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A Country Pals, We've loved making this podcast for you over the last two years, but this is our last episode for the foreseeable future. We hope you've loved it as much as we have. Joining Mel & Kim this week is our formidable Social Media Manager Chez Robbie, who is pretty much the world's foremost ACP expert. And, Great Podcast Talent, as you'll discover. Thank you for listening, we hope you love our chat about the series finale of ACP. ACP Finale Ep 1 & ACP Finale Ep 2 A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's here: the episodes we lose Shirley Gilroy in a plane crash.  This is a brilliant episode from Season 12 - it shows the beginning of Tom and Anna's romance, Esme falls a little in love with Percy... and young journalist Max Blair comes to town, dying of HIV AIDS.  The thing is - Mel and Kim aren't great on the later series and this ep is going to hurt for the purists. So, we've got Chez Robbie in as our fact checker, thank goodness.  Watch A Kiss Before Dying Part 1 &  A Kiss Before Dying Part 2 A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, it's the complete interview we did with the extremely lovely Shane Withington.  You'll hear so much about the beginning of ACP, the friendships he made, being part of that scene, life after Molly, and life after ACP.  A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's 1985 in Wandin Valley and this is a big episode that many of you have suggested we talk about: it has both a trans storyline, and deals with childhood obesity. We meet Alice McKenna, a woman living in the Valley with a secret that comes out when she goes into hospital with diabetes. Alice is a trans woman.  And, we gave her friend, Gavin, a little boy teased for being fat.  How does Wandin Valley treat these people? Like the leftie Utopia we think it is? Or is it more complicated, and, well, 1980s?  Kim finds some personal accounts of being trans in the 1980s, Melanie looks into the incredible life of Bunney Brooke.  A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie  All It Takes Ep 1 & All It Takes Ep 2  https://medium.com/@allisawash/quora-asked-me-about-my-experience-during-the-trans-dark-ages-648f060fa458  https://au.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/the-trans-fight-18765/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After getting to know A Country Practice a lot better, by watching it as adults, we're both mad for Maggie Sloan and Esme Watson.  So, here we are watching the episode where Maggie Sloan comes to Wandin Valley. She's a bit of a punish, we don't see the softness in her that we come to love, but she's still a bit of legend.  What has ACP got to say about being a middle aged woman? These eps seem to have a lot to say.  In today's episode, Kim looks at the Dutch Reform Church and Melanie takes a peak into the life and career of the legendary Joan Sydney.  A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie  A Woman's Place Ep 1 & A Woman's Place Ep 2  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mel and Kim have a brand new podcast called Weepies.

