''Dynasty'' is an Australian TV series that aired from 7 October 1970 to 6 October 1971, based on the 1967

Tony Morphett Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

novel of the same name which had been previously adapted as a television play.

1969 TV play

The novel was first adapted as a television play produced by the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

(ABC), and broadcast in October 1969 as one installment of an

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

of unrelated plays under the title ''

Australian Plays Theatre of Australia refers to the history of the performing arts in Australia, or produced by Australians. There are theatrical and dramatic aspects to a number of Indigenous Australian ceremonies such as the corroboree. During its colonial pe ...

''. The project was written by Morphett based on his novel, and directed in Melbourne by

Oscar Whitbread Oscar Ralph Whitbread (26 November 1929 – 16 May 2016) was an English-Australian producer who worked extensively in television. He moved to Australia in the late 1940s. Whitbread started his career at the ABC in 1956, where he served as the He ...

Plot

Inventor Jim Richards (Terry Norris) seeks financial backing from the Mason Corporation for his new machine. He finds himself in the middle of a power struggle for control of the corporation, including a family dispute. David Mason uses his affair with his sister-in-law Kathy to his advantage.

Cast

Terry Norris Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–2005), Am ...

as Jim Richards * Brian James as Jack Mason, head of family *

Mark McManus Mark McManus (21 February 1935 – 6 June 1994) was a Scottish actor. He has played roles in British television series '' Sam,'' '' Bulman, The Brothers, Strangers,'' and ''Dramarama'' and starred in the feature film '' 2000 Weeks''. He was ...

as Peter Mason, a brother * Ron Graham as John Mason, a brother *

Kevin Miles Kevin Miles (born 17 April 1929) is an Australian retired actor of theatre and television best known for his role as Godfrey Carson in the Australian television legal drama ''Carson's Law''. Miles also appeared in ''Delta'' (1969), ''Dynast ...

as David Mason *

Alan Hopgood Alan John Hopgood AM (29 September 1934 – 19 March 2022), also known as Alan Hopwood, was an Australian actor, producer, and writer. He wrote the screenplay for the 1972 film ''Alvin Purple'' and made appearances in television shows such as ...

Reception

*The ''Sydney Morning Herald'' called the play "the best thing the ABC has done in a long, long time." *"''Dynasty'' belongs to a handful of programs, all produced by the ABC, which examine media power in Australia and indeed it would be interesting to compare ''Dynasty'' with later studies such as '' The Oracle'' (1979) and ''Paper Man'' (1990)." Moran praised actor

John Tate John Tate may refer to: * John Tate (mathematician) (1925–2019), American mathematician * John Torrence Tate Sr. (1889–1950), American physicist * John Tate (Australian politician) (1895–1977) * John Tate (actor) (1915–1979), Australian act ...

for a "very strong performance".

TV series

Following the success of the TV play, a regular TV series was produced with a largely different cast. Premiering in July 1970, the first series consisted of 10 episodes, and the second and final series consisted of 13 episodes.

Plot summary

''Dynasty'' follows media mogul Jack Mason and his grasping sons John, David and Peter.

Cast

as Jack Mason (Episodes 1–10) * Ron Graham as John Mason *

as David Mason *

Nick Tate Nicholas John Tate (born 18 June 1942) is an Australian actor popularly known for his roles as pilot Alan Carter in the 1970s science fiction television series '' Space: 1999'', and James Hamilton in the 1980s Australian soap opera '' Sons an ...

as Peter Mason *

Anne Haddy Anne Haddy (5 October 1930 – 6 June 1999), credited also as Anne Hardy, was an Australian actress, television presenter and voice artist, who worked in various facets of the industry including radio, stage and television. She was married ...

as Kathy Mason, John's wife *

Pat Bishop Patricia Mary Bishop (13 June 1946 – 28 March 2000) was an Australian actress, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland noted for her performances in theatre, film and television series. She was married to the renowned Australian actor Bill Hunter ...

as Patricia Mason, Peter's wife *

Serge Lazareff Serge Constantine Lazareff (7 August 1944 - 20 August 2021) was an Australian actor and screenwriter/editor, who was born in Shanghai, China. He appeared in 54 roles from the late 1960s until 1999, before starting a second career as a writer fo ...

as Christopher Mason, John and Kathy's son *

Owen Weingott Owen Ash Weingott (21 June 1921 – 12 October 2002) was an Australian actor, director and drama teacher. Although primarily working in theatre, he appeared on radio and television in serials and made for television films and voice overs. Weingo ...

as Jacob Goldberg *

Ben Gabriel Ben Gabriel (25 February 1918 – 25 April 2012) was an Australian actor, director, voice artist and theatre founder. Gabriel had numerous appearances in stage and radio roles and in film and television. Biography He was born as James Vernon Gab ...

as 'Unk' Martel * Tony Ward as Nigel Dayton *

Lyn James Lyn James (13 November 1929 – 31 May 2017), credited also as Marilyn James, was a Welsh-born actress of stage and screen and director, who became known for her career in England and later Australia, particularly as receptionist Helen Gordon in ...

as Maggie Tench, Jack's secretary

Episodes

Twenty-three episodes were produced.

Series 1

Series 2

References

External links

*
''Dynasty''
at Classic Australian TV
''Dynasty'' TV series
at

AustLit AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource (also known as AustLit: Australian Literature Gateway; and AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature), usually referred to simply as AustLit, is an internet-based, non-profit collaboration betwee ...

''Dynasty'' rehearsal script
at

National Archives of Australia The National Archives of Australia (NAA), formerly known as the Commonwealth Archives Office and Australian Archives, is an Australian Government agency that serves as the national archives of the nation. It collects, preserves and encourages ...

{{Oscar Whitbread 1970 Australian television series debuts 1971 Australian television series endings Australian drama television series Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming English-language television shows