Doctor Down Under is a 1979 13-episode Australian television comedy series. It was the sixth of seven series in an otherwise British TV franchise that began with Doctor in the House and was inspired by the "Doctor" books by Richard Gordon. [1][2] The series follows directly from its predecessor Doctor on the Go, and was commissioned by the Seven Network in association with the Paul Dainty organization based on the popularity in Australia of the previous five series in the franchise. [3]
Writers for the Doctor Down Under episodes were Bernard McKenna, Jon Watkins, and Bernie Sharp.[4] The episodes were directed by William G. Stewart and John Eastway; all episodes were produced by Stewart.[5]
Plot
Dr Duncan Waring and Dr Dick Stuart-Clark relocate to Australia after losing their positions at St. Swithin's hospital in London.
They take up positions at St. Barnabas hospital in Sydney, where they wreak havoc on the local medical staff, especially Professor Beaumont, who is Professor of Surgery, and Dr Maurice Griffin, a surgeon with whom they share their office. Some of the nurses at the hospital, however, find Drs Waring and Stuart-Clark charming, as the two English doctors continue their pursuit of women, often involving a rivalry between the two.
Border, Grampian, Granada, HTV, STV, and Southern aired it in a peak-time slot at 7.30pm.
The last ITV region to screen the series was in London - London Weekend Television, which produced the previous series in the Doctor franchise, screened Doctor Down Under from January 1981.
DVD release
All 13 episodes of Doctor Down Under have been released as a two Disc DVD set by Umbrella Entertainment in Australia (2007).
