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Number 96 DVD brings back pantyhose murders

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A new 4-disc DVD of legendary Aussie soap Number 96 will be released in September, bringing back to life the ‘Pantyhose Murders’ storyline.

Back in 1974 the soap on Channel 0 (now TEN) was the raciest thing on the box. It’s outrageous storylines of infidelity, lust and romance kept the country talking. The show is also the first anywhere in the world to include a long-running sympathetic gay character.

Before it’s infamous “bomb” scenes, the mystery of the “Pantyhose Murderer” kept viewers guessing. On the DVD the storyline weaves its way through the shocking deaths, and near-deaths, of several long-time residents of 96 Lindsay Street, putting most of the other residents under suspicion.

The DVD set will comprise 32 episodes on four discs – starts with Episode #649 (originally aired 4/11/1974) and finishes with #680 (original airdate 27/01/1975). It will feature a stills gallery, a new commentary and even a Network Ten News report (10/07/06) of the first Number 96 DVD release. Andrew Mercado, author of the comprehensive book Super Aussie Soaps and journalist for the Sunday Telegraph, has contributed to the commentary.

It will be released by Umbrella Entertainment in September.

Source: Therin of Andor (warning: spoilers)

9 Responses

  1. To pt ryan: The National Screen and Sound Archive, Canberra, already has an online catalogue of what Australian material they have in storage – and what episodes/movies they have available to view in their screening room.

    With “Number 96”, the masters of a big chunk of the b&w era were perishing very badly while still at Channel Ten and/or stored under Bill Harmon’s house – some no doubt became unwatchable from when they stood in their canisters as a foyer display at the old Channel Ten building in Sydney (according to a friend who used to be an extra on “The Restless Years”)! Rumour has it some b&w episodes ended up in the Epping Tip, now under a freeway.

    Everything b&w that is not at the Archive is assumed to be missing/lost; pre-Internet, the Archive once supplied me with “the list”, but what’s available is now on their site. All the colour stuff is safely accounted for (ie. #585-1218), but some of those masters are glitchy. I heard that a few interstate stations balked at rescreening some colour episodes of “96” in midnight screenings in the 80s because of “snow”, “ghosting”, etc.

    A lot of filed “96” footage is still on old two-inch broadcast masters. When I was gaining access (with Cash Harmon permission) to certain key episodes in the 90s, the Archive was benefitting by making a second transfer (to smaller tape) for themselves. So all the now-easily accessed stuff at the Archive is from the transfers made for me at that time. Plus they converted to digital format the episodes transfered for Foxtel/Austar’s TV1 re-presentations (of 24 “Number 96” eps) a few years ago.

    In the pre-home video era, no one really thought about preserving this stuff.

  2. Given that the b&w episodes of Number 96 are missing (along with depressing swathes of vintage Aussie tv) has Andrew Mercado (or any other enterprising soul) considered creating a website about what Aussie tv is missing/lost? There’s a great british equivilent called http://www.missing-episodes.com and it seems a shame that there’s so little awareness of what’s been done to our televisual heritage.

  3. Hi, how weird, and how cool!!, only a couple of weeks ago i posted about my visit to Number 96 on my blog ..

    http://tammysturns.blogspot.com/

    Wow, i totally cant wait for this, hopefully they’ll have an in store launch for this where you can meet some of the cast, oh what a joy that would be.

    Somewhere around here i have Norman Yemms autograph 🙂

    Greg xoxo

  4. Thanks for the info therin of andor. Sounds like you remember that first colour episode of Number 96 like it were yesterday. You just don’t see appointment TV like that these days.

    Nice blog too, enjoyed reading about your mums lovely flowers =)

  5. To itsross –
    The first episode to be compiled in colour was #585 (Maggie Cameron stabs Cain Carmichael with scissors), so all of the Pantyhose Murders storyline is in colour. (They’d already been taping in colour since Easter 1974; but only compiling in colour from #585)

    The night Lorelei is found dead (#649) was the first “Number 96” episode to be aired in colour in Sydney – Channel Ten did a prime time test of their equipment – and friends of mine had just won a colour TV set in a raffle! I sat in their lounge room with about twenty neighbours watching the show that night. No one expected to lose a “permanent” cast member. It was an amazing episode, and a wild ride for the next 31!

    David –
    Yes, I’ve known Andrew since he saw me talking about Number 96 on “Tonight Live With Steve Vizard” way back in 1993. I think I came up with the idea of a boxed VHS set of this storyline way back in about 1997 (I even designed some box art) – but DVD makes it more commercially viable to do 32 episodes, especially uncut ones – and Andrew has all the right connections. Although I’m jealous as hell – he’s having so much fun putting it all together – it’s been no pressure for me to let him do all the messy red tape stuff.

  6. Thanks Therin. Good to see some devotion to classic soaps is rewarded. When I was a student I was given the go ahead to start the first Prisoner fan club in the world by Channel O but despite a bit of planning and access it never really got off the ground. When I think of what it became…..

    Andrew Mercado is an excellent choice to put 96 together.

  7. Wow brilliant news! 32 consecutive eps is the next best thing to having the entire series released. I’ve also heard from Umbrella Entertainment that they are talking about releasing some episodes of The Restless Years! I’ll be in soapie heaven if they do!

  8. Thanks for the cross-post to my exclusive news item.

    It’s weird seeing that particular graphic of the building pop up on web sites from all over the world. Brings back memories of that day in “The Year of ’96” when two friends helped me composite it as the title pic for my very first web page! Seems long ago, but then the TV series premiered in 1972 and that was even longer ago. My brothers and I were shunted off to bed at precisely 8.30pm, so our minds wouldn’t get perverted. TV announcer Jeremy Cordeaux warned parents that Australia was about to lose its innocence!

    The Number 96 Home Page receives lots of queries about the availability of actual episodes on DVD and its great that Andrew Mercado and Umbrella have finally been able to make it happen! They’ve picked the best place to start!

  9. I’ve never seen this show, but look forward to seeing it just to find out how gays were represented in the 70s and social opinion at the time.

    1974? Does that make it black and white.

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