| Stingers | |
|---|---|
![]() Season 8 Cast: Jacinta Stapleton, Peter Phelps, Daniel Frederiksen, Gary Sweet, Kate Kendall |
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| Format | Drama/Crime |
| Created by | Guy Wilding Mikael Borglund Michael Messenger Tony Morphett |
| Starring | Peter Phelps Kate Kendall Anita Hegh Joe Petruzzi Roxane Wilson Ian Stenlake Jessica Napier Jacinta Stapleton Gary Sweet Daniel Fredriksen Lisa Chappell |
| Country of origin | |
| No. Drama is the specific mode of Fiction represented in Performance. In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment Tony Morphett (born 10 March 1938 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) created many Australian television series including Peter Phelps (born September 20, 1960 in Sydney) is an Australian actor of English & Scandinavian descent Kate Kendall (born 27 July 1973) is an Australian actress best known for her role in the long running Nine Network Australian Drama Anita Hegh (born 11 May 1972 is an Australian Actor, known for starring as Ellen 'Mac' Mackenzie on Stingers. Ian Edward Stenlake (born 1969 in Barcaldine Queensland, Australia) is an Australian Actor. Jessica Napier (born April 4, 1979) is an New Zealand actress Jacinta Stapleton (born June 6, 1979 in Malvern, Victoria) is an Australian actress Gary Sweet (born 22 May 1957 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian Film and Television actor known for his roles in Lisa Irene Chappell (born October 18, 1968) is an actress and musician from Auckland, New Zealand. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. of episodes | 192 |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx 0:44 (plus commercials) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Nine Network |
| Original run | 29 September 1998 – 14 December 2004 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Stingers (1998 - 2004) was an Australian TV police drama series. The Nine Network, or Channel Nine, is an Australian television network based in Willoughby, a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic Police are agents or agencies usually of the executive, empowered to enforce the law and to effect public and social order through the legitimatized use of force Drama is the specific mode of Fiction represented in Performance. A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U It ran for eight seasons on the Nine Network before it was canceled in late 2004 due to declining ratings and the late timeslot Channel Nine gave the program. The Nine Network, or Channel Nine, is an Australian television network based in Willoughby, a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Channel 9 may refer to Channel 9 (Malaysia Channel 9 (New Zealand Channel 9 (Serbia Channel 9 (Thailand The series has also aired in 65 countries, including Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Iran, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the UK. In Political geography and International politics, a country is a Political division of a geographical entity Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located
Inspired by true events, Stingers chronicled the cases of a deep undercover unit of the Australian police. The series also followed their personal lives, which sometimes became intertwined with their jobs. The show received average ratings during its debut season, but after some major changes, including intensive character development, the series turned out to be a success during the following year. Television ratings in Australia are collected by three main organisations OzTAM in metropolitan areas Regional TAM in regional areas serviced by three commercial The original cast members include Peter Phelps, Joe Petruzzi, Kate Kendall, Ian Stenlake, Anita Hegh, and Jessica Napier. Peter Phelps (born September 20, 1960 in Sydney) is an Australian actor of English & Scandinavian descent Kate Kendall (born 27 July 1973) is an Australian actress best known for her role in the long running Nine Network Australian Drama Ian Edward Stenlake (born 1969 in Barcaldine Queensland, Australia) is an Australian Actor. Anita Hegh (born 11 May 1972 is an Australian Actor, known for starring as Ellen 'Mac' Mackenzie on Stingers. Jessica Napier (born April 4, 1979) is an New Zealand actress All except Kendall and Phelps left the show to pursue new challenges.
Stingers reruns are currently being shown on Foxtel's The Hallmark Channel. Season 7 is currently being shown and it is expected that after the completion of season 7, season 8 will follow.
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Richard Morgan, who played Det-Sen Sgt. Jeremy Leo Kewley (born 16 August 1960) is an Australian actor based in Melbourne, who made his professional acting debut at the age of 14 in Rebecca Catherine Gibney (born December 14, 1964 in Levin, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Australia-based actress Gigi Edgley (born 16 November, 1977) is an Australian Actress and Recording artist. Richard Morgan was an Australian actor He was most famous for playing the long-running role of Terry Sullivan in Soap opera The Sullivans. Reg Masters from 1999 until 2004, died of motor neurone disease on 23 December 2006. The motor neurone diseases (or motor neuron diseases) (MND are a group of progressive neurological disorders that destroy Motor neurones the cells that control voluntary Events 962 - Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Morgan also appeared on The Sullivans, A Country Practice, Sons and Daughters, MDA, Blue Heelers and Something in the Air. The Sullivans was also the title of a 1944 Oscar -nominated film set during World War II and written by Eddie Doherty (later renamed The A Country Practice was one of the longest-running Australian Television drama series Sons and Daughters was an Logie Award winning Australian Soap opera created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy MDA was an Australian television series that aired between 2002 and 2005 on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC, the nation's non-commercial public broadcaster Blue Heelers was a long-running Australian police drama series which depicted the lives of the police officers stationed at the fictional Mt For the song by Thunderclap Newman see Something in the Air (song.
