| Genre: | History |
| Creator: | Rex Rienits |
| Director: | Colin Dean |
| Starring: | Ron Haddrick |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 12 |
| Runtime: | 30 mins |
| Network: | ABC |
The Outcasts was a 1961 Australian television serial. A period drama, it was broadcast live, though with some film inserts.[1] All 12 episodes of the serial survive as kinescope recordings.[2] It was a sequel to Stormy Petrel.[3] [4] [5]
The Outcasts told the story of William Redfern and his attempts to build a hospital in Sydney in 1808.
Stormy Petrel, written by Rex Rienits and Colin Dean, had been a big success for the ABC. In November 1960 it was announced Dean and Rienits would reunite for a serial about William Redfern.
In March 1961 Dean said "it has not quite the clear, dramatic line of 'Stormy Petrel'. It involves more people, and although it lacks the central issue of the rebellion, much more happens in 'The Outcasts,' which covers from 1808 to 1822. 'The Outcasts' illustrates the change in the colony — Macquarie's policy of building up a settlement rather than administering it as a penal colony."
There was a cast of 42. A huge set was built to replicate George Street.[6] Star Ron Haddrick was best known for his theatre work at the time.[7]
Reviewing the pilot episode the Sunday Sydney Morning Herald said "ABN 2 looks as though its done it again... I would say that it has another winner and one that might outclass its predecessor...It hasn't yet got as strong a central figure as Bligh... but, on the other hand, it set the pace and established the theme much more rapidly than the Bligh series which was a little slow to develop."[8]
The Woman's Weekly said the story "seems closer to present-day Australia in its lasting effects than the Bligh rebellion, with its high life at Government House, its turbulence, and its drama. "The Outcasts" is a quieter story, made up of more of the everyday events of life... "The Outcasts" is interesting and excellent TV. I know I'll make great efforts not to miss an episode."
Malcolm Ellis of The Bulletin wrote, "For those who like their historical drama presented in the Alfred Dampier manner, with shouting, weeping, oppression of the weak, all the characters pure-white or pure-black in morals and the dialogue scissored out of volumes seven to ten of the “Historical Records of Australia,” the series is good, clean fun. But viewers should not take them as historical gospel."[9] (Filmink magazine noted producer-writer Brian Wright wrote a response to Ellis defending Rienits, "to which Ellis wrote a whiny hysterical response, as critics often do when called out. How dare the ABC publicity make a claim of authenticity to Malcolm Ellis! How dare they! Historians can get very possessive and mean whenever someone else does a work on “their” area of history")
Filmink magazine argued:
The series lacks the clean narrative drive of Stormy Petrel, which built up to a big confrontation between two conflicting parties (i.e. The Rum Rebellion). This one is more sprawling and less focused, with a greater number of sub-plots and extraneous characters, and more of an overall theme. Instead of being a story about two hot-tempered alpha males slogging it out, The Outcasts has more of a solemn “we are making history here” vibe with characters talking a lot about what they envision Australia’s future to be.[10]
In January 1962 the ABC announced there would be a third series, making it a historical trilogy. It would focus on Darling versus Wentworth.[11]