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''The Mavis Bramston Show'' was a weekly Australian television satirical sketch comedy revue series which aired on the Seven Network from 1964 to 1968. Inspired by the British TV satirical revue TV shows of the period (notably ''That Was The Week That Was''), "Mavis Bramston" was the first successful venture in this genre on Australian TV. At its peak it was one of the most popular Australian TV programs of its era and it propelled many of the 'classic' cast to national stardom in Australia, including June Salter, Barry Creyton, Noeline Brown, Gordon Chater, Ron Frazer and Carol Raye. ==Introduction== The impact of ''The Mavis Bramston Show'' in Australia in the mid-1960s was heightened because of its unique place in the history of the Australian television industry. After its inception in 1956, Australian television broadcasting had rapidly become dominated by the socio-economic influence of the United States and (to a lesser extent) of the United Kingdom. By the early 1960s at least 80% of Australian TV programming was sourced from the USA and American TV series were consistently the top-rating shows.〔(skwirk.com "American and British cultural influence 1960s" )〕 In 1963 the Vincent Report on the Australian media found that 97% of drama broadcast on Australian TV between 1956 and 1963 was American-made. The few programmes that were made in Australia were usually low-cost copies of proven American talk-variety or quiz show formats.〔Stuart Cunningham et al, ''The Media and Communications in Australia'' (Allen & Unwin, 2001, ISBN 978-1-86508-674-3), p.175〕 Because of the absence of government-mandated local content regulations, Australian TV producers faced enormous challenges in trying to compete against imported American and British programs, which benefited from high budgets, an international talent pool and huge economies of scale, thanks to their large domestic audiences and established worldwide distribution networks. These advantages were further enhanced by the fact that American producers and networks offered Australian channels attractive discount rates on bundled programming.〔(Tom O'Regan, 1999, "Film & its nearest neighbour: the Australian film & television interface" (Murdoch Reading Room) )〕 Despite the overwhelming dominance of imported programming, local production gradually increased in the mid-1960s for several reasons—the licensing of a third network in major cities (which ultimately became the TEN Network), the introduction of videotape technology (which permitted pre-recording and editing, and reduced production costs) and the enforcement of local production quotas on TV advertising, which helped to foster a local skill-base.〔 Premièring only months after Crawford Productions' landmark police drama ''Homicide'', ''Mavis Bramston'' demonstrated both that it was possible to make satirical TV comedy in Australia, featuring Australian issues and characters, and that there was a significant audience for such a show. As the first Australian-produced TV comedy series to become a national success with both critics and viewers, ''Mavis'' is therefore considered a milestone in the development of Australian TV. Many at the time expected that this honor would go to Graham Kennedy's ''In Melbourne Tonight'', which was hugely popular in its home city, but it did not become a fully-fledged national hit until 1969. Writer Hugh Stuckey opined that this was in part because IMT faced strong competition from the shows it followed, the top-rating American variety series ''The Perry Como Show'' and ''The Andy Williams Show''.〔Johnson & Smiedt, 1999, p.169-170〕 ''Mavis Bramston'' grew out of the recent local theatrical tradition of topical satirical revue —- most notably the popular revues staged at Sydney's Phillip Street Theatre in the 1950s and 1960s -— but it was also strongly influenced by the British satire boom and especially by the contemporary British TV satirical comedy series ''That Was The Week That Was'' and ''Not Only... But Also''. The ''Mavis'' cast, which changed considerably over its three-year run, initially featured many imported or expatriate British performers (Carol Raye, Gordon Chater, Miriam Karlin, Ronnie Stevens, Hazel Phillips) alongside experienced Australian TV actors such as John Bluthal (who was becoming well known in Britain) and Australian performers such as June Salter, Barry Creyton, Ron Frazer, Barbara Angell, Bryan Davies, Noeline Brown and Reg Livermore, who were relative newcomers to TV but who between them had decades of experience in music, theatre, cabaret and revue. The original co-stars of the show were: * British-born singer-dancer-comedienne Carol Raye (1964-1965, 1967, 1968), who devised the show, produced the pilot episode and co-produced the early episodes with Michael Plant * British-born actor Gordon Chater (1964–1965), who migrated to Australia in the late 1940s and soon became prominent in Sydney theatre and radio * Australian actor, singer and writer Barry Creyton (1964–1966) who came to prominence in Sydney theatre, notably in the Phillip Street revues and the popular melodramas staged at the Music Hall theatre restaurant at Neutral Bay. During its three-year run, other regular cast members and guests included June Salter (1964 pilot, 1965–1967), Miriam Karlin (1965), John Bluthal (1965), Ron Frazer (1965–1968), Hazel Phillips (1965–68), Ronnie Stevens (1965–66), Neva Carr Glyn (1966), June Thody (1966), Barbara Angell (1966–1968, also a scriptwriter), Andonia Katsaros (1966–1968), Peter Reeves (1967), Bryan Davies (1964), Dawn Lake (1967), Johnny Lockwood (1967–1968) and Reg Livermore (1968).〔"''The Australian Film and Television Companion''" — compiled by Tony Harrison — Simon & Schuster Australia, 1994〕 Barbara Wyndon and Al Thomas guest starred in some episodes. Among the crew was a young production assistant, Peter Weir, who went on to become one of Australia's best-known and most successful film directors. There are several versions of the source of the ironic joke behind the show's title. The most frequently quoted account is that it derived from an Australian theatrical expression. The nickname "Mavis Bramstons" mocked a phenomenon common at that time on the Australian stage. In the years after World War II, overseas actors (many of whom who were considered second-rate or well past their best) were often imported to star in local productions, even though there were local performers available who were as good or better than their overseas counterparts. One of the most famous examples of this trend was the "discovery" of actress and singer Jill Perryman; while understudying the much-loved Evie Hayes for the lead role in a 1953 production of the musical ''Call Me Madam'', Perryman was able to make her critical breakthrough after Evie Hayes was sidelined by illness. Hayes and Perryman became great friends. Hayes later appeared as Perryman's mother in ''Funny Girl''. The stock persona of an imported second-rate actress became the central conceit of the series. The opening scene of each episode showed "Mavis", now brought to life as a parodic character, arriving at Sydney airport to be greeted by the waiting press; the irony was that although the show was called ''The Mavis Bramston Show'', this was the only scene in which she appeared. Noeline Brown (1964–1966) played the eponymous Mavis in the pilot and the first five shows. She was succeeded by Maggie Dence, who became the "face" of the series; she regularly featured in press articles and on magazine covers and was widely employed by the show's sponsor, Ampol, making well-attended promotional appearances all over the country. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Mavis Bramston Show」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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