I've recently been researching 'Mavis' for Wikipedia and it's a fascinating subject, albeit on that is woefully short on hard facts -- there's tragically little information about the production history. However, I'm pleased to report (re: the comments above by joliy) that a large number of programs from the 1964-66 period -- including the pilot episode -- have survived, and these are now preserved in the National Film & Sound Archive in Canberra. Sadly though it seems that little from the 1967-68 period has survived, probably because Seven was by then using videotape to record the show rather than the old telecine process, in which the show was captured from a monitor on 16mm film. I was also fascinating to learn that the late great Ron Frazer is now being acknowledged as the person responsible for popularising the term "ocker", thanks to his character of that name in the series. There are a few brief sketches that can be viewed on YouTube - Al Thomas does a wicked Julius Sumner Miller impression, and I especially like the "Golf Girls" sketch with Noeline, June and Arlene Dorgan -- there's a classic put-down during that routine where Noeline describes Arlenes golf slacks viewed from behind as looking like "two koalas trying to escape from a beanbag"! Hopefully somewhere down the track the NFSA will be able to put together a compilation of the best bits, so that younger generations can see what all the fuss was about.
Review of The Mavis Bramston Show
