Old Dogs,New Tricks: Beyond Simpson Le Mesurier,Crime-Comedy and the Telemovie Series

Abstract

Roger Simpson and Roger Le Mesurier are veterans of commercial television drama production (from Division 4 to Stingers). In the post-Skase/Bond era of deficit funding, their innovative telemovie series (Halifax f.p., Dogwoman) and crime-comedy series (Good Guys Bad Guys) have tested the boundaries of Australian television's staple drama format, the crime series. Taking actors (Rebecca Gibney, Marcus Graham, Magda Szubanski) as hooks for the networks, the joint venture company Beyond Simpson Le Mesurier has brought elements of sketch comedy and a high-concept film aesthetic to the crime series format. Drawing on private investment and public money (FFC, FilmVic, CTPF), Beyond Simpson Le Mesurier exemplifies the current convergence between the film and television industries. Paradoxically, the local success of Simpson Le Mesurier's series (particularly with a post-Fordist, 18–39-year-old demographic) highlights a crisis in the drama production industry — a crisis precipitated by a dramatic drop in international sales, forcing a return to licence fee productions.

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