Debuting on 10 September 1996, Adrenalin Junkies was set in the Emergency Services department of the Bethlehem West Hospital in Brisbane (Australia). Episodes revolved around a medical team who specialised in evacuating accident victims from remote areas, often journeying by helicopter to locations inaccessible by ambulance.
In many ways, Australia’s breathtaking landscape was the star of the show, but the cast included Nicholas Eadie as Dr Robert “Red” Buchanan, the hotshot abrasive head of Emergency Services, and former Alvin Purple star Graeme Blundell as the vain and pompous Dr Harry Edwards, who Buchanan replaced.
Harry was considered a legend in Emergency Medicine (especially by himself).
Series two saw the departure (read death) of Buchanan.
Geneviève Picot (from Muriel’s Wedding) played Dr Julia McAlpine, the assistant director of the emergency ward. Grant Bowler (formerly of Blue Heelers) was Dr Arch Craven, a rebel doctor with a shaved head, earrings, tattoos and leather trousers.
The exuberant Nurse Bree Dalrymple (Danielle Carter) was the youngest member of the team and part of a new generation of nurses who demanded respect from doctors. Nurse Macy Fields (Rena Owen) was a Kiwi lass who called Harry “Hairy”.
The storylines presented nothing viewers hadn’t seen before: Intense romances flourished and withered, new recruits were browbeaten by veterans, and sly empire builders plotted their next moves, all between staccato bursts of operating room pyrotechnics.
The series aired on Channel Ten in Australia as Medivac, with the Adrenalin Junkies title used for international audiences. The ratings and reviews were not kind, but the show survived for 48 episodes over three years.
Episodes were filmed in Brisbane on location at the old Tax Office building on the corner of Wharf and Adelaide Streets.
Dr Robert “Red” Buchanan
Nicholas Eadie Dr Julia McAlpine
Geneviève Picot Dr Harry Edwards
Graeme Blundell Dr Arch Craven
Grant Bowler Macy Fields RN
Rena Owen Gosia Maléski RN
Caroline Kennison Dr Wayne Doubé
Eugene Gilfedder Bree Dalrymple RN
Danielle Carter Dr “Oopy” Hiltonwood
Mark Constable Dr Marina Zamoyski
Lisa Forrest Dr Tom Shawcross
Stephen Lovatt Dr Sean Michaels
Dieter Brummer Dr Stella O’Shaughnessy
Simone Kessell Evie Morrison RN
Melissa Tkautz
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Harry was considered a legend in Emergency Medicine (especially by himself).