On Sunday 16 July 2006 at 2 p. Events 622 - The beginning of the Islamic calendar. 1054 - Three Roman legates fractured relations between the Western and Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. m. , Executive Producer John Wild and Script Producer Marcia Gardner sat down with an audience at ACMI in Federation Square in Melbourne to "explore the narrative arc and character development from the first episodes to the final series. John Wild may refer to Jack Wild (1952-2006 English actor John Caspar Wild (1804-1846 American painter John Daniel Marcia Gardner is an Australian Screenwriter who has worked on such shows as Paradise Beach, Pacific Drive, Medivac Federation Square (also colloquially known as Fed Square) is a cultural precinct in the city of Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 " The event took place in the Screen Pit and was free to the public. Also in attendance was cast member Jeremy Kewley who posted the following rundown of the discussion for the Stingers forum:
| “ | Stingers came about in a very fast manner. Jeremy Leo Kewley (born 16 August 1960) is an Australian actor based in Melbourne, who made his professional acting debut at the age of 14 in John Wild had to get the show from a concept 'jotted down on paper' into a television series in just 11 weeks and in an 8. 30pm time slot! | ” |
It first began airing up towards the end of the year, on Monday nights. It was up against another new show on Channel Seven, Ally McBeal, and Stingers beat McBeal regularly for its first 11 weeks before it went on its Christmas ratings break. The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. Ally McBeal is an American Television series which ran on the FOX network from 1997 to 2002 When both shows returned after the ratings break, McBeal began to win in the ratings quite comfortably, worrying Nine executives.
At this time Channel Nine and the producers had to work out how to win ratings back, and found that the reason why so many people preferred Ally McBeal over Stingers was because Stingers had a very rough, edgy and realistic feel to it, and that this did not appeal to women of all ages, who preferred the lightness of McBeal. So Stingers was moved to Tuesday night. This helped a bit, but not enough. Channel Nine were thinking about canceling the show, but Nine owner Kerry Packer liked the show and suggested that they keep it on the air. Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC (17 December 1937 &ndash 26 December 2005 son of Sir Frank Packer, was an Australian publishing media and gaming tycoon Nine did, but moved it an hour later to 9. 30pm Tuesdays, and Stingers started to find it's audience (although this was still not a big one). It stayed at this timeslot until the end of 7th season which seemed to be predominately male middle class white collar workers between the ages of 30-55.
By the middle of the second season, ratings were still not spectacular enough and Channel Nine commissioned research which showed that women were not particularly interested in Stingers. As women make up 50% of the audience the producers were told to make the first major change to Stingers: make it more female-friendly. This led to the departure of Joe Petruzzi, making Anita Hegh's character the boss of the Unit. Anita Hegh (born 11 May 1972 is an Australian Actor, known for starring as Ellen 'Mac' Mackenzie on Stingers. This also led to another female character being introduced, undercover operative Danni Mayo, portrayed by Roxane Wilson. This led to the show becoming more 'lighter' to appeal to the female audiences. Soon after, humour was added to the show, in the form of Jeremy Kewley's character, Bryan Gray. Jeremy Leo Kewley (born 16 August 1960) is an Australian actor based in Melbourne, who made his professional acting debut at the age of 14 in These changes worked well and Stingers steamed through Seasons 3, 4 and 5, but then Anita Hegh and Ian Stenlake decided to leave the show, causing another drastic change in the series. Anita Hegh (born 11 May 1972 is an Australian Actor, known for starring as Ellen 'Mac' Mackenzie on Stingers. Ian Edward Stenlake (born 1969 in Barcaldine Queensland, Australia) is an Australian Actor.
Channel Nine, on a nationwide cost-cutting drive, hinted at dropping the show because Stingers' was considered too expensive; its budget had crept up from its original $440,000-per-episode cost, to around $480,000. They dropped a bombshell on the producers: shave around $130,000 every week from the budget or the show would have to cease production. A huge ask, but everyone at Stingers was keen to keep going as everyone felt there were still life in the show and plenty of stories to tell.
By the start of the next season the budget was chopped down to $350,000 per episode. Shooting changed from six days per episode to five, stock changed from 16mm film to SP Betacam Videotape, the crew became smaller, and writers were given less time to write each episode. The location changed from the "Crimplex" (warehouse/studio/offices by the Yarra River) to the studios of Channel Nine in Richmond. The Yarra River is a River in southern Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established Richmond is an Inner city Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Channel Nine spent money on a big new set (plus a new "hospital ward" set and a new "pub/bar" set) and justified the cost by making sure that most of the action on the show now took place inside the studio on the new sets, with a lot less time spent on locations, with less money spent on car chases, stunts and special effects.
