Waterloo Station (TV series)
| Company type | Television series |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television production |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | Reg Watson |
| Headquarters | Sydney , Australia |
| Products | Soap opera |
| Parent | Reg Grundy Organisation |
Waterloo Station was an Australian soap opera with a brief run, developed by Reg Watson and produced under the Reg Grundy Organisation banner for the Nine Network in 1983. The show premiered with a feature-length episode and continued with hour-long segments.
Synopsis
The narrative of Waterloo Station revolved around two sisters married to police officers and their adult children embarking on careers within the police service. Principal locations included a Sydney-based police precinct, a training academy, and a boarding house accommodating several characters.
This series was Grundy’s attempt to emulate the success of previous youth-oriented dramas such as The Restless Years and The Young Doctors broadcast on Channel Nine. It merged elements of police procedural drama with family-centric plots involving law enforcement personnel, drawing creative influence from Crawford Productions’ acclaimed police series Cop Shop.
Filming occurred at the Eric Porter studios situated in North Sydney.
Cast
- Ron Graham – Jack Edwards
- Sally Tayler – Sally Edwards
- Pam Western – Liz Edwards
- John Bonney – George Logan
- Jenny Ludlam – Ann Logan
- Jennifer West – Rosie Wallace
- Malcolm Cork – David Keller
- Gerry Sont – Rick Thompson
- Danny Roberts – Trevor Brown
- Tex Morton – Harry McDowell
- Julianne White – Stacey Daniels
- Steven Grives – Steve Colby
- Bartholomew John - Tony Harris
Reception
Peter Wilmoth from The Age acknowledged that Waterloo Station possessed promise, offering sufficient excitement and competent performances to potentially thrive, though he criticized its overt lack of nuance. Subsequently, he observed that the show compromised its initial potential by resorting to superficial storytelling and clichés despite occasional emotionally impactful moments. Harry Robinson of The Sydney Morning Herald characterized the program as crude in its appeal to less-educated youth audiences, exploiting themes related to alienation. Mike Carlton likened it to a combination of Cop Shop, Sons and Daughters, and Certain Women, emphasizing its derivative nature. Rosalind Reines described it as "hammy but enthralling," whereas Anthony Clarke of The Age faulted it for an absence of drama, action, or romance, labeling it a continuous dialogue-heavy production.
Home Media
No DVD release has been issued for Waterloo Station.
Screening
In major markets such as Melbourne, Waterloo Station was scheduled against the well-established series Carson's Law, leading to only moderate viewership and eventual cancellation after 40 episodes. Cast members including Andrew Clarke, Danny Roberts, and Sally Tayler later achieved greater recognition through another Grundy soap opera, Sons and Daughters.
Following this series, Grundy introduced Starting Out on 18 April 1983, focusing on young individuals beginning careers in medicine; however, this show also experienced a short lifespan.
During late 1987, amid a summer hiatus of “The Midday Show,” Nine Network Sydney rebroadcast Waterloo Station on weekdays at noon, paired with the American sitcom Private Benjamin at 1 p.m. Since that time, it has not been aired again on commercial or subscription television within Australia.