Brass Monkeys
| Brass Monkeys | |
|---|---|
 Opening title screen | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Based on | Twelve Below by Gary Reilly Tony Sattler |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Kevin Burston |
| Starring |
|
| Theme music composer | Mike Perjanik |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producers | |
| Editor | Noel Brady |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | RS Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Seven Network |
| Release | 1984 – 1984 |
Brass Monkeys is an Australian television sitcom that was first broadcast in 1984 on the Seven Network. The series was written and produced by Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler, who were known for comedy series The Naked Vicar Show and Kingswood Country. The title comes from the colloquial expression "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey", in reference to the cold climate of the Antarctic.
Synopsis
[edit]Brass Monkeys is the story of a pretty female doctor who joins a group of men confined to the lonely isolation of an Australian Antarctic expedition station.[1]
Cast
[edit]- Graeme Blundell as Noddy
- Paul Chubb as Big Eye
- Kev Golsby as OIC ("officer in charge")
- Ross Hohnen as Rex
- Margie McCrae as Dr Sally Newman
- Colin McEwan as Nick
- Doug Scroope as Cookie
- Bill Young as Martin Lightfoot
Background and production
[edit]The series was based off a television pilot titled Twelve Below, written by Reilly and Sattler. The pilot was devised as a vehicle for Noel Ferrier. However, owing to Ferrier's schedule, he proved unavailable to star in the series.[1][2] The pilot starred Ferrier as OIC, Robert Hughes as Noddy, Cornelia Frances as Dr Sally Newman, Colin McEwan as Nick and Jeff Ashby as the Ferret.[1] Only McEwan returned for Brass Monkeys.[1]
The series is the only example of a situation comedy set in Antarctica.[3]
An original draft script and a camera script were written for each episode. Each episode was recorded twice before a live studio audience, using the camera scripts. The two recordings were then edited into one recording, using the best audience reaction from each recording.[4]
Owing to exhaustion at having to write the scripts for this series, coupled with those of their previous series, writer Tony Sattler left RS Productions, the company operated by him and writing partner Gary Reilly, leaving Reilly to form his own company, Gary Reilly Productions, in 1984. This was the final series written by Reilly and Sattler as part of their production company RS Productions, until they reunited in 1997 for Bullpitt!.[5]
Episodes
[edit]Cameral rehearsals for the thirteen episodes took place between March to June 1983.[6][7] All thirteen episodes exist in the National Film and Sound Archive.[8]
| No. | Title [8] | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Just What the Doctor Ordered" | Kevin Burston | Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler | 1984 |
| 2 | "The Ring of Confidence Trick" | Kevin Burston | Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler | 1984 |
| 3 | "Pawn Night Down South" | Kevin Burston | Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler | 1984 |
| 4 | "Krill of My Dreams" | Kevin Burston | Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler | 1984 |
| 5 | "My Cut Runneth Over" | Kevin Burston | Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler | 1984 |
| 6 | "The Spy Who Stayed in the Cold" | Kevin Burston | Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler | 1984 |
| 7 | "Do You, Cookie, Take Whatsername?" | Kevin Burston | Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler | 1984 |
| 8 | "Whose Turn in the Hot Seat?" | Kevin Burston | Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler | 1984 |
| 9 | "Yes, We Have No Tomatoes" | Kevin Burston | Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler | 1984 |
| 10 | "A Nick Named Sue" | Kevin Burston | Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler | 1984 |
| 11 | "Penguin Madness" | Kevin Burston | Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler | 1984 |
| 12 | "Waiting for Noddy" | Kevin Burston | Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler | 1984 |
| 13 | "The Cold Gold Rush" | Kevin Burston | Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler | 1984 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Brass Monkeys (Twelve Below)". Nostalgia Central. 27 June 2014. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ Murphy, Jim (11 March 1981). "Dawn of a comedy era". The Australian Women's Weekly. p. 52. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ Leane, Elizabeth (2012). Antarctica in Fiction: Imaginative Narratives of the Far South. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-107-02082-5.
- ^ "Brass Monkeys. Ep. 01: Camera and Shooting Script". National Film and Sound Archive. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ a b Lever, Susan (2020). Creating Australian Television Drama: A Screenwriting History. North Melbourne, Victoria: Australian Scholarly Publishing. ISBN 978-1-925984-88-0.
- ^ "Brass Monkeys. Ep. 03, 09.04.83 : Script (Rehearsal)". National Film and Sound Archive. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ "Brass Monkeys. Ep. 13, 18.06.83 : Script (Rehearsal)". National Film and Sound Archive. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Brass Monkeys: Television". National Film and Sound Archive. Retrieved 1 December 2024.