Don't Blame Me (TV series)
2002 Australian TV series or program
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Don't Blame Me (also known as Don't Blame the Koalas in the United Kingdom) is an Australian children's television program produced by Southern Star Group that premiered on October 14, 2002 and ended on March 30, 2003 originally on the Nine Network and is currently shown on ABC3 with a total of 26 episodes.
Comedy
- Geoff Newton
- Kym Goldsworthy
- Simon Hopkinson
- John Armstrong
- John Thomson
- Kevin Dobson
- Marcus Cole
- Ray Quint
- Ralph Strasser
| Don't Blame Me | |
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| Also known as | Don't Blame the Koalas |
| Genre | Children's Comedy |
| Written by |
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| Directed by |
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| Starring |
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| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Production locations | Waratah Park, Australia |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production company | Southern Star Group |
| Original release | |
| Network | Nine Network |
| Release | 14 October 2002 – 30 March 2003 |
Premise
Don't Blame the Koalas follows Gabrielle, Greg and Jemma King, an upper-crust family from London who, after learning they are bankrupt, travel to Sydney to live with their Australian relatives, Chris, Kate and Mark, with the belief they have inherited a large cattle ranch, only to discover upon arriving that what they really inherited was a largely unprofitable, slightly rundown wildlife park. For the role of Greg, actor Liam Hess received the Young Actor Award at the 2003 Australian Film Institute Awards.[1] The show is set in Wallaby Park, an Australian wildlife park in the Ku-ring-gai National Park on the suburbs of Sydney. Most of the comedy in the series is slightly surreal in a Round the Twist/Driven Crazy-style way. Special effects and sounds are used to convey the characters' actions mixed in with slightly sped up footage when walking. Many of the characters frequently break the fourth wall. Having to do whatever means to keep the wildlife park up to building code standards for visitors, Vinnie has a dark past that he must call upon his old friends still involved in the Golden Triangle to save the day.
Cast
Main
- Liam Hess as Gregory King
- Hollie Chapman as Jemma King
- Basia A'Hern as Kate King
- Shaun Loseby as Mark King
- Henry Nixon as Chris King
- Fiona Terry as Gabrielle King
- Anh Do as Vinnie
Recurring
- Wendy Playfair as Mrs. Smythe
- Rhys Wakefield as Brad
- Sophie Luck
- Celia Ireland as Schoolteacher
- Roy Billing as Principal
- Brittany Byrnes as Actress #3
- Carole Skinner as Weird Wanda
- Laurie Foell as Miss Crowley
Episodes
Series overview
| Series | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 26 | 14 October 2002 | 30 March 2003 | |
Season 1 (2002)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Fate Steps In" | Kevin Dobson | Noel Price | 14 October 2002 | 101 |
| 2 | 2 | "All Kings Together" | Kevin Dobson | Noel Price | 15 October 2002 | 102 |
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When Gabrielle, Jemma and Greg King finally arrive in Australia, they discover that 'Wallaby Park' is far from being the huge cattle ranch they were hoping to sell for a quick profit. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Gemma Makes Her Mark" | Kevin Dobson | Noel Price | 16 October 2002 | 103 |
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School's in for Jemma and Greg and it's chaos and culture shock all around. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Greg Scores a Goal" | Kevin Dobson | Kym Goldsworthy | 17 October 2002 | 104 |
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Jemma attempts to teach Kate how to be a real girl and Greg's head produces unexpected results for the school soccer team. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "The Old Devil Music" | Kevin Dobson | Simon Hopkinson | 21 October 2002 | 105 |
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When Greg has to learn the euphonium for the school band, his music has a miraculous effect on the park's Tasmanian Devils. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "A Snake in the Class" | Kevin Dobson | Geoff Newton | 22 October 2002 | 106 |
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While Kate shepherds Greg through his first encounter with an Australian beach, Jemma turns the tables on Mark with the help of a python. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Monster of Wallaby Park" | Ralph Strasser | John Armstrong | 17 November 2002 | 107 |
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When Kate, Greg and Mark create a mystery creature to help promote Wallaby Park's image, they don't reckon on Jemma becoming an overnight media star. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Animal Art" | Ralph Strasser | Kym Goldsworthy | 24 October 2002 | 108 |
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Jemma is furious when she discovers that Mark cheats in art classes by getting the emus to help him with his paintings. | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Guru Mark" | Ralph Strasser | John Armstrong | 28 October 2002 | 109 |
