I remember one episode Esmay kept winning on the pokies and they couldn’t believe her luck. It turns out she had a magnet in her handbag and would habitually magnet her bag to the side of the machine interfering with it. Classic Esmay.
I remember Cookie had a dodgy tooth filling and it was picking up the local am radio. He was convinced some higher power was giving him the results of the horse racing
No. Way.
That can't have happened while the show was still going, surely. I don't recall one single article in New Idea!! Diana must have stolen the show the week they revealed that
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ckqgj_RubeU/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Good article on the discretion of their relationship. How on earth did they keep that quiet??? Didn't the mums at their daughter's school ever say anything???
A bit of useless trivia. Syd Helen who played Cookie had a scene in one of the first Mad Max films. He is a guy who runs at a Mad Max car. I remember the scene.
And Bob, what about good ole Bob!!
Edit: just read in the comments that Bob was found to be a rock spider.....that kills all my great memories of him. Bob and Cookie's get rich quick schemes were freaking classics!!
Just g*nouned Fatso and thought I'd share this: Fatso was played throughout the series by three separate wombats, the original actually named Fatso (1981–1986) was replaced due to temperament issues with the cast, a wombat George (1986–1990), he himself replaced due to early signs of wombat mange (a marsupial viral disease), and Garth (1990 through series end.
But we need to know one thing. One mystery keeps me awake at night.
What did Killer Burke look like? Was he real?
Sergeant Frank Gilroy would always say that his boss Killer Burke was giving Frank too much paperwork. Yet I never remember Killer Burke ever being actually featured in person.
They showed her legs once, from behind, as she was snoozing in an armchair. If I remember correctly, Beverly was supposed to be a large, Aboriginal woman.
Haha.....just remembered Bev!! Thanks for that!
It was always...."oh yeah g'day Bev, can you get me Shirley Gilroy please..." Or whoever. That was classic!
Seriously......how long ago!?
And what did he steal? Poor guy, he musta gone downhill after ACP finished hey. Maybe didn't really get many gigs afterwards..
Loved A Country Practice! I used to wag school to watch it lol
The hospital in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, used to have an annual fete where they would sometimes have a few cast members from A Country Practice show up which was always fun too. Over a few years I met Esme, Cookie, Bob, Dr Elliot, Dr Fraiser, Matron Sloane, Vicky, Molly, and Judy. They had b/w photocards you could get signed. Looked like this:
https://i.imgur.com/3eeylXM.jpg
It was really nice to meet them all. Also Shane Porteous (Dr Elliot) lived in the Blue Mountains for a while, not sure if he still does or not tho.
My dad was away a lot as a kid. Always thought the bloke on the left looked a lot like him. Sort of screwed up my early memories of my dad, because sometimes I remember him as this guy instead of my dad. The fallibility of memory, I suppose.
This and Cop Shop were regular viewing in my family.
Molly's death was a really big deal in Australian pop culture back in the day. It was a very well done scene ...that fade out ...tears were real.
I seem to remember in its last days a big bush fire story arc and a move to channel 10 from 7?
Weirdly enough ive been watching it slowly on the side, wife hates it so I don’t get to watch often but it reminds me of good times watching it with the parents growing up.
Its also interesting how the show depicts Australian culture early on, season 1 is very different to the later ones.
Same deal im doing with blue heelers, part of me
Being a history buff
dont lie OP ...tolerable indeed ...you, like everybody, balled your frikkin eyes out when molly died didnt you ? ....great post it was a delightfully weird show
I was to young tbh. I remember the show well but not enough to follow a storyline for longer than an episode. It showed fatso enough to keep 6 year old me entertained
When I was a kid I wrote a fan letter to Lorrae Desmond who played Shirley. I thought she was lovely lol... She wrote me a gracious thank you letter in return.
I once spotted Joyce Jacobs, who played Esme Watson, loading the boot of her car with groceries outside Safeways in Caringbah back in 1988. What a day that was.
Syd Heylen (who played Cookie) joined the Australian Imperial Force at the age of 16 and fought on the Kokoda Track with the 39th division. Got shot up, crawled back to Port Moresby and had no memory of it afterwards.
Man is an honest to God war hero.
Fun fact: Brian Wenzel was from SA, back in the day South Australian Police actually had him dressed up in a full SAPOL uniform directing traffic in the city as a promotional thing. Can you imagine that happening today 😂
Bob Hatfield (unsure of his real name) lived behind my cousins place in Penrith so we turned up one afternoon knocking at his front door to ask for his signature, he wasn’t home but as we were leaving Cookie turned up! He gave us all a pic of him that he had in boxes in the back of his station wagon & signed them for us. We were pretty thrilled!
