Number 96 (TV series)

Number 96 was known for its humour as well as its groundbreaking depictions of taboo subjects of the time, exploring issues such as homosexuality,[1] abortion,[1] rape,[1] interracial romance,[1] drug usage,[1] breast cancer[1] Pregnancy in later life[1] and transgenderism,[1] but also its array of comedy characters with their own catchphrases, in a nod to vaudeville.[1]

Although the show is often stated as the first television program to feature an LGTB, the first TV character was actually introduced the previous year in the US series sitcom All in the Family when a friend of Archie Bunker's, (portrayed by Carroll O'Connor known as "Steve" played by Phillip Carey stated to Archie, he was gay, despite being the first LGBT character on TV the character of "Steve" however only appeared in the series briefly for a single episode title "Judging Books by Covers".[3]

According to the publication The Great Clowns of American Television, comedian Ernie Kovacs was the first person to portray a gay character on a long-term basis, as character Percy Dovetonsils, in his self-titled The Ernie Kovacs Show, although the term was not officially established at that time).[3]

The first regular gay character in the United States debuted also in 1972 with actor Vincent Schiavelli as Peter Panama in sitcom The Corner Bar, but he did not make it to a second series, with then-president of the New York-based Gay Activists Alliance calling it "the worst stereotype of a gay person I’ve ever seen." [4]

Toni Lamond, played Karen Winters, who had lesbian tendencies and was shown fondling and kissing the virginial Bev whilst she slept under the effect of a sleeping pills. The character was later revealed to be a devil worshipper who wanted to sacrifice Bev to the devil during a Black Mass, a story-arc that was heavily censored, after this the censorship demanded changes[1]

The series featured the world's first transgender character on TV, as played by a transgender actress, with cabaret performer Carlotta featuring in the show as Robyn Ross, in a story-arc where she has a doomed relationship with Arnold Feather (Jeff Kevin).[5]

Another lesbian character was played by Hazel Phillips who as Marie Crowther, was ousted when she was caught spying on Vera Collins in the shower.

Bisexual photographer Bruce Taylor (Paul Weingott) was Don's first lover and also having an affair with Maggie Cameron. Later, Don's most enduring relationship would be with Dudley Butterfield (Chard Hayward), who was hilariously camp, but also bisexual. Don and Dudley would live together for two years, but Dudley moved out to become a ladies man, which was mostly played for comedy.

The Box, which starred Judy Nunn as bisexual reporter Vicki Stafford, has the distinction of showing TV's first lesbian kissing scene with Felicity (Helen Hemingway).[5]

In 1972, Australian television featured many imported shows, primarily from the United States and the United Kingdom. Previously, local soaps Autumn Affair, The Story Of Peter Grey, and Motel were only mildly successful. Long-running ABC soap Bellbird was moderately popular in rural areas, but less so in city locales.

Popular Crawford Productions shows Homicide, Division 4, and Matlock Police were all police procedurals, though, rather than conventional soap operas.

Bill Harmon and Don Cash had previously worked in New York at NBC, and became a partnership after arriving in Australia and producing adventure series The Rovers and a couple of unsuccessful films.[1]

Production of Number 96 started in October 1971. It was produced and recorded on videotape in monochrome for the first three years, and switched to colour production in late 1974. Many of the early black-and-white episodes no longer exist, due primarily to network policy of the time of destroying or wiping tape.

Producer Don Cash, used one of the world's first computers to figure out how the series could construct such a large output, this standard was late rused on series created thereafter

The premise, original story outlines, and original characters were devised by series creator David Sale, who had also written for the TV comedy satire series The Mavis Bramston Show. Sale also wrote the scripts for the first episodes of Number 96 and continued as a script writer and storyliner for much of the show's run.

A building at 83 Moncur Street, Woollahra, was used for exterior establishing shots of the block of flats. The majority of the recording was done on sets at the studios of Channel Ten based then in North Ryde, Sydney.

Directors included Peter Benardos[1] and Brian Phillis.[1] Regular writers included David Sale, Johnny Whyte, who was the series final script editor, Susan Swinford, Dick Barry, Michael Laurence, Lynn Foster,[1] Ken Shadie and Eleanor Witcombe.

Early black-and-white episode featuring semiregular Thelma Scott as Claire Houghton and her on-screen daughter Bev Houghton, played by Abigail

Number 96 became infamous for its groundbreaking adult storylines and nudity, its comedy characters, and controversial storylines including teenage drug addiction and a black mass conducted by devil worshippers. Whodunits included a panty snatcher (dubbed the Knicker Snipper), the Pantyhose Strangler, the Hooded Rapist, and a bomb that exploded killing off four characters.[1]

A story where Rose Godolfus (Vivienne Garrett) took marijuana was the first time the Australian Broadcasting Control Board exercised the 101 censorship code, insisting that Rose must be shown to suffer from its effects.[1]

However, a few years later, at the request of NSW Police, a heroin drug storyline was explored with 15-year-old schoolgirl Debbie Chester (Dina Mann). She was seen being taught how to inject heroin with a needle, in a storyline designed to warn parents how easy it was to do.[1]

Early shock moments involved the travails of the pregnant Helen Eastwood (Briony Behets) whose husband Mark (Martin Harris) had an affair with Rose Godolfus. Helen caught them in bed together and miscarried, while Rose was later gang-raped by bikies. Doctor Gordon Vansard (Joe James) was struck off for providing drugs for an illegal abortion. His wife Sonia (Lynn Rainbow) suffered from mental delusions, before leaving and returning for the film version of Number 96.

