The Unisexers

The Unisexers
Title card used in the pilot.
GenreDrama
Soap opera
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes15
Production
Running time1 hour pilot, 15 -30 minute episodes
Production companyCash Harmon Productions
Original release
NetworkNine Network
Release9 February (1975-02-09) –
28 February 1975 (1975-02-28)

The Unisexers is an Australian television soap opera made by the Cash Harmon Television production company, best known for creating the soap opera Number 96. A notable failure, it ran for three weeks on Nine Network in 1975.

Synopsis

The Unisexers focused on a group of young people - both male and female - living together in a commune arrangement in the old house of a retired elderly couple whose children had left home. The youngsters set up a business making denim jeans to be worn by both sexes, hence the title of "Unisexers".[1]

Cast

Tenure

The series, hampered by an early evening time slot, failed to find an audience and was cancelled and removed from the television schedules after three weeks. In total a one-hour premiere pilot episode and fifteen thirty-minute episodes were broadcast.[2]

Reception

At the time of its launch, The Unisexers was not well received by critics. John Pinkney of the Melbourne Age described it as 'one of the three worst programme experiences this kindly, patient critic has undergone... the series seems to have received no more than five minute's rehearsal - and that before the script arrived... the teleplay's youths and matrons appear almost universally incapable of behaving like commonplace people.'[3] Allan Glover, in the Sydney Sunday paper the Sun-Herald said: 'The story line is not strong, the climaxes are weak and the actors for the most part fail to impress.'[4]

The week following the show's cancellation, producer Bill Harmon blamed its demise on the restraints of the 6pm timeslot, which prevented it from referring to issues in a realistic manner. He told the Age 'Green Guide' that 'The kids didn't like it because they thought the show was talking down to them... we couldn't do anything on the drug scene, on unwed mothers, and drunk scenes were definitely out.'[5]

25 years after the show was screened, Robert Fidgeon of the Melbourne Herald Sun called The Unisexers one of 'Australia's All-time Top 50 TV Turkeys', and stated it was a 'Dopey soapie about a commune running a jeans-making business from a rundown house. Tina Bursill, Michele Fawdon, Steven Tandy and Tony Sheldon starred.' Fidgeon noted the show was 'Axed after three weeks.'[6]

References

  1. ↑ Moran, Albert. Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series, Allen & Unwin, 1993. ISBN 0-642-18462-3 p 471
  2. ↑ "The Unisexers". Aussie Soap Archive. 2000. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  3. ↑ John Pinkney, 'Channel 9 produces another nadir breaker' Melbourne Age 12 February 1975 p. 2
  4. ↑ Allan Glover, 'Rush to cover bonanza for every viewer' Sydney Sun-Herald 16 February 1975 p. 90
  5. ↑ Bryan Patterson, 'Lack of zip shuts TV jeans factory' Melbourne Age 'Green Guide' section 6 March 1975, p. 3
  6. ↑ Fidgeon, Robert (15 May 2002). "Top of the flops". Herald Sun. Retrieved 6 April 2025 – via Gale.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.