The Mavis Bramston Show was a weekly Australian television satirical sketch comedy revue series which aired on the Seven Network from 1964 to 1968. Inspired by the British TV satirical revue TV shows of the period (notably That Was The Week That Was), "Mavis Bramston" was the first successful venture in this genre on Australian TV. At its peak it was one of the most popular Australian TV programs of its era and it propelled many of the 'classic' cast to national stardom in Australia, including original's Gordon Chater, Carol Raye (who was already a major star in England as a film star) and Barry Creyton, as well as June Salter, Noeline Brown, and Ron Stevens
Cultural impact
The Mavis Bramston Show had a huge impact in Australia in the mid-1960s, heightened because of its unique place in the history of the Australian television industry. Australian television broadcasting since its inception in 1956, had rapidly become dominated by the socio-economic influence of the United States and (to a lesser extent) that of the United Kingdom.
At least 80% of Australian TV programming by the early 1960s was sourced from the United States and American TV series were consistently the top-rating shows.
The Vincent Report in 1963, on the Australian media industry found that 97% of drama broadcast on Australian TV between 1956 and 1963 was produced in America.
The few programmes that were made locally were usually low-cost copies of proven American talk-variety or quiz show formats.
The absence of government-mandated local content regulations, meant Australian TV producers faced enormous challenges in trying to compete against imported American and British programs, which benefited from high budgets, an international talent pool and huge economies of scale, thanks to their large domestic audiences and established worldwide distribution networks. These advantages were further enhanced by the fact that American producers and networks offered Australian channels attractive discount rates on bundled programming.
Despite the overwhelming dominance of imported programming, local production gradually increased in the mid-1960s for several reasons—the licensing of a third network in major cities (which ultimately became the TEN Network), the introduction of videotape technology (which permitted pre-recording and editing, and reduced production costs) and the enforcement of local production quotas on TV advertising, which helped to foster a local skill-base.
Premièring only months after Crawford Productions' landmark police drama Homicide, Mavis Bramston demonstrated both that it was possible to make satirical TV comedy in Australia, featuring Australian issues and characters, and that there was a significant audience for such a show. As the first Australian-produced TV comedy series to become a national success with both critics and viewers alike, Mavis is therefore considered a milestone in the development of Australian TV. Many at the time expected that this honour would go to Graham Kennedy's In Melbourne Tonight, which was although hugely popular in its home city, did not become a fully-fledged national hit until 1969. Writer Hugh Stuckey opined that this was in part because IMT faced strong competition from the shows it followed, the top-rating American variety series The Perry Como Show and The Andy Williams Show.
Mavis Bramston grew out of the recent local theatrical tradition of topical satirical revue —- most notably the popular revues staged at Sydney's Phillip Street Theatre in the 1950s and 1960s -— but it was also strongly influenced by the British satire boom and especially by the contemporary British TV satirical comedy series That Was The Week That Was and Not Only... But Also.
Cast members
The Mavis cast, which changed considerably over its three-year run, initially featured many imported or expatriate British alongside experienced Australian actors such as John Bluthal who was becoming well known in Britain, and Australian performers who were relative newcomers to TV but who, between them however, had decades of experience in theatre, cabaret and revue and music.
During its three-year run, other regular cast members and guests included Miriam Karlin (1965), Ronnie Stevens (1965–66), Neva Carr Glyn (1966), June Thody (1966), Peter Reeves (1967), singer Bryan Davies (1964) and comic Dawn Lake (1967). Barbara Wyndon and Al Thomas guest starred in some episodes.
Among the crew was a young production assistant, Peter Weir, who went on to become one of Australia's best-known and most successful film directors.