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Skirts (TV series)

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Skirts
GenrePolice Drama
Directed byBrendan Maher
Richard Sarell (8 episodes)
Ian Gilmour
StarringTracy Mann
Antoinette Byron
Mary Coustas
Karen Davitt
Kate Gillick
Nicholas Bell
Ben Mitchell
Sally-Anne Upton
Alasdair Saksena
Tony Seguin
ComposerDavid Hirschfelder
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes39 + 1 Feature Film
Production
Executive producerRoger Simpson
ProducerRoger Le Mesurier
Production locationsMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
Running time60 minutes
Production companySimpson Le Mesurier
Original release
NetworkSeven Network
Release18 April (1990-04-18) –
27 September 1990 (1990-09-27)
Related
Blue Heelers

Skirts is an Australian television police drama broadcast on the Seven Network in 1990. Skirts was produced by Roger Le Mesurier and Roger Simpson. It was directed by Brendan Maher, Richard Sarell and Ian Gilmour. 40 episodes were produced over 3 seasons in 1990 and the series screened between April and September 1990. The last episode aired was season 2, episode 12. The final 14 episodes were never aired by the Seven Network.

Main cast

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Actor/actress Character Rank Episodes
Nicholas Bell Gary Block Sergeant (Squad Boss) Pilot, 01–39
Tracy Mann Pauline Reardon Sergeant (Squad Leader) Pilot, 01–39
Mary Coustas Julie Makris Constable Pilot, 01–39
Karen Davitt Debbie Priest Constable Pilot, 01–39
Ben Mitchell Bevan "Beverley" Quin Constable Pilot, 01–39
Antoinette Byron Tina Van Hervell Constable 01–39
Kate Gillick Wanda Nowacek Constable Pilot, 01–25 (Episode 31 Guest)
Sally-Anne Upton Jenny Kruger Senior Constable 26–39 (Episodes Never Aired)

Recurring/semi-regular & guest cast

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Actor/actress Character Role Episodes
Francisco Antonio Seguin (credited as Tony Seguin) Tex Welfare Worker Pilot Episode
Sue Jones Joan Senior Sergeant (Squad Boss) Pilot Episode
Maureen O'Shaughnessy Constable Pilot Episode
Gary Sweet Tom Waters Pauline Reardon Boyfriend Pilot Episode & Episodes 1-3
Alice Garner Hanna White
Greg Stone Morgan 1 episode
Simon Palomares Brad
Tim Sullivan Detective
Nicola Quilter
Anne Phelan Mrs Donovan
Nicki Paull 1 episode
Peter Hosking
Drew Tingwell
Geoffrey Baird

Production

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Production on the pilot episode began in June 1989 in Melbourne, Victoria and it was delivered to the Seven Network by August the same year.

Skirts first aired on Wednesday 18 April 1990 with a pilot feature length episode and the first official episode was broadcast on Sunday 22 April 1990 on Channel 7.

Selected episodes of Skirts were again broadcast in 1993 on the Seven Network in a late night time slot in the hope by producer and creator Roger Simpson that the series might be revived.

Series overview

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Season Episodes First aired Last aired
1 13 22 April 1990 (1990-04-22) 15 July 1990 (1990-07-15)
2 13 (Episode 13 never aired) 9 August 1990 (1990-08-09) 25 August 1990 (1990-08-25)
3 13 Episodes Never aired. (Episodes Never aired.) Episodes Never aired. (Episodes Never aired.)

Episode list

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Pilot

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
00"Skirts"Brendan MaherRoger Le Mesurier18 April 1990 (1990-04-18)
Senior Constable Pauline Reardon is faced with a dilemma when the man she loves is arrested by the CIB in very suspicious circumstances.

Season 1 (1990)

