All Saints (season 11)

The eleventh season of the long-running Australian medical drama All Saints began airing on 12 February 2008 and concluded on 25 November 2008 with a total of 40 episodes.

All Saints
Season 11
2008 Season DVD
Country of origin	Australia
No. of episodes	40
Release
Original network	Seven Network
Original release	12 February – 25 November 2008
Season chronology

Plot

The 2008 season opens with the majority of the team held hostage in the Emergency Department at gunpoint, the hospital's pathology lab exploding and a drug robbery underway. This is the All Saints team at its best, with patients to keep alive while their own safety is at risk. The siege unlocks a memory Von Ryan has managed to keep buried for decades and must now deal with. Despite this, Von is supportive when Bart West falls deeply in love with a woman whom he diagnoses with cancer and then later dies. Mike Vlasek donates a kidney to his son and must deal with post-op pain when he can't have morphine. A volatile triangle is formed between Steve Taylor, Gabrielle Jaeger, and Jack Quade with the men coming to blows when personal agendas spill into the professional arena. And finally Dan Goldman and Erica Templeton provide us with the first All Saints wedding since 2003.

By the end of Season 2008, when the fights have been fought and won, when newlyweds are beginning their lives together, when the ED family is settled and closer than ever, Admin has been given money to launch a full trauma unit that will introduce new characters to the mix.

Cast

Main cast John Howard as Frank Campion Tammy Macintosh as Charlotte Beaumont Judith McGrath as Von Ryan Mark Priestley as Dan Goldman Wil Traval as Jack Quade Jolene Anderson as Erica Templeton Allison Cratchley as Zoe Gallagher Andrew Supanz as Bartholomew West Virginia Gay as Gabrielle Jaeger Jack Campbell as Steve Taylor Kip Gamblin as Adam Rossi Ella Scott Lynch as Claire Anderson Alix Bidstrup as Amy Fielding John Waters as Mike Vlasek

Recurring cast Celeste Barber as Bree Matthews (22 episodes) Mike Smith as Heath Velaga (13 episodes) Renee Lim as Suzi Lau (11 episodes) Petra Yared as Rhiannon Wilson (11 episodes) Nicholas Bell as Oliver Maroney (8 episodes) Yael Stone as Ann-Maree Preston (7 episodes) Robert Jago as Luke Goldman (7 episodes) Genevieve Hegney as Juliet Martin (7 episodes) Sonia Todd as Elizabeth Foy (5 episodes) Penny Cook as Rhonda Goldman (5 episodes)

Guest cast Tracy Mann as Laura McDermott (3 episodes) Alexandra Davies as Cate McMasters (2 episodes) Wendy Strehlow as Lorraine Tanner (2 episodes) Will Snow as Simon McDermott (2 episodes) Nathaniel Dean as James Byrne (2 episodes) Leslie Dayman as Kevin Goldman (1 episode)

Death of Mark Priestley

Actor Mark Priestley, who played Dan Goldman on the show, took his own life on 27 August 2008. As a result, the show's final two episodes had to be re-filmed. It is presumed that the nature of these episodes, in which Mark's on-screen wife goes missing, led Mark to suicide. The Seven Network paid tribute with a video clip in the following episode, along with actor John Howard in a plea to all those suffering from depression to get help.

As a result of Mark's death, the on-screen wife, played by Jolene Anderson was killed off the show as Jolene believed she could not go on playing the role. Mark's final episode was aired on 18 November.

Controversy

The Seven Network faced potential legal action after the airing of episode 432, "Never Tell" on 27 May 2008. The episode suggested that children with Down Syndrome are a result of incestuous relationships, provoking advocacy group Down Syndrome Australia to lodge a complaint with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and the Australian Communications and Media Authority, insisting that major advertisers in the show's timeslot boycott it and asking for a public apology from Seven. In the episode, a brother and sister are told that their unborn child is at risk of developing Down Syndrome as a result of their sexual relationship - according to Down Syndrome Australia, there is no evidence to support such a claim:[1]

All Saints has stigmatised every person with Down syndrome and their families. We already know of one instance where a child has been victimised because of this episode.

— Peter Sloan, Down Syndrome Australia

Seven responded with an apology through a newspaper on 2 June.[2]

All Saints values its audience and has the greatest respect for their commitment to the program. Without reservation, to any members of the audience who have found an element of a recent story offensive, Channel Seven apologises.

Down Syndrome Australia rejected the apology on 3 June, saying that the Seven Network's response was insufficient.:[3]

We're not going to accept a wishy-washy attempt at an apology that's come second-hand through a newspaper. They must say once and for all that there is categorically no link between Down syndrome and incest. We'll give them the opportunity to make a retraction during tonight's episode before we formally pursue legal advice and write official letters of complaint to the show's advertisers.

— Catherine McAlpine, Down Syndrome Victoria

Until there's a formal recognition of error, it's not enough. First they flat refused to apologise at all, and now they've apologised if they happened to offended anyone. The next step is to broadcast a message saying 'if we implied Down syndrome is a product of incestuous relationships, we were wrong. It's an easy thing to do and the only way to put this thing to bed.

