Stacks Image 2338
This guide will give you, for each episode, an overview of the director, writer and a synopsis. If available, you'll find production details and/or trivia. In a few cases, personal photos from the episode's set are included.

Trivia
The trivia is based on my own research and on anecdotes by cast and crew.

Backstage & personal photos
Backstage photos and personal photos linked to in the trivia boxes are mostly from the personal collections of Olivia Wenholz and Rosemary Smith and are used with permission. For a full list of credits, see below.

Other information
All other information was compiled using the publicity kit and newspaper TV listings of the time from all three countries. In the case of the UK and The Netherlands, only the broadcast dates of the first run are noted. For more detailed broadcast information, airdates for repeats or airdates for other countries, including a rather comprehensive listing of all eight runs of the series in Germany, please visit the Broadcast History page.


Credits
Credits for the photos used on this page are as follows:

[3] From Olivia's personal collection
[4] From my own personal collection
[8] From Rosemary's personal collection

All images used with permission. Please do not copy these images without asking first.


01 The Siege of Bartons' Bathroom

Director

Richard Sarell

Writer

Jocelyn Moorhouse

Airdate Australia

Monday,
29 February 1988

Airdate UK

Monday,
3 April 1989

Airdate Netherlands

Monday,
28 January 1991

Stacks Image 5304

Elly Barton's backyard has something no other backyard or public park in the neighbourhood has: a tree. Elly loves that tree; it's her favourite place to seek peace and quiet from her three brothers, her parents and life in general. And it gives her a great view of her neighbourhood and the backyard of her neighbour, the mysterious Mr Jensen. And Mr Jensen doesn't like that at all.

But Mr Jensen has a plan. He convinced Elly's dad Robert that the tree is a risk and needs to be cut down. Elly's brothers are excited: a real chainsaw in action in their own backyard!

But Elly won't have any of it, and she has a plan too. She lays siege to her family's only bathroom and won't come out until her tree is safe.

Click image to play clip

Click image to play clip
Clip ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Digitised by me. (Disclaimer).


Production notes
- Although the first episode to be broadcast, this was not the first one to be filmed (
Half-time was)

- In reality, the Bartons' house is located at 5 Copnal Court, Glen Waverley. Mr. Jensen's house really is next door, at No. 6. Read more about the filming locations on the
Filming Locations page.

- There was no tree in the backyard of the house at 5 Copnal Court. All the scenes involving the tree were filmed by and in a tree at a different location. Some scenes included a fake tree and a fake perch. When both the house and the tree needed to be in a single shot, like in the opening shot of this episode, the tree was added in post production.

- Interior scenes were not filmed in the house; they were filmed in ABC's
Ripponlea studios in Elsternwick, Victoria. Kudos to the studio designers (Frank Earley and Mem Alexander) for making it seem they weren't. If you compare the set photos to photos of the interior of the real house at 5 Copnal Court, you'll notice some similarities (loads external site).

Trivia
- The title of this episode is sometimes misprinted as "The Siege of
the Bartons' Bathroom", but according to the title card of the episode and the official documentation for the series, there's no "the" in front of "Bartons'".

- This episode is basically a remake of Jocelyn Moorhouse'
1986 short film of the same name. Well, there is a small difference in the name: the film is titled "The Siege of Barton's Bathroom"; while the episode is titled "The Siege of Bartons' Bathroom"; a difference of apostrophical size.

- The episode, of course, stars the new cast for the series. Only Frankie J. Holden reprises his role as "Dad" in the series. You can read more about the short film and have a look at the "
Other Elly Barton" in the film's section on this site.

Stacks Image 4024

Elly in her bed pondering on what to do to save her tree.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
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Mr Jensen walks in with his chainsaw. The camera angle makes him look a lot more menacing.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
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The Barton boys and dad hear the bathtub drain as Elly ends her siege.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.