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Consequences"Brendan HaherRoger Simpson22 April 1990 (1990-04-22)
Wanda is devastated and humiliated when her gun disappears. It is recovered through a series of strange and unexpected turn of events, but not before Wanda seriously contemplates leaving the force. Bev can't win when he comes up against a lady who won't hesitate to employ extreme measures when faced with arrest.
22"Odyssey"Brendan HaherRoger Simpson29 April 1990 (1990-04-29)
Julie's emotional involvement with an angry Greek boy leads her to suspect him of a horrific crime. Pauline's hopes for a time of smooth sailing in her relationship with Tom are once again shattered.
33"Making The Break"Richard SarellMac Gudgeon6 May 1990 (1990-05-06)
The course of true love runs far from smooth for Pauline. Bev, emotionally involved in a young Filipino boy's case, almost loses it when faced with the perpetrator. The simple task of locating a truant husband ends up in headaches for all.
44"The Name of the Game"Brendan HaherSheila Sibley13 May 1990 (1990-05-13)
Wanda and Debbie go undercover as a couple of street girls to try and catch an offender who is terrorising prostitutes while Pauline helps an old lady who is nowhere near as vague as she seems.
55"Bring in the toe-cutters"Brendan HaherGraham Hartley20 May 1990 (1990-05-20)
Julie works on breaking through a tough highschool girl's veneer, offering her a chance to escape her criminal background. When Block receives a bribe, he doesn't realise the devastating results he will achieve by investigating its source.
66"Keepers of the Door"UnknownUnknown27 May 1990 (1990-05-27)
The stress of the job bubbles to the surface when Debbie attends a road accident. Bev and Julie help out another young mother before she becomes another streetkid statistic. When a couple of derros take over the Salvation Army Home, Pauline and Tina reverse the situation with a couple of clever tricks.
77"The Wrong Impression"UnknownUnknown3 June 1990 (1990-06-03)

Pauline and Block lock horns over the best way to handle a traumatised assault victim. Wanda rethinks her strategy in her bid to win gold in the Women's Shotput Finals. When the prison van is out of action, Tina has a chance to prove she is more than just a pretty face.

Guest Appearance Debra Lawrance
88"The Cowboy and the Pin-Up"UnknownUnknown10 June 1990 (1990-06-10)
Tina rocks the station when a scandal rag prints a picture of her in a cheeky pin-up pose. Julie gets emotionally involved with a derelict who forgets what he has come to confess.
99"Where The Heart Is"UnknownJudy Colguhoun17 June 1990 (1990-06-17)
Julie, disillusioned by a hard-hitting tragedy, is in danger of being seduced from the Force by a tempting proposition. Wanda locks horns with a boy in a bid to keep him out of an institution. Tina offers to distract Pauline's unwanted secret admirer.
1010"Happy Families"Ian GilmourMichael Joshua

Barbara Bishop

Mary Dagmar Davies
24 June 1990 (1990-06-24)

When the police intervene in a disturbed schoolboy's home life, the precarious situation explodes. Rumours run rife when a positive pregnancy testing kit is found in the locker room. A witch, determined to perform an exorcism at City North, proves difficult to remove.

Guest Appearance Peter Hosking and Olivia Hamnett
1111"Mist Green"UnknownUnknown1 July 1990 (1990-07-01)
Debbie is racked with fear over the possibility of having contracted AIDS from a crash victim. Block is dubious about the reliability of a witness who seems to have fallen under the offender's spell. Bev unravels the mystery of a drunk yuppie who refuses to reveal his identity.
1212"Means and Ends"UnknownUnknown8 July 1990 (1990-07-08)
Unexpected passions are aroused at City North when the police are asked to vote on their right to strike. Arresting and holding a group of protesters overnight stretches the police's resources and patience to the limits.
1313"Goblins"UnknownUnknown15 July 1990 (1990-07-15)
Julie has to overcome her phobia in order to give a very sick friend the strength to make the decision which will put her on the long road to recovery. Block and Bed fight a wave of racism which is forcing an elderly true blue Aussie off his premises.

Season 2 (1990)

[edit]
No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
141"Intimate Relations"Brendan MaherCliff Green9 August 1990 (1990-08-09)
When a Turkish woman, Djameela, arrives in Australia to find her sponsors have withdrawn their sponsorship, only Wanda and Julie's intervention can save her from deportation. Block's aunt reveals what's really going on at a "Special Accommodation House", and a fiasco involving two "rough diamonds" and one stolen car lands Debbie in a date with a difference.
152"Winning A Heart"Richard SarellBill Garner16 August 1990 (1990-08-16)
When Pauline babysits a close friend's little girl, Block forces her to face a grim reality. Bev is racked with guilt when he has to put an offender, who will almost certainly be assaulted, behind bars.
163"Wolf Whistles"Ian GilmourChris Roache23 August 1990 (1990-08-23)

Pauline, Debbie and Wanda attempt to change the behaviour of a gang of abuseive and sexist workmen. Tina counsels a girl to take legal action against her mother and Julie becomes increasingly unnerved when she is plagued by an anonymous admirer.

