The Patriots (TV series)

The Patriots was an Australian television drama mini-series. A period-drama, it aired for 10 episodes on ABC in 1962.

This was among a series of period dramas produced by the broadcaster, being preceded by Stormy Petrel (1960) and The Outcasts (1961), and followed by The Hungry Ones (1963). The first two had been written by Rex Rienits but this one was written by Phillip Grenville Mann.

The cast included James Condon as William Charles Wentworth, who gets into trouble while running a newspaper called The Australian (note: no relation to the current newspaper of the same name).

Telerecordings (also known as kinescope recordings) of the episodes are held by National Archives of Australia.

The ABC had broadcast a radio play on this era by Edmund Barclay called Spoiled Darlings.

Premise
William Wentworth runs a newspaper which brings him into conflict with Governor Darling.

Production
In January 1962 the ABC announced it would make a third historical series, an unofficial sequel to Stormy Petrel and The Outcasts. The first two were written by Rex Rienits but this one was written by Phillip Grenville Mann, an Australian who had worked in London and replaced Rienits as drama editor at the ABC. Mann was quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald as saying: "I hope that any factions in it are not dubbed 'goodies' and 'baddies'. "When men of principle disagree it does not necessarily follow that they become either heroes or scoundrels. Tragedy – and drama – can sometimes be found in men who act with absolute integrity and in direct conflict with the needs and desires of the people."

Designer Phil Hickie spent four months designing 17 sets, plus the costumes and props. More than 200 gallons of paint were used.

The series aired in June.

Reception
Nan Musgrove of The Australian Women's Weekly said she "thought "The Patriots" was a wonderful story that could have had added excitement if it had been played at a quicker pace. I wish it had been done in five one-hour episodes." She noted the wide public interest the series attracted.

Stephen Vagg of Filmink argued: "The Patriots doesn’t really have enough material for 300 minutes. The conflict between Darling and Wentworth is really solid, and focusing on the Sudds case would have made a fantastic 90 minute play... But stretched over ten episodes, there’s a lot of padding. Undramatic padding too, with a lot of scenes consisting of characters standing around being indignant about what they are reading in the paper. It even skips some stuff that happened in real life which was cool, such as Wardell meeting a violent death at the hands of escaped convicts."