Family and Friends was a short-lived Australian television soap opera debuted on 7 February 1990.
The series was intended to be the Nine Network's response to the already successful soaps on the rival channels - Neighbours on the Network Ten and Home and Away on the Seven Network.
Set in a suburban community the series focused on two families - the Chandler and the Italian-Australian Rossi families - who were linked by a long-standing vendetta stemming from an accidental death in the 1950s. Old enmities were renewed by the Romeo-and-Juliet style romance between Jennifer Chandler (Roxane Wilson, credited as Roxanne Wilson) and Robert Rossi (Renato Bartolomei).
Despite a strong cast that included Diane Craig, Anne Phelan, Abigail, Jonathan Hardy, Dinah Shearing, Ross Newton, Adrian Lee and Alyce Platt, the series failed to catch on with the viewers. Episodes were initially broadcast in one-hour installments up against Ten's E Street but ratings were disastrous. The show was promptly reformatted as half-hour episodes stripped at 5.30 weeknights, but ratings remained very low. And now that it was lead-in to National Nine News's 6pm bulletin its low ratings meant it remained in a precarious position.
The series then underwent a major revamp which included the loss of six cast members and addition of new cast members including Rebecca Rigg. A week's worth of episodes were produced in the new format, when the series was abruptly cancelled on 26 April 1990. The final episodes went to air in a late-night timeslot during the 1990-1991 summer non-ratings period. In total 96 episodes had been produced.
Famous quotes containing the words family and/or friends:
“Much that is urged on us new parents is useless, because we didn’t really choose it. It was pushed on us. It—whether it be Raffi videos, French lessons, or the complete works of Brazelton—might be just right for you and your particular child. But it is only right when you feel that it is. You know your family best; you decide.”
—Sonia Taitz (20th century)
“We can teach prevention. For little kids, the best protection is that they should not be alone in public places. All children should be conscious of strangers, and be discriminating and wary of them. This won’t make them grow up suspicious as long as they have adults around whom they know and can trust: relatives, friends of their parents, parents of friends.”
—“How Parents Can Talk to Their Kids,” Newsweek (January 10, 1994)