02 The Barton League of Bird Lovers

Director

Peter R. Dodds

Writer

Jocelyn Moorhouse

Airdate Australia

Tuesday,
1 March 1988

Airdate UK

Monday,
10 April 1989

Airdate Netherlands

Tuesday,
29 January 1991

Elly Barton (Olivia Harkin)

Elly's tree is one of the few places in Banksiawood where birds live. Unfortunately, Barley Sugar, the neighbours' cat, kills a bird right under Elly's eyes. That's it! Birds need protecting, and Elly steps up. The Barton League of Bird Lovers is born and Elly is president. And Anita is vice president. And Paul can be… eh… treasurer.

But not everyone agrees with the course of the new League and soon a rival club is started.

This means war!

Click image to play clip

Click image to play clip
Clip ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Digitised by me. (Disclaimer).


Trivia
- This episode introduces Anita and her sister Yvonne McPherson. Vince Capaletti, Skinner and his sister Susan "Lonely Girl" Davies also appear for the first time. Anita's mom is also briefly seen.

- Barley Sugar, the cat, is owned by the Stoomph family, who lives in the next block of houses behind Elly's. What's that? You've never heard of them? Well, they're something that
could have been.

- The first hint of Vince and Susan's attraction to each other is given during the photo shoot at the bird feeder. This is the set up for the next episode's subplot.

- The book that Yvonne has to read from is the 1975 novel
The Eagle has Landed by Jack Higgins. It's a World War II thriller that's definitely not suited for seven year olds.

- The bird guide that Elly and Anita use to initiate the "eggs", is the 1980
A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia by Graham Pizzey and Roy Doyle. (Thanks to fellow Bartons fan Boubekeur from Algeria for this information!)

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Anita and Elly proudly announce their League to the rest of the world (well… Banksiawood)

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
Stacks Image 4103

Aspiring League members, or "eggs", need to be "initiated" by asking bird related questions while hanging from a Hills hoist (drying mill)

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
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Anita and her little sister Simone McPherson (Laura Noonan) announce their Nature Club to the world (well, again… Banksiawood).

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.

03 Half-time

Director

Richard Sarell

Writer

P.J. Hogan

Airdate Australia

Wednesday,
2 March 1988

Airdate UK

Monday,
17 April 1989

Airdate Netherlands

Wednesday,
30 January 1991

Paul Barton (Matt Day)

Paul Barton plays football. Well, "plays" is the wrong word to be honest, as Paul has been reserve for the entire season. Paul doesn't mind, in fact he likes it better this way. But his father would like to see him play at least today's game, as it's the finals! When team captain Vince is downed, Paul has to muster up all his courage and go on the field.

Elly and Anita meanwhile, are a two-girl cheering squad for Paul's team. Elly is primarily there to cheer on her favourite brother of course, but Anita has her own agenda. She's planning on winning over Vince's heart and eventually marry him. But unfortunately for Anita, Vince has other plans.

Image

Click image to play clip
Clip ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Digitised by me. (Disclaimer).


Click image to play clip

Click image to play clip
Clip ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Digitised by me. (Disclaimer).


Production notes
- This episode was filmed at the
Cheltenham Oval in Melbourne, home of the Melbourne AFL club Cheltenham FNC. The oval was renamed to the Jack Barker Oval in 2008. Read more about the filming locations on the Filming Locations page.

Trivia
- This is one of only two episodes that doesn't focus on Elly, although she still has a sizable subplot in this episode. The other episode is
Suspected (episode 11).

- In
the book, Anita falls in love with Paul after she sees him leave the field in tears. Although that particular scene is not in the episode, Anita is in love with Paul for the rest of the series.

- That missing scene should play just after Elly tries to talk sense into Anita by (teasingly) predicting that Vince and Susan will get married and "
they'll have children, and not call any of them 'Anita'!".

- That scene might be my favourite from the entire series; the chemistry and timing between Olivia and Rose is brilliant.

- Additional scenes and reshoots for certain scenes where necessary and filmed at the end of the taping schedule. This brought along a problem: the kids had grown since the taping of the episode. This meant the football and cheerleading uniforms barely fit when it was time to do the reshoots.

