The Explorers - Burke and Wills

[byslantedlight]

So for Part 2 of my project: Martin Shaw as Robert O'Hara Burke (hee - the other connection between MS and Burke just hit me then!), the Australian explorer who crossed the continent from south to North, and came so close to making it back again...

I think, from what I can gather, that this was made by the BBC as one of The Explorers series around 1972, but was re-released in America, with Anthony Quinn introducing it (which is the version I've got) in 1975/6? Does anyone have any better information than that? Does anyone have any other information than that?!

There seems to be very little about this one - or else my ability to google has failed me. On the bright side, there are screencaps under the cut!

Terrible quality I know - apologies. Someone more ept than I could no doubt clean these up, but I shall just post what I can! I guess we're lucky to have anything at all, from back then!

Burke at the beginning of the expedition, August 1860! (D'you know, this was a story that I was never told in school - which, bearing in mind I went to school in Australia, seems a bit odd now...)


He's not very happy that the camel driver has been feeding the camels rum - he doesn't want the men to get into it! The camel driver swears they need it to protect them from scurvy... (Funny how it doesn't seem to have helped sailors any!) But would you wanna be on the wrong side of that glare?!


Burke and Wills made it from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria - although they turned back before they actually saw the ocean, for fear they wouldn't be able to make it home to tell the tale (ooh, ironic...) - arriving at the depot camp to find that their company had left for the town of Menindee, earlier the same day to help one of the men who had been badly injured.


They attempt to travel on themselves, but their last camel dies, and they are forced to return to the camp. Tragically, and unbeknown to them, their company had returned to search for them while they were away, but they had not left anything to suggest they had been there, and so the camp was again deserted.


They managed to survive for a time, but help did not arrive, and they struck out once more. "The blacks" apparently tried to feed them, but... well, I'm sorry, this is Burke and Wills, it's not a happy ending!


As for our MS, I thought he did an ace job - it's him but it's not him, which I guess is his talent! He seemed alot more natural than in some things - maybe because he was playing a rather grey character, perhaps? A few "act-y" moments, but pretty good I thought...

Comments

[thoraarwin.livejournal.com]

Oh! Who is Robert O'Hara Burke?*looks up wiki* Ah! Never heard of him, but it does seem like something they ought to teach in school...

Thanks for posting pics 'cause this is one of those films I'd never see myself, lol. Too realistic. Definitely not for me:-) Reminds me of The 'Last Place on Earth' a bit... which I haven't seen either:-))

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh, I loved Last Place on Earth, though I got stuck half way when the dvds gave out on me... I shall have to try them downstairs on this dvd player, see if that works a bit better!

Actually, thinking about it, I may have missed out on him cos my high school had a system where each kid could choose their own topics for various subjects - different topics were put in different blocks of classes, so you could choose one history out of three different ones, for example. I, um, tended to go for British history even back then... although I do remember doing the American West as well... *g* And they let me get away with not choosing any science topics too, which they weren't supposed to, and of course I really regret now... *kicks self* *falls off chair*

[metabolick.livejournal.com]

I sure am glad you explained the plot to me, because all I got out of it was a lot of stumbling around in the desert to an inevitable bad ending. I just rewatched it with a friend last weekend and I didn't get any more out of it the second viewing. And yes, there are a lot of similarities with The Last Place On Earth as far as it's being like watching a train wreck in slow motion with an inept engineer in the locomotive. Vary painful.

Dave Matthews' site lists the date as 1975, but I think that is an error. Imdb lists the names of the episodes in the series, and the ones which have dates are all from 1972/3. No date given for Burke and Wills, however.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Hee - it is a bit confusing with the different base camps and all, and desert being desert! Know what you mean about a train wreck - always hard to watch things like that with hindsight, isn't it... But I guess that's life, and it's worth knowing about!

I trawled all those sites and the web for dates, and the best info I got resolving the much earlier and later dates is that the second was a re-release for America, even with a different presenter! I'd love to see the Attenborough version to compare!

[shaw012145.livejournal.com]

These are amazing. Looks like I missed Part 1 so I will go back through your LJ.

Any chance of sharing these at MP, please and thank you.

Love the shape of the hat he is wearing.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh, Part One was just the post about The New Avengers from the day before!

