Whiplash_(TV_series)

<i>Whiplash</i> (TV series)

Whiplash (TV series)

British/Australian television series

This article is about the British/Australian television series. For other articles with the same title, see Whiplash (disambiguation).

Whiplash was a British/Australian television series in the Australian Western genre, produced by the Seven Network, ATV, and ITC Entertainment, and starring Peter Graves. Filmed in 1959-60, the series was first broadcast in the United Kingdom in September 1960, and in Australia in February 1961.[1]

Quick Facts Whiplash, Genre ...

Overview

Set during the Australian gold rushes of the 1850s, the series was inspired by the life of Freeman Cobb, founder of the iconic Australian stagecoach line, Cobb and Co. However, the characters and events in the series bore no resemblance to the real Freeman Cobb or his company. Freeman Cobb did not carry a pistol or use a stockwhip to settle disputes.

The series was created by Michael Noonan and Michael Plant, and produced by Maurice Geraghty and Ben Fox at the Artransa Studios in Sydney, which were owned by ATV. Post-production was completed in the United Kingdom.

Cast and characters

In his autobiography, associate producer and director of many episodes John Meredyth Lucas commented on the difficulty faced in casting the series. He wrote that actors with radio experience were generally used, because of concerns with the broad Australian accents of some performers.[2] On his return to the US in October 1960, Graves also commented on the difficulty in finding actors. "Those we got were very good, but there just wasn't enough of them," he said.[3]

Main Cast

  • Peter Graves as Christopher Cobb
  • Anthony Wickert as Dan Ledward

Leading player, Peter Graves, was best known at the time for the TV Western Fury.[4]

Guest cast

Episode list

The original air date[8] is for ATV London. ITV regions varied date and order.

Production number refers to the order in the Network DVD booklet.

More information No., Title ...

Background and production

Development

Michael Noonan had created and written a British TV series shot in Australia called The Flying Doctor. Whiplash was a similar international production. The show was mostly financed by Lew Grade's ITC productions, but was aimed at the international market, leading to many Americans being in key creative roles. Post production was done in the UK.

Co-producing partners included Australia's Artransa Park Studios and Britain's ATV.

Filming

Filming started in October 1959 at Artransa Park Studios in Frenchs Forest, a Sydney suburb, with location work at Scone, New South Wales and elsewhere.[9][10][2]

Graves told the Sydney Morning Herald that "Nearly all the American Westerns are shot within 30 miles of Hollywood and a lot of that scenery is becoming mighty familiar to TV viewers. Now this scenery here is refreshing — something entirely new to folks overseas. We're trying to keep right away from that word 'Western' by labelling the series a romantic adventure."[11]

In his memoirs, Lucas commented on the difficulties faced because of the sometimes inexperienced Australian crew.[2] Production was also initially difficult because of the competing expectations of production partners from three different countries. The production team was restructured from episode six onwards, after which Ben Fox was appointed producer with Leslie Harris as executive producer.[12]

Filming re-commenced on 4 March 1960. The budget of the series was a reported £650,000.[13]

In May 1960, it was reported the unit of 22 actors and crew had left Sydney for Alice Springs to film sequences over ten days, including scenes at Ayers Rock, the MacDonnell Ranges and the Ormiston Gorge. By that stage, ten episodes had been shot and the series sold to ATN Channel 7. Fox announced that both American and British television groups were "likely to be very interested in buying the series".[14][15]

Music

Theme Music: Words and Music by Edwin Astley, sung by Frank Ifield.

Incidental music

Edwin Astley, Albert Elms

Release

Broadcast

In 1961, it became one of the original twelve programs aired by the new CTV network in Canada, and the only one produced in Australia.

Home media

On 7 December 2009, Network released a Region 2 five-DVD set.[16]

On 18 September 2012, Timeless Media Group released Whiplash - The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1. The 4-disc set featured all 34 episodes of the series.[17]

References

  1. [1]
    "Cobb Rides in Feb". TV/Radio Supplement. The Age. 26 January 1961. p. 3. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  2. [2]
    Lucas, John Meredyth (2004). Eighty Odd Years in Hollywood. McFarland and Company. ISBN 0786418389.
  3. [3]
    "Says Australia Needs Actors". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory. 24 October 1960. p. 1. Retrieved 4 May 2020 – via Trove.
  4. [4]
    "American TV star here for Australian Western". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 27. Australia. 14 October 1959. p. 68. Retrieved 30 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. [5]
    "Australians in Whiplash". TV/Radio Supplement. The Age. 2 February 1961. p. 5. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  6. [6]
    Vagg, Stephen (25 May 2020). "The A to Z of Non-White Aussie Movies and TV in White Australia". FilmInk. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  7. [7]
    Moran, Albert (1993). Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0642184623.
  8. [8]
    Whiplash (episode guide).
  9. [9]
    "Start on Australian TV Western". The Age. 8 October 1959. p. 13. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  10. [10]
    "Made in Australia TV Western Takes Shape". The Age. 26 November 1959. p. 13. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  11. [11]
    "There's a Lynch Mob in French's Forest". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 November 1959. p. 95.
  12. [12]
    "Whiplash". Bygone Series. Archived from the original on 8 December 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  13. [13]
    "T.V. Series to be Filmed at Alice Springs". The Beverley Times. No. 1880. Western Australia. 20 May 1960. p. 5. Retrieved 30 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. [14]
    "Film Unit Continues Whiplash". Sydney Morning Herald. 16 May 1960. p. 4.
  15. [15]
    "Australian Drama Whiplash". The Canberra Times. Vol. 36, no. 10, 245. Australian Capital Territory. 7 June 1962. p. 30. Retrieved 30 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. [16]
    "Whiplash: The Complete Series". NetworkDVD. Archived from the original on 1 August 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  17. [17]
    "Whiplash - Finalized Date, Cost, Details and Box for 'The Complete Series' with Peter Graves". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.

Notes

  • "The Australian Film and Television Companion" — compiled by Tony Harrison — Simon & Schuster Australia, 1994
  • Atkinson, Stephen (2007). "A Rumble in the Great Australian Silence: whiplash and the Telling of the Australian Frontier". In Liz, Liz; Dolin, Tim (eds.). Australian Television History. ACH: The Journal of the History of Culture in Australia. Australian Public Intellectual Network. pp. 37–57.
  • Vagg, Stephen (11 December 2021). "Forgotten Australian TV Series: Whiplash". FilmInk. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Whiplash_(TV_series), and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.