- Cash Harmon Television
Cash Harmon Television was a
television production company based inAustralia , operating in the 1970s. Their most famous product was top-rated eveningsoap opera "Number 96".Cash Harmon Television was created after the dissolution of NLT Productions in 1971, by two former NLT producers,
Don Cash and Bill Harmon. Both had previously worked inUS television and they had been brought to Australia by NLT due to their previous experience. Cash Harmon Television used a regular team of writers on its projects includingDavid Sale ,Johnny Whyte andLynn Foster Moran, Albert. "Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series", Allen & Unwin, 1993. ISBN 0-642-18462-3 p 515-6] .The company first made popular
situation comedy series "The Group" (1971) forATN7 , written by David Sale [Moran, Albert. "Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series", Allen & Unwin, 1993. ISBN 0-642-18462-3 p 209-10] . Then in 1972 they responded to theTen Network 's request for a "Coronation Street "-type daily serial. Enlisting the services of David Sale, who created the general outline and the original characters, Cash Harmon came up with "Number 96". The serial began on-air in March 1972 and was an instant hit.Don Cash died in 1973 but the company carried-on under the same name. They created a feature-film version of "Number 96" in late 1973. With just a single program in production, the company attempted to expand in late 1974 by launching a new daily serial, this time for the
Nine Network [Moran, Albert. "Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series", Allen & Unwin, 1993. ISBN 0-642-18462-3 p 515-6] . The new show, "The Unisexers ", was created by "Number 96" scriptwriterAnne Hall and utilised several other current "Number 96" writers including Johnny Whyte andDerek Strachan [Mercado, Andrew. "Super Aussie Soaps", Pluto Press Australia, 2004. ISBN 1-86403-191-3 p 91]The early-evening timeslot of "The Unisexers" meant that the writers were restricted in what content they could include, with much of the adult "Number 96"-style action forbidden. It began on-air in February 1975 however "The Unisexers" proved to be a ratings disaster. It was quickly cancelled and was taken off the air after only three weeks and 15 half-hour episodes had been screened [Moran, Albert. "Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series", Allen & Unwin, 1993. ISBN 0-642-18462-3 p 471] .
In 1976 several attempts to
spin-off new situation comedy series from "Number 96" failed, and Cash Harmon Television was dissolved in 1977 with the cancellation of "Number 96" [Moran, Albert. "Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series", Allen & Unwin, 1993. ISBN 0-642-18462-3 p 515-6] .Several former employees later collaborated on short-lived serial "Arcade" (1980).
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