The Outsiders

Rich kid Pete Jarrett is bored with his comfortable existence and wants to know the meaning of life and on hand to help him is his grandfather Charlie (played by Andrew Keir) along with his Holden Ute which takes them both for adventures all around the Australian outback...

It was a mainstay of British afternoon TV in the seventies and the one thing I loved about it as a kid was the soundtrack and the end credits (loved the programme I must say...) where it started with the moving wheels of the ute and it would pan away as it became smaller and smaller and all you would see in this great, big, hot, dry, immense country and the glaring sun... and I was like - give me some of that!

Never got round to it though - wish they would bring this out on DVD too.

The Outsiders is undoubtedly a classic Australian TV series. Well defined characters, tight scripts, varied and interesting locales, great guest stars and a filmic ambiance all combined to make this series a special one.

Sadly, Andrew Keir has passed while Sascha Hehn from Germany has enjoyed small screen success in his native country. The ABC has repeated the series many times yet a DVD release is yet to happen.

The series is one which is timeless. It is as likely to strike a resonant chord with viewers today as it did in its own day. Come on ABC...release The Outsiders on DVD!!!!!

I would like to know if "The Outsiders" (Australian TV series) will ever be released on DVD sometime in the future? And is the music (Title Theme) available on CD?

There was only one series of 13 episodes of this drama and should have gone on to at least three or even four series in total.

The Young German Actor in the series was also in a German TV series called "Black Forest Clinic" which aired here in the UK with English dialogue superimposed with the lip-sync.

I look forward to hearing any comments from TV Industry personnel on the above questions, thank you in advance.

I agree, it was an excellent series, and was one of the first joint projects I am aware of that the Australian Broadcasting Commission (now Corporation) with a German film company. I was fortunate enough to do a similar type of journey with my grandfather in the late 80's, and take him on a return journey to Darwin, where he served during WWII. I then returned to the outback to continue that dream. The Outsiders was an example of fine Australian drama produced by the ABC at the time, and stood out for its contemporary look at the outback when others were continuing to concentrate on period drama. I suppose that sums up much of the Australian psyche really, those in the cities dream of being the old time drover...and still think that many of us in the outback are like that...eh.

21 year old Peter Jarrett (Sascha Hehn) is expected to tow the line and follow his father Harry (Ray Barrett) into the family business but Peter is more interested in learning about his grandfather Charlie Cole (Andrew Keir) who had a falling out with Harry some years ago. An argument between Peter and his father ensues resulting in Peter taking an EH Holden Ute from his father's car yard and setting off in search of his grandfather.

Peter eventually finds his grandfather and the two travel around Australia picking up whatever work they can as they go, working as anything from shearing roustabouts to local politician! The Outsiders is excellent escapist entertainment for anyone who ever dreamed of just jumping in a car and going wherever the road may take them. It is full of rich Australian outback scenery and attitudes with a character reminiscent of an Australia which might be depicted by the likes of Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson, had they lived and written in the 1970's.

The series features appearances from John Jarrett, David Gulpilil, and Tom Oliver amongst others. It comprises just 13 episodes which originally aired during the 3 months from 9 November 1976 to 1 February 1977. If the ABC had of persisted with this series and promoted it better, I have no doubt it would now be a cult classic.