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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Carrie Fairchild" data-source="post: 258188" data-attributes="member: 673">The Young Doctors - 1976 to 1983 <img src="https://i0.wp.com/tvtonight.com.au/wp-content/uploads/ydoc.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />After crashing hard with their first soap venture, Nine decided to double their chances of success by trying out two new serials at the same time in late 1976. The Young Doctors from Grundys (created by Alan Coleman and produced by Reg Watson) premiered a week before The Sullivans from Crawfords, and while it would go on to have a slightly longer run than the wartime drama and be quite successful internationally, The Young Doctors would always be the poor relation next to it's critically acclaimed Channel Nine stablemate. Set in Albert Memorial Hospital in the Sydney suburbs, the show followed the lives and loves of a group of young interns who have just started working there. While the show holds the honour of being Australia's first TV medical drama, there wasn't much emphasis on the medical aspect and more on the emotional and physical as the drama zoned in on the various romances and love affairs among the hospital staff. Premiering to dire reviews all round ("Medical Misfits Are A Terminal Bore" snored the Daily Telegraph), Nine decided not to renew the series beyond it's initial 13 week order and instead focus on it's prestigious new period drama that was wooing the critics. However, in dramatic soap fashion, the cast were informed at the wrap party that Nine had reversed it's decision (after a ratings survey and uproar from fans) so the doctors and nurses would live to love another day (or another six years) on the wards of Albert Memorial.The decision paid off for Nine as The Young Doctors began to rate well in it's five days a week, early evening timeslot (usually 6pm) across most cities although it floundered in Adelaide where it only aired twice a week. Not that higher ratings translated to higher budgets. The show reputedly only received a third of what Nine was throwing at The Sullivans (understandably a period drama would be more expensive to make) but the minimal budget for TYD led to wobbly, cardboard sets and tales from the cast of freezing/tropical conditions in their rundown studio with a leaky roof. They were also subjected to recording "as live" (Crossroads also favoured this method in the 70's) which led to many booms and wobbly set pieces being left in the final cut. Still, they trooped on through the various affairs, murders, marriages, kidnappings and botched bank robberies, and viewers loved every minute of it, both in Australia and abroad. The show was a daytime hit in the UK, where it aired from the early 80's up until as late as 1995 in some regions. It also aired in France, Canada, Angola, Barbados and Trinidad.The cast featured many Aussie soap stalwarts including Paula Duncan, Abigail, Peta Toppano and Rebecca Gilling, while Cornelia Frances played one of the show's most memorable characters, the "dragon lady" Sister Scott, whose travails included a fall down an elevator shaft. Two of the cast would go on to success in the US - Peter Lochran emigrated to slightly more exotic soapy shenanigans as Prince Ali on Capitol and Alan Dale has had a long career prior to his current role on nu-Dynasty. The show itself was shoved down the elevator shaft in 1983. After six years on air, it's popularity began to erode as core cast began to depart en masse, creator Alan Coleman left the show and Nine began moving it around the schedule to make way for cricket coverage, leading to it finishing out it's days in a 2.30pm daytime slot in some markets. Despite it's poor reputation among critics and the fact that it never won a single award, The Young Doctors did hold the accolade of being the longest running Australian soap at the time it went off the air (1396 episodes). It is also remembered fondly enough for Nine to consider a remake in the late 00's (titled Young Doctors) but they opted to produce a second series of hit crime drama Underbelly instead.[MEDIA=youtube]GUBi6cLVb9k[/MEDIA]</blockquote>

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