Welcome to the first ep of our last season! These eps offer an opportunity to look at how the national conversation has changed around autism when little Daniel is taken in to Lucy and Matt's house. And, there's also a look at what sexual harassment looked like in the early 1990s.  We're joined by Australian actor and podcaster John Leary (The Newsreader, Glitch,The Letdown) to talk about his very first TV performance and what it taught him, going forward in his career which endures until today.  A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie  Episodes: Ain't Misbehavin' Part 1 and Ain't Misbehavin' Part 2  Listen to John Leary's fab podcast THE SATURDAY QUIZ  Far From The Tree by Andrew Solomon  Ps. We have a new podcast coming out next week called WEEPIES! Keep your eyes out for it.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This year's summer special looks at the 1982 Australian classic The Man From Snowy River. How does it hold up? Is it a feminist film? Are you team I love Jim Craig or team I love Clancy of the Overflow?  Plus Melanie and Kim have some big news about A Country Podcast as we go into 2021.  A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1985. Brendan and Chloe are playing in the paddock with a kite, while Molly watches on from a lounge. The screen fades to black as Brendan yells 'Molly!'.  And, just like that - after a 13 episode arc, Molly is dead of leukaemia.  Over the years, the episode gathers legendary status in the history of Australian TV, with people wanting to talk about how they felt watching it, where they were and how they never got over it.  What about the woman at the centre of it? The woman who played the beloved Molly? How did she feel watching it? Did she ever get over it?  Anne Tenney is one of Australia's most respected actors, and has been in a string of iconic Australian TV and film roles from The Castle to Brides of Christ to Always Greener.  Yet to many, she'll always be the tragic and eccentric Molly Jones from ACP. Is it a gift, or a burden?  Kim and Melanie find out, finally, in this episode of A Country Podcast, as Anne chats to us from her home in Sydney. A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie  Episodes: Molly Part 1 and Molly Part 2  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all remember the moment - Molly's death scene. Do we really need to start revising it and remembering that it's also Brendan's grieving scene? He's the one who has the line ("Molllllllllly!"), remember?  We're so excited to have Shane Withington on the show today, who played Brendan Jones for five years on A Country Practice - the way he talks about the show will have you wanting to jump into a time machine and audition to be part of the cast.  We'll be watching the very first episodes of ACP for today's ep - Wednesday's Child Part 1 and 2, from Season 3.  Guest: Shane Withington (Brendan 1981 - 1986) A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy 40th Birthday ACP! When Georgie Parker was cast in A Country Practice as Lucy Gardiner, she knew it was going to change her life.  Georgie tell us all about it, and how it set her up for a life in Australian tv and theatre.  We'll be watching the very first episodes of ACP for today's ep - The Pilot Ep 1 and The Pilot Ep 2, and talking about birth control in Australia and the extraordinary life of Arkie Whitely.  Guest: Georgie Parker A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Season 14 is nothing if not controversial among die hard fans of A Country Practice. Some refuse to engage with it and pretend it never happened, that ACP ended with Terrence and Matron's wedding and everyone rode off into the sunset.  The show got a lot of things wrong: for a start, it relocated to Victoria. It lost half its stars. It used a soft filter none of us can work out.  Andrew Mercado is Australia's leading historian, and he watched it all unfold in real time in 1994. He's with us to talk about what the show wanted to be, why it didn't get there, and what TV was doing at the time.  Guest: Andrew Mercado , tv historian and author of Super Aussie Soaps: Behind the Scenes of Australia's Best Loved TV Shows A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode: we meet Tim Pye, he started out as a stagehand on A Country Practice in the early eighties and has had a huge career in television since. We'll find out what A Country Practice taught him,  And, we look at the From The Ashes episodes - there's been a fire in Wandin Valley - how will the town cope?  A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. From the Ashes Part 1 From the Ashes Part 2    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warning: for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners, this episode contains the mention of, and naming of a First Nations actor who is dead. Hey A Country Friends, Something a bit different this week - MT has been a bit under the weather the last couple of weeks, so we decided to bring you the complete Kate Raison interview as we loved talking with her so much.  We'll be back next fortnight with a brand new episode with some excellent tea on what ACP was like behind the scenes for creatives with someone who's now one of Australia's biggest TV makers. A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're heading back to Wandin Valley in the early eighties: Molly's still alive and she and Brendan are having a visit from Brendan's parents. Something is up.  How did ACP deal with dementia? We're joined by Dr Marita Long from Dementia in Practice is going to let us know whether their eighties interpretation of the illness is on the money.  And, Melanie looks at the extraordinary career of the bloke who plays Brendan's Dad (who popped up before on this pod as Baker McKay!) - Ron Graham - whoo happens to be the actual dad of Australian TV royalty.  A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.   LINKS Episodes Season 4 Episode 47 So Close Yet So Far Away Part 1 https://7plus.com.au/a-country-practice?episode-id=CNP-237&startAt=2822  Season 4 Episode 48 So Close Yet So Far Away Part 2 https://7plus.com.au/a-country-practice?episode-id=CNP-237&startAt=2823  DEMENTIA IN PRACTICE PODCAST    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who doesn't need a TV wedding right now? We're in Season 10, it's Matt and Lucy's wedding but we're kind of longing for a classic A Country Practice wedding mishap.Kim looks at Australia's weird hang ups with sectarianism and Melanie looks at the life of Jill Perryman. A COUNTRY PODCAST on FacebookHost/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.   LINKS Episodes Season 10 Episode 67 When a Girl Marries Part 1 https://7plus.com.au/a-country-practice?episode-id=CNP-773&startAt=1414 Season 10 Episode 68 When a Girl Marries Part 2 https://7plus.com.au/a-country-practice?episode-id=CNP-774&startAt=2608  Kim's stuff A historical overview of Australian religious sectarianism accompanied by a survey of factors contributing to its dissolution by Stephen Blyth file:///Users/kimlester/Downloads/7-Article%20Text-7-3-10-20191205.pdf   Marrying Out - Part 1 - Audio https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/archived/hindsight/marrying-out----part-one-not-in-front-of-the-altar/3068558 Marrying Out Part 2 - Transcript Only https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1417&context=creartspapers Melanie's Stuff https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uur5rTFXRPI - Jill Perryman sings 'People' https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/music-that-makes-me-dance-jill-perryman-kevan-johnston/id1373502710?i=1000465415664 - Stages Podcast with Jill Perryman and Kevin Johnston  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guess who's back for Season Three of A Country Podcast!  We are!  This week you'll hear from the delightful Kate Raison on what it was like playing the very capable Ranger Cathy Hayden.  And we're heading to Season 8 and having all sorts of feelings about Alex and Terrence's relationship and when Cathy and Matron Sloane are in a plane crash.  We're watching On A Wing and.A Prayer Part 1 and On A Wing and.A Prayer Part 2 Kim looks at farm accidents and Melanie looks at the life of Steve J Spears.  A COUNTRY PODCAST on Facebook Host/ Producer: Melanie Tait on Twitter Host/ Producer: Kim Lester on Twitter  Social Media Editor: Chez Robbie  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello A Country Pals! We're back for a red hot minute to tango with a screening of Strictly Ballroom.  How has it aged over the years? Who's in it? Are there any A Country Practice connections?  All will be revealed. Enjoy!  We'll be back with Season 3 in early September.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

***language warning - Melanie was super tired and kept saying the 's' word where it was hard to edit out***A Country Pals! It's our last episode of the season, and we're joined by John Tarrant AKA Matt Tyler to tell his incredible post ACP story. You'll love it, promise. And, we're getting to the nitty-gritty of the complicated soul known as Toni Collette, who has her first appearance in the eps we're watching today - The Sting Part 1 and The Sting Part 2.  A COUNTRY PODCAST on Facebook Melanie Tait on Twitter Kim Lester on Twitter  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

content warning - suicide and euthanasia Judy Loveday is in the house! And, she's (or, Wendy Strehlow, the actor who plays Judy Loveday) interviewed by fellow Rockhampton gal Kim Lester.  Wendy takes us through how she got her job on the show and how she came to realise it was one of the most special sets she ever worked on.  The episode we look at today is a tough one - it deals with two elderly characters attempting to take their lives and all that goes with that.  Swan Song Part 1  Swan Song Part 2  A COUNTRY PODCAST on Facebook Melanie Tait on Twitter Kim Lester on Twitter  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.