Number 96

1 9 7 2 - 1 9 7 7 (Australia)
1218 x 30 minute episodes

Number 96 created a sensation when it went to air on Australian television in 1972.  It  dealt graphically with homosexuality, drug and alcohol addictions, promiscuous people, insanity, rape, and lots and lots and LOTS of sex. The series was shown in an "adult" timeslot (screening five nights a week at 8:30 pm) and contributed very much to my adolescence!. Along with The Box, for me this would have to be THE television show of the seventies!

Basically the story of a group of neighbours living in a block of inner city apartments (in Paddington, Sydney) with two shops downstairs, a Delicatessen and a Wine Bar (formerly a chemist shop). Best of all were the storylines relating to the "Knicker Snipper" and the "Pantyhose Strangler". Both scenarios kept viewers tuned in for months (as did the "Hooded Rapist" storyline).

Abigail became a household name overnight and became renowned for uncovering her breasts (and didn't that do my 14 year old hormones the world of good!). One of the most memorable scenes from the series showed Abigail slipping her panties off onto the floor of her bedroom and a hand slipping out from under the bed and taking them.

Elaine Lee as Vera Collins was destined to be unlucky with a long string of sexual partners. The series also served to introduce the first images of gay males on our screens via the relationship between Don Finlayson and Dudley "Duddles" Butterfield. But there was much more to the series than just sex.

In particular there was a great deal of comedy, mostly centred around scatty concierge and queen of the malapropism, Dorrie Evans ("Why wasn't I told?") and the show continued to move in this direction. Other memorable characters at No. 96 were:  Dorrie & Herb Evans, Aldo and Roma Godolfus, dorky Arnold Feather, Flo Patterson and her budgie, Mr Perky, whingeing Lancashire migrant Alf Sutcliffe, Les and Norma Whittaker and The MacDonald family.

Number 96 became the number 1 show on Australian TV but by 1975 the show had slipped to sixth position and the producers pulled out all stops to lure the viewers back. Having already exhausted most storylines (Nazi war criminals, Bigamy, Rape etc) it was decided to "get rid of them". The writers decided to kill off six of the regular characters by having a bomb go off in the block of flats.

The multi-viewpoint split screen effects they used for the final moments before the explosion as Les Whittaker ran through the block vainly attempting to warn everyone were ground-breaking at the time although seem extremely crude in retrospect. As the season cliff-hanger it was left open-ended who had actually died and who survived, relying on viewers letters to decide the fate of the characters. The identities of the dead remained a mystery for weeks. Eventually, shopkeepers Roma and Aldo Godolfus and inventor Les Whittaker were found to have moved on to more heavenly accommodation. These were some of the favourite and longest-running characters (which was a brave move) and more deaths came later in the "Wine Bar Siege"

The series was devised by Don Cash and Bill Harmon. Cash died in 1973 and Harmon in 1981. Their work with Number 96 made soap opera a viable programming format for Australian commercial television. Number 96 was produced in black and white until episode 501 when it began in colour. The melodrama continued until 1978, when Number 96 finally shut the door on its groundbreaking run.

A 1974 feature film of Number 96 was memorable for (amongst other things) the rape of Vera Collins (again). This time by a bikie gang. In 1980 an American version of Number 96 was made. It bore absolutely no resemblance to the original and was exceptionally weak.