AustLit

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'JOHN CRAIG. Late 20's. Loves his wife and sick child dearly and does everything for them. Outside of this he's capable of extremes of violence.

'PAULINE CRAIG. Mid 20's. Mother of a sick child - the worry and anxiety of caring for the child has taken its toll on her.

'DAVID PRIOR. Mid to late 20's. Owns his service station. Country okker type but with a fairly keen mind.

'BRIGITTE SOLERNO. Rather attractive 20 year old of Italian descent. Expressive face and eyes. (A vague resemblance to Pauline Craig would assist).

'GORDON BISHOP. Early 20's. A nomad and seasonal worker. Has dreams of making his fortune at the casino gambling tables. A fairly harmless type really.

'TOM MITCHELL. Late 60's - though there is no written dialogue for this character the actor engaged for the part should be skilled enough to impress upon the audience through mime that he is a tight fisted one eyed religious fanatic who has condemned the entire world outside of his own small sect.

'ALICE MITCHELL. 60's. Tom's wife. Homely type who through belonging to the same church as her husband, does not share his fanatacism. Must also be a skilled actress.

'STEVEN HOLMES. Around twelve. Freckle faced kid. Under the silt of an inner suburban upbringing. He's a pretty good kid but is still fast to make a quid.

'VARGUS. 30's. Dark swarthy latin [sic] type though Australian born. Bit of a creep, bends the law a little.

'GREG WATKINS. Established.

'PATHOLOGIST. Mid to late 30's.

'PHOTOGRAPHER. Eager beaver. Good nose for a story.

'BALLISTICS MAN. Actual.

'TASSIE UNIFORMED MAN. Actual.

'CRAIG'S NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOUR. Housewife.

'PREGNANT WOMAN. (DAVE PRIOR'S WIFE) Early 20's; no lines - in advanced state of pregnancy.

'TWO AMBULANCE MEN: Actual.

'TASSIE MOTOR CYCLE COP. Actual.

'TWO TASSIE C.I. MEN. Actual.

'MOTORIST. Actual.

'UNIFORMED CONSTABLE.'

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'PENELOPE PRICE: 13-14 years old. A sensitive young lass concerned for her mother and younger sister. Aware of her father's aggressiveness and the dangers he creates.

'DEBORAH PRICE: 10-11 years old. A child bewildered by what is happening to her family. Unable to understand her father, fearful of him.

'ALFRED PRICE: Mid 30's. A confused, frightened man who has come to use drink and a crutch. He is definitely schizo and violent when under the influence. Sober, he cannot accept or understand himself. As his fears and self doubt build, he falls back on his crutch to begin the cycle again.

'JOAN PRICE: Early 30's. Long-suffering, foolish woman who has tolerated her husband's abuse and violence because of misplaced loyalty to home, children, society, etc.

'DETECTIVE NICK PAPPAS: Late 20's. Of Greek descent. Seconded from Gaming Squad to help out on Homicide.

'MAY THOMPSON: Aunty May is a homely type. No children of her own. Very fond of Penny and Debbie. She is Joan Price's older sister.

'DOUG THOMPSON: Affable. Late 40's. He is aware of the problems in the Price home but is not given to panicking over them.

'MRS. LANSELLE: Large, talkative woman with Midlands accent.

'TAXI DRIVER: Greek nationality, with a heavy accent.

'SGT. STEVENS: About 40. Been with the Boating Squad for many years. Dedicated to his work but cynical of the Powers that Be who prevent him from getting better equipment.

'NURSE: Extra.

'POLICE BOAT CREW: Actuals.'

In the opening scenes, a woman is beaten unconscious by her drunken husband, a scene which we only see and hear in flashes. The man is then struck with a hockey stick by his elder daughter, frightened by the severity of this particular beating (which, based on the stage directions, includes a five-pound kitchen weight). After this incident, the script includes the following note:

'NOTE TO DIRECTOR: IN ORDER TO AVOID A SCREAMING MATCH WITH BROADCAST CONTROL ON VIOLENCE, THESE LAST FEW SHOTS COULD BE A SERIES OF ODD-ANGLE, SPINNING, BLURRING SHOTS SO THAT WE GET THE FEELING OF DRUNKEN, FRENZIED TURMOIL.'

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection includes the following character notes:

'JUDY WINTER. 20. Average young girl. Quiet and attractive. Goes to pieces after the attack mainly because of her mother.

'DAVID THOMPKIN. Early 20's. Introvert, in love with Judy, but afraid to approach her. His frustration builds up and he attacks Trevor and rapes Judy.

'MR. WINTER. Middle 40's. Kind, understanding, but weak. Stands up to his wife to a certain extent, but not all the way as she owns their farm and he is afraid of losing everything.

