Hey Dad..! 

Comedy series about a top architect, Martin Kelly, who gives up his business to cope with his three children when his wife dies. With the help of eccentric country cousin Betty, Martin soon... See full summary »

Creators:

John Flanagan, Gary Reilly

Stars:

Julie McGregor, Robert Hughes, Sarah Monahan

5 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Julie McGregor	...	Betty Wilson / ... 293 episodes, 1987-1994
Robert Hughes	...	Martin Kelly 267 episodes, 1987-1994
Sarah Monahan	...	Jenny Kelly / ... 233 episodes, 1987-1994
Christopher Truswell	...	Gerald 'Nudge' Noritas / ... 177 episodes, 1987-1994
Simone Buchanan	...	Debbie Kelly / ... 169 episodes, 1987-1994
Christopher Mayer	...	Simon Kelly 148 episodes, 1988-1991

Storyline

Comedy series about a top architect, Martin Kelly, who gives up his business to cope with his three children when his wife dies. With the help of eccentric country cousin Betty, Martin soon finds that looking after Jenny, Debbie and Simon means more decisions, problems and crises than he ever faced at work. Martin later departs to take on a high paying architectural job in Saudi Arabia, leaving his friend, divorced father of two, Greg Russell, to take over the Kelly family business.

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Plot Keywords:

children | architect | man with glasses | suburb | neighbor | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

1987 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Hey Dad

Filming Locations:

ATN-7 Studios - 61 Mobbs Lane, Epping, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gary Reilly Productions Pty. Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

23 min (293 episodes)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The series underwent a brief hiatus in mid 1991, due to the production of a short lived spinoff, Hampton Court (1991).

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Goofs

The glass panes above the external office doors are opaque and curved when viewed from the inside, whereas in exterior shots, the glass panes above the office doors are transparent and rectangular.

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Crazy Credits

Each episode ends with a voiceover by one of the cast members, saying "Hey Dad..! is recorded in front of a studio audience. This has been a Gary Reilly Production for the Seven Network". Julie McGregor's version ends with "This is Betty speaking", while, in his earlier seasons, Ben Oxenbould's version ends with a stammer "...for the Se-Se-Se-Seven Network".

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Connections

Featured in 20 to 1: Child Stars: Where Are They Now? (2008)

User Reviews

The best Australian sitcom ever

Hey Dad..!'s appeal is in making the lives of the characters something we all wish we could have. It is so easy to identify with them, and although their lives seem crazy, we wish sometimes our lives could be a little crazy, which would be better than our day-to-day lives. Hey Dad..!'s comedy is usually reliant on sarcasm, the quintessential feature of Aussie humour, although by today's standards it doesn't seem so bad anymore. It takes us back to the good old days of comedy without necessarily criticising other people, as well as some decent morals, things today's television lacks.

Its finest hour would have to be its 1992 season, probably the reason Channel Seven runs it so often. This is when the writing quality reached its peak.

Don't criticise it because of its non-aggressive humour. Just take it as it is. It'll do you good.