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Robert tries to convince Paul to ask the coach to let him play, as today is the final game of the season.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
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Elly and Anita are trapped in the boys showers as Vince and Susan are kissing each other on the other side of the wall.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
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Paul sneaks off the field, quitting football forever.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.

LTR: Olivia Harkin (Elly Barton), Jennifer Jarman-Walker (Clare Barton) and Rosemary Smith (Anita McPherson)

Olivia, Jennifer and Rosemary, at the Cheltenham Oval. On the set of Half-time
[8]


04 Mr Snoller's Black Bag

Director

Mandy Smith

Writer

Noel Robinson

Airdate Australia

Thursday,
3 March 1988

Airdate UK

Monday,
24 April 1989

Airdate Netherlands

Thursday,
31 January 1991

Mister Snoller (Alan Lovett)

The Snollers are a mysterious family that live in the oldest house in Banksiawood. Elly is convinced the Snollers want to blow up Banksiawood with homemade bombs! So she decides to investigate. Anita has to come too, even if she really doesn't want to.


Elly tails Mr Snoller on one of his suspicious trips to… where exactly? And what's in that black bag of his? And what is Miss India, the mysterious lady living in the house with him, up to?

Click image to play clip

Click image to play clip
Clip ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Digitised by me. (Disclaimer).


Production notes
- The scene where Elly chases Mr Snoller around Banksiawood, was shot in the city center of Glen Waverley (Monash, Melbourne). The Monash City Counsil building can be clearly seen.

- The library where Elly follows Mr Snoller into, is the Glen Waverley branche of the Monash City Library.

- Read more about filming locations on the
Filming Locations page.

Trivia
- This episode marks the first appearance of the Snollers.

- All the Snollers related story lines are missing from the book, making them the only "main" characters unique to the television series.

- The people of Banksiawood call Miss Snoller "
Miss India" because she's supposedly from there. In reality, she's from England and has never even been to India. Her parents did use to live in India before she was born though.

- Miss Snoller tells Elly of her desire to one day visit India, which sets up the plot for the future episode
Position Vacant.

- Maureen Edwards had to put on an English accent for her role as Miss India. She's actually from New Zealand. Alan Lovett, who plays Mr Snoller, also puts on an English accent. He's Australian.

Stacks Image 4904

Elly and Anita trying to peak into the Snoller's house to see where the ticking noise is coming from.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
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Elly has tailed Mr Snoller into the city center and into the library.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
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Mr Snoller reveals he has been aware of Elly's spying all along.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.

05 Three Little Pigs

Director

Richard Sarell

Writer

Greg Millin

Airdate Australia

Monday,
7 March 1988

Airdate UK

Monday,
8 May 1989

Airdate Netherlands

Friday,
1 February 1991

Mister Jensen (Robert Essex)

Miss India did it, Mr Jensen is sure of it. His rubbish bin has been vandalised, and who else could have done it? Her love for red paint is the only evidence he needs. And everyone knows she's up to no good. Yes, he's sure she's the culprit.

Meanwhile, Skinner Davies lost his paper round because of complaints. Elly suspects this has something to do with Mr Jensen's rubbish bin and decides to investigate.

Click image to play clip

Click image to play clip
Clip ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Digitised by me. (Disclaimer).


Trivia
- This episode reveals Skinner does not have it easy at home, with his father's throwing him out of the house at age 7 for losing a paper round.

- The episode's title refers to the number of times "pig" was painted on Mr Jensen's bin.

- Mr Jensen's dog, Max, was found at a local pound by the production. He was not what they had in mind when they set out looking for a suitable dog, but they fell in love with him at first sight.

- In the final scene, Skinner hands Elly the paper instead of throwing it like he usually does. Is this because Skinner knows Elly convinced Mr Jensen to retract his complaint, or does he have a
different reason?

