’80s soap icon back for another run

sonsanddaughters Sons And Daughters, the ’80s soap opera that made sepia tones fashionable with its signature closing sequence, is coming back for another airing on the Seven Network.

Starting midnight this Wednesday night – or if you like, very early Thursday morning – Seven is trotting out another repeat screening of the long-running saga that originally ran from 1982 to 1988 with a cast including TV Week Gold Logie winner Rowena Wallace, soapie stalwarts including Pat McDonald, Cornelia Frances and Anne Haddy, ’60s pop idol Normie Rowe and ’70s sex symbol Abigail.

Sons And Daughters created storyline twists usually reserved for melodramatic US fare, including the show’s original premise which saw a blooming love affair between John Palmer (Peter Phelps) and Angela Hamilton (Ally Fowler) cut short when it was revealed that they were long-lost brother and sister – quite a bizarre twist if not somewhat disturbing!

A later bizarre twist came when Rowena Wallace decided to leave the series, but instead of killing off her character, Patricia Hamilton-Morrell, the writers instead had the character transformed by plastic surgery while overseas, and would return with a new identity, Alison Carr (Belinda Giblin).  The situation got even more murky when, in the show’s dying stages, Wallace then returned to the series, reprising the original Patricia character and set to clash with her apparent alter-ego Alison Carr.  But in true soap opera fashion, another twist revealed that Wallace’s character was now Pamela Hudson, the twin sister of Patricia Hamilton.

It is unclear whether Seven is starting the series from episode one, or picking up where the last re-run left off when it ended abruptly over a year ago when it was being shown in a morning timeslot.  Though, given that Sons And Daughters ran for 972 episodes, and Seven appears to be committing only to one episode a week in this re-run, fans can look forward to seeing the series wrap up sometime in the year 2025!

The series joins Seven’s other late-night retro re-runs Marshall Law, Young Ramsay and even reality-talent show Popstars – all shown at various times in the wee small hours.

somethingintheair Other Aussie retro re-runs include GP on ABC1, Something In The Air (pictured) in prime-time on ABC2, Water Rats on Nine, and the collection of dramas from Crawford Productions, including Matlock Police, Skyways, Division Four and Carson’s Law, being shown on regional WIN Television.

Sons And Daughters, Wednesday night/Thursday morning 12.00am, Seven*

Pictured: Rowena Wallace, Pat McDonald and Kim Lewis
Related links: Aussie Soap Archive

* Melbourne.  Other areas/affiliates check local guides.

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2008/07/80s-soap-icon-back-for-another-run.html

3 comments

  1. Wish we’d get Matlock Police and Division Four here in Melbourne.

  2. I love Something in the Air. I know it’s corny but that corny kooky depiction of life in a country town appeals. Also as I used to work in a radio station which used the same equipment – carts, reel to reel tape players, that desk (which looks like a Paul Kirk desk to me), I’ve even worn those headphones.

    Also the other night I was watching SITH and I noticed one of the bit parts was played by a colleague of mine! I can’t wait to see her to remind her of her starring role (she appeared in about 3 episodes).

    Sons and Daughters – probably won’t stay up for however… although the Pat the Rat’s storyline does sound …interesting.

    • Anonymous on 1 September 2008 at 8:54 AM
    • Reply

    Hi, if anyone is into trading episodes of some of these old shows, I’m looking for a small, specific number of Carson’s Law episodes, and could offer other episodes of this show, as well as other shows in return. I would very much appreciate any help in the matter, and can be contacted at [email protected]. Thanks!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.