The Dismissal (miniseries)

The Dismissal is an Australian television miniseries, first screened in 1983, that dramatised the events of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.

It was partly written and directed by the noted film makers George Miller and Phillip Noyce as well as Mad Max screenwriter Terry Hayes, with cinematography by Dean Semler.

The miniseries comprised six one-hour episodes. It was originally broadcast by Network Ten, beginning on 6 March 1983 (the day after the 1983 federal election), and was also broadcast in the United Kingdom. It was voted the 19th-best Australian television show on the 50 Years 50 Shows list.

In the 1970s there were several attempts to make a film based on the same story called King Hit written by Erwin Rado and Bruce Grant. Phillip Noyce and Paul Cox were both attached as directors for a time.

Cast

 * Max Phipps as the dismissed Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam
 * John Meillon as Governor-General Sir John Kerr
 * John Stanton as the appointed Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser
 * John Hargreaves as Whitlam's Deputy Prime Minister Jim Cairns
 * Bill Hunter as Labor politician Rex Connor
 * Ruth Cracknell as Margaret Whitlam, the prime minister's wife
 * George Ogilvie as Labor Senator Jim McClelland
 * Peter Sumner as Treasurer Bill Hayden
 * Vincent Ball as Labor Senator Justin O'Byrne, President of the Senate
 * Ed Devereaux as Phillip Lynch
 * Arthur Dignam as Eric Robinson
 * Stewart Faichney as Billy Snedden
 * Robyn Nevin as Anne Kerr, Lady Kerr
 * Tom Oliver as Liberal Senator Reg Withers
 * Sean Scully as Doug Anthony
 * Martin Vaughan as independent Senator Albert Field
 * John Clayton as Barry Cohen
 * Lucky Grills (uncredited) as George Harris as President of Carlton Football Club
 * Dennis Miller as Gordon Scholes / The Second Speaker
 * Peter Carroll as Narrator

Reception
The series was a huge ratings success in Australia, getting a 42% viewing share.