And certainly - please do take them for Martin's Place! (Goodness knows I've picked up enough links/inspiration from Martin's Place *g*)

[shaw012145.livejournal.com]

Many thanks. Will make it a job for tomorrow. We have a piece at 2a and I have corrected the year as per your write up.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh no, you shouldn't correct anything yet - I'm still finding out about dates! I'll have to go and see what you've got up at 2a, I've not looked yet. I figured there must be articles about it somewhere! londonronnie is checking for more details too...

[shaw012145.livejournal.com]

Without going back and checking I have both dates ... it does say something about 1976 and I have put a bit at the end re 1972. Easy to change if we have to.

I have just coverted Martin's You-Tube bit from .flv to .wmv using Earthie's instructions and some I found about converting using VLC. Marvellous the skills one acquires just by following the career of a former CI5 Agent.

[sunray45.livejournal.com]

I think I did learn about Burke & Wills at school, but that was a very, very long time ago.

Didn't even know that Martin had made that episode in the series.

Thank you so much for posting the pics.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! He's easy to miss I expect, he looks - well, like himself when you're looking out for it, but not at all like himself if you're not!

[schnuffi.livejournal.com]

URK! Looks too much like Rübezahl to me... *Whips out straight razor and goes at it*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Hee! Oh I know, but I love to see that they're good actors as well as being good-looking! *g* And didn't he say that the first thing he was going to do when he finished filming Pros was grow a beard?!

[schnuffi.livejournal.com]

Of course he's a good actor but he still looks absolutely yucky with facial hair. Some guys just shouldn't go for it.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Lol - well I'm not a huge fan of men with beards either, especially that style of beard, but I actually make a bit of an exception for MS with a beard, sometimes - in Ladder of Swords, or in those pics of him learning to sail he looks just fine! Now Bodie I can't imagine I'd ever like with a beard...

[schnuffi.livejournal.com]

Bäh! I was so happy when he finally got a shave in Ladder of Swords. A guy with lips like his shouldn't hide them beneath all that hair. What I do love is the early morning stubble - that suits him damn well (same goes for Bodie).

Bodie with a beard??? WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Yuckyuckyuck

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

They both suit stubble, it's true. *g*

[londonronnie.livejournal.com]

Eh? You've thrown me for a bit of a loop here, cos I've never heard of this! Admittedly I'm not as well up on MS's appearances as I am on LC's, but I thought I knew about all the stuff he'd done even if I hadn't seen it all. But this is a completely new one on me!

In actual fact I can remember 'Explorers' being one of my fav series of the time - typically the only one I can remember now was the ep about Burton and Speke's search for the source of the Nile, and I don't recall the Burke and Wills (nearly wrote 'Hare' then! *g*) one at all. BUT I know that I do have the BBC book of the series lurking about somewhere on a dusty bookshelf so will have to search it out. I can't remember now whether there are any actual pics from the eps in it, but I suppose that'd be too much to hope for!

Will report back with my findings (if any) asap...

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Hee! Yeay for finding new stuff for londonronnie!

You've got the book? There's a book?! Excellent!

*waits patiently for findings*

I kept nearly typing "Hare" all through as well!

[londonronnie.livejournal.com]

*waits patiently for findings*

Oh, man! There ARE findings!

There are pics! Full-page pics! Full-page pics in colour!!

Ack, and I can't scan them until later cos I'm waiting for the tame boffin to turn up at any moment to fix the fan on the PC *groan*...

As soon as he's gone I'll get to work and post them on my LJ.

What a unexpected pleasure. Well done, Sherlock!!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh more excellent! Yeay! Pics!

Is there, by any chance, any more detail about the series itself? When it was filmed (year?!) anything like that?

Hope your PC is okay!

[londonronnie.livejournal.com]

Hope you're feeling patient...

Boffin was due at 12, turned up at 2, and then spent an hour farting about. During which time 'im indoors (who avoids Boffin at all costs) was hanging around the place tugging on me arm and hissing "Are we going to the pub or what?"

So, the upshot is that as soon as Boffin left we departed for the pub and have just got back. I am now going to make meself something to eat (probably an omelette cobbled together from whatever I can find in the fridge..) and will make a start on the scanning after that. Rest assured that the pics WILL appear soon...

Hope you think they're worth waiting for! *g*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Heee! Priorities, eh?! But I think husbands and pubs and omlettes are perfectly good priorities to have - I can be patient! And it'll just be nice to see him, I think... *g*