''Ryan'' is an Australian adventure

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

screened by the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

from 27 May 1973. The series was produced by

Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, also known as Crawfords ...

and had a run of 39 one-hour episodes.Moran, Albert. ''Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series'', Allen & Unwin, 1993. p 398

Synopsis

The title character was a dashing

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

played by

Rod Mullinar Rodney Mullinar (born 1942) is a British Australian actor, noted for his roles on Australian television. He emigrated to Australia with his first wife, casting agent Liz Mullinar in 1969. Career Mullinar took the leading role in Australian es ...

. (A few years prior Mullinar had briefly taken the lead role in the similar Crawfords series ''

Hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

'' (1967) in its closing episodes after the original lead actor Tony Ward left the show.) Ryan's assistant Julie King was played by

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

-born actor

Pamela Stephenson Pamela Helen Stephenson, Lady Connolly (born 4 December 1949) is a New Zealand-born psychologist, writer, and performer who is now a resident in both the United Kingdom and the United States. She is best known for her work as an actress and co ...

, soon to leave for England and a successful television career. Other regular characters were Tony Angelini ( Luigi Villani), a taxi driver and Ryan's regular informant, while Detective Cullen (

Colin McEwan Colin McEwan (1941 – 21 August 2005) was an Australian actor, host, comedian and radio announcer. He was best known for appearing on both the stage and TV versions of ''The Naked Vicar Show'', and the sequel on which it was based, opposite Ro ...

) was Ryan's main liaison with the police force.Storey, Don. ''TV Eye - Classic Australian Television''
TV Eye - Classic Australian Television
/ref>

Production

''Ryan'' was shot entirely on film and in colour with an eye to potential international sales. An initial sale of 39 episodes to the Seven Network recouped only 55% of the series' relatively high production costs. An international sale was therefore crucial to the show's continued feasibility. Australian television was still in the process of transitioning to colour broadcasting in 1973, while key international markets were already in colour and would more readily purchase a colour series. Though many Australian series shot their interior scenes on videotape in the studio using a

multiple-camera setup The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, multi-camera or simply multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneous ...

with only outdoor scenes shot on film, many television studios were not yet equipped with colour equipment. This meant ''Ryan'' had to be shot entirely on film. In another concession to international marketability Mullinar was instructed to play the role using a Mid-Atlantic American accent. The series premiered in May 1973, rating well in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, but failing in the crucial

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

markets. A key reason for low ratings was the fact that the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

had moved the highly popular police drama ''

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first dramas to follow up on the enormous success o ...

'' to a new night to compete with the much-hyped new series. ''Ryan'' was moved around the schedules in order to find an audience, but ratings remained mediocre. After the initial 39 episodes were in the can the ''Ryan'' crew were, in expectation of a second series, retained by Crawfords and put to work on ''

Homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

'' - whose output was increased to two episodes a week - on that show's second weekly episode. This resulted in one cross-over episode, with the ''Ryan'' regular characters appearing in an episode of ''Homicide''. One regular cast member, Pamela Stephenson, did not appear, having opted to leave the series during the recess. Ultimately ''Ryan'' was not renewed by the Seven Network due to insufficient ratings. The ''Homicide'' production reverted to one episode a week. While some of the ''Ryan'' crew were rolled into new Crawfords serial '' The Box'', that show featured little outdoors filming so inevitably some of the ''Ryan'' crew were retrenched - the first time Crawfords had ever retrenched staff.

Cast

as Michael Ryan *

as Julie King * Luigi Villani as Tony Angelini *

as Detective Cullen

Episodes

DVD release

The complete series was released on DVD in June 2018. It and other Crawford Productions series are available to international viewers from Eaton Films in the UK and Australia and New Zealand based buyers from Crawfords DVD. As well as the full run of 39 episodes, the DVD set includes the ''Homicide'' crossover episode "As Simple As ABZ".

References

External links

''Ryan''
at ''Classic Australian Television''
''Ryan''
at ''Crawford Productions'' * {{IMDb title, id=0165058
''Ryan''
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 ...

episode "Catalyst"
at

Australian adventure television series 1973 Australian television series debuts 1974 Australian television series endings 1970s Australian crime television series Seven Network original programming Black-and-white Australian television shows Television series by Crawford Productions ja:私立探偵ライアン