A Country Podcast

ACP 40th: Georgie Parker Knew Being Lucy Gardiner Was Her Big Moment

Happy 40th Birthday ACP! When Georgie Parker was cast in A Country Practice as Lucy Gardiner, she knew it was going to change her life.
Georgie tell us all about it, and how it set her up for a life in Australian tv and theatre.
We'll be watching the very first episodes of ACP for today's ep - The Pilot Ep 1 and The Pilot Ep 2, and talking about birth control in Australia and the extraordinary life of Arkie Whitely.
Guest: Georgie Parker A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Was Season 14 Really Such A Big Disaster?

Season 14 is nothing if not controversial among die hard fans of A Country Practice. Some refuse to engage with it and pretend it never happened, that ACP ended with Terrence and Matron's wedding and everyone rode off into the sunset.
The show got a lot of things wrong: for a start, it relocated to Victoria. It lost half its stars. It used a soft filter none of us can work out.
Andrew Mercado is Australia's leading historian, and he watched it all unfold in real time in 1994. He's with us to talk about what the show wanted to be, why it didn't get there, and what TV was doing at the time.
Guest: Andrew Mercado , tv historian and author of Super Aussie Soaps: Behind the Scenes of Australia's Best Loved TV Shows
A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Stagehand To Showrunner: The TV School That Is ACP

This episode: we meet Tim Pye, he started out as a stagehand on A Country Practice in the early eighties and has had a huge career in television since. We'll find out what A Country Practice taught him,
And, we look at the From The Ashes episodes - there's been a fire in Wandin Valley - how will the town cope?
A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
From the Ashes Part 1 From the Ashes Part 2
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Kate Raison: The Full Interview

Warning: for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners, this episode contains the mention of, and naming of a First Nations actor who is dead. Hey A Country Friends,
Something a bit different this week - MT has been a bit under the weather the last couple of weeks, so we decided to bring you the complete Kate Raison interview as we loved talking with her so much.
We'll be back next fortnight with a brand new episode with some excellent tea on what ACP was like behind the scenes for creatives with someone who's now one of Australia's biggest TV makers. A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Dementia Comes To Wandin Valley

We're heading back to Wandin Valley in the early eighties: Molly's still alive and she and Brendan are having a visit from Brendan's parents. Something is up.
How did ACP deal with dementia? We're joined by Dr Marita Long from Dementia in Practice is going to let us know whether their eighties interpretation of the illness is on the money.
And, Melanie looks at the extraordinary career of the bloke who plays Brendan's Dad (who popped up before on this pod as Baker McKay!) - Ron Graham - whoo happens to be the actual dad of Australian TV royalty.
A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
LINKS
Episodes
Season 4 Episode 47 So Close Yet So Far Away Part 1 https://7plus.com.au/a-country-practice?episode-id=CNP-237&startAt=2822
Season 4 Episode 48 So Close Yet So Far Away Part 2 https://7plus.com.au/a-country-practice?episode-id=CNP-237&startAt=2823
DEMENTIA IN PRACTICE PODCAST
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Lucy & Matt Marry! Plus We Get The Scoop On The ACP Wardrobe Department

Who doesn't need a TV wedding right now? We're in Season 10, it's Matt and Lucy's wedding but we're kind of longing for a classic A Country Practice wedding mishap.Kim looks at Australia's weird hang ups with sectarianism and Melanie looks at the life of Jill Perryman. A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
LINKS
Episodes
Season 10 Episode 67 When a Girl Marries Part 1 https://7plus.com.au/a-country-practice?episode-id=CNP-773&startAt=1414
Season 10 Episode 68 When a Girl Marries Part 2 https://7plus.com.au/a-country-practice?episode-id=CNP-774&startAt=2608
Kim's stuff
A historical overview of Australian religious sectarianism accompanied by a survey of factors contributing to its dissolution by Stephen Blyth
file:///Users/kimlester/Downloads/7-Article%20Text-7-3-10-20191205.pdf
Marrying Out - Part 1 - Audio
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/archived/hindsight/marrying-out----part-one-not-in-front-of-the-altar/3068558
Marrying Out Part 2 - Transcript Only
https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1417&context=creartspapers
Melanie's Stuff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uur5rTFXRPI - Jill Perryman sings 'People' https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/music-that-makes-me-dance-jill-perryman-kevan-johnston/id1373502710?i=1000465415664 - Stages Podcast with Jill Perryman and Kevin Johnston See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Raison Our Expectations: Kate On Life As Ranger Cathy Hayden

Guess who's back for Season Three of A Country Podcast!
We are!
This week you'll hear from the delightful Kate Raison on what it was like playing the very capable Ranger Cathy Hayden.
And we're heading to Season 8 and having all sorts of feelings about Alex and Terrence's relationship and when Cathy and Matron Sloane are in a plane crash.
We're watching On A Wing and.A Prayer Part 1 and On A Wing and.A Prayer Part 2
Kim looks at farm accidents and Melanie looks at the life of Steve J Spears.
A COUNTRY PODCAST on Facebook
Host/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter
Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Super Special #2: Strictly Ballroom

Hello A Country Pals!
We're back for a red hot minute to tango with a screening of Strictly Ballroom.
How has it aged over the years? Who's in it? Are there any A Country Practice connections?
All will be revealed. Enjoy!
We'll be back with Season 3 in early September. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Toni Collette’s Favourite ACP Character Is Matt Tyler

***language warning - Melanie was super tired and kept saying the 's' word where it was hard to edit out***A Country Pals! It's our last episode of the season, and we're joined by John Tarrant AKA Matt Tyler to tell his incredible post ACP story. You'll love it, promise.
And, we're getting to the nitty-gritty of the complicated soul known as Toni Collette, who has her first appearance in the eps we're watching today - The Sting Part 1 and The Sting Part 2.
A COUNTRY PODCAST on Facebook
Melanie Tait on Twitter Kim Lester on Twitter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Wendy Strehlow Met Kim Lester: Rocky’s Two Greatest Exports Together At Last.

content warning - suicide and euthanasia
Judy Loveday is in the house! And, she's (or, Wendy Strehlow, the actor who plays Judy Loveday) interviewed by fellow Rockhampton gal Kim Lester.
Wendy takes us through how she got her job on the show and how she came to realise it was one of the most special sets she ever worked on.
The episode we look at today is a tough one - it deals with two elderly characters attempting to take their lives and all that goes with that.
Swan Song Part 1
Swan Song Part 2
A COUNTRY PODCAST on Facebook
Melanie Tait on Twitter Kim Lester on Twitter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.