Kingswood Country
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Kingswood Country | |
---|---|
Opening Title Card | |
Genre | Sitcom |
Created by | |
Starring | Ross Higgins Judi Farr Peter Fisher Lex Marinos Colin McEwan Maggie Dence Laurel McGowan Sheila Kennelly |
Composer | Mike Perjanik |
Country of origin | Australia |
No. of seasons | 6 |
No. of episodes | 89 |
Production | |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company | RS Productions |
Original release | |
Network | Seven Network |
Release | 30 January 1980 1 September 1984 | –
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Kingswood_country-dvd_cover.jpg/220px-Kingswood_country-dvd_cover.jpg)
Kingswood Country is an Australian sitcom that screened from 1980 to 1984 on the Seven Network. The series started on 30 January 1980 and was a spin-off from the sketch on comedy program The Naked Vicar Show that had featured Ross Higgins as blustering suburban father, Ted Bullpitt. It was written by Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler and produced by their production company, RS Productions. The show won Logie Awards for Best Comedy in 1981 and 1982, and was briefly revived in a spin-off in 1997 titled Bullpitt, although it proved less successful.
Premise
The show is a family sitcom focusing on the main character, Edward Melba "Ted" Bullpitt (Ross Higgins), a white Australian, conservative, Holden Kingswood-loving putty factory worker and WWII veteran and his interactions with his more progressive wife and two adult children.
He lives for three things: his beloved chair in front of the TV, his unsuccessful racing greyhounds Repco Lad and Gay Akubra and his Holden Kingswood car (late in the show's run Ted traded-in the Kingswood, which had gone out of production around the time the series began, for Holden's replacement mid-range family car, the Commodore). His long-suffering wife, the vague and dithering Thelma (Judi Farr), was cast as a traditional housewife trapped by Ted's conservative family views, but she often got her own back on Ted (this often included using old Myer receipts she had hidden in a drawer to fool Ted into thinking she paid less for a new item, often clothes, than she really had).
Ted's Kingswood is never shown on any episode.
Humour was generated by the conflict of Ted's traditional views and his children's progressive nature. For example, his son Craig (Peter Fisher) is portrayed as a sexually rampant medical student and is referred to as an "Al Grassby Groupie". His daughter, Greta (Laurel McGowan), is portrayed as a feminist and is married to Bruno (Lex Marinos), the son of Italian immigrants, to whom Ted objects (often referring to him as a "bloody wog"). Other politically incorrect humour includes Ted's references to Neville, the concrete Aboriginal garden statue. This was named after Australia's first Aboriginal Senator, Neville Bonner, who enjoyed it so much he visited the show's recording.
At other times, humour was based on the more traditional comedic methods of poorly thought-out schemes of Ted's (usually get-rich-quick); class differences (between the suburban Bullpitts and Ted's 'Datsun dealer' brother Bob and his upwardly-mobile wife Merle) and simple misunderstandings leading to a chain of humorous events.
Cast
Main cast and characters
Actor | Role | Character |
---|---|---|
Ross Higgins | Ted (Edward Melba Bullpitt) | The main character of the series. He is intolerant of Catholics. Ted was part of a kitchen unit captured by the Italians in World War Two. His favourite thing is his Holden Kingswood. He also enjoys reading the comic Mandrake, sitting in front of the television with the paper or a beer, and tending to his greyhounds (Gay Akubra and Repco Lad). Ted is known as 'Big Bum Bullpitt' to the students and nuns at the local Catholic school St Joseph's. He is afraid of the nuns, though likes Sister Maria as she also likes beer.
