Big Sky (Australian TV series)

Big Sky was an Australian television drama series produced by John Edwards that ran for two seasons on Network Ten from 1997 to 1999.

Big Sky
Genre	Drama
Starring	Gary Sweet Ally Fowler Rhys Muldoon Martin Henderson
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	53
Production
Producer	John Edwards
Running time	50 mins x 43 episodes
Production company	Southern Star Xanadu
Original release
Network	Network Ten
Release	17 February 1997 (1997-02-17) – 1 May 1999 (1999-05-01)

The show centred on the adventures of the pilots of a small aviation company in Australia called "Big Sky Aviation" and the battles of the owner to keep the company running. Chief pilot Chris Manning (Gary Sweet) is determined to look after his team, even if that conflicts with the new boss, Lauren Allen (Ally Fowler), who has inherited the company following the death of her father.

Cast

Main / recurring

• Gary Sweet as Chris Manning
• Ally Fowler as Lauren Allen
• Rhys Muldoon as Jimbo James
• Martin Henderson as Scotty Gibbs
• Lisa Baumwol as Lexie Ciani (season 1)
• Robyn Cruze as Shay McWilliam
• Bille Brown as Lightfoot (season 2)
• Danielle Nuss as Paula Niessen (season 2)
• Tim Campbell as Blake Wallace (season 2)
• Peta Brady as Rosie Day (season 2)
• Sheila Kennelly as Betty (season 1)
• John Clayton as Roland 'Riley' Watson (16 episodes)
• Roxane Wilson as Robbie Manning (season 1, 13 episodes)
• Sharyn Hodgson as Jodie Turner (season 1-2, 6 episodes)

Guests

Actor	Role	Eps
Anna Lise Phillips	Melanie	1
Brian Rooney	Jigger	1
Bryan Marshall	Harry	1
Christine Stephen-Daly	Simone MacIntosh	1
Christopher Mayer	Businessman #1	1
Damian de Montemas	Spike	1
Daniel Roberts	Johnny	2
Felicity Price	Kirstie	1
Garry Who	Ivan
Gennie Nevinson	Mrs Webster	1
Graham Harvey	Price	1
Helen Thomson	Tessa Coburn	1
Ian Bliss	James McCourt	1
Inge Hornstra	Debbie	-
Jodie Dry	Detective Gemma Hall	1
Joel Edgerton	Pierce Bateman	1
John Noble	Graham James	1
Justin Monjo	Dave Brock	1
Laurie Foell	Pauline Davies	1
Leeanna Walsman	Rachel	1
Leslie Dayman	Phillip
Ling-Hsueh Tang	Clarie	1
Malcolm Kennard	Larsen	1
Melissa Jaffer	Lily Bateman	1
Nina Liu	Jasmina	1
Noel Hodda	Doug Matthews	1
Paul Goddard	Jeff	1
Peter Kowitz	Warwick	1
Rachel Gordon	Tara Brown / Lisa	1
Roy Billing	Bob the Bookie / Barman	1
Russell Kiefel	Detective #1 / Roberts	2
Scott Johnson	Nick	1
Scott McGregor	Owner	1
Sheila Kennelly	Betty	1
Simon Chilvers	Rex
Simon Westaway	Luke	1
Steve Le Marquand	Bill Madigan	1
Susie Porter	Tracy	1
Tara Morice	Linda	1
Tina Thomsen	Jen	1
Vanessa Downing	Danielle Morgan	1
Wendy Playfair	Mrs. Twohey	1
Wynn Roberts	Fred Morgan	1

