Division 4

*Division 4*
Division 4
Genre	police drama
Based on	Similar to Homicide
Starring	Gerard Kennedy; Ted Hamilton; Terence Donovan; John Stanton; Andrew McFarlane; Frank Taylor; Chuck Faulkner; Patricia Smith
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	301
Production
Production locations	Melbourne, Victoria
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	Crawford Productions
Original release
Network	Nine Network
Release	11 March 1969 –; 25 November 1975

Division 4 is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes.

Synopsis

The series was one of the first dramas to follow up on the enormous success of the earlier Crawford Productions crime show Homicide and dealt with the wide variety of cases dealt with by police in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Yarra Central (modelled on St Kilda).^[1] Initial publicity suggested that the 'emphasis throughout is on realism'.^[2]

Division 4 put a greater emphasis on character motivation than Homicide. The first episode included a human interest story for Frank Banner, played by Gerard Kennedy, whose pregnant wife Joy (played by Kate McKittrick)^[3] dies in part due to harassment from criminals pursuing a vendetta against him. This situation was recalled in Episode 20, 'The Threat', and in other early episodes in which Banner is seen to be haunted and troubled. In episode 29, 'The Price', an old flame of Banner's, June Anderson (Margaret Dunbar) attempts to rekindle the relationship they had before he met and married Joy, with no success: his job is too demanding.

Awards

The series won 10 Logie Awards, including two Gold Logies (for Australia's most popular entertainer) for Gerard Kennedy, who played Frank Banner.

It was also critically acclaimed, winning a number of Penguin and Awgie awards for its scripts and actors. In 1972 Frank Taylor received the Penguin Award for the Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series.^[4]

After Kennedy decided to leave Division 4, the Nine Network summarily cancelled the series; only one episode was made with his replacement John Stanton.

Theme song

The opening library music theme Power Drive composed by Johnny Pearson in 1967 was sampled by TISM in their 1998 single Thunderbirds Are Coming Out.

Cast

Regular cast

^{[citation needed]}

Actor	Role	Character
Gerard Kennedy	Sen. Det./Det. Sgt. Frank Banner	In accordance with real-life changes to the Victoria Police, Banner was promoted to Detective Sergeant and Vickers to Detective Senior Sergeant as these changes occurred. A hard, tough man who has become a loner after his pregnant wife, Joy, died during premature child-birth brought on after being terrorised by a criminal (in the first episode, "The Soldiers"); as a result, he tends to bury himself in his work. He respects but sometimes disagrees with his superior, Sergeant Vickers, and although sometimes using roughhouse methods of handling criminals is both a fair man and a conscientious cop. Banner eventually falls in love with and marries an old friend, Jenny Franklin, and in the second-last episode resigns from the Victoria Police for an extended honeymoon and to find a 'safer' occupation.
Chuck Faulkner	Det. Sgt./Det. Snr. Sgt. Keith Vickers	Head of the Yarra Central CIB, married with two sons. He often clashes with his younger son Jamie, a university student, over anti-Vietnam demonstrations. His bark is usually worse than his bite, and although he comes across as a very serious person most of the time, he has a dry sense of humour which lends itself to some nice comedy touches.
Terence Donovan	Sen. Det. Mick Peters	The station's third plain-clothes man. Peters has a happy-go-lucky nature and an eye for the ladies. He has a good record with the Victoria Police, although Vickers sometimes has to pull him into line for being too much of a comedian.
Frank Taylor	Sgt. Andrew "Scotty" MacLeod	Head of Yarra Central's Uniform Branch. A meticulous man originally from Scotland (hence his nickname "Scotty"), he is married with four daughters (one of whom is kidnapped by a former adversary in episode 214, "Backlash"). Scotty's role is mainly confined to the station charge counter, and he therefore rarely appears in exterior scenes (allowing actor Frank Taylor to live in Sydney and commute to Melbourne for three days of filming a week).
Ted Hamilton	Const. Kevin Dwyer	An ambitious and dedicated cop who is always eager to work with the CIB. Hamilton was sacked from the series for breach of contract (he had filmed a commercial without permission from Crawfords) in September 1973, during the filming of an episode. Frantic script rewrites solved the problem of Dwyer's sudden disappearance by explaining that the character had been accepted for a position in the CIB and transferred out of Yarra Central to commence his detective training (noted in episode 225, "All For One"). Because of Hamilton's abrupt departure from the series (and the resulting production disruptions), Dwyer makes several other onscreen appearances until episode 231, but his final full appearance is in episode 229, "Mad About The Boy".
Patricia Smith	WPC Margaret Stewart	Stewart lives with her mother, is a fairly conservative person, but is keenly interested in the reform of criminals, and is friendly with and has great respect for Banner. Like Scotty MacLeod, the role of Stewart was a static one, allowing Patricia Smith to commute from Adelaide to Melbourne for filming. Stewart resigns from the force to get married in episode 238, "None So Blind".^[5]
John Stanton	Det. Tom Morgan	Frank Banner's replacement, a country cop transferred from Bairnsdale to Yarra Central. Morgan only appears in the final episode of Division 4, the Nine Network having cancelled the series after Kennedy left the show.
Andrew McFarlane	Constable Roger Wilson	Becomes a recurring character from episode 235, "Maria". A new recruit to the police force (and a bit of a bungler at first), Yarra Central is Wilson’s first posting, and he develops from a green newcomer to a competent constable who soon settles down. This was McFarlane's breakout role, which later led to his being cast in The Sullivans as series heartthrob John Sullivan. In episode 289, "Tell Me Your Troubles My Friend", Wilson receives a transfer to a country posting at Mansfield.