Channel Nine also wanted more "star power" in the show, so Gary Sweet was brought in as Luke Harris (and Roxane Wilson decided to leave), and Rebecca Gibney – now out of a job without Halifax FP – was cast for the first few episodes of the new season. Gary Sweet (born 22 May 1957 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian Film and Television actor known for his roles in Rebecca Catherine Gibney (born December 14, 1964 in Levin, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Australia-based actress Halifax fp is an Australian television Drama series produced by Nine Network from 1994 to 2001. Most of these major changes worked quite well, and most viewers at home would not have been too aware of the changes to the visual quality of the show (such as using tape instead of film).
But, as Executive Producer John Wild humorously pointed out, "the ratings didn't change one point!" Channel Nine commissioned more surveys that told them the show needed to appeal to younger viewers. John Wild may refer to Jack Wild (1952-2006 English actor John Caspar Wild (1804-1846 American painter John Daniel So two new characters were added, played by Daniel Frederiksen and Jacinta Stapleton, and, John Wild said, "and the ratings still didn't change one point!" Channel Nine insisted that still more star power was needed to lift the ratings, so Lisa Chappell (Logie winning McLeod's Daughters star) joined the cast. Jacinta Stapleton (born June 6, 1979 in Malvern, Victoria) is an Australian actress Lisa Irene Chappell (born October 18, 1968) is an actress and musician from Auckland, New Zealand. McLeod's Daughters is an Australian television drama that aired on the Nine Network from 2001-2009 After still no improvement to the ratings, more star power was further added in guest roles with Bill Hunter, Gigi Edgley, Steve Bisley, Tottie Goldsmith. Bill Hunter (born February 27 1940 is an Australian actor of Film, Stage and Television. Gigi Edgley (born 16 November, 1977) is an Australian Actress and Recording artist. Steve Bisley (born 1951 at Lake Munmorah, New South Wales) is an Australian film and television Actor, who attended the National Institute Tottie Goldsmith (born Caroline Goldsmith on August 27, 1962) is an Australian Actress and Singer. No improvement still.
Stingers was then "rested" for a couple of weeks and replaced by repeats of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and these repeats rated better than first-run episodes of Stingers (screening a repeat episode of CSI probably costs the network about $25,000 as opposed to a first-run episode of Stingers at $350,000). CSI Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama Television series that trails the investigations of a team of Las Vegas
It became clear what Nine would do: move Stingers to 10. 30pm on a permanent basis and put higher-rating repeats of CSI on at 9. 30 p. m. Channel Nine in Adelaide did not like this move and moved Stingers to 9:30 Monday nights, however this only lasted for five weeks before it was moved back to 10:30 on a Tuesday night; such a move to a later timeslot caused Stingers’ ratings to drop even lower, giving Nine reason to finally end the show. Stingers’ curse seemed to be that it always rated well, but it never rated spectacularly.
Inspired by true events, Stingers chronicled the cases of a deep undercover unit of the Australian police. The series also followed their personal lives, which sometimes became intertwined with their jobs. The original unit was composed of Senior Constable Peter Church (whose real name was Mike Fischer) played by Peter Phelps, Senior Detective Angie Piper (Kate Kendall), Constable Oscar Stone (whose real name was Cameron Pierce) played by Ian Stenlake, Det-Sgt. Peter Phelps (born September 20, 1960 in Sydney) is an Australian actor of English & Scandinavian descent Kate Kendall (born 27 July 1973) is an Australian actress best known for her role in the long running Nine Network Australian Drama Ian Edward Stenlake (born 1969 in Barcaldine Queensland, Australia) is an Australian Actor. Ellen 'Mac' Mackenzie (Anita Hegh) and Det-Sen Sgt. Anita Hegh (born 11 May 1972 is an Australian Actor, known for starring as Ellen 'Mac' Mackenzie on Stingers. Bernie Rocca (Joe Petruzzi), who lead the unit. Rocca was shot and left the unit in season two, and Mac became the new head.
Constable Danni Mayo (Roxane Wilson) joined the unit in season three, while season five saw two casualties: Stone was killed while Mac ran away with a diamond robber. Detective Inspector Luke Harris (Gary Sweet) took over as head of the unit until the end of the series, and Danni quit the force after being enraged by him. Gary Sweet (born 22 May 1957 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian Film and Television actor known for his roles in Constable Christina Dichiera (Jacinta Stapleton) joined the unit in season six. Jacinta Stapleton (born June 6, 1979 in Malvern, Victoria) is an Australian actress Her real name is Felicity Matthews, but this was not known to the force, as she had a criminal history under that name. Senior Detective Leo Flynn (Daniel Frederiksen) joined in season seven.
Season eight saw the arrival of Detective Katherine Marks, who was revealed as Harris' daughter from his first marriage. The revelation also ended definitely Harris and Angie's already shaky relationship, which had produced a son.
September 1998 to June 1999 – 22 episodes
June to November 1999 – 22 episodes
June to November 2000 – 22 episodes
August to December 2001 – 22 episodes
February to July 2002 – 22 episodes
August to December 2002 – 14 episodes
March 2003 to April 2004 – 40 episodes
April to December 2004 – 28 episodes