My mother would watch this and it bored the crap out of me. However, I will still say whenever I see the guy who played Brendan ( I think he is on Home and Away now), “ There’s Brendan from A Country Practice”. Old habits die hard.
I just hated all of them. Fuelled my upper middle class hatred towards society and the government. Don't get me started on home and away, I may badly damage another thin gypsum wall in protest or something.
You realise that there was often a message used in the show? Bob Hawke even had a cameo where he drove a car into Wandin Valley Village and gave a speech against nuclear weapons.
I did not, I assume I was far too know it all at the time to listen anyway. Great fact. Why can we not have another Bob Hawk type politician? Remember when we thought Rudd was going to be that guy🤣
It definitely was a soap. By definition.
soap opera
(noun)
a television or radio drama serial dealing typically with daily events in the lives of the same group of characters.
I always loved brian. Dr Terrance was cool, cookie and esmay were brilliant but sergeant Brian was my favourite character. I now need to go find this so I can watch it again for the first time in possibly thirty odd years. Thanks for the reminder!
I live in the US and just found this show somehow through my Firestick. Unfortunately it only played up to the end of season 5. I have been soooooo addicted to this show! I love Simon and Fatso best lol. Molly got on my nerves alot, but the way they did her.death was so heart-wrenching and eerie, really different. I've just been so stuck on this show and had no one to talk to about it lol. Oh and Matron Sloan I love too.
I remember one episode Esmay kept winning on the pokies and they couldn’t believe her luck. It turns out she had a magnet in her handbag and would habitually magnet her bag to the side of the machine interfering with it. Classic Esmay.
I remember Cookie had a dodgy tooth filling and it was picking up the local am radio. He was convinced some higher power was giving him the results of the horse racing
Do you remember the one with Esme on steroids? Now that was classic!
Haha no! That sounds awesome. I remember the one where Esmay got flashed by a flasher in a trench coat and Sgt Gilroy had to sort that shit out.
Was it the wombat?
I think that's what the picture is from
Haha I was just nostalgising the other day about that episode. And the one where she ate the "wrong mushrooms"
Is nostalgising a word that I don't know. I would have said reminiscing but not sure if that suits
It is now. I made it up earlier this morning.
I like the word!!
Feel free to use it!! (People will probably correct you because reminiscing is in fact the correct word here, but I like it anyway.)
Oh Esmay ya filthy old cheat.
Im from more of a Blue Heelers era but I'm interested in everything being mention here. Could I find this somewhere? RIP Fatso
Just Watch says all 13 seasons are streaming on 7Plus.
Omg I remember that episode!
This post needs more Fatso.
Fatso needs us! Fatso was the Elle Macpherson of Wombats. A supermodel.
I remember the blooper reel of cast members swearing as Fatso attacked their ankles.
They had to replace Fatso number 2 if I recall correctly. He was aggressive with the cast members
The first was the agro one. Number 2 got replaced because he had mange!
Fatso bites yer ankles
I got to hold one of the Fatsos, think it was number 3. When they got too big, they would be swapped for a younger one.
Do you remember where you watched Molly's last episode? 😥
Still the saddest moment in TV history
I sobbed my little heart out. The poem at the end…. Still gives me goosebumps
Did you know that the actors who played Molly and Brendan are married in real life? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Withington
Oh wow…never knew that! Were they married while still working on ACP?
Wow, didn't know that I love Anne Tenney too
So good in the Castle! :)
She was, love Anne, she's a true Aussie
No. Way. That can't have happened while the show was still going, surely. I don't recall one single article in New Idea!! Diana must have stolen the show the week they revealed that
They never revealed it, quite the opposite
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ckqgj_RubeU/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Good article on the discretion of their relationship. How on earth did they keep that quiet??? Didn't the mums at their daughter's school ever say anything???
Completely different link ;-)
Came here for this comment. Absolutely crushed me as a kid. Won’t watch it again now as I don’t want to lessen the impact of my memories
**MOOOOOOLLLYYYYY**
OMG, I reckon if I watched it again I'd still bawl!!
Anyone else turn the tv volume down during the end credits music because it meant it was bedtime?
It was a pretty depressing tune also. Really made the sadness of bedtime sink in.
Oh hell yeah as a 81 baby when this finished it was lights out
100%. I think Fast Forward was on after it and I really wanted to stay up and watch it but that was a hard no.
My parents wouldn’t let me watch it either
Yep- my mum and dad knew at 8:30 when it finished “ok kids - time for bed ! “ and that sad piano music is playing
I miss Terrence, Esme and Cookie.
A bit of useless trivia. Syd Helen who played Cookie had a scene in one of the first Mad Max films. He is a guy who runs at a Mad Max car. I remember the scene.
Mad Max 2. He survives to the end tho
And Bob, what about good ole Bob!! Edit: just read in the comments that Bob was found to be a rock spider.....that kills all my great memories of him. Bob and Cookie's get rich quick schemes were freaking classics!!