Stacks Image 4953

Skinner doing his paper round by throwing the papers in the front yards instead of using the paper holders.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
Stacks Image 4937

"Miss Barton" is indeed aware that it is very rude to stare, Mr Jensen. Thank you for asking though.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
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Skinner and Mr Jensen and the latter's paper holder.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.

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Robert Essex on set with dog Max on Copnal Court.
[4]

Skinner Davies (Frank Webb)

Frank Webb with lots of newspapers. On the set of Three Little Pigs.
[8]

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Jennifer and Ben at Copnal Court. On the set of Three Little Pigs
[8]


Robert Barton (Frankie J. Holden)

Frankie on the set of Three Litle Pigs.
[8]


06 The Great Billycart Aid Race

Director

Richard Sarell

Writer

Shane Brennan

Airdate Australia

Tuesday,
8 March 1988

Airdate UK

Monday,
15 May 1989

Airdate Netherlands

Monday,
4 February 1991

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Elly decides to help Bob Geldof feed the world. And what better way is there do that other than with a charity billycart race?

Everyone joins in, even Mr Jensen. But when someone is about to make more money from the race than Elly's charity does, something needs to be done about it.

Meanwhile, Douglas feels left out by his family as no one wants to help him build a billycart.

Click image to play clip

Click image to play clip
Clip ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Digitised by me. (Disclaimer).


Production notes
- This episode's title was originally "
Elly Barton Feeds The World". The draft of this episode's script that a cast member gave me still bears that title. Have a look at it here.

- The newspaper from which Elly cuts the article about Bob Geldof, is the Thursday 21 May 1987 edition of
The Age, a real life Melburnian newspaper. The paper was altered by the crew for this episode; you can find out more about that here.

Trivia

- The cast group shot on the back cover of the
book was made during the shooting of this episode, even though this story line is not part of the book.

- The very issue of
The Age that's used in this episode (see Production notes above) has another connection to C/o The Bartons: printed on page 47 of that issue, is an article on the show!03 So maybe 21 May 1987 is, as Doc Brown in Back to the Future II puts it, "a temporal junction point for the entire space-time continuum". Well that, or the crew had a few copies of the issue at hand because the show was mentioned in it. I'm going with the latter.

- Olivia's stunt double for the race was
Trent Lee, who is sadly not credited. You can see a photo of Trent, dressed as Elly and next to Olivia, below.

- The writer of this episode, Shane Brennan, became executive producer and show runner for the American drama series
NCIS later in life. He also created that show's spin-off, NCIS: Los Angeles.

- See the fancy new bike Skinner's riding in the last scene? I guess his paper round from
Three Little Pigs paid off!

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Elly discovers there's a lot of misery in the world

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
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Mr Jensen flags Douglas to his big victory.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
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Unfortunately, winning means getting kissed by your big sister.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.

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Olivia Harkin (left) and her stunt double Trent Lee, backstage during the shoot of The Great Billycart Aid Race
[3]


07 Position Vacant

Director

Mandy Smith

Writer

Noel Robinson

Airdate Australia

Wednesday,
9 March 1988

Airdate UK

Monday,
22 May 1989

Airdate Netherlands

Tuesday,
5 February 1991

Stacks Image 5409

Elly has decided Miss India should get a job. How else is she going to pay for the trip to India she's been talking about for months? And Elly knows just the job for her: clerk at the local firestation.

Mum Clare also needs a job; she's done being a stay-at-home mum. And that vacancy for a clerk at the firestation seems like a perfect fit. Clare loves the fire brigade!

Click image to play clip

Click image to play clip
Clip ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Digitised by me. (Disclaimer).


Production notes
- The scenes where Elly and later Clare post the application letters, were filmed on Townsend Street, Glen Waverley. You can see the street sign in the back in Clare's scene.

- The fire station shown is Fire Station 31, at 645 Ferntree Gully Road in Glen Waverley. The fire station is still there today, but the building shown in the episode is no more. That was replaced with a bigger facility since.

- Read more about filming locations on the
Filming Locations page.

