The Olden Days (Rush)

[Steve]

I thought I'd start up this topic. It there anyone out there who remembers watching "Rush"?

I do and have been researching it, so for all the TLS fans here's a heap of trivia for you.

And by the way it first went to air on the ABC on 20th August back in 1974, 31 years ago next week.

"Rush" was a period drama series about lives of a group of people involved in the Australian gold rush of the 1850's.
Season one made in 1974, was set in Crocker's Creek (filmed in Melbourne) whilst season two (which didn't appear until 1976) was set in Turon Springs, filmed in Sydney. Season two was co-financed by the French television company Antennae and reportedly used the same set from "Ben Hall" another ABC co-production set in colonial Australia.
Each season had 13 episodes 50 minutes in duration.

Cast:
John Waters as Sergeant McKenna (not Olden) appeared in both seasons.
Peter Flett (season 1)
Olivia Hamnett (season 1)
Alwyn Kurts (season 1) (known now as Judge Muttonchops)
Brendon Lunney (season 1)
Max Meldrum (season 1)
Vincent Ball (season 2)
Alain Doutey as Emile Bizard (season 2)
Jane Harders as Jessie Farrar (season 2)
Paul Mason as Richard Farrar (season 2)
Delore Whitman as Rosie Morgan (season 2)
Music: George Dreyfus.
Producers: Oscar Whitbread (1974), James Davern (1976).

Can anyone add to this?

[oceanthroats]

I found the Rush book a few months ago at a secondhand book sale. it included a couple of scripts, various tidbits about the show, character run downs and the like.
A few photographs. Here are the best of the photographs:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/splatjigs/rush11.jpg
Ooh look, they've broken the fourth wall! There's a camera! It's set in the 1800's and there's a camera! I half expect to see Tony lurking about behind it but alas no.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/splatjigs/rush4.jpg
Mud.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/splatjigs/rush3.jpg
'You've gone out of focus again!' etc

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/splatjigs/rush2.jpg
'He wouldn't dare!' etc

And that is about all. There's plenty of information in the book if anybody wants anymore information.

[Steve]

If anyone is interested in 'Rush' I have published a site dedicated to this classic ABC series at www.tandarra.com. Click on the bottom link to "Australian Colonial Television Drama".

[LSNut]

Nice work Steve..

So The Olden days used Series 1 B&W footage.. and it's Brendan Lunney who played Gov Frontbottom ??

[Steve]

correct. Brendon played Frontbottom. The fisrt series was in black and white and aired only 6 months prior to color being introduced in Australia. Filmed on a large property in Lysterfield in Melbourne's east (I'm still researching where the exact location was/is). The scripts and character descriptions in the script book (thanks to oceanthroats) states Frontbottom was olnly 24 years old. Sgt. Olden was only supposed to be 30 years old. But this was common in that era.

Series 2 was shot in color.

[oceanthroats]

Nice work Steve, and very fine site there. Nice to have that information collected in one place. Now we need them to repeat Rush so we can watch it and pick out all the little familiar sub plots. Watching it in colour would be a very very strange spectacle. It has to be due a DVD release at the very least surely?

[kim]

Rush 2 in colour.. I'd be tempted to greyscale my TV otherwise I'd get freaked out!

[Mickey Juice]

Woo my first post :)
Found the site after seeing the Goodies live on stage and made me think of the late show.

anywhoo, I think my folks have got a copy of the Rush soundtrack on 45 at home :) I'll have to take some pics and upload them.

[LSNut]

Welcome to forum Mickey !

Yeah go ahead more pics the better.. upload em..

[jamesyboi]

has anyone seen the movie "hercules returns"?

[ShitScared]

dusting off this thread...

Want to know what the original theme music to Rush sounded like? (http://www.mediafire.com/?j2b1mfzqm4e)

Very different to "Mud Boys Mud".

[Mason Hell-Cat]

hahah how funny....it almost sounds too....regal.....

----

Does anyone have the Mud theme song as an mp3? I can sense a new ringtone for my phone coming on.....

[kat-rant]

Look what I just found on Youtube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5dLqueeB74&feature=related

[Mason Hell-Cat]

haha! Excellent work!!!
What's funny is that I kept hearing the voice of Bargearse the entire time I was watching...like he was giving a commentary on it.

[kat-rant]

I just love the recycling of the cricket theme. I did know that that was the theme music to Bluey, but man, that was weird seeing it in action :)

Same as hearing the original Rush theme, I'm sure they used the last couple of barrs of that in the last ep of The Olden Days....or is that my imagination....

[menagers]

I'm sure the Rush theme had lyrics. Was that definitely the original and not an ABC Classics version? Unless I'm just getting mixed up. In the 80's there was an ad for Sovereign Hill that went "Rush boys Rush, Rush to Sovereign Hill...".

[ShitScared]

Same as hearing the original Rush theme, I'm sure they used the last couple of barrs of that in the last ep of The Olden Days....or is that my imagination....

I think you're right.. from 1:15 in.

"HE'S GONE! FRONTBOTTOM'S GONE!"

[Mason Hell-Cat]

now if only someone can find the original theme song to Charlie the Wonder Dog..... ha ha

[kat-rant]

I think you're right.. from 1:15 in.