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Kate's election as class captain produces a very swollen head while Jemma aims to get back at Mark with the best practical joke of all-time. | ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Things That Go Bump" | Ralph Strasser | Simon Hopkinson | 29 October 2002 | 110 |
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Jemma goes vegetarian and stages a protest against Wallaby Park's treatment of animals while Greg finds a new friend in the insect world. | ||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Happy Families" | Ray Quint | Geoff Newton and Kym Goldsworthy | 30 October 2002 | 111 |
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A weekend camping trip puts family harmony to the test and Gabrielle learns that life in a cage is strictly for the birds. | ||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Suspicious Minds" | Ray Quint | John Armstrong | 22 December 2002 | 112 |
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Jemma's attitude towards animals is upended by the arrival of a cat which refuses to stay and an emu that refuses to go. | ||||||
| 13 | 13 | "The Dingo Made Me Do It" | Ray Quint | John Thomson | 4 November 2002 | 113 |
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Mark and Jemma make an unlikely team for the school cross country race while Greg panics about leaving open the gate to the dingo enclosure. | ||||||
| 14 | 14 | "Best Foot Forward" | Ray Quint | Kym Goldsworthy | 5 November 2002 | 114 |
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Kate and Greg stumble across mysterious clues suggesting evil work is afoot and Mark discovers that his future lies on a bike in Europe. | ||||||
| 15 | 15 | "The Burger Master" | Marcus Cole | Kym Goldworthy | 6 November 2002 | 115 |
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When a world record for hamburger eating is up for grabs, Mark wonders if he's up to the challenge. | ||||||
| 16 | 16 | "All for a Good Cause" | Marcus Cole | John Armstrong | 12 November 2002 | 116 |
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It's time for the school fete and the Kings set out to win the prize for the most successful stall. | ||||||
| 17 | 17 | "Billy Cart Madness" | Marcus Cole | John Thomson | 26 January 2003 | 117 |
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While Kate and Jemma come up with the ideal venture to make money, Mark and Greg go all out to win the annual Billy Cart derby. | ||||||
| 18 | 18 | "Liar Liar" | Marcus Cole | Chris Kunz | 14 November 2002 | 118 |
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Jemma digs herself into a very deep hole when she tells the entire school that she's best friends with a famous English 'rap' artist. | ||||||
| 19 | 19 | "A Star Is Born" | Ralph Strasser | John Armstrong | 18 November 2002 | 119 |
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When Karate Girl, a big U.S. television show, films an episode at Wallaby Park, the Kings discover that show business isn't all it's cracked up to be. | ||||||
| 20 | 20 | "Dropped In It" | Ralph Strasser | Nick Wilson | 18 November 2002 | 120 |
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Greg applies some very lateral thinking when confronted by Wallaby Park's animal manure problem. | ||||||
| 21 | 21 | "Kate's Greatest Fan" | Marcus Cole | Kym Goldsworthy | 20 November 2002 | 121 |
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When Kate proves she's a top marbles player, she wins the admiration of a fan who is both unexpected and unwanted. | ||||||
| 22 | 22 | "Murder, Mystery, Mayhem" | Ralph Strasser | Geoff Newton | 26 November 2002 | 122 |
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Mark adopts an unusual training routine to improve his basketball skills while Jemma shows Kate the secrets of movie making. | ||||||
| 23 | 23 | "Hoop Dreams" | Marcus Cole | John Benson | 9 March 2002 | 123 |
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Jemma is horrified when a school friend from England arrives and is on the verge of discovering that her life in Australia is not as glamorous as she pretended while Chris takes over coaching duty for Kate's netball team. | ||||||
| 24 | 24 | "Jinxed" | Marcus Cole | Chris Kunz | 28 November 2002 | 124 |
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Mark believes that Jemma has brought him bad luck when she accidentally breaks his favorite bat. | ||||||
| 25 | 25 | "Who's Who" | Marcus Cole | John Thomson | 4 December 2002 | 125 |
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When Vinnie starts acting strangely, Greg and Kate suspect he could be involved in a bird smuggling operation. | ||||||
| 26 | 26 | "Justice for All" | Ralph Strasser | Simon Hopkinson | 5 December 2002 | 126 |
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A surprise offer is made to buy Wallaby Park and the King family must decide whether or not to accept it. Note: This is the end of the series. | ||||||
Development and production
Filming
Don't Blame the Koalas was filmed in the Australian wildlife reserve in Waratah Park NSW, previously made famous as the home of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo. Like Malcolm in the Middle, hallmarks of the series' filming and structure, many of which heavily influenced later programs such as Mortified and In Your Dreams (both of those series also feature at least one character frequently breaking the fourth wall), included the following:
- A 1 1/2-second whip pan as a transition from one scene to another.
- Frequent pieces to camera delivered by the King family.