'MRS. WINTER. Middle 40's. Her main concern is the "Winter name". Feels that Judy is at fault and brought on the attack. Is a very hard woman, completely lacking in understanding and compassion.

'WALTERS. 20's. Works where Judy was employed. Big mouthed, with a distorted sense of humour. Not a very nice fellow.

'MAN 1. Early 20's. One scene - lines.

'MAN 2. Early 20's. No lines.

'TREVOR. Judy's boyfriend - nice ordinary young man.

'POLICEWOMAN. Sympathetic character.

'OFFICE GIRL. About 18. Ordinary type.

'OFFICE MANAGER (MR. HUGHES). 50's. Ordinary sort of guy. Feels sorry for Judy, but is perhaps embarrassed by her.

'PHOTOGRAPHER (LAURIE). Not police. Young artistic type.

'RADIO ANNOUNCER 1 & 2 (V.O)

'NURSE

'DR. MITCHELL

'WOMAN SHOPPER. 40's. Few lines.

'PUBLICAN. Lines.

'FOUR EXTRAS. Men and women (For Ladies Lounge). No lines.

'AMBULANCE MEN (2) Actuals.

'SOLDIER (UNIFORM) No lines.

'UNIFORMED CONSTABLE. No lines.'

The Matlock Police series (originally simply titled Matlock) was commissioned from Crawford Productions by ATV-0, in response to the popularity of rival-network police dramas such as Homicide and Division 4. Crawford's was initially reluctant to create another police series, but ATV-0 pressured the company for some time. Eventually, Ian Jones and Terry Stapleton devised the concept of a regional (Victorian) police series to provide viewers with something different. The more relaxed atmosphere of the country-town setting also allowed the writers to delve into the private lives of the main characters, rather than focusing heavily on big-city organised crime. In this respect, the series was situated somewhere between Homicide/Division 4 and Bellbird. The series did, however, cover typical rural policing, including such issues as break and enters, domestic issues, itinerant workers, brawls, petty crime and robberies, road accidents, the occasional homicide, and cattle rustling. On other occasions, the Matlock police also assisted Melbourne police in locating criminals on the run (among other problems). The idea behind the show was to reflect the causes of crime in a small community and show the effects on both the community and the officers themselves.

The fictional town of Matlock (loosely based on Shepparton in Victoria) is situated inland on the Central Highway, approximately 160 kilometres north of Melbourne. Although the town's population is only seventeen thousand, this increases to around seventy-five thousand when the district is included. The Matlock Police Station is typical of a Victorian country town, with a Uniform Branch and a Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB). The CIB is headed by Detective Sergeant Vic Maddern, who grew up in the Matlock district and is an accomplished bushman. Second in command is Detective Allan Curtis, aged in his mid-twenties. Previously from Melbourne, Curtis has just been sent to his first country posting (against his will) when the series begins. Head of the Uniform Branch is Sergeant Bert Kennedy, an Englishman who migrated to Australia in 1950. A thorough but also easy-going man with a good sense of humour, Kennedy is married to Nell and enjoys the country life in Matlock, so much so that he has knocked back promotion to avoid moving to Melbourne. Several constables are attached to the Uniform Branch, but the most prominent is a motorcycle cop, Constable Gary Hogan, who performs a wide variety of duties. Hogan is about thirty, a friendly, easy-going person who grew up in the country and is always willing to help in whatever work is going.

Running for twelve years and a total of 510 episodes, Homicide was a seminal Australian police-procedural program, set in the homicide squad of the Victoria Police. According to Don Storey in his Classic Australian Television, it represented a turning point for Australian television, prompting the development of local productions over the purchase of relatively inexpensive American dramas. Indeed, Storey quotes Hector Crawford as saying that his production company intended three outcomes from Homicide: demonstrating that it was possible to make a high-quality local drama series, counteracting criticism of local performers, and showing that Australian audiences would watch Australian-made dramas.

As Moran notes in his Guide to Australian TV Series, the program adopted a narrative structure focusing on crime, detection, and capture, rather than on character studies of the lead detectives. The early episodes were produced by a small crew (Storey notes that the crew was frequently limited to four people: cameraman, grip, director, and assistant director), requiring some degree of ingenuity to achieve a polished result (including, in some cases, the actors performing their own stunts). However, the program received extensive support from the Victoria Police (who recognised, in its positive portrayal of police officers, a valuable public-relations exercise) and, as its popularity grew, from the public.

The program's cast changed extensively over its twelve years on the air, though it remained focused on a small group of male detectives, with the inclusion of irregular characters such as Policewoman Helen Hopgood (played by Derani Scarr), written on an as-required basis to reflect the involvement of women in the police force. In Moran's words, 'The other star of Homicide was the location film work. These ordinary, everyday familiar urban locations were what gave the series a gritty realism and familiarised audiences with the shock of recognition at seeing themselves and their milieus on air'.