Trivia
-
Mum's friend Angela and the fact she's a travel agent were first mentioned in Mr Snollers' Black Bag, but this is the first (and only) time we see her.

- This episode's plot originates in Miss India telling Elly she wants to visit India one day (again in
Mr. Snoller's Black Bag).

- The fire truck in this episode, is a
1978 International ACCO (1810B). Just so you know. Thanks Richard!

- The red
Ford Falcon GL that Robert drives is kind of a Frankenstein version according to IMCDb.org.

- There's a very good reason why Clare loves the Fire Brigade. According to her
character's description, she was rescued from a fire by them when she was a child.

Stacks Image 5051

The kids find themselves locked out of the house as mum is out to discuss her future with Angela.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
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Uneasy tea with a sizeable slice of lemon.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
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Mum didn't get the job either.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.

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Maureen Edwards as Miss India (all dressed up for her job interview at the fire brigade) on the set of Position Vacant
[8]

Stacks Image 3538

Jennifer Jarman-Walker on the set of Position Vacant
[8]

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Jennifer Jarman-Walker on the set of Position Vacant
[8]


08 Musical Rooms

Director

Mandy Smith

Writer

Greg Millin

Airdate Australia

Thursday,
10 March 1988

Airdate UK

Monday,
5 June 1989

Airdate Netherlands

Wednesday,
6 February 1991

Stacks Image 5425

Paul and Anthony fight for the umpteenth time, and Robert and Clare have had enough. It's decided that Anthony should get his own bedroom, and as there aren't enough rooms in the house, Paul has to move in with Douglas and Elly has to move to the smaller bedroom.

During the move, Elly discovers that Paul secretly smokes and gets rid of his cigarettes. But Paul retaliates and takes Elly's diary hostage.

Click image to play clip

Click image to play clip
Clip ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Digitised by me. (Disclaimer).


Trivia
- This is the only episode where no characters other than the Bartons themselves appear. Not even Anita turns up.

- The blue dress Elly hides under her bed, is the same dress she's later forcing herself to wear in
Suspected.

- This episode was partially adapted into the book's story line. The subplot of Paul smoking was omitted, leaving only the moving around. In the book, the reason why Paul's thrown out is linked to him walking off the footie field (and causing Mirandavale to win the cup); Anthony is angry at Paul because of this in the book.

- In some online sources, this episode appears to be missing from the original broadcast run in Germany, and appears to be broadcast for the first time three years after the rest of the series. The same goes for
Beautiful Beetroot. I originally suspected that underage smoking was the reason for this, as both these episodes feature that as a subplot. I checked with Marika von Radvanyi, who directed the German dubs and is also a big fan of the show, but she assures me both episodes were included in the first run. So the schedules found on those sites are incomplete.

Stacks Image 5100

Elly has been hiding a lot of stuff in her room, including the blue dress that she refuses to wear.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
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Paul has been secretly smoking and Elly discovers his cigarettes.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
Stacks Image 5068

Paul takes Elly's diary hostage until she returns his cigarettes.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.

09 Beautiful Beetroot

Director

Mandy Smith

Writer

Jocelyn Moorhouse

Airdate Australia

Monday,
14 March 1988

Airdate UK

Monday,
12 June 1989

Airdate Netherlands

Thursday,
7 February 1991

Stacks Image 3

Anita finally gets Elly to join the Girl Guides by telling her how fun the Guide's annual camp is. But camp turns out to be quit different to Elly's expectations. No tents and campfires, but barracks, bunkbeds and beetroot for dinner every other night.

And on top of that, patrol leader Vivienne has it in for Elly and Anita (and some poor frogs). But as Vivienne is about to find out: you don't mess with Elly Barton.

Click image to play clip

Click image to play clip
Clip ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Digitised by me. (Disclaimer).


Production notes
- The scenes at the camp site were filmed at the YMCA Mt Evelyn Recreation Camp, Mount Evelyn, Victoria. Read more about filming locations on the Filming Locations page.

