Taurus Rising

I always liked Taurus Rising. It was glossy, fun, over the top and the characters were interesting. It was an admirable if uninspired attempt at producing Australia's answer to Dallas and Dynasty. It deserved a wider audience than it got - surprisingly, few viewers tuned in even for the debut episode. The Nine Network erred in producing it as a replacement for the incredibly successful series, The Sullivans, which was aimed at a family audience. In contrast, the 'adult oriented' Taurus Rising, was not family viewing. Sadly, Alan Cassell passed away recently (30 Aug 2017) aged 85. He played Ben Drysdale, effectively Australia's answer to J.R. Ewing (Dallas).

Taurus Rising was very average fair - it was not terrible, but it was not brilliant either. It was Austrlaia's answer to the power soaps of the greed is good era of the 1980's, Dallas, Dynasty, Falcons Crest, etc. It lasted twenty one episodes and was canceled due to low ratings. It had all the usual plot lines of take overs and political maneuvering in business, done in the shallow and simplistic way of the soap. It was also done on a limited budget, and was surprisingly well received in the USA, so much so that there were regrets that more episodes were mot made, not so much for our market, but for overseas markets. There was a recognition that TV can be global and a show can be made after it has had its success in its home nation - I suspect Neighbours will continue to be made for some time because it is popular in the UK and other nations and not merely for Australian audiences. Taurus Rising - it would be nice to see it again, see the costumes and the 80's power all on display. Don't hold your breath for a DVD release, it is one show that has long been forgotten. As people say there is a lot better TV and a lot worse, and this is one of those shows stuck firmly in the middle of it all.