AustLit

Chopper Squad follows the adventures of a helicopter surf rescue team based on Sydney's northern beaches, as they deal with various difficult rescues and occasionally come into close contact with desperate criminals.

The program suffered from long hiatuses between the pilot and series one, and between series one and series two. Furthermore, Don Storey notes, in his Classic Australian Television, that

Unfortunately, the quality of the scripts varied immensely. Some episodes had excellent dramatic narratives, and the viewers would be on the edge of their seats watching the rescue process. Other plots were contrived merely to justify the use of a helicopter, or to show off some other facet of the surf rescue operation, or were just corny. This variation in quality occurred not only from episode to episode, but quite often within an episode.

However, Storey concludes that

If the scripts left a lot to be desired, the same could not be said for the other aspects of the programme. The actors all gave good performances, and the technical quality is excellent by any standards. Extensive external location work was used, with internal sets being kept to a minimum. The camerawork is second to none, highlighting the magnificent scenery of the Sydney coastline to great effect.

Albert Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series, notes that 'World distribution rights to the series were bought by Paramount Pictures, which sold the production to Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Britain'.

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

'CHARLIE HILL: 35. Good looking with an air of failure about him. Emotionally disturbed. Taken some hard knocks. Must drive.

'SUSAN HILL: 30. Pretty, but very tired. She's borne a lot of responsibility over the years. Strong personality. Basically middle class. Suburban.

'JOHNNY HILL: 7. Very shy and of fragile constitution. Loves both his parents.

'EDDIE ROSOLINO: 45. Ex-con. Reformed, now successful artist. Rough hewn, but easy going nature.

'GERALD MOORE: 55. English and a bit superior. Elegant dresser. Art critic who wields an acidic pen. Snob. Surrounds himself with good taste.

'WALTER MACDIVOTT: 55-60. Former fence, now reformed and respectable Large man, possibly with bushy beard. Modified Bohemian.

'LUCY MACDIVOTT: 35-40. Nice looking. No lines.'

'GLADYS TOOMEY: 30-35. Very hip. Cultivates arty people. Very anti-establishment, but tolerant as well.

'JACK NEELEY: 65. Pensioner. Bar fly.

'TOM SULLEY: 65-70. Metho drinker. Comic role.

'DOUG STEPHENS: 50. Ex-service man. Burly, self made. Fancies a hero image. A suuccessful business man. A modern expensive home.

'POLICEMEN (2): Both uniformed. No lines.

'HIPPIE: Extra. 20. Male. Long hair. No lines.

'TAXI DRIVER: Friendly talkative.

'MAN: No lines. Must drive.

'WOMAN: No lines.

'DOG:

'2 MEN IN A PUB'.

Grigor Taylor's first role after leaving the highly rated Matlock Police, Silent Number focuses on Dr Steve Hamilton, a doctor working for the New South Wales Health Department. Hamilton has chosen this path because he couldn't afford to start his own practice, and thought, even before he is seconded to the NSW Police as a police doctor, that this would be more rewarding than work as a GP. This situation causes some tension with his wife, who would rather he worked shorter hours for higher pay in private practice.

According to Don Storey in his Classic Australian Television, Silent Number suffered somewhat from the close attention of censors after early episodes were deemed too violent, which led to the Australian Broadcasting Control Board decreeing that all episodes must be submitted to them for assessment prior to screening. Storey also notes that Silent Number was screened in Melbourne opposite Matlock Police, which seriously damaged its ratings.

Nevertheless, Storey concludes that 'Silent Number was quite a good series. If you allow a certain suspension of disbelief for the premise - real police doctors rarely, if ever, get involved with criminal detection the way Steve Hamilton does - the only valid criticism that could be levelled against it is the "cheap" look that using videotape gives to the interior scenes.'

Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series, concurs with this assessment, noting that 'producer Roger Mirams and writer Ron McLean put their heads together to come up with a successful formula for the crime variation. They reasoned that because both medical and police series were popular, a series about a police doctor had to very popular. It wasn't. Again, though, the series is very watchable. Never profound, it does succeed as entertainment.'

Division 4, which Don Storey notes in Classic Australian Television was 'the only drama series on Australian television to rival the popularity of Homicide', was created as a vehicle for Gerard Kennedy, who had risen to popularity playing the complicated enemy agent Kragg in spy-show Hunter, after Tony Ward's departure left Hunter's future in doubt.

According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian Television Series:

The series differed from Homicide in being more oriented to the situation and milieu of a suburban police station staffed by a mixture of plainclothes detectives and uniformed policemen. This kind of situation allowed Division 4 to concentrate on a range of crimes, from major ones such as murder to minor ones such as larceny.

Though set in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Yarra Central, 'Sets were constructed that were replicas of the actual St Kilda police station charge counter and CIB room, with an attention to detail that extended to having the same picture hanging on the wall', according to Storey.

Division 4 ended in 1976. Storey adds:

Division 4's axing was a dark day for Australian television, as within months the other two Crawford cop shows on rival networks, Matlock Police and Homicide, were also axed. It was widely believed, and still is, that the cancellation of the three programs was an attempt by the three commercial networks--acting in collusion--to wipe out Crawford Productions, and consequently cripple the local production industry.