According to Ted, he is a descendant of Lord Stokely Bullpitt of Kingswood who died in 1786 as he fell from his horse during a nun hunt. His only son was illegitimate so therefore could not claim his father's title. That son married an Italian kitchen maid named Maria Bertalucci – an ancestor of Bruno. The title was first bestowed by Henry VIII to a man whom he gave a large section of his forest or the King's Wood, hence the title. |
Judi Farr | Thelma ('Thel' for short) | Ted's wife, and mother of Craig and Greta. She often answers the telephone with catchphrases in the hope of winning a prize from TV Week or whatever competition is running on the radio. Thelma keeps a drawer full of old receipts to show Ted after buying expensive items from Myer (she holds her fingers over the date and waves the receipt at him, showing a small purchase). Thelma gives very specific advice on how to perform everyday chores – for example, making coffee or tea, "You'll have to add hot water dear, otherwise it'll be a bit dry". In the spin-off, Bullpitt, it is revealed she divorced Ted, married an Italian and lives in Italy. |
Peter Fisher | Craig Bullpitt | Ted's only son. He is a medical student and later in the series marries his girlfriend Wendy. |
Laurel McGowan | Greta Bertolucci | Ted's only daughter and is married to Bruno Bertolucci. |
Lex Marinos | Bruno Bertolucci | Ted's son-in-law, who he refers to as 'The Wog' and is married to Greta. He drives a purple Chrysler Valiant, which is often a sore point with the Holden-loving Ted. Bruno takes great delight in poking fun at Ted and calling him 'Grumblebum' or 'Teddles', but affectionately calls Thelma 'Mrs B' and sympathises with her for having to put up with Ted. |
Colin McEwan | Bob Bullpitt | Ted's brother. Bob, is a used car salesman, often referred to as a 'Bloody Datsun dealer' by Ted. He has a love-hate relationship with both Ted and his wife Merle and insults are often traded, though he does have a soft spot for Thelma. His trademark greeting is "hey-dee ho everybody, here comes the party!" |
Maggie Dence | Merle Bulpitt | Ted's upwardly mobile sister-in-law, married to his brother Bob. Seems to dislike both Bob and Ted and often insults them both, although she gets on well with her sister-in-law despite Thelma's sometimes vague nature. |
Sheila Kennelly | Rosa Bertolucci | After Ted's wife Thelma leaves, Bertolucci comes to look after hapless Ted. She defines herself as a happy-go-lucky wog and is fond of cooking, |
Guests
- Bruce Spence as Dentist / Samson
- Cornelia Frances as Dr Hemingway
- Graham Kennedy
- Henri Szeps as Mr O'Grady / Eric the Postman
- Ian Gilmour as Troy Bridges
- Johnny Lockwood as Tony Bertolucci
- Julieanne Newbould as Wendy
- Lenore Smith as Cathy
- Liddy Clark as Jennifer / Vicki
- Noeline Brown as Janet Green / Elizabeth Windsor
- Peter Whitford as Hayden De Witt / Bill the Salesman
- Ray Meagher as Keith Mitchell / Bank Manager
- Robert Hughes as Solicitor / Hamish McDingle
- Robina Beard as Aunty Vi / Maj
- Ron Graham as Mr GMH
- Tom Oliver as Clive Lomas / Gerard Homes
- Tracy Mann as Glenys Freckle
- Vincent Gil as Gus McKenzie
Catchphrases
The series has spawned some catchphrases such as:
- "Don't 'Dad' me boy/girl, I'm your father!". "Don't 'Mum and Dad' us boy/girl, we're your parents" was also used.
- "Pickle me grandmother!"
- [when surprised from behind] "Strewth! Give a man a heart attack!"
- "Strike me Catholic!"
- [when someone asks to drink his beer] "Put the money on the fridge!". Sometimes changed to "Put the money on the fridge Wog!" when Bruno asked Ted for a beer.
- "Somebody/someone should blow [current object of annoyance] up!" e.g. "Someone should blow those nuns up!"
- "The Kingswood! You're not taking the Kingswood!..." [insert far-fetched excuse] e.g. "I've just ducoed the tyres" or "I've just glad-wrapped the aerial!" or "I've just Mr Sheened the number-plate!"