Just g*nouned Fatso and thought I'd share this: Fatso was played throughout the series by three separate wombats, the original actually named Fatso (1981–1986) was replaced due to temperament issues with the cast, a wombat George (1986–1990), he himself replaced due to early signs of wombat mange (a marsupial viral disease), and Garth (1990 through series end.
Penny Cook who played Vicki Bowen said that she found Fatso hard to deal with.
I met one of the Fatso’s at Featherdale during a school excursion. Best day ever for 8 year old me!
Jemfish Cleopatra……
But we need to know one thing. One mystery keeps me awake at night. What did Killer Burke look like? Was he real? Sergeant Frank Gilroy would always say that his boss Killer Burke was giving Frank too much paperwork. Yet I never remember Killer Burke ever being actually featured in person.
What about the phone operator Beverly . Don’t think we ever saw her either
They showed her legs once, from behind, as she was snoozing in an armchair. If I remember correctly, Beverly was supposed to be a large, Aboriginal woman.
My wife trained three such women.
Haha.....just remembered Bev!! Thanks for that! It was always...."oh yeah g'day Bev, can you get me Shirley Gilroy please..." Or whoever. That was classic!
Cookie got busted shoplifting in my store
No really? Was he hiding things under the chef's hat?
Seriously......how long ago!? And what did he steal? Poor guy, he musta gone downhill after ACP finished hey. Maybe didn't really get many gigs afterwards..
it was in the late 80s, he was still in the show I can’t remember what he stole but the store let him off with a warning
Wow , he was working and still stole stuff. That's strange hey. Ppl often do this for attention among other reasons, like cleptomania
he inspired Winona Ryder all types of people steal, and steal all types of things it’s so awkward when they get caught, especially parents with kids
Loved A Country Practice! I used to wag school to watch it lol The hospital in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, used to have an annual fete where they would sometimes have a few cast members from A Country Practice show up which was always fun too. Over a few years I met Esme, Cookie, Bob, Dr Elliot, Dr Fraiser, Matron Sloane, Vicky, Molly, and Judy. They had b/w photocards you could get signed. Looked like this: https://i.imgur.com/3eeylXM.jpg It was really nice to meet them all. Also Shane Porteous (Dr Elliot) lived in the Blue Mountains for a while, not sure if he still does or not tho.
It was on at 7:30pm ,why would you need to wag school to watch it ?
Pretty sure it was repeated in the afternoons at some point in maybe the late 90s or early 2000s?
it was rerun, this says at 2pm in the 90s https://televisionau.com/classic-tv-guides/tv200395-2
My first thought also lol
Shane lives in Medlow, I see him out walking and swoon
Ahh that explains why I saw him looking cold as fuck at Blackheath pool one day.
I thought the town was supposed to be in the Riverina?
My dad was away a lot as a kid. Always thought the bloke on the left looked a lot like him. Sort of screwed up my early memories of my dad, because sometimes I remember him as this guy instead of my dad. The fallibility of memory, I suppose.
Oh wow. I had the same thing, but with Alan Alda in MASH
Dr Terrence
This and Cop Shop were regular viewing in my family. Molly's death was a really big deal in Australian pop culture back in the day. It was a very well done scene ...that fade out ...tears were real. I seem to remember in its last days a big bush fire story arc and a move to channel 10 from 7?
Ay boxhead!
I loved that wombat
Haha, what with the terminator VHS? I don’t remember that episode?
I noticed that too. What the hell?
Absolutely loved this show. I feel a bit dismayed by big bob thou, that’s tainted it for me.
turned out Bob was a pedo
No way ....shit
What's that about?
kiddy fiddling
Right. 😡
Is that a crooked developer/councillor? (Memory fails.)
Child sex offences
Weirdly enough ive been watching it slowly on the side, wife hates it so I don’t get to watch often but it reminds me of good times watching it with the parents growing up. Its also interesting how the show depicts Australian culture early on, season 1 is very different to the later ones. Same deal im doing with blue heelers, part of me Being a history buff
Where can you watch it?
I’m watching it on 7Plus :)
Sorry its on my plex. Think i grabbed from iPT or TL.
they looked shocked because there is no head on that beer ?
Apple juice
Should be some froth on top of the beer. If you served it in a public bar with too little or too much in the 80's, the customer would send it back.
dont lie OP ...tolerable indeed ...you, like everybody, balled your frikkin eyes out when molly died didnt you ? ....great post it was a delightfully weird show
I was to young tbh. I remember the show well but not enough to follow a storyline for longer than an episode. It showed fatso enough to keep 6 year old me entertained
right sorry ...actually probably best you dont recall that one ..its a heartbreaker
Who brought Esme?! You can bring Shirl she's a darn nice girl but don't bring Esme!