Locations

• Sydney Airport

Episodes

Season One (1997)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	1	"The Principal"	Unknown	Unknown	17 February 1997 (1997-02-17)
2	2	"Navstar"	Unknown	Unknown	17 February 1997 (1997-02-17)
3	3	"The McCourt Family"	Unknown	Unknown	24 February 1997 (1997-02-24)
4	4	"It Only Takes One"	Unknown	Unknown	3 March 1997 (1997-03-03)
5	5	"Growing Pains"	Unknown	Unknown	10 March 1997 (1997-03-10)
6	6	"Good Luck Baby"	Unknown	Unknown	17 March 1997 (1997-03-17)
7	7	"No Turning Back"	Unknown	Unknown	24 March 1997 (1997-03-24)
8	8	"Lost & Found"	Unknown	Unknown	1 April 1997 (1997-04-01)
9	9	"Coming to Terms"	Unknown	Unknown	1 April 1997 (1997-04-01)
10	10	"Balloon Girl"	Unknown	Unknown	8 April 1997 (1997-04-08)
11	11	"Great Expectations"	Unknown	Unknown	13 April 1997 (1997-04-13)
12	12	"Sweet Revenge"	Unknown	Unknown	22 April 1997 (1997-04-22)
13	13	"Mortal Stakes"	Unknown	Unknown	29 April 1997 (1997-04-29)
14	14	"The Sky is Calling"	Unknown	Unknown	29 April 1997 (1997-04-29)
15	15	"The Duke of Yarrigul"	TBD	TBD	1997 (1997)
16	16	"Simple Twist of Fate"	Unknown	Unknown	20 May 1997 (1997-05-20)
17	17	"Mile Low Club"	Unknown	Unknown	27 June 1997 (1997-06-27)
18	18	"Triskadelaphobia"	Unknown	Unknown	3 June 1997 (1997-06-03)
19	19	"Mac's Time"	Unknown	Unknown	10 June 1997 (1997-06-10)
20	20	"Boxed In"	Unknown	Unknown	17 June 1997 (1997-06-17)
21	21	"Paradise"	Unknown	Unknown	24 June 1997 (1997-06-24)
22	22	"It's No Secret"	Unknown	Unknown	1 July 1997 (1997-07-01)
23	23	"The Return of Jimbo Jones"	Unknown	Unknown	8 July 1997 (1997-07-08)
24	24	"Fly Me to the Moon"	Unknown	Unknown	15 July 1997 (1997-07-15)
25	25	"Future, Past & Present"	Unknown	Unknown	22 July 1997 (1997-07-22)
26	26	"The Ticking Croc"	Unknown	Unknown	29 July 1997 (1997-07-29)
27	27	"Down the Slot"	Unknown	Unknown	5 August 1997 (1997-08-05)
28	28	"Have a Little Faith"	Unknown	Unknown	12 August 1997 (1997-08-12)
29	29	"You Must Remember This"	Unknown	Unknown	19 August 1997 (1997-08-19)
30	30	"The Right Thing"	Unknown	Unknown	26 September 1997 (1997-09-26)
31	31	"Fade to Black"	Unknown	Unknown	2 September 1997 (1997-09-02)
32	32	"Blind Spot"	Unknown	Unknown	9 September 1997 (1997-09-09)
33	33	"Getting Warmer"	Unknown	Unknown	16 September 1997 (1997-09-16)
34	34	"Searching for You"	Unknown	Unknown	23 September 1997 (1997-09-23)
35	35	"Wishing & Hoping"	Unknown	Unknown	30 September 1997 (1997-09-30)
36	36	"The Choice"	Unknown	Unknown	7 October 1997 (1997-10-07)
37	37	"Dark Horses"	Unknown	Unknown	14 October 1997 (1997-10-14)
38	38	"Edge of Reality"	Unknown	Unknown	21 October 1997 (1997-10-21)
39	39	"Just Between Us"	Unknown	Unknown	4 November 1997 (1997-11-04)
40	40	"Phase Five"	Unknown	Unknown	4 November 1997 (1997-11-04)

Season Two (1998)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	41	"Lightfoot"	Unknown	Unknown	2 January 1999 (1999-01-02)
2	42	"The Price of Freedom"	Unknown	Unknown	9 January 1999 (1999-01-09)
3	43	"Stand by Your Man"	Unknown	Unknown	16 January 1999 (1999-01-16)
4	44	"The Things We Do for Love"	Unknown	Unknown	23 January 1999 (1999-01-23)
5	45	"A Family Affair"	Unknown	Unknown	30 January 1999 (1999-01-30)
6	46	"The Wrong Box"	Unknown	Unknown	6 February 1999 (1999-02-06)
7	47	"Friends in High Places"	Unknown	Unknown	13 February 1999 (1999-02-13)
8	48	"Shadow Chasers"	Unknown	Unknown	20 February 1999 (1999-02-20)
9	49	"The Heart of the Matter"	Unknown	Unknown	27 February 1999 (1999-02-27)
10	50	"Secrets and Lies"	Unknown	Unknown	6 March 1999 (1999-03-06)
11	51	"Desperate Measures"	Unknown	Unknown	20 March 1999 (1999-03-20)
12	52	"Missing in Action"	Unknown	Unknown	24 April 1999 (1999-04-24)
13	53	"Ultimate Commitments"	Tony Tilse	Alexa Wyatt	1 May 1999 (1999-05-01)

Home media

It was announced by Via Vision Entertainment in March 2019 that they would be releasing the complete collection of Big Sky on DVD in three Collections.

Title	Format	Ep #	Discs	Region 4 (Australia)	Special Features	Distributors
Big Sky Collection 01	DVD	16	4	22 May 2019	None	Via Vision Entertainment
Big Sky Collection 02	DVD	17	5	7 August 2019	None	Via Vision Entertainment
Big Sky Collection 03	DVD	20	5	9 October 2019	None	Via Vision Entertainment
Big Sky Complete Collection	DVD	53	14	7 October 2020	None	Via Vision Entertainment

See also

• List of Australian television series

External links

• Big Sky at IMDb
• Australian Television Information Archive