"The Flying Doctors" (1986) TV series 1986-1991

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Directors:

Peter Andrikidis
Michael Offer

Writers:

Tony Cavanaugh (writer)
Elizabeth Coleman (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | unknown

Release Date:

15 May 1986 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

This series chronicles the events surrounding the activities of the Royal Flying Doctors Service, which...

Plot Keywords:

Medical | Hospital | Doctor | Aviation | Medical Profession

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Lenore Smith	...	Kate Wellings / ... (163 episodes, 1986-1994)
Robert Grubb	...	Dr. Geoff Standish / ... (147 episodes, 1986-1994)
Maurie Fields	...	Vic Buckley (139 episodes, 1986-1994)
Val Jellay	...	Nancy Buckley (83 episodes, 1986-1994)
George Kapiniaris	...	Dimitrios "D.J." Lonniadis / ... (78 episodes, 1987-1994)

Runtime:

Australia:50 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Netherlands:6

Filming Locations:

Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Crawford Productions

Trivia:

Maurie Fields and Val Jellay played husband and wife in this show. They were married in real life.

Quotes:

[Ron meets codger's outside Vic's bar]
Ron Miller: Heard the latest? They got Bradmanout and they sunk the Titanic.
Codger # 1: What's that? Ain't a bloke aboard who would ever get Bradman out.

Movie Connections:

Followed by "R.F.D.S." (1993)

Forget Neighbours - this is the real 80s Aussie drama

Recent reruns of this well-acted and well-written drama from the mid-eighties have reminded me just how good 'The Flying Doctors' was. The key word for me is realism, maybe because the plotlines were based on actual RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service) cases, and checked for accuracy by the real Flying Docs. The acting was very believable, and the characters became like old friends. The publicans' wisdom of Vic, the pub landlord in Cooper's Crossing, still makes me laugh - true blue Australian humour. And I still cry every time I see the last episode from the first series, where the pilot dies, because he was one of my favourites. But each series had its bonuses - this show is very easy to dip into, as well as follow as a soap.