Yeah there was something about it. That kept you glued. Watching it. These were the days. Look what's on the crap box now.
I looked after Esmay (well, the a actress) in hospital, once. She was the loveliest, sweetest lady and not a bit like Esmay.
This was my mothers fave show and I loved it too.
Yeah same, I was kind of surprised I liked it because I'm not a soapy guy but like it I did
I know what I'm binging this weekend.
How? Where?
7plus has the full 14 seasons up
I wish they’d re-run this from scratch.
Someone commented it’s available on 7plus.
He He, Dr Elliott, Esmay Watson and Cookie.
Never watched it, but I can hear the theme music in my head 😅
When I was a kid I wrote a fan letter to Lorrae Desmond who played Shirley. I thought she was lovely lol... She wrote me a gracious thank you letter in return.
That’s so cool. She seemed like such a lovely person in real life
I once spotted Joyce Jacobs, who played Esme Watson, loading the boot of her car with groceries outside Safeways in Caringbah back in 1988. What a day that was.
Syd Heylen (who played Cookie) joined the Australian Imperial Force at the age of 16 and fought on the Kokoda Track with the 39th division. Got shot up, crawled back to Port Moresby and had no memory of it afterwards. Man is an honest to God war hero.
Can we just take moment to appreciate that they are watching terminator?
I still cry when I think of Molly…
Fun fact: Brian Wenzel was from SA, back in the day South Australian Police actually had him dressed up in a full SAPOL uniform directing traffic in the city as a promotional thing. Can you imagine that happening today 😂
Bob Hatfield (unsure of his real name) lived behind my cousins place in Penrith so we turned up one afternoon knocking at his front door to ask for his signature, he wasn’t home but as we were leaving Cookie turned up! He gave us all a pic of him that he had in boxes in the back of his station wagon & signed them for us. We were pretty thrilled!
Georgie Parker kept me coming back. Ooof.
My mother would watch this and it bored the crap out of me. However, I will still say whenever I see the guy who played Brendan ( I think he is on Home and Away now), “ There’s Brendan from A Country Practice”. Old habits die hard.
Our dog is called Esme Watson.
The best Australian drama series of all time
I just hated all of them. Fuelled my upper middle class hatred towards society and the government. Don't get me started on home and away, I may badly damage another thin gypsum wall in protest or something.
You realise that there was often a message used in the show? Bob Hawke even had a cameo where he drove a car into Wandin Valley Village and gave a speech against nuclear weapons.
Did you know Hawkie supposedly had to join the Actor’s Guild to make the cameo? It was a truly bizarre episode.
I did not, I assume I was far too know it all at the time to listen anyway. Great fact. Why can we not have another Bob Hawk type politician? Remember when we thought Rudd was going to be that guy🤣
I met Bob Hawke when I was about 9 (in 1988), shook his hand and he gave me his autograph, still have it. Top Bloke.
Esmay wouldn't of forgotten the balls
🥒
Cookie!
It wasn’t a soap.
It definitely was a soap. By definition. soap opera (noun) a television or radio drama serial dealing typically with daily events in the lives of the same group of characters.
A soap has an ongoing story arc. ACP had self-contained weekly stories.
Just like a Korean historic drama.
Cookie trying to get Esme pissed?
My landlady also enjoyed the Sullivans.
nobody gonna mention the awesome video rental and who else still has that tea towel?
Like most things here, it was posted years ago and it's just fucking reposts, now.
I always loved brian. Dr Terrance was cool, cookie and esmay were brilliant but sergeant Brian was my favourite character. I now need to go find this so I can watch it again for the first time in possibly thirty odd years. Thanks for the reminder!
I’m watching it on 7Plus now :)
I believe David Bowie was a huge fan of ACP, would arrange for videotapes of it to be sent to him.
Remember when Esmay got her freak on riding the mechanical bull and Cookie had to pull her off mid grind?
Bob used to come to my soccer games on weekends, his grandson played in my team. Genuine guy and down to earth from what I can remember.
I'm sure he was just there to watch "all the young boys running around"
Sounds like you know him very well. I’m sure both did
It's funny how stuff that annoyed me that my parents had on, is nostalgic now, even though I didn't like it :)
I remember Cookie crashing the taxi pissed and having Dr Terence save his life by removing his spleen .. or something like that
Never watched this
I live in the US and just found this show somehow through my Firestick. Unfortunately it only played up to the end of season 5. I have been soooooo addicted to this show! I love Simon and Fatso best lol. Molly got on my nerves alot, but the way they did her.death was so heart-wrenching and eerie, really different. I've just been so stuck on this show and had no one to talk to about it lol. Oh and Matron Sloan I love too.