"HE'S GONE! FRONTBOTTOM'S GONE!"

Yes!! Woohoo! we've source a music, we're nerds!!

[Mason Hell-Cat]

Does anyone have the Mud theme song as an mp3? I can sense a new ringtone for my phone coming on.....

oh but of course, dear boy: http://www.televisiontunes.com/Olden_Days_(The).html

[kim]

Interesting musical find!

Speaking of gold rushes and music, did anyone put on a musical about the Eureka Stockade when they were in primary school? I was Digger 6 and had about six lines including: "Jimmy Ah Tong! He makes the best food in Ballarat, and he has the biggest heart!" I escaped from the civil uprising unhurt.

[menagers]

No, we just dressed up as bikies and nuns and did the bus-stop. Not really sure what that was all about. Oh hang on, I was actually Captain Arthur Phillip in some colonial play, which killed in the small church hall, but died horribly when it was taken on to St Kilda Town Hall. Mainly due to some hilarious technical gaffes, such as the backdrop crashing onto the entire First Fleet.

Interesting, about the Rush theme. The original was done by the Brian May band, and made it to number 5 in the Aussie charts. It must've had lyrics.

[Steve]

Can I answer this definitively?

There was NO lyrics to the original theme song.

It was called "Theme from Rush" and a version of it was by performed by James Galway and his orchestra, but originally composed by George Dreyfus

I have James Galway's musical collection. It featured on The Film Music of George Dreyfus - Vol. 2

you can find the album here (http://www.move.com.au/disc.cfm/3238)

I will not upload this to a file share as the album is still available for sale so I encourage you to buy it.

[menagers]

Well, thankyou for clearing that up Steve! But I don't think I'll be rushing out to pick up a copy any time soon! It said 'another version', hmmm? I take it you remember the theme as it was transmitted, yeah? Because that settles it then, although I would dearly love to see the Sovereign Hill ad again, my memory has built it right up!

Was Rush repeated in the 80's? I recall having no love for it, like Seven Little Australians. Damn boring crap.

[Dt Glen Twenty]

i'm sorry, i realise this thread is about the original series rather than the dgen voiceovers, but ... have you noticed the scene where the chinese family are steering their cart into town was edited out of the compiled version of 'olden days'?

i think the problem was that the abusive white people are dubbed as yelling "asian drivers!"

politically incorrect in the extreme, but quite funny in context i thought...

[Bean Is A Carrot]

I hadn't noticed that, Glen. I'll have to check that out. That bit was on the VHS release, wasn't it? I'll have to check that too.

[Steve]

Well, thankyou for clearing that up Steve! But I don't think I'll be rushing out to pick up a copy any time soon! It said 'another version', hmmm? I take it you remember the theme as it was transmitted, yeah? Because that settles it then, although I would dearly love to see the Sovereign Hill ad again, my memory has built it right up!

Was Rush repeated in the 80's? I recall having no love for it, like Seven Little Australians. Damn boring crap.


Yes it is another version. I have listened to both and you wouldn't know the difference. It would be like the Melbourne SO and the London SO, playing the opening theme to Star Wars. 99.9% of people wouldn't pick the difference.

Having said that, the only noticable difference is that the George Dreyfess verson is extended, unlike the 35-second intro theme version.

[13 schoolyards]

i'm sorry, i realise this thread is about the original series rather than the dgen voiceovers, but ... have you noticed the scene where the chinese family are steering their cart into town was edited out of the compiled version of 'olden days'?

i think the problem was that the abusive white people are dubbed as yelling "asian drivers!"

politically incorrect in the extreme, but quite funny in context i thought...

I never noticed that! I think I've still got the comp that they showed on the ABC on tape somewhere. Time for a 'special edition'!

[Dt Glen Twenty]

I hadn't noticed that, Glen. I'll have to check that out. That bit was on the VHS release, wasn't it? I'll have to check that too.

sorry, what i mean is i remember it from a TLS first series episode itself where frontbottom memorably gets it on with the chinese girl ("a change is as good as a holiday, sir!") but it WASN'T in the VHS release.

as i say, it was probably adjudged to be a bit too politically incorrect ... but it was the perfect dub for the scene they used.

[ShitScared]

I can't take this page seriously when all I can think of is Frontbottom (http://www.classicaustraliantv.com/rush.htm).

[menagers]

Gee, I took it seriously. What excellent documentation. Fascinating! And the D-Gen get mentioned too, which is good. Amazing that they decided to shoot in black and white (in '74) and then actually ran out of B&W film, which of course meant it wasn't repeated.

[OoomeplumS!]

Now that I have the DVD's ive been getting stuck into them - the first thing that I noticed when I saw the Olden Days was that the singer of the theme song sounds really really similar to Russell Crowe???

I know they were friends with him - is he the vocalist?

[menagers]

Good Lord no. I assume it was Craig Harnath because he did all their musical gear. Although that is only a guess.

What's this about being friends with Russell Crowe? Have you got that Tony on Triple J (earlier this year) recording? Very funny anecdote about Martin/Molloy inteviewing the lead singer of Fourteen Thousand Square Miles of Shit (or whatevs.) and discovering the meaning to "High Horse Honey". I think it's around here somewhere...