Other notable cast members

Filmmaker Nadia Tass had her first acting role, aged 14, in Division 4.^[6]

Home media

As of February 2017, twelve volumes of this series have been released on DVD through Crawfords/WinTV, representing the entire series run (with the exception of episode 102A "Conspiracy", which exists as a partial episode only and was not included).

Title	Episodes #	Discs	Special features	Distributors
Division 4 (Volume 1)	Series 1, Episodes 1-26	7	TBA	Crawford Productions
Division 4 (Volume 2)	Series 1, Episodes 27-37 Series 2, Episodes 1-16	7	TBA	Crawford Productions
Division 4 (Volume 3)	Series 2, Episodes 17-43	7	TBA	Crawford Productions
Division 4 (Volume 4)	Series 2, Episodes 44-50 Series 3, Episodes 1-19	7	TBA	Crawford Productions
Division 4 (Volume 5)	Series 3, Episodes 20-36 Series 4, Episodes 1-9	7	TBA	Crawford Productions
Division 4 (Volume 6)	Series 4, Episodes 10-36	7	TBA	Crawford Productions
Division 4 (Volume 7)	Series 4, Episodes 37-38 Series 5, Episodes 1-24	7	TBA	Crawford Productions
Division 4 (Volume 8)	Series 5, Episodes 25-51	7	TBA	Crawford Productions
Division 4 (Volume 9)	Series 6, Episodes 1-26	7	TBA	Crawford Productions
Division 4 (Volume 10)	Series 6, Episodes 27-48	7	TBA	Crawford Productions
Division 4 (Volume 11)	Series 7, Episodes 1-26	7	TBA	Crawford Productions
Division 4 (Volume 12 - Final Volume)	Series 7, Episodes 27-41	7	Trailers	Crawford Productions

References and notes

^ Location filming for Yarra Central Police Station was at Montague Street, South Melbourne.
^ 'Wraps off Police series for "9"' Melbourne Age 13 February 1969 "TV Radio Guide" section p. 1
^ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1567259/?ref_=tt_cl_t_7
^ "Television Society announces awards". The Canberra Times. Vol. 47, no. 13, 279. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 13 November 1972. p. 6. Retrieved 6 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^ This was normal practice at the time the series was made.
^ McFarlane, Brian (September 2010). "Comedy, Tragedy, Life: An interview with Nadia Tass and David Parker" (PDF). Metro Magazine. Australian Teachers of Media Inc. (ATOM). pp. 16–21. ISSN 0312-2654. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2022.

External links

Division 4 at Classic Australian Television
Division 4 at Crawford Productions
Division 4 at the National Film and Sound Archive
Division 4 - "Return of John Kelso" at Australian Screen Online

[1] Location filming for Yarra Central Police Station was at Montague Street, South Melbourne.

[2] 'Wraps off Police series for "9"' Melbourne Age 13 February 1969 "TV Radio Guide" section p. 1

[3] ttps://www.imdb.com/name/nm1567259/?ref_=tt_cl_t_7

[4] "Television Society announces awards". The Canberra Times. Vol. 47, no. 13, 279. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 13 November 1972. p. 6. Retrieved 6 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.

[5] This was normal practice at the time the series was made.

[mcfarlane2010-6] McFarlane, Brian (September 2010). "Comedy, Tragedy, Life: An interview with Nadia Tass and David Parker" (PDF). Metro Magazine. Australian Teachers of Media Inc. (ATOM). pp. 16–21. ISSN 0312-2654. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2022.

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