Le courrier du désert

As a kid, I used to stay up late and watch this series on Saturday nights. The theme song was one that I could sing for days.

Loved the idea of an Australian western. Sure wish some of these old shows were available to see again tonight.

I think that I was the only viewer in south Mississippi, as none of my friends ever got it.

That stagecoach and the crack of the whip were just music to my ears as an 11-year-old.

I was truly as upset as a kid could every have been when our local channel in New Orleans stopped airing it after only a few episodes.

Excellent TV from the 60s, this production was very interesting, it involved many styles from both countries the USA & Australia, it shows how close both cultures have evolved and have actually been one of the same through the past century. USA battled native Indians, Australia almost obliterated the aboriginal peoples, both countries had a gold rush, both countries had cowboys and outlaws, both countries made movies about its upbringing at the same time (Errol Flynn),and this TV show brings the closeness of the Australian culture and American culture as a culture born with many significant cultural ties. Both the USA and Australia have a common goal, that is to make everyone on earth feel they have made a contribution towards life as we know it. The great Peter Graves has added to this common goal, not only did he make Whiplash in 1960 in Australia he also made another Mission Impossible series in Australia in the 1980s.

I loved this show, and it turned me on to Australia at a very young age. This was my first exposure to the trademark "Aussie" hat (aka "Akubra") with one side of the brim up, attached to the side of the crown. In Peter Graves' character's case, I believe it was some kind of animal tooth that held it in place.

I pestered my mom and dad for YEARS to find me one, and finally we found a rough approximation in an Army surplus store, with a chain that would clip one side of the brim to the side of the crown. I wore it every day, and even after I got older I would wear it on camping trips.

I too wish at least one or two episodes had survived. I'm sure it would be terribly dated, but I think it would be fantastic.

This was one of my favourite shows as a kid, loved stories of the Cobb & Co coach line and especially our bushrangers Most of our bushrangers were deemed heroic and the law was the bad guys Loved the theme song too - it is one of the few very show showing how Australia was back in those early days. I know that myself and my friends use to play at being bushrangers - we had some wonderfully colorful characters. Peter Graves gives a great portrayal of a coach driver of the era. Must admit though it was odd seeing him in Whiplash and then later on in the afternoon in an American series called Fury. I was unaware that it was shown in the US but nice to know that other nationalites liked it too - it is a shame that it did not take off.

A stunning theme song that sticks in the mind even after all these years but sadly the series never clicked. The novel notion of an American in the Australian "Old West" setting up a stage line could not compete with real Westerns. Peter Graves was his reliable self. Too bad this came across as a cheapie.