An early interracial kiss occurred between character Chad Farrell, played by Ronne Arnold, and Sonia (Lynn Rainbow), and this storyline was said to have made the show unable to be sold to the US, who could have cut out the nudity, but would have still had problems with an interracial kiss and homosexual themes. A later interracial romances over 20 episodes with Indigenous Australian actress Justine Saunders as hairdresser Rhonda Jackson. She had an affair with Dudley (Chard Hayward) but was secretly in love with Arnold (Jeff Kevin) and the actress became the first Indigenous woman to appear on the cover of TV Week while publicising this role [1]

Left to right: Bunney Brooke, Dina Mann, Sheila Kennelly, Frances Hargreaves, and Pat McDonald who was immensely popular as malapropping gossip Dorrie Evans

Actors highlighted in blue are original cast members.[1] Note: Number 96, featured more than 100 cast members, and the ensuing list is a selection only of more prominent only.[1]

• The TV series launched the TV career of Abigail, who played the first incarnation of character Beverley Houghton and was billed as a sex symbol

[1]

The series featured over 100 performers, including screenwriter and technicians. Many upcoming performers where given the opportunity in the industry to develop their performances, whilst an alumnus of the showbiz world made guest appearances

Numerous stars wanted to appear in guest roles, even racing identity Gai Waterhouse, who unsuccessfully auditioned after completing a drama course in England. Also suggested was a young Bryan Brown (although having been in England he had acquired a British accent, and was considered unsuitable by producer Bill Harmon, even though he hailed from Parramatta).[1]

The Duke and Duchess of Bedford visited the set and appeared in a cameo in the series, in a storyline in which they come to visit Baroness Amanda von Pappenburg (played by Carol Raye).[1]

Gordon McDougall as Les Whittaker

The series became famous for every episode ending in a cliffhanger and they were the first to do a summer cliffhanger, where the cliffhangers would be ramped up with every character in peril over the six week break the show took for the summer hiatis. In 1972, it was the car crash of Gordon (Joe James) and in 1973, Bev (Victoria Raymond) was shot. In 1974, Patti (Pamela Garrick) was the shock second victim of the Pantyhose Strangler, but in 1975, instead of a death, it was the mysterious resurrection of Jaja (Anya Saleky) who was thought to be dead. For its last summer cliffhanger, a drunk Herb (Ron Shand) was seen leaving Sydney on a train with a mystery blonde out to rob him.

During 1974, the series shifted its emphasis from sexual situations and drama to focus more on comedy. After the introduction of colour TV in 1975, ratings went into decline as its audience began switching over to bigger budget American shows (that year the show was only the third highest-rated show of the year, behind The Six Million Dollar Man and repeats of Bewitched. A bold new storyline was devised to revitalise the series and in an unprecedented move, 40 complete scripts were discarded and rewritten. The Number 96 set was sealed off to non-essential personnel with a new storyline involving a mysterious figure planting bombs, with several false alarms. The dramatic storyline was intended to draw back viewers and to provide a mechanism to quickly write out several existing characters in a bid to freshen up the cast of characters and revamp the storylines.

On Friday 5 September 1975, a planted bomb exploded in the delicatessen, destroying it and the adjacent wine bar, which was crowded with customers. The sequence was filmed on a Saturday because the studio was empty, and real gelignite was used, resulting in the studio doors being blown off their hinges.

The makers of the show made a bold move, killing off several long-running cast favourite's which were revealed on the front page of newspapers on Monday 8 September 1975. They included Les (Gordon McDougall), Aldo and Roma Godolfus (Johnny Lockwood and Philippa Baker), and then revealing scheming Maggie Cameron (Bettina Welch) as the bomber and sending her off to prison. Maggie never planned for the bomb to kill anyone and merely wanted to scare residents into moving to facilitate a sale of the building. Despite the publicity and major changes it brought, the bomb-blast storyline resulted in only a temporary boost to the program's ratings, but it provided material for future storyline's, particularly with the trial of Maggie Cameron.

Mike Dorsey and Wendy Blacklock as Reg "Daddy" MacDonald and Edie "Mummy" MacDonald in Number 96

By October central figures Lucy and Alf Sutcliffe (played by original cast members Elisabeth Kirkby and James Elliott) were also written out of the series. New younger characters were added to the show, most of whom didn't last out the series. Two that did were teenage sisters Debbie and Jane Chester (Dina Mann and Suzanne Church), and they became orphans when their parents were taken by a shark in an obvious nod to a certain shark film Jaws. Other enduring characters among the high cast turnover of the later period were the new blond sex-symbol Jaja Gibson (Anya Saleky), and Giovanni Lenzi (Harry Michaels), an exuberant Italian who worked in the deli.

