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*Dynasty*
Dynasty
	Series 2 title card (1971)
Genre	Drama
Written by	Tony Morphett; John Dingwall
Directed by	Frank Arnold
Starring	Pat Bishop; Ben Gabriel; Anne Haddy; Nick Tate
Theme music composer	Laurie Lewis
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	23
Production
Running time	60 mins
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	7 October 1970 –; 6 October 1971

Dynasty is an Australian TV series that aired from 7 October 1970 to 6 October 1971, based on the 1967 Tony Morphett novel of the same name which had been previously adapted as a television play.^[1]^[2]

1969 TV play

The novel was first adapted as a television play produced by the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC), and broadcast in October 1969 as one installment of an anthology series of unrelated plays under the title Australian Plays.^[1]^[3]^[4]

The project was written by Morphett based on his novel, and directed in Melbourne by Oscar Whitbread.^[5] Morphett had previously written for Australian Playhouse.^[6]

Plot

Inventor Jim Richards (Terry Norris) seeks financial backing from the Mason Corporation for his new machine. He finds himself in the middle of a power struggle for control of the corporation, including a family dispute. David Mason uses his affair with his sister-in-law Kathy to his advantage.

Cast

Terry Norris as Jim Richards
Brian James as Jack Mason, head of family
Mark McManus as Peter Mason, a brother
Ron Graham as John Mason, a brother
Kevin Miles as David Mason
Alan Hopgood as Jacob Goldberg

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald called the play "the best thing the ABC has done in a long, long time."^[7]
"Dynasty belongs to a handful of programs, all produced by the ABC, which examine media power in Australia and indeed it would be interesting to compare Dynasty with later studies such as The Oracle (1979) and Paper Man (1990)."^[2] Moran praised actor John Tate for a "very strong performance".

TV series

Following the success of the TV play, a regular TV series was produced with a largely different cast.^[1]^[3] Premiering in July 1970, the first series consisted of 10 episodes, and the second and final series consisted of 13 episodes.^[1]^[3]

Plot summary

Dynasty follows media mogul Jack Mason and his grasping sons John, David and Peter.^[3]

Cast

John Tate as Jack Mason (Episodes 1–10)
Ron Graham as John Mason
Kevin Miles as David Mason
Nick Tate as Peter Mason
Anne Haddy as Kathy Mason, John's wife
Pat Bishop as Patricia Mason, Peter's wife
Serge Lazareff as Christopher Mason, John and Kathy's son
Owen Weingott as Jacob Goldberg
Ben Gabriel as 'Unk' Martel
Tony Ward as Nigel Dayton
Lyn James as Maggie Tench, Jack's secretary
Kerry McGuire as Franki Halliday
Tom Oliver as Tom Fenwick

Episodes

Twenty-three episodes were produced.^[1]

Series 1

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Gran Turismo"	Tom Jeffrey	Tony Morphett	7 October 1970 (1970-10-07)
2	2	"Catwalk"	Unknown	Tony Morphett	14 October 1970 (1970-10-14)
3	3	"Counterpoint"	Frank Arnold	Glyn Davies	21 October 1970 (1970-10-21)
4	4	"Young Jim Westlake"	Tom Jeffrey	Peter Schreck	28 October 1970 (1970-10-28)
5	5	"Cry Me A River"	Unknown	Tony Morphett	4 November 1970 (1970-11-04)
6	6	"Paper Of The People"	Frank Arnold	John Dingwall	11 November 1970 (1970-11-11)
7	7	"Second Pressure"	Eric Tayler	Tony Morphett	18 November 1970 (1970-11-18)
8	8	"The Champion"	Unknown	Tony Morphett	25 November 1970 (1970-11-25)
9	9	"Have You Got The Numbers?"	Brian Bell	Tony Morphett	2 December 1970 (1970-12-02)
10	10	"When All The Bets Were Off"	Frank Arnold	Tony Morphett	9 December 1970 (1970-12-09)

Series 2

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
11	1	"Dead Man's Chair"	Alan Burke	Tony Morphett	14 July 1971 (1971-07-14)
12	2	"The Killing Ground"	Eric Tayler	Tony Morphett	21 July 1971 (1971-07-21)
13	3	"The Coorabungle Deposit"	Unknown	Tony Morphett	28 July 1971 (1971-07-28)
14	4	"Corrida For A Stunt Man"	Frank Arnold	Tony Morphett	4 August 1971 (1971-08-04)
15	5	"Who Wants A Bridge?"	Brian Bell	Pat Flower	11 August 1971 (1971-08-11)
16	6	"Detour To Power"	Frank Arnold	Peter Schreck & Glyn Davies	18 August 1971 (1971-08-18)
17	7	"Nothing Personal"	Alan Burke	Alan Burke	25 August 1971 (1971-08-25)
18	8	"Whatever Happened To Jamie Brooks?"	Brian Bell	Tony Morphett	1 September 1971 (1971-09-01)
19	9	"Two Reds Don't Make A White"	Frank Arnold	Ron Harrison	8 September 1971 (1971-09-08)
20	10	"Countdown"	Frank Arnold	Bob Ellis	15 September 1971 (1971-09-15)
21	11	"Full Circle"	Unknown	Tony Morphett	22 September 1971 (1971-09-22)
22	12	"Man In The Middle"	Unknown	Tony Morphett	29 September 1971 (1971-09-29)
23	13	"A Half Tone Block Is Black And White"	Unknown	Bob Ellis & Ben Blakeney	6 October 1971 (1971-10-06)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Dynasty Episode Details". ClassicAustralianTV.com. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
^ ^a ^b Albert Moran (1993). Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series. AFTRS. pp. 153–154.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Dynasty Feature Article". ClassicAustralianTV.com. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
^ "Australian plays on ABC-TV". The Canberra Times. 27 October 1969. p. 15. Retrieved 31 July 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Characters tend to mar power concept". The Canberra Times. Vol. 42, no. 11, 873. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 16 December 1967. p. 10. Retrieved 18 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^ Vagg, Stephen (29 August 2023). "Forgotten Australian Television Plays: Boy with Banner, Objector and Watch It". Filmink.
^ "Aust Play an ABC Winner". Sydney Morning Herald. 26 October 1969.