G.P.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses of the initials G.P., see GP (disambiguation).
G.P.
http://www.tvlandaustralia.com/uploadmemories/?tag=g-p
Created by Sue Masters, Director of Development, Roadshow Coote & Carroll.
Developed by Roadshow Coote & Carroll
Starring Michael Craig
John McTernan
Michael O'Neill
Sarah Chadwick
Denise Roberts
Brian Rooney
Judy McIntosh
Marilynne Paspaley
Tony Llewellyn-Jones
Brian Rooney
Steve Bisley
Damian Rice
Zoe Carides
Lenka Kripac
Melissa Jaffer
Leah Vandenberg
Theme music composer Simon Walker
Ending theme Simon Walker
Composer(s) Simon Walker
Mark Isaacs
Chris Neal
Country of origin  Australia
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 8
No. of episodes 318 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Sue Masters, Greg Coote & Matt Carroll
Location(s) ABC Studios Gore Hill and on location in and around Sydney.
Broadcast
Original channel ABC
Original run 7 March 1989 – 10 December 1996

G.P. was an Australian television series produced by Roadshow, Coote & Carroll for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation between 1989 and 1996.

The series was set around a general medical practice in an inner-city suburb. It explored both the personal and professional lives of the Sharp family (father and son, both General Practitioners working together), and the other doctors and staff who worked in their family clinic.

Contents

[edit] History and popularity

The series began on-air in March 1989, but initially failed to attract a major audience. Its national ratings never rose above single figures. This was a major concern for ABC-TV, since the series was costing a vast amount of public money. Paddy Conroy, Head of ABC Television at the time, and Denis Spencer (his Program Manager at the time) decided to call in Harvey Shore (who had worked for ABC-TV as an Executive Producer, and for Roadshow as Head of Publicity). Conroy and Spencer contracted Shore to take over all PR and publicity for the series, starting from September 1989. Shore's Brief from Conroy and Spencer was brutally simple: "Make it rate double figures by Christmas or you're out of a job."

Harvey Shore accepted the challenge. He reviewed previous PR work on the series, and quickly realised ABC-TV was being a little precious treating G.P. as a 'High-brow' series, but wanting 'Low-brow' ratings. He realised what the series needed was a new target audience - especially among the masses who loved good 'soapies'. Shore immediately began to create a new publicity campaign especially for G.P. Instead of the usual ABC-TV practice of taking numerous publicity pics during each episode and distributing these selectively to appropriate media, Shore created a new and far more targeted publicity campaign especially for the mass market. Since G.P. had already been running for months on-air, he needed to change its media focus and presentation, to set it up in a new way so the media would 're-discover' it, and/or re-brand it as a great soapie series. He called his new campaign "Key Art Publicity". Instead of taking numerous PR photos during each episode, Shore and his unit photographer Melissa (Pixie) Lingard set up one 'Key Art' shot per episode, designed to capture the essential drama at the heart of that episode. Shore then distributed this 'Key Art' photo and a suitably dramatic media release to TV writers and reviewers in all print media throughout Australia (especially those who wrote about soapies and other popular weekly drama series). He organised a second, more intimate photo and accompanying 'gossip' story to be sent every week to TV columnists. In addition, Shore arranged exclusive publicity deals with certain key media. The most important of these was a special exclusive publicity deal with TV Week journalist Garry Shelley, whereby Shelley would have exclusive access to the guest star featured in each weekly episode of G.P., in exchange for which TV Week agreed to run a major colour feature on that guest star's role in G.P. every week.

Shore's "Key Art Publicity" campaign soon resulted in massive extra regular publicity for the ABC series, and brought with it a whole new audience. Shore's campaign drew initial complaints from ABC-TV staff publicists who had earlier failed to create public awareness for the series; but Shore's campaign proved an instant success with the media and the public; quickly attracting many more viewers to G.P. and sparking a ratings climb into double figures. From an average rating of 8, Shore's "Key Art Publicity" campaign lifted G.P's ratings to 15 by Christmas, and ratings continued to grow into the 20's in 1990. G.P. had found its audience and, under Shore's continuing publicity campaign, G.P. went on to win numerous television awards (including the first Logie Award for an ABC-TV Drama in 15 years), and to become the highest rating drama series on ABC-TV. Instead of being cancelled after its first year, G.P. was renewed by ABC-TV for 8 seasons, and produced several more Logie Awards and a book (which Harvey Shore also wrote).

