Take That
GenreSitcom
Inspired byYes, What?
by Rex Dawe
Whack-O!
by
Starring
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
Production locationsSouth Melbourne, Victoria
Running time15 minutes
Production companyCrawford Productions
Original release
NetworkHSV-7
Release1957 (1957) –
March 1959 (1959-03)

Take That was one of the earliest Australian television series. It debuted in late 1957 and ran till March 1959. As was often the case with early Australian television, it aired only on a single station, in this case HSV-7, in Melbourne.

Program synopsis and significance

Take That was a slapstick comedy series set in an unruly schoolroom; one of the earliest such series produced for Australian television, and is sometimes considered to be Australia’s first, regularly scheduled sitcom.

The series was produced by Crawford Productions, who made several other pioneering 1950s series, like the game show Wedding Day and the children's show Peters Club (also featuring Joff Ellen), at the Channel 7 studios in Dorcas Street, South Melbourne, before live audiences.

The program, inspired by a popular radio show and the BBC’s Whack-O!, was notable for its unpredictable stunts and pranks featuring noisy sound effects, onstage smokebombs and fireworks.[1]

Cast

Cast included the portly British comic actor Philip Stainton as the schoolmaster, and naughty local students Irene Hewitt, Frank Rich, Keith Eden, and Joff Ellen.[2]

The archival status of the show (which was broadcast live) is not clear; although Kinescope recording existed, many early Australian broadcasts of the period were not recorded. Former Crawfords’ staffer Ian Crawford has said that the program was kinescoped, but that no footage survives.[3]

Scheduling

For some time the series aired in a 15-minute time-slot 7:00PM on Wednesday, was preceded by a brief newscast and followed by another 15-minute series titled Teenage Mailbag at 7:15PM, itself followed at 8:00PM by an American program (The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin).[4] At some point in 1959, the series aired on Saturday at 5:30PM, preceded by These Were Hits (consisting of clips from the series Hit Parade) and followed at 5:45PM by Cavalcade of Sport.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bazzani, Rozzi (2015). Hector : the story of Hector Crawford and Crawford Productions. North Melbourne, Vic: Arcadia. pp. 77–78. ISBN 978-1-925003-73-4. OCLC 930045883.
  2. ↑ "Wednesday Television". Radio/TV Supplement. The Age. 6 February 1958. p. 11. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  3. ↑ "Ian Crawford". Classic Australian Television. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ↑ "Wednesday 11 December 1957 — MELBOURNE". Television AU. 9 June 2013. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  5. ↑ "Saturday Television". Radio/TV Supplement. The Age. 26 March 1959. p. 7. Retrieved 29 April 2013.


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