Guest Appearance Paula Duncan
174"Future Imperfect"Brendan MaherGraham Hartley30 August 1990 (1990-08-30)
When a young woman suffers amnesia, Julie takes her through the painful steps of discovering who she is. When Wanda and Debbie make a decision without referring the case to Community Welfare, tempers explode.
185"When The Chemistry Is Right"Richard SarellVincent Gil6 September 1990 (1990-09-06)
An accidental chemical spill escalates into a major emergency which stretches the police's emotional and physical resources to the limit.
196"Parents Ain't What They Used To Be"Ian GilmourSusan Hore13 September 1990 (1990-09-13)

Julie feels increasingly smothered when a bereaved woman is obsessed with mothering her. When a shop owner takes the law into his own hands, the consequences are devastating.

Guest Appearance Gerda Nicholson
207"A Family Matter"Brendan MaherLinda Aronson20 September 1990 (1990-09-20)
Tina senses a young girl's outbursts are more than typical teenage rebellion. "The War of the Vegie Patch" wins Wanda a handsome and hunksome admirer while Block has a win against the bureaucrats
218"Hard Rain's Gonna Fall"Richard SarellCraig Wilkins27 September 1990 (1990-09-27)
Tina's involvement with a heroic handicapped man dissolves into disaster. Snakes, coffins, black eyeliner and The Masons, a family dispute proves to be trying for Pauline. Is Debbie's engagement to the man of her dreams a big mistake?
229"Three-Ring Circus"Ian GilmourMac Gudgeon1990 (1990)*
Pauline helps a young women (Lane) give birth to her first baby. Meanwhile Julie is having the problems coping with the aftermath of responding to very day police matters.
2310"Extreme Prejudice Part 1"Brendan MaherRoger Simpson18 October 1990 (1990-10-18)*
A twice convicted child kidnapper is released from jail and Wanda faces every cop's nightmare when innocent lvies are in the balance and she is the one behind the trigger.
2411"Extreme Prejudice Part 2"Richard SarellRoger Simpson25 October 1990 (1990-10-25)*
Wanda suffers deeply following a shooting incident at a Day Care Centre. Observing the pressure she is under, Block is faced with a hard decision: should Wanda be allowed to continue her duties or be put out on stress.
2512"Raw Recruits"Ian GilmourGraham Hartley & Chris Roache1990 (1990)*
A couple of "raw recruits" keep City North on its toes while Bev inadvertently experiences a drug-induced "trip". Pauline and Block keep a midnight rendezvous with a drug dealer whichreaps some sobering results
2613"Friends And Other Strangers"TBDTBDUnaired (Unaired)
When Tina arrives with a face discoloured by bruises, she feeds Block a series of fabrications which he doesn't believe. Move over Crocodile Dundee - Senior Constable Kroger's reporting for duty at City North!
  • Aired on HSV7 in Victoria Only.

Season 3 (Not Confirmed as Broadcast)

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Due to low ratings of the previous episodes It is believed that Channel 7 decided not to air any episodes from the 3rd season. However there is nothing to confirm if was or wasn't broadcast.

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
271"Rats"Richard SarellSusan HoreUnaired (Unaired)
Tina discovers firsthand how a victim of crime really feals. Bev and Kroger are involved in a heated search for a cage of stolen rats who, if not found, are doomed to a painful death
282"An Accident Waiting To Happen"Ian GillmourDebra OswaldUnaired (Unaired)
Pauline is concerned for a teenager who is into drinking and harmless pranks. He is due to sit for his licence and she senses a potentially tragic accident just waiting to happen. Debbie and Kroger try to unearth a mystery woman's motive for following a man day and night.
293"Sons And Lovers"Brendan MaherJohn HugginsonUnaired (Unaired)
The police help a girl rattled by obscene phone calls. All are convinced the caller is her ex-boyfriend, but after a frightening confrontation, Tina starts to think again. Pauline and Kroger grapple with a thirteen year old "hardened crim" obsessed with pursuing a life of crime.
304"Needle in a Haystack"Richard SarellCheryl Steff & Graham HartleyUnaired (Unaired)
Bev is the lifeline between a three-year old girl and the police in a desperate bid to avert a potential tragedy. When a recently bereaved woman takes an overdose of pills, Kroger and Julie are faced with a dilemma: was it an accident, or a suicide attempt - and will it happen again?
315"Vigilante"Ian GilmourDebra OswaldUnaired (Unaired)
A concerned Pauline tries to defuse an inevitable explosion when a couple of crusading mothers stir up the seamy drug world. A university graduate investigates the police's methods of dealing with the General.
326"Cops And Robbers"Brendan MaherJohn HugginsonUnaired (Unaired)

Sadness at City North as the officers attend the funeral of a colleague gunned down in an ambush. Paranoia is running high with a tip-off of a bomb planted in the station.

Guest Appearance Anne Phelan
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See also

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References

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