[edit] International braodcasts

G.P. has been shown in Canada on CBC Country Canada, a digital television station; and in New Zealand and Ireland (on RTE1). In 2008 and 2009, ABC1 re-broadcast Series 3 onwards at 4:30am on weekdays. In the UK, Central Independent Television, Thames Television and Border Television were the only contractors among the 14 members of the ITV Network to screen the programme for a short period. Thames started the show on Thursdays 1 October 1992 Thursdays and Fridays for half hour episodes at 3.20pm. Central axed the show on Thursday 25 March 1993 and replaced it with Shortland Street. The programme was shown in a daily 3.20pm slot Tuesdays to Fridays and had the hour long episodes split into two to accommodate the half hour slot. This was a popular format for screening acquired Australian material as had been used with A Country Practice, E Street, Blue Heelers and headLand by UK broadcasters.

[edit] Character summary

Mr. William Sharp - Michael Craig - In the beginning of the series Mr Sharp is a part-time general surgeon with consulting rooms at the Ross St. Surgery owned by his nephew, Dr Robert Sharp. As the series progressed he bought into the surgery with and started operating again at local public hospitals. William is characterised as a part of the 'old school' style of medicine. He can be quite forthcoming and stubborn in his opinions and is often at odds with his colleagues at the surgery. William served in World War II as a doctor and was a prisoner at Changi. William drives a Jaguar and is very cultured with a great interest in and knowledge of music, poetry, food and wine.

Dr. Robert Sharp - John McTernan - Originally the owner of Ross Street Surgery, Robert lives in the upstairs level of the house. The surgery was his father's. Robert took it over and raised his own family there. Robert is a widower and has a son Andrew, who makes numerous appearances in the first few series of the show. Uncle William lives with Robert and has his consulting rooms in the surgery. Like his Uncle William, Robert is very cultured but is often the more rational, liberal and socially minded of the pairing. Midway through the series, Robert develops a brain tumor. He is operated on to remove the tumor and survives, only to suffer a heart attack and die in recovery.

[edit] Awards

[edit] Cast

[edit] List of G.P. episodes

Season One - 1989

  • 01: The Best Laid Plans (debut) (first aired: 07.03.1989)
  • 02: Shaping Up (14.03.1989)
  • 03: Fade Out (21.03.1989)
  • 04: A Female Complaint (28.03.1989)
  • 05: Magic Bullets (04.04.1989)
  • 06: A Fair Advantage (11.04.1989)
  • 07: Second Chance (18.04.1989)
  • 08: For Better Or Worse (25.04.1989)
  • 09: A Family Way (02.05.1989)
  • 10: They Just Wear You Down (09.05.1989)
  • 11: A Man's Place (16.05.1989)
  • 12: Heroes (23.05.1989)
  • 13: Lest We Remember (30.05.1989)
  • 14: Limbo (06.06.1989)
  • 15: Secrets (13.06.1989)
  • 16: The Best Policy (20.06.1989)
  • 17: Into The Valley (27.06.1989)
  • 18: Emile (04.07.1989)
  • 19: Growing Up (18.07.1989)
  • 20: Fat Cats (25.07.1989)
  • 21: Solar Strychnine (01.08.1989)
  • 22: Toss A Coin (08.08.1989)
  • 23: Daddy's Little Princess (15.08.1989)
  • 24: Dominant Male (22.08.1989)
  • 25: The Power Of Love (29.08.1989)
  • 26: Chances (05.09.1989)
  • 27: Guilt Edges (12.09.1989)
  • 28: Chef's Special (19.09.1989)
  • 29: Heal Thyself (26.09.1989)
  • 30: Lies We Tell Ourselves (03.10.1989)
  • 31: Addicted To Love (10.10.1989)
  • 32: Choices (17.10.1989)
  • 33: Mother Of The Year (24.10.1989)
  • 34: Simon Says (31.10.1989)
  • 35: The Poetry Man (07.11.1989)
  • 36: Blind Eye (14.11.1989)
  • 37: Nobody's Perfect (21.11.1989)
  • 38: Living With A Stranger (28.11.1989)[1]

