The Henderson Kids
The Henderson Kids is an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for Network Ten between 1985 and 1987. It was created and storylined by Roger Moulton, who also wrote 5 episodes in the first series and 2 episodes in the second series.
Season one
Synopsis
The series follows teenage siblings Steve and Tamara. They are forced to leave the city and move to the country to live with their uncle Mike after their mother Alice is hit by a truck and killed. Mike is a police officer in the fictional town of Haven Bay.The Henderson kids make a new life in Haven Bay and make friends with the local gang. They were Ted Morgan, Colin "Cowboy" Clarke, Charlotte "Char" Kernow and Brian "Brains" Buchanan.
Steve and Tamara defend the family land, Henderson's Point, against the schemes of ruthless businessman Ashley Wheeler. To compound matters, Steve falls in love with Wheeler's daughter Sylvia.
Cast
Main
- Paul Smith as Steve Henderson
- Nadine Garner as Tamara 'Tam' Henderson
- Ben Mendelsohn as Ted Morgan
- Kylie Minogue as Charlotte 'Char' Kernow
- Mark Hennessy as Colin 'Cowboy' Clarke
- Bradley Kilpatrick as Brian 'Brains' Buchanan
- Annie Jones as Sylvia Wheeler
- Peter Whitford as Ashley Wheeler
- Nicholas Eadie as Uncle Mike
Recurring and guests
- Antoinette Byron as Pat Edwards
- Jane Hall as Regina Powell
- Tottie Goldsmith as Glynnis Wheeler
- Kevin Harrington as Gazza
- Peter O'Brien as Suds
- Stefan Dennis as Terry
- Nicholas Creed as Trevor Cathcart
- Diane Craig as Alice Henderson
- Reg Gorman as Kernow
- Michael Aitkens as Walter 'Wal' Mullens
- Christopher Milne as Stan
Filming
The Haven Bay set footage was filmed in Birregurra, Victoria.Season two
Synopsis
A second series, set in the fictional bayside suburb of Westport followed in 1987. This had Steve and Tamara living in the city again, with their father Walter "Wal" Mullens. They had a new gang of friends, including Vincent "Vinnie" Cerantonio as the leader of the Brown Street Boys, twins Carol and Marty Summers, and Brian "Brains" Buchanan and Trevor Cathcart, both holdovers from the original series.Other central characters were the Henderson's next door neighbours Helen Marshall and her 9-year-old daughter Sally, their dad's shady business partner Harry and his henchman Spider, Sergeant Javorsky of the Victorian police, Brown Street Boy Mick Dalton and the Westport High School 'snob' Miranda Kilsyth.
Cast
Main
- Paul Smith as Steve Henderson
- Nadine Garner as Tamara 'Tam' Henderson
- Alex Papps as Vincent 'Vinnie' Cerantonio
- Anita Cerdic as Carol
- Nathan Croft as Marty Summers
- Bradley Kilpatrick as Brian 'Brains' Buchanan
Recurring and guests
- Michael Aitkens as Walter 'Wal' Mullens
- Louise Howitt as Helen Marshall
- Marieke Hardy as Sally
- Mary Ward as Mrs Cathcart
- Nicholas Creed as Trevor Cathcart
- Ross Thompson as Harry
- John Jacobs as Spider
- Doug Bowles as Sergeant Javorsky
- Paul Hall as Mick Dalton
- Elizabeth Rule as Miranda Kilsyth
- Khym Lam as Anh Nguyen
Filming
Awards
Actress Nadine Garner won a Logie Award in 1985, and a Television Society of Australia Penguin Award for her portrayal of Tamara Henderson.DVD releases
A total of 24 episodes were produced. In 2007 Madman Entertainment released two 3-DVD sets of the series: The Henderson Kids and The Henderson Kids II. The DVD extras are a 13-minute TV promo for series 1 on the first The Henderson Kids DVD set and a short "goof reel" from series two on the DVD set The Henderson Kids II.| DVD name | Format | Ep # | Discs/Tapes | Region 4 | Special features | Distributors |
| The Henderson Kids I | DVD | 24 | 3 | 2007 | 13-minute TV promo for series 1 on the first | Madman Entertainment |
| The Henderson Kids II | DVD | 24 | 3 | 2007 | Short Goof Real | Madman Entertainment |
| The Henderson Kids I | DVD | 24 | 3 | 2012 | N/A | Crawford Productions |
| The Henderson Kids II | DVD | 24 | 3 | 2012 | N/A | Crawford Productions |
International broadcasts
Both series were screened in the UK during 1989 on Channel 4.The whole series was screened in New Zealand on TVNZ. The first season aired on Fridays from 13 February to 1 May 1987
, followed by the second season which aired from 24 July to 9 October 1987.
The series aired Sunday evenings at 7:30 pm on GBC TV in Gibraltar where the series found much success, becoming the topic of conversation every Monday morning in schools.