- No frogs were harmed in the filming of this episode. There was an actual frog handler, Nick Hilligos, involved in the shooting of those scenes. The frogs were replaced by plastic molds before being squeezed.

Trivia
- This is one of the episodes most people seem to remember. In my experience, the frog squeezing scenes come up whenever the show is mentioned.

- The girls in the Banksiawood Girl Guides are in reality those of the
2nd Glen Waverley Guide Company from the Glen Waverley Girl Guides.

- Guide Law No. 9,
on which grounds Vivienne takes the girl's personal possessions, really is the ninth Guide Law in Australia (in 1987). Of course the law wasn't intended in the way that Vivienne uses it.

- Guide Laws differ per country by the way (you learn a lot building a site like this).


- Shelley, Vivienne's blonde side kick in charge of bubble gum and who recites
Guide Law No. 9 to Elly, is played by Andree van Schaik. In real life, Andree is Olivia's best friend at school and also played in the Kaboodle episode Olivia was in.

- This episode was not adapted into the book's story line, but the events are recalled by Elly and Anita, as Vivienne's parents are amongst the prospective buyers of the Bartons' house.

Stacks Image 5149

Susan and Anita trying to convince Elly to join the Girl Guides in one of this episode's flashbacks

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
Stacks Image 5117

Elly taking revenge on her bully Vivienne by putting gum in her hair.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
Stacks Image 5133

The new friendship between Elly and Mrs Frawley means that Elly gets to give her portion of beetroot to the latter. What a shame!

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.

Stacks Image 3558

Rosemary Smith and Natasha Kenneally changing into more comfy shoes. On set somewhere in Glen Waverley during the shoot of Beautiful Beetroot
[8]

Susan Davies (Natasha Kenneally), Elly Barton (Olivia Harkin) and Anita McPherson (Rosemary Smith)

Natasha, Liv and Rosemary somewhere in Glen Waverley during the shoot of Beautiful Beetroot
[8]

Stacks Image 3588

Rosemary having a go at the camera. On set somewhere in Glen Waverley during the shoot of Beautiful Beetroot
[8]


Stacks Image 3623

Liv feeding the crew at the catering table. On the set of Beautiful Beetroot.
[8]

Stacks Image 3576

Director Mandy Smith having a break. On set somewhere in Glen Waverley during the shoot of Beautiful Beetroot
[8]

Elly and Anita (Olivia and Rosemary)

Liv and Rosemary on set at Mt Evelyn Recreation Camp during the shoot of Beautiful Beetroot
[8]


Stacks Image 3582

Maud Clark and someone I don't recognise in make up. On location at Mt Evelyn during the shoot of Beautiful Beetroot
[4]


10 Bartons on the Beach

Director

Peter R. Dodds

Writer

Jocelyn Moorhouse

Airdate Australia

Tuesday,
15 March 1988

Airdate UK

Monday,
19 June 1989

Airdate Netherlands

Friday,
8 February 1991

Stacks Image 5456

Mrs Barton must have been checking the weather forecast for weeks, because the very first ray of sunlight of the year means the family is bound for the beach. Not that it's exactly beach weather, but that will not stop her.

The day does not go as planned. Paul and Anita get lost in the dunes, and Anita's plans to make Paul finally notice her fall in the water (literally). Meanwhile, Elly is chased by a boy who takes things (way) too far to her liking.

Anthony meets a girl who claims she's a mermaid.

And mum Clare? She about has enough of it all.

Click image to play clip

Click image to play clip
Clip ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Digitised by me. (Disclaimer).


Production notes
- The beach scenes in this episode were filmed at Somer's Beach, Somers, Victoria, just opposite of Philip Island. Read more about filming locations on the
Filming Locations page.

- It wasn't exactly beach weather when this episode's outdoor scenes were filmed; it was rather cold.

- The scene with Anita and Paul wading through the water, was filmed with a camera in a glass box. The crew was also wading through the water to shoot this scene. Everybody, except for Matt and Rosemary, was wearing suitable wading outfits…

Trivia
- You just realised where this fansite got its name from, didn't you?