Season Two - 1990

  • 39: The Old Ball & Chain (13.02.1990)
  • 40: Everything Old Is New Again (20.02.1990)
  • 41: Border Of The Heart (27.02.1990)
  • 42: Ghosts (06.03.1990)
  • 43: The Evidence (13.03.1990)
  • 44: Confidences (20.03.1990)
  • 45: Rebel Rebel (27.03.1990)
  • 46: Mates (03.04.1990)
  • 47: A Spoonful Of Sugar (10.04.1990)
  • 48: Payback (17.04.1990)
  • 49: Will I Still Be Able To Do It (24.04.1990)
  • 50: Lovers (01.05.1990)
  • 51: A Neighbourly Gesture (08.05.1990)
  • 52: Freak Show (15.05.1990)
  • 53: Occupational Hazards (22.05.1990)
  • 54: A Difficult Stage (29.05.1990)
  • 55: Thicker Than Water (05.06.1990)
  • 56: Only Human (12.06.1990)
  • 57: And Baby Makes Three (19.06.1990)
  • 58: Another Day At The Office (26.06.1990)
  • 59: Practice Imperfect (03.07.1990)
  • 60: Smash (10.07.1990)
  • 61: Set Them Free (17.07.1990)
  • 62: A Very Long Goodbye (24.07.1990)
  • 63: Playing It By The Book (31.07.1990)
  • 64: The Moving Finger Writes (07.08.1990)
  • 65: George (14.08.1990)
  • 66: Illusions (21.08.1990)
  • 67: The Art Of Compromise (28.08.1990)
  • 68: Why? (04.09.1990)
  • 69: A General Malaise (11.09.1990)
  • 70: Jobs For The Boys (18.09.1990)
  • 71: The Sleep Of Reason (25.09.1990)
  • 72: Loose Ends (02.10.1990)
  • 73: Inside Out (09.10.1990)
  • 74: Crossover (16.10.1990)
  • 75: Longing (23.10.1990)
  • 76: Silent Majority (30.10.1990)
  • 77: For Richer, For Poorer (06.11.1990)
  • 78: Shadows (13.11.1990)

Season Three - 1991

  • 79: Just A Game (12.02.1991)
  • 80: So Makes The Man (19.02.1991)
  • 81: Hippocrates (26.02.1991)
  • 82: Visitors (05.03.1991)
  • 83: Out Of Pasture (12.03.1991)
  • 84: Memories (19.03.1991)
  • 85: Testament/Say A Little Prayer (26.03.1991)
  • 86: Solomon's Choice (02.04.1991)
  • 87: Black & White/Sloan Street (09.04.1991)
  • 88: Love Hurts (16.04.1991)
  • 89: Binary (23.04.1991)
  • 90: The Heart Of The Matter (30.04.1991)
  • 91: Three's A Crowd (07.05.1991)
  • 92: A Flock Of Nightingales (14.05.1991)
  • 93: A Right To Write (21.05.1991)
  • 94: Unconventional Weapons (28.05.1991)
  • 95: Cutting Edge (04.06.1991)
  • 96: Darby & Joan (11.06.1991)
  • 97: Telling Tales (18.06.1991)
  • 98: Who Lives, Who Dies (25.06.1991)
  • 99: Rites Of Passage (02.07.1991)
  • 100: Just A GP (09.07.1991)
  • 101: Nowhere To Run (16.07.1991)
  • 102: Once Bitten (23.07.1991)
  • 103: More Than Friends (30.07.1991)
  • 104: Family First (06.08.1991)
  • 105: The Price You Pay (13.08.1991)
  • 106: The View From Up Here (20.08.1991)
  • 107: My Brother's Keeper (27.08.1991)
  • 108: Unlived Lives (03.09.1991)
  • 109: Games People Pay (10.09.1991)
  • 110: Baggage (17.09.1991)
  • 111: A Weekend In The Country (24.09.1991)
  • 112: All In A Day's Work (01.10.1991)
  • 113: Collateral Damage (08.10.1991)
  • 114: On The Brink (15.10.1991)
  • 115: Quicksand (22.10.1991)
  • 116: Judgement Day (29.10.1991)
  • 117: Dark Lottery, part 1 (05.11.1991)
  • 118: Dark Lottery, part 2 (12.11.1991)

