About
The Flying Doctors is an Australian drama series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the real Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. It was initially a 1985 mini-series based in the fictional outback town of Cooper's Crossing starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. Tom Callaghan. The success of the mini series led to its return the following year as an on-going series with McFarlane being joined by a new doctor, Chris Randall, played by Liz Burch. McFarlane left during the first season and actor Robert Grubb came in as new doctor Geoff Standish. The series' episodes were mostly self-contained but also featured ongoing storylines, such as Dr. Standish's romance with Sister Kate Wellings. Other major characters included pilot Sam Patterson, mechanic Emma Plimpton, local policeman Sgt. Jack Carruthers and Vic and Nancy Buckley, who ran the local pub/hotel, The Majestic. Andrew McFarlane also later returned to the series, resuming his role as Dr. Callaghan. The popular series ran for nine seasons and was successfully screened internationally.
Cast
Robert Grubb
as Dr. Geoff Standish
Lenore Smith
as Kate Standish
Nikki Coghill
as Sr. Jackie Crane
David Reyne
as Dr. Guy Reid
Christopher Stollery
as Johnno Johnson
Sarah Chadwick
as Dr. Rowie Lang
Episodes
Season 1
Will to Survive
Tom and Kate are on a clinicround. It's Tom's birthday. There they see a patient named Ted, who complains of stomach-ache. His family situation isn't the best, he doesn't care about his sons and they don't care about him. He is taken to hospital, where he finally makes up with his family. A new doctor, Chris Randall, arrives and everybody is upset that the RFDS headoffice sent a female doctor, especially Violet. Chris has to go out to see a patient with a smashed leg. She does everything she can to help the patient, Jim Spencer. But he really needs to go to hospital. They move Jim to the plane, but the weather is too rough, and Ray, the pilot, can't take off. They have to take Jim back to the house, and Chris makes a very difficult decision - she has to amputate Jim's leg to save his life, despite mrs. Spencer's vishes.
Trial By Gossip
Chris has horrible nightmares about the amputation. Everybody is accusing her, they are convinced that she could have treated Jim Spencer without taking off his leg. Her patients avoid her, and George Baxter even threatens to sue her. A few days later Chris is out on an overnight clinic where she finds a four-year-old girl with croup. It gets very bad, and Tom decides to come. For some reason George Baxter is on the plane as well. Chris realizes that Tom won't be able to get there in time, so she needs to do a tracheotomy(?) (it's when you make a little whole in the patients windpipe, so he/she will be able to breath).The girl's mother won't let Chris perform the rather simple procedure, she has heard what happened to Jim Spencer. Tom tries to talk to her over the radio but she won't listen. So Tom maked George Baxter understand that the little girl will die if Chris doesn't operate, and Baxter talks to the mother on the radio. he claims he has been wrong about Chris all the time an
Hot Enough For You
An english family, the Robertsons, arrives in Coopers Crossing, looking for work. They get a tip that a farmer outside town needs workers so they decide to go there. However, they get lost, and have to stay in the car over night. The next morning, the man goes for help and tells his wife to stay near the car with their two sons, Alfred and Alexander, and babydaughter. It is incredably hot and mr. Roberson gets dehydrated and finally collapses. Since the family didn't show up at all at the farm where they were expected, a search is organized. They find mr. Robertson, and he will be ok. At the car, mrs. Robertson has been really angry with the two boys and they run off. When they want to go back they discover they are lost. The search party manages to find the car where mrs. Robertson is very worried about her sons. Eventually the two boys are found, but too late - one of them died of dehydration.
Dreams of Sand
Hurtle comes back to town, but he says he won't stay. He's going up to the coast. Tom, Kate and Chris are visiting an old man called Rabbit. When they're about to leave Rabbit is blowing a new minehole (he is looking for opals), but he has an accident. He is not badly injured though. But Chris is upset about the conditions he lives under. She wants him admitted to the hospital but Tom says no. Vic and Ron wonders why Hurtle is going up the coast. Hurtle offers Ron to buy the garage and Ron tries to get a loan, which is refused. Hurtles shows some slides at the base, but Sharon, Gibbo and Kate sneek out. By mistake Hurtle shows some pictures of a woman. Everybody is very curious about her but Hurtle doesn't say who she is. Vic discovers Sharon and Gibbo sneeking out and is very angry. He doesn't want Gibbo staying at the pub, so Gibbo moves in with Tom. Rabbit has a serious mineaccident, and is discovered by a neighbour. Gibbo, Tom and Chris flies out here and saves Rabbit in
Public Property
Bruce is coming to Coopers Crossing to get married. He's never met the bride to be, they have only written letters. When Joylene arrives it turns out that she is pregnant. Bruce (and everybody else) get really upset, and Bruce says he doesn't want to marry her anymore. Tom feels sorry for Joylene, who really wanted to marry Bruce, so he lets her stay at his place. Finally Bruce's brother proposes to Joylene and the get married. When she's having the baby, they name him Bruce, which makes the ""old"" Bruce pretty happy.
Is Nothing Sacred
A lady called Debbie Wilson shows up in town to fight for the aboriginies. She wants to find sacred places and make sure that the aboriginals have acess to these places. Many of the people in Coopers Crossing get upset, and when Tom invites Debbie to dinner they think things have gone too far. A man called Don Shepard knows about sacred places, but he won't tell Debbie. He doesn't do that because one of the sacred places is situated on George Baxter's land, and Baxter is paying Don not to tell anyone. But after a while Don takes Debbie to the spot, and it turns out everything is a fake. Don painted the false picture and the ""sacred"" place himself to get payed from Baxter. Debbie leaves Coopers Crossing and everything goes back to normal again.
Square Pegs
Andrew Cameron is a farmer and very successful in everything he does. He demands his son, Matt, to be just as successful as he is, which of course is impossible. Finally Matt breaks into the Nomad and steels some drugs and tries to kill himself. He is rescued by the RFDS though. Tom finds an old woman, Ruth Pitt, in a tent outside town, where she lives with her retarded son Hugh. Ruth has a bad heart, and she dies, so they have to send Hugh to a home. It feels a bit sad, since everybody liked him so much.
Sins of the Fathers
Prue is pregnant and staying at a couple she says is her aunt and onkel. She delivers the baby on the baby but it requires help from the RFDS since the baby is in a wrong position. Prue doesn't want to look at her child at all, and it turns out the couple isn't her relatives. They just want to buy her baby! But Prue changes her mind and wants to keep her child. Hurtle and Ron are babysitting, when some gunpowder blows up in Ron's face. He will be ok but has to go to Syndey for treatment.
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