- Am I the only one that finds the scene where Lee forces himself on Elly difficult to watch? Admittedly, she handles it very well (and the book's version of this scene gives even more depth to her handling of it), which certainly adds to my appreciation of Elly (and Olivia's acting). But still: yikes.

- You can read a bit more about
True Blue, the song that Lee sings to Elly, on the Trivia page.

- Miranda, the girl that Anthony fancies and who jokingly claims to be a mermaid, is portrayed by Rachel Friend. In a weird coincidence, Rachel portrayed a 'real' mermaid in an episode of
Round The Twist, but it appears she wasn't credited.wikipedia

- Speaking of Rachel Friend: a year after she filmed
Bartons on the Beach, she was cast as Bronwyn Davies in Neighbours and portrayed that character in 197 episodes between 1988 and 1990. She won the Logie for 'Most Popular Actress' in 1990. According to IMDb.com, she's still on TV occasionally.

- Additional scenes and reshoots for certain scenes where necessary and filmed at the end of the taping schedule. This brought along a problem: the kids had grown since the taping of the episode. This meant that the kids' bathers barely fit when it was time to do the reshoots.

Stacks Image 5198

Anita comes equipped with all the accessories needed for a fun day at the beach.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
Stacks Image 5182

Too bad wading attire isn't part of the accessories. Here, she's just seconds away of telling Paul about her feelings when Elly interrupts them.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
Stacks Image 5166

Unlike the other one, this interruption is quite welcome; Douglas unknowingly saves Elly from a very uncomfortable situation. This is one of the most powerful scenes in the series.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.

Stacks Image 3654

Cast group photo, taken during the shoot of Bartons on the Beach

LTR: Rosemary Smith, Frankie J. Holden, Ben Toovey, Matt Day, Jennifer Jarman-Walker, Olivia Harkin, Michael O'Reilly.

Note: matching bathers: only 1 out of 6…
[3]

Stacks Image 3661

Ben Toovey on the set of Bartons on the Beach
[8]

Stacks Image 3668

Jennifer Jarman-Walker on the set of Bartons on the Beach
[8]


Stacks Image 3674

Michael O'Reilly photo bombing Rosemary on the set of Bartons on the Beach
[8]

Stacks Image 3680

Wading through cold water.
On the set of
Bartons on the Beach
[8]

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Peter Pan like attire, Copnal Court. On the set of Bartons on the Beach
[8]


11 Suspected

Director

Peter R. Dodds

Writer

P.J. Hogan

Airdate Australia

Wednesday,
16 March 1988

Airdate UK

Not broadcast
See Trivia

Airdate Netherlands

Monday,
11 February 1991

Stacks Image 5472

Paul is soft-mannered, and that has been bugging Anthony for years. But when Anthony's friends spot Paul picking flowers in a park, Anthony's reputation is at stake. So Anthony and his friends make Paul take a test: pass it to prove you're a real man. But Paul fails the test, and Anthony takes it upon himself to help Paul be more manly and get him a girlfriend. Of course Anthony's plan backfires.

Elly has quite the opposite problem: she takes the same test that Paul failed, but she passes. Great? No, because that must mean she's way too masculine! So it's a good thing that Anita knows just how to fix that.

Douglas learns what a homosexual is, and decides he wants to be one.

Click image to play clip

Click image to play clip
Clip ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Digitised by me. (Disclaimer).


Production notes
- The mall shown in this episode is the
Century City Walk in Glen Waverley.

- The cinema shown is the
Village Cinema inside that mall.

- Read more about filming locations on the
Filming Locations page.

Trivia
- This is one of only two episodes that doesn't focus on Elly, but on Paul instead. The other one is
Half-time (episode 3).

-
This episode was never aired in the UK. Allegedly, the reason is the word "poofter" being used. Words like that one can not be used in a television broadcast before 9 pm (known as the "watershed") in the UK.