Season Four - 1992

  • 119: Test Of Conscience (11.02.1992)
  • 120: We Regret Of Advise There Will Be A Delay (18.02.1992)
  • 121: The Last Waltz (25.02.1992)
  • 122: Brave New World (03.03.1992)
  • 123: Time's Winged Chariot (10.03.1992)
  • 124: The Longest Day (17.03.1992)
  • 125: Under Control (24.03.1992)
  • 126: Hanging Out (31.03.1992)
  • 127: Modern Times (07.04.1992)
  • 128: A Very Suburban Coup (14.04.1992)
  • 129: Legacy (21.04.1992)
  • 130: Beating Around the Bush (28.04.1992)
  • 131: Beat It (05.05.1992)
  • 132: Rigor Mortis (12.05.1992)
  • 133: A Corner Of Hell, part 1 (19.05.1992)
  • 134: A Corner Of Hell, part 2 (26.05.1992)
  • 135: I'm All Right Jack (02.06.1992)
  • 136: The Killer Instinct (09.06.1992)
  • 137: Breaking Out (16.06.1992)
  • 138: The Olive Branch (23.06.1992)
  • 139: Shades Of Grey (30.06.1992)
  • 140: Funny Business (07.07.1992)
  • 141: All Care Taken (14.07.1992)
  • 142: Crossroads (21.07.1992)
  • 143: Dial The Universe (28.07.1992)
  • 144: The Road Not Taken (04.08.1992)
  • 145: The Limits Of Friendship (11.08.1992)
  • 146: Private Lives (18.08.1992)
  • 147: Pas De Trois (25.08.1992)
  • 148: A Question Of Survival (01.09.1992)
  • 149: The Good & Faithful Servant (08.09.1992)
  • 150: Shaking Hands With Time (15.09.1992)
  • 151: Lies, Damned Lies & Statistics (22.09.1992)
  • 152: Three's Company (29.09.1992)
  • 153: Where Angels Fear To Tread (06.10.1992)
  • 154: Pogrom (13.10.1992)
  • 155: Chrysalis (20.10.1992)
  • 156: Strictly Confidential (27.10.1992)
  • 157: A Special Kind Of Person, part 1 (03.11.1992)
  • 158: A Special Kind Of Person, part 2 (10.11.1992)

