Let The Blood Run Free
Encyclopedia
Let The Blood Run Free was an anarchic Australian spoof
soap opera
set in St Christopher's Hospital and created by comedy collective, The Blood Group.
The live Le Joke version, which had a continuous weekly run for about a year, was a success with audience members returning every Thursday evening to see the next episode. Before long, it had become too big for the 100-seat Le Joke theatre, and was moved downstairs for several seasons on the main stage of the Last Laugh.
from 29 August 1992 to 7 January 1995. The show featured the original cast including Kath & Kim
actor Peter Rowsthorn in the early role of hospital orderly
Warren Cronkshonk.
It is thought to be the first interactive television comedy ever made - in keeping with the live version, at the end of each episode the viewers could vote by telephone to decide the direction the storylines would take. It was also unusual in its lack of respect for television conventions, breaking the fourth wall
by turning to the camera and directly addressing the viewers.
The stories were as over-the-top as the acting; Pam and Ray discovering they are brother and sister - just after they get married and Pam announces her pregnancy; Effie being run over by St Christopher in a VW campervan and squashed flat, only to be brought back from the dead in Series 2 by Ray and her boyfriend Warren; Matron Dorothy Conniving-Bitch teaming up with her long-lost axe-murdering lover Bill Schwarzenhameneggenberger to destroy Pam and Ray's relationship; the vampire Carla Laboumdier falling for Ray, meanwhile stalking the staff, until her eventual staking by Ray.
Both Series 1 and Series 2 are available on DVD in Australia, each season occupying a two-disc set.
or extreme.
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
set in St Christopher's Hospital and created by comedy collective, The Blood Group.
Conception
The show was originally conceived as a live weekly event for the upstairs venue Le Joke of the Melbourne comedy venue The Last Laugh. Tory McBride, then the associate producer of comedy at the Last Laugh, came up with the concept and the title and in association with comedy director, John Thomson, put together the team which was to become The Blood Group. The show was very loosely scripted and then improvised on stage, with two planned storylines depending on live audience voting.The live Le Joke version, which had a continuous weekly run for about a year, was a success with audience members returning every Thursday evening to see the next episode. Before long, it had become too big for the 100-seat Le Joke theatre, and was moved downstairs for several seasons on the main stage of the Last Laugh.
Television
Let The Blood Run Free was subsequently picked up for television and 26 episodes were produced using a number of the storylines developed during the stage shows. They aired in Australia from 20 August 1990 to 22 January 1994 and in the UK on Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
from 29 August 1992 to 7 January 1995. The show featured the original cast including Kath & Kim
Kath & Kim
Kath & Kim is a Logie Award-winning character-driven Australian television situation comedy series. The series was created by, and is written by Jane Turner and Gina Riley who play the title characters: a suburban mother and daughter with a dysfunctional relationship...
actor Peter Rowsthorn in the early role of hospital orderly
Orderly
A medical orderly , is a hospital attendant whose job consists of assisting medical and/or nursing staff with various nursing and/or medical interventions. These duties are classified as routine tasks involving no risk for the patient.- Job details :Orderlies are often utilized in various hospital...
Warren Cronkshonk.
It is thought to be the first interactive television comedy ever made - in keeping with the live version, at the end of each episode the viewers could vote by telephone to decide the direction the storylines would take. It was also unusual in its lack of respect for television conventions, breaking the fourth wall
The Fourth Wall
The Fourth Wall is a 1992 play by the American playwright A.R. Gurney.It was originally produced in the United States in regional theatre...
by turning to the camera and directly addressing the viewers.
The stories were as over-the-top as the acting; Pam and Ray discovering they are brother and sister - just after they get married and Pam announces her pregnancy; Effie being run over by St Christopher in a VW campervan and squashed flat, only to be brought back from the dead in Series 2 by Ray and her boyfriend Warren; Matron Dorothy Conniving-Bitch teaming up with her long-lost axe-murdering lover Bill Schwarzenhameneggenberger to destroy Pam and Ray's relationship; the vampire Carla Laboumdier falling for Ray, meanwhile stalking the staff, until her eventual staking by Ray.
Both Series 1 and Series 2 are available on DVD in Australia, each season occupying a two-disc set.
Characters' names
In keeping with the spoof nature of the series each character had a name that was either a punPun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
or extreme.
- Nurse Pam Sandwich - who became Pam Good-Sandwich on marrying Ray and Pam Good-Lovechild-Sandwich on marrying Richard - as played by Jean KittsonJean KittsonJean Kittson is an Australian performer, writer and comedian in theatre and print, on radio and television. She made her comedy debut at Melbourne’s comedy venue Le Joke in a series of solo performances, and then in the stage version of Let The Blood Run Free.- Television :Kittson is best known...
- Dr. Ray Good as played by Brian NankervisBrian NankervisBrian Nankervis is an Australian comedian. He was originally best known for his character of Raymond J. Bartholomeuz, an eccentric beat poet. The character was popular during the 1980s and 1990s in regular appearances on Hey Hey It's Saturday...
- Dr. Richard Lovechild as played by David Swann
- Matron Dorothy Conniving-Bitch as played by Lynda Gibson
- Warren Cronkshonk as played by Peter Rowsthorn, who also played axe-murderer Bill Schwarzenhameneggenberger
- Inspector George Slabb - pronounced Slab-ub, because of the double "b" - as played by Mark CutlerMark CutlerMark Cutler is a recording artist and singer-songwriter from Providence, Rhode Island. Mark Cutler has been the lead singer and songwriter for The Schemers, The Raindogs, and The Dino Club.-External links:...
. Cutler originally played Richard in the stage version, but was unavailable for the start of the TV series, hence the casting of Swann in the role. - Nurse Effie Shunt as played by Helen Knight, who also played Dr Angie Travers and Matron's long-lost daughter Moon Unit.