- "When I was a boy... " [insert long-winded, far-fetched story] Always responded to with "Yeah, yeah sure Ted/Dad."
- "Hate, hate, vomit!"
- [when asked how his day went] "Bloody shambles, of course!"
- [the universal insult for a miserable, miserly old man] "Grumblebum!"
- [in response to someone mishearing his surname] "No, it's Bull-PITT. Yes - everyone says that". Also said often by Thelma when talking on the phone.
- "Where's the bloody Kingswood?"
- "Attila the Nun"
- "Bloody wogs!"
- "Bloody woman!"
- "Blow 'em all up!"
- "Watch it mate!"
- "No wonder the country's in a mess"
- "I win, you lose, and I'm the king of the castle"
- "Bloody nuns"
- "Never marry a woman mate"
- "Where's my paper? "
Episodes
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Season premiere | Season finale | |||
1 | 13 | 30 January 1980 | 11 June 1980 | |
2 | 13 | 18 June 1980 | 24 September 1980 | |
3 | 20 | 18 June 1981 | 15 October 1981 | |
4 | 23 | 27 May 1982 | 26 April 1984 | |
5 | 10 | 1984 | 1984 | |
6 | 10 | 7 July 1984 | 13 September 1984 |
Home media
A 'Best Of' DVD was released in 2003 featuring 13 out of the 89 episodes as well as the original skit on The Naked Vicar Show that spawned the series. A second 'Best Of' featuring an additional 13 episodes was also released in 2006. Then in September 2008 a third best of set was released.[1] On 12 May 2010 The Best of Kingswood Country Volume 4 was released with another 13 episodes, which will mean that 52 out of 89 episodes will be available on DVD commercially.
The Complete Series collection was released as an 11 disc DVD box set on 4 December 2019, from Via Vision Entertainment. It contains all 89 episodes of the show.
Title | Format# | Ep# | Disc | Region 4 (Australia) | Special Features | Distributors |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Best of Kingswood Country (Vol 01) | DVD | Season 01, Episodes 01,08,10,11.
Season 02, Episodes 14,16,19. Season 03, Episodes 16,31. Season 04, Episodes 07,08,15,16. |
03 | – | *The original sketch from The Naked Vicar Show.
|
Shock Entertainment |
The Best of Kingswood Country (Vol 02) | DVD | Season 01, Episodes 12 & 13.
Season 02, Episodes 02. Season 03, Episodes 04,10,14,19. Season 04, Episodes 02 & 14. Season 05, Episodes 02 & 08. Season 06, Episodes 01 & 10. |
03 | 4 September 2006 | None | Shock Entertainment |
The Best of Kingswood Country (Vol 03) | DVD | 13 | 03 | 30 August 2008 | None | Shock Entertainment |
The Best of Kingswood Country (Vol 04) | DVD | 13 | 03 | 12 May 2010 | None | Shock Entertainment |
The Best of Kingswood Country (Vol 01–04) | DVD | 52 | 12 | 13 October 2010 | N/A | Shock Entertainment |
Kingswood Country: The Complete Series | DVD | Season 01, Episodes 01-13
Season 02, Episodes 01-13 Season 03, Episodes 01-20 Season 04, Episodes 01-23 Season 05, Episodes 01-10 Season 06, Episodes 01-10 |
11 | 4 December 2019 |
|
Via Vision Entertainment |
Spin-off
A spin-off to the series was the short-lived, much panned Bullpitt! in 1997. Of the original show's cast, only Ross Higgins had a regular role. Elaine Lee co-starred. A Best of Set was released in September 2008.
See also
- Alf Garnett from Till Death Us Do Part, a similar British comedy.
- Archie Bunker from All in the Family, a similar American comedy (adapted from Till Death Us Do Part).
References
- ^ "Kingswood Country – The Best Of Kingswood Country: Vol. 2 (3 Disc Box Set) @ EzyDVD". Archived from the original on 31 August 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2006.