Season Five - 1993

  • 159: Light A Special Candle (23.02.1993)
  • 160: Pioneers (02.03.1993)
  • 161: One Perfect Day (09.03.1993)
  • 162: All Under Control (16.03.1993)
  • 163: Dancing With Death (23.03.1993)
  • 164: A Thousand Flowers, part 1 (30.03.1993)
  • 165: A Thousand Flowers, part 2 (30.03.1993)
  • 166: Blood Lines (06.04.1993)
  • 167: Venus Within (13.04.1993)
  • 168: Get A Life (20.04.1993)
  • 169: Balancing Act (27.04.1993)
  • 170: A Stroll In The Park (04.05.1993)
  • 171: A Minor Complaint (11.05.1993)
  • 172: Targets (18.05.1993)
  • 173: An Uplifting Experience (25.05.1993)
  • 174: Knights Of The Netherworld (01.06.1993)
  • 175: Death Has A Way With Her (08.06.1993)
  • 176: Alone, part 1 (15.06.1993)
  • 177: Alone, part 2 (22.06.1993)
  • 178: Exposed (29.06.1993)
  • 179: Drowning Not Waving (06.07.1993)
  • 180: The Sentimental Bloke (13.07.1993)
  • 181: Snakes & Ladders (20.07.1993)
  • 182: Close To Her Chest (27.07.1993)
  • 183: Family Life (03.08.1993)
  • 184: Close Encounters (10.08.1993)
  • 185: Infected (17.08.1993)
  • 186: Square Pegs (24.08.1993)
  • 187: Living With The Past (31.08.1993)
  • 188: Fugue In A Minor Key (07.09.1993)
  • 189: Uncharted Waters (14.09.1993)
  • 190: The Method (21.09.1993)
  • 191: No Time For Games (28.09.1993)
  • 192: Releasing The Spirit (05.10.1993)
  • 193: All In The Eyes (12.10.1993)
  • 194: Borderline (19.10.1993)
  • 195: The Long Weekend (26.10.1993)
  • 196: A Family Affair (02.11.1993)
  • 197: A Long Day's Journey (09.11.1993)
  • 198: Loose Ends (16.11.1993)

Season Six - 1994

  • 199: Special Places, part 1 (15.02.1994)
  • 200: Special Places, part 2 (15.02.1994)
  • 201: More Out Of Life (22.02.1994)
  • 202: Scared To Death (01.03.1994)
  • 203: Brotherly Love (08.03.1994)
  • 204: Out (15.03.1994)
  • 205: Coitus Interruptus (22.03.1994)
  • 206: Innocent Bystander (29.03.1994)
  • 207: Something Old, Something New (05.04.1994)
  • 208: The Sorcerer's Apprentice (12.04.1994)
  • 209: The Team Player (19.04.1994)
  • 210: Sugar & Spice (26.04.1994)
  • 211: Double Bind (03.05.1994)
  • 212: A Temporary Mess (10.05.1994)
  • 213: Breaking Out (17.05.1994)
  • 214: The Drover's Wife (24.05.1994)
  • 215: Home & Contents (31.05.1994)
  • 216: "E" (07.06.1994)
  • 217: Making Mischief (14.06.1994)
  • 218: Alex & Rose (21.06.1994)
  • 219: Solo (28.06.1994)
  • 220: The Chicken Run (05.07.1994)
  • 221: Ties Of The Blood (12.07.1994)
  • 222: In Good Hands (19.07.1994)
  • 223: Fatherly Duties (26.07.1994)
  • 224: That Old Black Magic (02.08.1994)
  • 225: Natural Selection (09.08.1994)
  • 226: A Hard Act To Follow (16.08.1994)
  • 227: Captive Heart (23.08.1994)
  • 228: Grin & Bare It (30.08.1994)
  • 229: Footprints (06.09.1994)
  • 230: Breakfast With Gazza (13.09.1994)
  • 231: All Of Me (20.09.1994)
  • 232: Desperate Measures (27.09.1994)
  • 233: Revelations (04.10.1994)
  • 234: State Of Grace (11.10.1994)
  • 235: Back Streets (18.10.1994)
  • 236: Rarely Pure & Never Smile (25.10.1994)
  • 237: Odyssey, part 1 (01.11.1994)
  • 238: Odyssey, part 2 (08.11.1994)

