A Country Practice - History

History

Though sometimes considered a soap opera, the storylines of the show's two one-hour episodes screened over any one week formed a self-contained narrative block. The storylines were meant to have a primary appeal to adult and older youthful audiences, and in particular they had greater appeal to children from middle class backgrounds. As it did not have the open ended narrative of a traditional soap opera, it was technically a series. Nevertheless, many storylines were developed as sub plots for several episodes before becoming the focus of a particular week's narrative block. Overall, the programme "so emphasised the ongoing storylines of its major characters as to make the distinction between series and serial more or less meaningless".

In addition to being broadcast in Australia, it also ran on the ITV network in the United Kingdom. Each episode was usually screened as two half-hour editions and stripped Monday to Friday, although some regions broadcast the series as hour long episodes for a time. A Country Practice also aired in many European countries including Germany and Sweden and also in Hong Kong. It was also carried on a variety of Canadian stations, both during the show's lifetime and after. It was estimated that at its height, the show received a worldwide audience of five to six million each week.