This Melbourne-produced series from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) was set in the community radio station of the title, which was set up and operated by a medley of teenagers and twentysomethings.
The young ensemble cast was headed by Nadine Garner as Zelda, RAW’s grunge-loving, razor-witted but blind program director. Co-starring were Matthew Dyktynski as Robert, the idealistic musical director; Dominic Purcell as Granger, the pragmatic station manager; Joelene Crnogorac as Granger’s devoted assistant, Cara; Amanda Douge as cyber-girl Gerry, who could only interface with a computer screen; Elena Mandalis as a rebellious and stuttering presenter named Sarah; newcomer Dan Spielman as Mark/Marco, a chameleon presenter with a double life, and Sophie Heathcote as the arrogant, lesbian singer and overnight-hit-wonder Sam Kezerko.
Eschewing a uniform look, RAW FM veered exuberantly from one episode to the next, changing its storytelling style at each turn (episode eight was shot largely as a hand-held black-and-white documentary, episode six was like a trip into sexual cyberspace, while episode two was a wistful search for love).
Screening at 8.30 pm, the show was aimed at “late teens and onwards”. Accordingly, the scripts dealt with confronting issues such as racism, homosexuality, abortion and substance abuse and avoided neat and tidy moralistic endings.
Music was composed and produced specifically for the series by Australian composer Ollie Olsen, who had performed and recorded as Max Q with Michael Hutchence from INXS.
Zelda Lee
Nadine Garner Robert Anderson
Matthew Dyktynski Granger Hutton
Dominic Purcell Mark (Marco the Man) Mulholland
Dan Spielman Sarah Tomic
Elena Mandalis Cara Tomic
Joelene Crnogorac Sam Kezerko
Sophie Heathcote Gerry Sano
Amanda Douge Curtis
Sudi de Winter Miles
Keili Olsen
Episodes
What You Can | Desperately Seeking Su Lin | Light My Flame | Cara | Playing With Fire | In Arcadia | A Raw Nerve | Raw N’Sore | The Facts of Life | B4 and After | A Raw Deal | Exposure | One
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