Season Seven - 1995

  • 239: Bandaids (21.02.1995)
  • 240: Grown Ups (28.02.1995)
  • 241: The Tiniest Fraction (07.03.1995)
  • 242: Filial Contract (14.03.1995)
  • 243: I Grow Old, I Grow Old (21.03.1995)
  • 244: In Control (28.03.1995)
  • 245: After Hours (04.04.1995)
  • 246: What About Your Heart? (11.04.1995)
  • 247: An Arm & A Leg (18.04.1995)
  • 248: The Carrot & The Stick (25.04.1995)
  • 249: Still Life (02.05.1995)
  • 250: Hide & Seek (09.05.1995)
  • 251: Relative Strangers (16.05.1995)
  • 252: Lady Be Good (23.05.1995)
  • 253: This Year, Next Year (30.05.1995)
  • 254: Don't Count Your Chickens (06.06.1995)
  • 255: Falling Backwards (13.06.1995)
  • 256: A Great Bunch Of Blokes (20.06.1995)
  • 257: Not Fade Away (27.06.1995)
  • 258: A Parting Of Friends (04.07.1995)
  • 259: Keeping Up With Yesterday (11.07.1995)
  • 260: Baby Sitter (18.07.1995)
  • 261: You Say Potato (25.07.1995)
  • 262: Private Faces, Public Places (01.08.1995)
  • 263: Like Father, Like Son (08.08.1995)
  • 264: The Promise Of Tomorrow (22.08.1995)
  • 265: Stand By Your Man (29.08.1995)
  • 266: Manoeuvres (05.09.1995)
  • 267: Trapped (12.09.1995)
  • 268: Those Who Can't (19.09.1995)
  • 269: Oh My Papa (26.09.1995)
  • 270: Imperfect Science (03.10.1995)
  • 271: One For The Road (10.10.1995)
  • 272: Forgive & Forget (17.10.1995)
  • 273: So Like A Woman (24.10.1995)
  • 274: Rhythm & Blues (31.10.1995)
  • 275: Hush Little Baby (07.11.1995)
  • 276: Sunday Bloody Sunday (14.11.1995)
  • 277: Comic Relief (21.11.1995)
  • 278: With A Beard On His Shoulder (28.11.1995)

Season 8 - 1996

  • 279: Where The Heart Is (5.3.1996)
  • 280: Hardwired (12.3.1996)
  • 281: A Man Of Action (19.3.1996)
  • 282: Two To Tango (26.3.1996)
  • 283: Brain Storm (2.4.1996)
  • 284: Someone to Turn To (9.4.1996)
  • 285: New Confusions (16.4.1996)
  • 286: The Ceremony Of Innocence (23.4.1996)
  • 287: Ding Dong Bell (30.4.1996)
  • 288: In Sickness And In Health (7.5.1996)
  • 289: Fire And Water (14.5.1996)
  • 290: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? - Part 1 (21.5.1996)
  • 291: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? - Part 2 (21.5.1996)
  • 292: Smoke (28.5.1996)
  • 293: Never Judge A Book (4.6.1996)
  • 294: A Stiff Upper Lip (11.6.1996)
  • 295: Sleeping Beauty (18.5.1996)
  • 296: Not Breathing, Choking (25.6.1996)
  • 297: Juice (2.7.1996)
  • 298: Blind Friday (9.7.1996)
  • 299: Long Time Coming (16.7.1996)
  • 300: Sing Me A Lullaby (23.7.1996)
  • 301: Drowning By Numbers (30.7.1996)
  • 302: The Pleasure of Your Company (6.8.1996)
  • 303: The Waiter (13.8.1996)
  • 304: Vision (27.8.1996)
  • 305: Go Directly To Jail (3.9.1996)
  • 306: Whatever Turns You On (10.9.1996)
  • 307: Handle With Care (17.9.1966)
  • 308: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (24.9.1996)
  • 309: I Kiss Your Dirty Shoe (1.10.1996)
  • 310: Critical Distances (8.10.1996)
  • 311: Pendulum (15.10.1996)
  • 312: If I Were A Carpenter (22.10.1996)
  • 313: Show And Tell (5.11.1996)
  • 314: Apron Strings (12.11.1996)
  • 315: Superman (19.11.1996)
  • 316: Shoot The Messenger (26.11.1996)
  • 317: Ghosts In The Machine (3.12.1996)
  • 318: This Terrible Business (Final 10.12.1996)

[edit] References

  1. ^ "1992 Human Rights Medal and Awards". Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. http://www.humanrights.gov.au/about/hr_awards/1992.html. Retrieved 11 August 2007. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=G.P.&oldid=476199952"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export