10 (but really 35) ABC TV shows that are cultural touchstones - Women's Agenda

10 (but really 35) ABC TV shows that are cultural touchstones

As the full extent of cuts to the ABC is becoming clear, we thought we’d have a look at some of the iconic TV shows the ABC has broadcast since it expanded its services from radio to TV in 1956. This list began as just 10 shows that have become cultural touchstones in Australia, but as we continued to add in honourable mentions the list grew to 35. Australian culture would be substantially poorer without the programs on this list.

Countdown (1974 – 1987)

Countdown changed the way Australians viewed popular music and the way Australian musicians connected with an audience, making stars of artists like Skyhooks, Sherbert, Marcia Hines, Renee Geyer, INXS and AC/DC. But it also brought the best of the world to Australia and represented a golden era of pop and rock music, where for an hour each week Australians could see and hear international icons alongside home-grown favourites, all drawn together by Molly Meldrum.

Honourable mention: Rage, Spicks and Specks

Four Corners (1961 -)

Over the course of its now 53 year history, Four Corners has been Australia’s premier current affairs TV program, championing long-form investigative television journalism from a 1963 expose on the living conditions of Indigenous Australians in rural NSW through to 2011′s investigation into animal cruelty in the live export trade. The ABC’s television news and current affairs programming has expanded rapidly since Four Corners’ introduction, but the program remains a rigorous, agenda-setting institution.

Honourable mentions: Australian Story, This Day Tonight, 7.30

Redfern Now (2012 -)

The ABC has long been a vital source of stories from indigenous Australians and Redfern Now brought together some of our greatest indigenous actors, writers and directors. It offered an honest, joyful and often tough glimpse into the lives of indigenous people living in urban areas today.

Honourable mentions: Mabo, Basically Black, Black Comedy, First Australians

The Slap (2011)

With just eight one-hour episodes, The Slap is perhaps the best television drama to ever come out of Australia. Based on Christos Tsiolkas’ award-winning novel, it captured the multicultural pulse of suburban Australia with fiery performances and astute, tense direction. Following its success, US network NBC commissioned an American adaptation starring Peter Sarsgaard, Uma Thurman and Zacahary Quinto. The pilot episode is written by playwright and executive producer of Brothers and Sisters Jon Robin Baitz.

Honourable mentions: Rake, Brides of Christ, Phoenix, SeaChange

Play School (1966 -)

The kids are alright when the ABC is on. The public broadcaster is the home of Australia’s longest-running kids’ TV show (and the second longest in the world) Play School, which several generations of Australians grew up watching. In 2003, it was estimated that 80% of Australian pre-schoolers watched Play School at least once a week.

Honourable mentions: Bananas in Pajamas, Adventure Island, Mr Squiggle

The Aunty Jack Show (1972 – 1973)

The ABC also contributed some of the country’s most iconic characters throughout the 1970s and ’80s, but none more loved than Grahame Bond’s Aunty Jack, whose catchphrase “I’ll rip yer bloody arms off!” entered the national lexicon.

Honourable mentions: Mother and Son, The Norman Gunston Show

Kath and Kim (2002 – 2005)

While we’re on catchphrases that have entered the national lexicon, Kath Day-Knight’s “Look at moiye” is about as iconic as they come. Making their start on sketch shows Fast Forward and Big Girls Blouse, Jane Turner and Gina Riley’s enduring comedic creations were first given their own full-length series on the ABC. Kath and Kim held up a loving, but not particularly flattering mirror to Australian society and although their later efforts weren’t as well-received, the first three ABC seasons are legendary.

Honourable mentions: Summer Heights High, Sylvania Waters

Frontline (1994 – 1997)

For the last several decades, the best political and media satire on TV has come from the ABC. No commercial network has managed to lampoon with the dexterity and incisiveness that the ABC has managed in countless programs. Frontline is a perfect example, not only commenting on the sad state of commercial TV current affairs, but foreshadowing the almighty fall the genre was about to suffer.

Honourable mentions: The Games, The Chaser’s War on Everything, The D-Generation

Please Like Me (2013 -)

Young adults and teenagers are often neglected by commercial broadcasters, but the ABC has had plenty of shows which have spoken to younger audiences. While putting Josh Thomas’ Please Like Me on ABC2 was a bad move on the ABC’s part, that hasn’t stopped the show from making its mark. It speaks directly to what it is to be a young adult living in Australia in the 2010s and has gained plenty of international acclaim, including a nomination for an International Emmy Award.

Honourable mentions: Heartbreak High, Dance Academy

At the Movies (2004 – 2014)

Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton changed the way we talk about movies and engendered in countless Australians a deep love of and appreciation for cinema. As they finish up their program at the end of this year, they leave a wide gap for the ABC to fill.

 Honourable mentions: First Tuesday Book Club

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