- It's a bit hard to see in the scene at the dinner table, but Elly's fingertips are in band aids. Because, as it turns out, embroidery is a dangerous hobby. The book explains what happened; it's a fun detail in the episode for those who read the book.

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Anthony and his entourage make Paul take the "poofter test"

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
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Paul has had enough of Anthony insulting Petal.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
Stacks Image 5215

Elly will sit here as long as it takes for the purple paint to grow out.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.

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Liv in one of Anita's outfits. Somewhere in Glen Waverley. On the set of Suspected.
[8]

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Liv in the purple wig. Somewhere in Glen Waverley. On the set of Suspected.
[8]

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Matt and Eva Parkin ("Petal Moochmoore"). On the set of Suspected.
[8]


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Michael and Eva. On the set of Suspected.
[8]


12 Bye Bye Bartons

Director

Richard Sarell

Writer

Jocelyn Moorhouse

Airdate Australia

Thursday,
17 March 1988

Airdate UK

Monday,
26 June 1989

Airdate Netherlands

Tuesday,
12 February 1991

Stacks Image 5488

Robert gets offered a better job, one that requires the family to move to Mirandavale, on the other side of the city. This means leaving the Bartons' beloved Banksiawood home. The children were not told about the move until the last moment and are strongly opposed to it. But Robert and Clare ignore their pleas.

Elly is devastated by the fact she'll never see Anita again and by the inevitable loss of her beloved tree. To make matters worse, Mr Jensen announces to Elly that he will resume his fight to get the tree taken down after the Bartons have moved away.

Anita is forced to confess her love to Paul, but it falls on deaf ears.


Click image to play clip

Click image to play clip
Clip ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Digitised by me. (Disclaimer).


Production notes
- We get our first and last glimpse of the Capaletti's house in the shot where Vince and his brothers are working on their car. The house is right across the street from the Barton's house, at 10 Copnal Court, Glen Waverley (the Barton's house is at No. 5). Read more about filming locations on the
Filming Locations page.

Trivia
- Someone goofed up: Olivia Harkin is not listed in the end credits of this episode. Well we can't have that now, can we? Let's fix that while we're at it:

Elly Barton
OLIVIA HARKIN

There we go; all fixed!

- Olivia celebrated her twelfth birthday during the filming of this episode. You can find a photo of her on set birthday party, along with photos of the wrapping/going away party, below!

- We've never seen the girl that gets shown around Elly's room before. But in the book, that girl is Vivienne Bone, the Emu Patrol Leader we met in
Beautiful Beetroot, still sporting the wild hair style due to Elly's revenge in that episode.
In
Bye Bye Bartons it seems a bit random that the girl mentions that Elly's goldfish probably has diseases. But knowing Vivienne calls Elly "Disease" in Beautiful Beetroot, it makes much more sense.

- The series was originally going to end with a different episode called
Street Party. For unknown reasons, that screenplay was replaced by Bye Bye Bartons. See What could've been for more information.

Stacks Image 5296

Who would be interested in a house described like this?

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
Stacks Image 5280

Strangers in Elly's bedroom. In the book, this girl is Vivienne Bone (from Beautiful Beetroot).

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.
Stacks Image 5264

Best friends forever.

Screenshot from C/o the Bartons, ©1988 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, digitised by me and used under the clauses collectively known as citaatrecht in Dutch law.

Stacks Image 3842

LTR: Ben Toovey, Olivia Harkin and Rosemary Smith on set enjoying Olivia's birthday cake (she turned twelve that day), during the shoot of Bye Bye Bartons
[3]

Stacks Image 3849

Various cast and crew members during the going away party on the final day of shooting C/o the Bartons
[3]

There's two more photos of the going away party to be found on the
Photos Page.

Stacks Image 3856

5 & 6 Copnal Court, during a take break. On the set of Bye Bye Bartons.
[8]


Stacks Image 3862

Pippa Smith and some of the crew at Copnal Court. On the set of Bye Bye Bartons.
[8]

 

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