Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»Comedy
    Comedy TV Shows - 1990s 3 Mins Read

    Let the Blood Run Free

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    1 9 9 0 (Australia)
    13 x 30 minute episodes
    1 9 9 2 – 1 9 9 3 (Australia)
    13 x 30 minute episodes

    Let The Blood Run Free began life as a live improvised soap opera spoof about a decaying hospital that packed houses at The Last Laugh Comedy Club in Melbourne in 1985 and 1986. The stage version involved the audience voting at crucial stages of the plot, with the cast following their bidding.

    In 1989, Ian McFadyen, creator of The Comedy Company approached the cast about creating a television version and the show premiered in August 1990. Australian television audiences had never seen anything like it.

    The series – set in the crumbling St Christopher’s Hospital – featured wall-to-wall bad taste jokes, gallons of blood, grotesquely artificial violence and explicit sexuality and each 30-minute episode ended with a cliff-hanger and a voice-over asking viewers to phone in and vote for one of two possible storyline developments. The following week’s episode was then written to accommodate the viewers’ response.

    Lynda Gibson did a great job as the gleefully evil Matron Dorothy Conniving-Bitch, and Peter Rowsthorn hammed it up superbly as the bumbling, dribbling Warren Cronkshonk.

    The hugely talented Jean Kittson (The Big Gig) was wasted in her role as Nurse Pam Sandwich, while Brian Nankervis, as the ultra-pure Dr Ray Good, did not distinguish himself clearly enough from his other well-known TV persona, the poet Raymond J Bartholomeusz.

    David Swann played Dr Richard Lovechild, the Ferrari-driving medical entrepreneur with a string of lucrative private practices and an interest in football team ownership.

    The series attracted a cult following when it first aired (on Channel Ten) on Australian television in 1990 but did not rate well. Incredibly, it was subsequently sold to various countries including England, Germany, Canada, Spain, Sweden, Holland and Swaziland.

    A 13-episode second series was made in 1992/1993 specifically for the overseas market (particularly Germany) but showed no signs of advancement on the first, and – apart from some wonderful send-ups of classic scenes from Prisoner – offered little to sustain the viewer.

    Channel Ten declined to air the second series, although the episodes were screened for a short run in select Australian cinemas.

    Although Let The Blood Run Free was never meant to be taken seriously, it must rate very near the top of the list of ‘worst ever Australian television shows’.

    Nurse Pam Sandwich
    Jean Kittson
    Dr Ray Good
    Brian Nankervis
    Nurse Effie Shunt
    Helen Knight
    Dr Richard Lovechild
    David Swann
    Warren Cronkshonk
    Peter Rowsthorn
    Matron Dorothy Conniving-Bitch
    Lynda Gibson
    Inspector Slabb
    Mark Cutler
    Carla La Bum Diai
    Paula Gardner
    Saint Christopher
    Matthew Green
    Announcer
    Andrew Goodone

    Related Posts

    • Naked Vicar Show, The
      Naked Vicar Show, The
      1 9 7 7 - 1 9 7 9 (Australia) 21…
    • Duty Free
      Duty Free
      1 9 8 4 - 1 9 8 6 (UK) 21…
    • This is Your Life (Australia)
      This is Your Life (Australia)
      1 9 7 5 - 1 9 8 0 (Australia) 30…
    • Go!!
      Go!!
      1 9 6 4 - 1 9 6 7 (Australia)…
    • Story of Peter Grey, The
      Story of Peter Grey, The
      1 9 6 1 - 1 9 6 2 (Australia)…
    • Barley Charlie
      Barley Charlie
      1 9 6 4 (Australia) 13 x 30 minute episodes Sisters…
    • Until Tomorrow
      Until Tomorrow
      1 9 7 5 (Australia) 180 x 30 minute episodes…
    • Take That
      Take That
      1 9 5 7 - 1 9 5 9 (Australia)…

    Australia
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleFair Game
    Next Article Dogs Playing Poker

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • ABC Movie of the Week, The
      1 9 6 9 – 1 9 7 5 (USA) A series of feature films produced […]
    • Freddie & The Dreamers
      In 1956, sixteen-year-old Freddie Garrity won a razor as first […]
    • Moog Synthesizer
      The Moog Synthesizer was originated by Dr Robert Moog in the […]
    • Buddy Holly (& The Crickets)
      Born Charles Hardin Holley on 7 September 1936, Buddy (as he was […]
    • Not Tonight, Darling (1971)
      Attractive London housewife Karen Williams (the voluptuous Luan […]
    • Buffy Sainte-Marie
      Born around 1941 on the Piapot Cree reservation in Saskatchewan, […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.