Close to Home - First Episode

Pioneering soap opera Close To Home first screened in May 1975. For just over eight years (until August 1983) middle New Zealand found their mirror in the life and times of Wellington’s Hearte clan. At its peak in 1977 nearly one million viewers tuned in twice weekly to watch the series co-created by Michael Noonan and Tony Isaac. This first episode sees the family gathering for Grandfather’s 78th birthday. Vivian (Ilona Rodgers) moans to Tom (John Bach): “you’ve drunk all my cooking sherry”, then tenderises the beef with the empty bottle.

I wrote for the second Pukemanu series and, when TV One started, became one of the regular writers on Close to Home. It was this that allowed many of us to become professional TV drama writers — and I mean professional in the money sense. With two episodes a week it was possible to earn a living writing for television. It probably supported five of us and gave another five an impetus to work at it.

– Writer Keith Aberdein, on Close to Home's role as an industry training ground, quoted from Trisha Dunleavy's Ourselves in Primetime, p. 73.

Key Cast & Crew

Tony Isaac

Producer

Michael Noonan

Writer

Ken Catran

Writer

Bill Stalker

As: Alex

Tony Currie

As: Don Hearte

Charles Walker

As: Don Senior