Another whodunnit storyline was the Hooded Rapist in May 1976. There was an increase in location shooting, including Moncur Street, Woollahra (outside the building used in the credits), local parks, Chinatown, and Luna Park.[7]

The final year of Number 96 featured a continued emphasis on younger characters, the reintroduction of sexual situations and more and more extreme nudity, and increasingly violent situations. Carol Raye, who had left the show as Amanda but stayed on behind the scenes to do its casting, left the show at this point, and without her eye for talent, the quality of actors began to decline. Creator David Sale also quit the show in its final months, concerned that the quality of the show had dipped while he had been overseas.

Don and Dudley had split; Don's new boyfriend was Rob Forsyth (John McTernan) and then corrupt cult leader Joshua (Shane Porteous). The show's final months in 1977 also saw Dudley being machine-gunned to death before a siege in the Wine Bar (now a disco called Duddles), as well as a Nazi biker gang and a mystery blackmailer who turned out to be a character with schizophrenia.

Another bold move in the show's final months saw Number 96 embark upon on more explicit nudity when new character Miss Hemingway (Deborah Gray) arrived in April 1977. Number 96 had in November 1976 shown a brief full frontal nude flash when a nurse fled a burning bedroom, but Miss Hemingway's extensive topless and full frontal nudity sequences, over several episodes, attracted few complaints, even though it screened on free to air TV at 8.30 pm. Other bedroom farce comedy sequences featured increasing levels of male and female nudity. A scene where Jane Chester becomes a prostitute and is asked to whip her male client, new Number 96 resident Toby Buxton (Malcolm Thompson), featured a brief glimpse of his full frontal male nudity.

These changes to the series were made to combat falling viewing figures. However, they were not a success, and in July 1977 the series was cancelled due to declining ratings. Joe Hasham, Pat McDonald and Ron Shand were the only original cast members to remain to the final episode.[1]

Number 96 was rated number 9 in the 2005 television special 50 Years 50 Shows, which counted down Australia's greatest television programs.

McKenzie Wark wrote in Celebrities, Culture and Cyberspace (published by Pluto Press, 1999): "Once, when I was a kid, I was walking down a suburban street at night, when I noticed a rhythmic flickering of light from inside the houses. Though screened from view by the drawn curtains, the lights from a row of separate houses were all pulsing in time, and then I heard the music and I knew everyone was watching the same show ... Number 96."[1]

John Singleton wrote: "When Shakespeare was writing his plays, people queued up for Shakespeare. Today, they're queuing up for Number 96, so in my opinion Number 96 is today's Shakespeare."[1]

Phillip Adams, from newspaper The Age, wrote: "I believe that television serials provide a surrogate sense of community and that many viewers are more involved in Number 96 than they are in their own community."[1]

The series was featured in cinema documentary Not Quite Hollywood (2008). Interviewees included Number 96 actors Rebecca Gilling, Wendy Hughes, Lynette Curran, Briony Behets, Candy Raymond, Deborah Gray, Roger Ward, and Norman Yemm, and an associate producer of Number 96 and The Unisexers, David Hannay.

International screenings

Cast members were amazed to learn the show was screening in some overseas countries. Cast member Bettina Welch reported seeing it dubbed in Italy, but this was never confirmed. Despite a short late-night run in Toronto, Canada, on Citytv, the content was too explicit for US and UK television. An attempt to sell the show at Cannes TV Festival in 1975 with a topless model backfired when British newspaper Daily Mirror reported, "it got a swift 'No Entry' sign" from their broadcasters the BBC and ATV."[13]

Maggie Cameron portrayed by Bettina Welch

From 4 February 1980, TEN-10 in Sydney commenced repeating the series at midnight Mondays through Thursdays, starting from episode 585, the first episode fully produced in colour.[14] In 1994, Network Ten repeated the 1976 special And They Said It Wouldn't Last with a new introduction by Abigail.

In November 1996, Network Ten screened a re-run of Number 96: The Movie.

Though the complete run of colour episodes (585–1218) survive, the National Film and Sound Archive retains only 19 of the first 584 black-and-white episodes. The rest were lost when the show switched to colour, with the master tapes wiped by the network for re-use, or made into a "foyer display". The first three weeks (episodes 1–15), episodes 31–35 and two episodes from the 1974 black and white episodes (episodes 450 and 534) survive. With the exception of episodes 11, 12, 14, 15 and 534, all available black-and-white episodes have been released on DVD, along with Number 96: The Movie and the 1974 and 1975 episodes 649–712, 832–847. As of March 2022, 96 of 1218 episodes have been released in some form, with 560 episodes presumed lost.

• List of Australian television series
• The Box

• Aussie Soap Archive: Number 96
• Number 96 Home Page
• DVD boxed set announcement
• The History of Australian Television – Number 96
• Number 96 (Australian series) at IMDb
• Number 96 (US series) at IMDb
• Number 96 at the National Film and Sound Archive
• Number 96 at Australian Screen Online