast Fac...2020-10-2952 min
WeepiesHow Australia's Most Iconic TV Theme Was Composed by Mike PerjanikIt's Australia's most famous TV theme, isn't it? So exactly how did the composer of the A Country Practice theme, Mike Perjanik, come up with those magic bars of music that every kid who learned the piano in the 80s knows off by heart?
Mike joins Mel & Kim to take them through it.
This week: it's a look at a controversial storyline from the beginning of the series, and the life of an Australian acting legend you might not have heard of.
Links:
A Town Tragedy Part 1 on 7 Plus
A T...2020-10-1544 min
WeepiesBonus: How ACP Handled Euthanasia and Sexual Harassment in 1988Mel and Kim love doing the fortnightly episode of A Country Practice, but we missed talking about it this week, so thought we'd make an October surprise we could all enjoy!
This is an actual recap episode of A Country Practice where we look at Season 8, Eps 65 & 66. Conveniently for us, called 'Ethics'.
Big things go down in Wandin Valley: Terrence has cleared out in grief over losing the second of his three kids... and sexual harassment and euthanasia visits the town.
How does it all hold up in 2020? How is the sexual harassment dealt...2020-10-0823 min
WeepiesA Death More Shocking Than Molly's? Caroline Johansson & The Demise Of DonnaOf course, the most famous death on A Country Practice was Molly's, there's no denying it.
But was the most shocking the death that came out of nowhere: Donna Manning's?
For Melanie, it's the most memorable episode of ACP from her childhood. In this podcast, Kim looks at how beautifully, storytelling-wise, Donna's death reflected the social issue being focused on.
Special Guest: Caroline Johansson (Donna Manning 1986-1987)
Links:
Mozart Rules Part 1Mozart Rules Part 2
A Country Podcast Facebook Page Melanie Tait on Twitter Kim Le...2020-09-3041 min
WeepiesIntroducting A Country PodcastWe're a week away from launching A Country Podcast, and we've been working hard to get some incredible guests and have some great chat.
If you're interested in watching the episodes we talk about (you don't need to, but we reckon it'll make your listening experience a little more fun), click on the link to Repairing The Damage 1 and Repairing The Damage 2. Mel and Kim would love to hear your A Country Practice memories, so please, if you want to message us or send us a voice memo - go to our facebook page! ...2020-08-2703 min
WeepiesA Taste Of A Country Podcast With Melanie Tait & Kim LesterIs Molly's death burned on your brain like it happened to you? Do you wonder if Dr Terrence Eliot was as decent/dreamy as you remember? Did you learn about Big Important Things like HIV-AIDS and cancer on a Monday and Tuesday night 7.30pm throughout the eighties?
A Country Podcast is a fortnightly look at one of Australia's most beloved television shows A Country Practice - and what stories it told about Australian society in the 1980s and 1990s.
We'll be joined by all sorts of guests who worked on the show to find out wh...2020-08-1200 min