— Peter Sloan, Down Syndrome Australia

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Australian viewers (millions)
417	1	"Against the Wall - Part 2"	Peter Fisk	Sean Nash	12 February 2008	1.155[4]
418	2	"The Simple Things"	Geoffrey Cawthorn	Louise Crane-Bowes	19 February 2008	1.152[5]
419	3	"Comfort Zone"	Lynn Hegarty	Peter Dick & Lily Taylor	26 February 2008	1.152[6]
420	4	"Event Horizon"	Lynn-Maree Danzey	Jeff Truman & Linda Stainton	4 March 2008	1.021[7]
421	5	"Caught in a Trap"	Nicholas Buffalo	Sally Webb	11 March 2008	1.172[8]
422	6	"Careful What You Wish For"	Geoffrey Cawthorn	Trent Atkinson	18 March 2008	1.093[9]
423	7	"Little Decisions"	Peter Fisk	Martin McKenna	25 March 2008	1.297[10]
424	8	"Beginnings"	Martin Sacks	Denise Morgan	1 April 2008	1.073[11]
425	9	"When Tomorrow Comes"	Nicholas Buffalo	Sam Meikle	8 April 2008	1.077[12]
426	10	"Out of the Fire"	Jessica Hobbs	Charlie Strachan	15 April 2008	1.185[13]
427	11	"It Ain't Necessarily So"	Jean-Pierre Mignon	Sean Nash	22 April 2008	1.184[14]
428	12	"The Hand You're Dealt"	Ian Watson	Blake Ayshford	29 April 2008	1.251[15]
429	13	"Stepping Up"	Martin Sacks	Robert Haywood	6 May 2008	1.202[16]
430	14	"The Circle of Life"	Ian Gilmourn	Jeff Truman & Jo Watson	13 May 2008	1.219[17]
431	15	"That Window in Time"	Peter Fisk	Sally Webb	20 May 2008	1.268[18]
432	16	"Never Tell"	Jean-Pierre Mignon	Fiona Kelly	27 May 2008	1.330[19]
433	17	"Risky Business"	Andrew 'Killer' Bowden	Chris McCourt	3 June 2008	1.339[20]
434	18	"Under My Skin"	Jessica Hobbs	Trent Atkinson	10 June 2008	1.296[21]
435	19	"Blind Faith"	Ian Gilmourn	Lily Taylor	17 June 2008	1.380[22]
436	20	"Torn Apart"	Martin Sacks	Charlie Strachan	24 June 2008	1.300[23]
437	21	"Justice For None"	Jean-Pierre Mignon	Sean Nash	1 July 2008	1.148[24]
438	22	"Fearless and Searching"	Daniel Nettheim	Blake Ayshford	8 July 2008	1.274[25]
439	23	"Bloodlines"	Jet Wilkinson	Denise Morgan	15 July 2008	1.356[26]
440	24	"Sons and Lovers"	Ian Gilmourn	Jeff Truman	22 July 2008	1.407[27]
441	25	"Horses for Courses"	Marcus Cole	Trent Atkinson	29 July 2008	1.313[28]
442	26	"Wish List"	Nicholas Buffalo	Chris McCourt	5 August 2008	1.290[29]
443	27	"Best Laid Plans"	Jean-Pierre Mignon	Louise Crane-Bowes	26 August 2008	1.273[30]
444	28	"Echoes"	Kate Woods	Sally Webb	2 September 2008	1.319[31]
445	29	"Solitary Confinement"	Ian Gilmourn	Fiona Kelly	9 September 2008	N/A
446	30	"Better Safe Than Sorry"	Marcus Cole	Jenny Lewis	16 September 2008	N/A
447	31	"Not What You'd Expect"	Jean-Pierre Mignon	Sean Nash	23 September 2008	N/A
448	32	"Training Wheels"	Jet Wilkinson	Trent Atkinson	30 September 2008	N/A
449	33	"When the Party's Over"	Kay Pavlou	Andrew Kelly	7 October 2008	N/A
450	34	"Out on a Limb"	Cherie Nowlan	Charlie Strachan	14 October 2008	N/A
451	35	"Running For Cover"	Lynn-Maree Danzey	Clare Atkinson	21 October 2008	N/A
452	36	"Reality Check"	Kate Woods	Chris McCourt	28 October 2008	N/A
453	37	"Secrets and Lies"	Jet Wilkinson	Trent Atkinson	4 November 2008	N/A
454	38	"A Safe Place"	Ian Watson	Sally Webb	11 November 2008	N/A
455	39	"Spinning Out"	Kay Pavlou	Fiona Kelly	18 November 2008	N/A
456	40	"Time Bomb"	Lynn-Maree Danzey	Alexa Wyatt	25 November 2008	N/A

References

General

• Zuk, T. All Saints Series 11 episode guide, Australian Television Information Archive. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
• TV.com editors. All Saints Episode Guide - Season 11, TV.com. Retrieved 15 July 2008.

Specific

1. "All Saints investigated for Down Syndrome incest claim". The Daily Telegraph. News.com.au. 2 June 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2008.
2. Ricketson, Matthew (3 June 2008). "Seven apologises for incest episode". The Age. Melbourne: Fairfax Digital. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
3. Cusick, Sean (3 June 2008). "Seven set deadline for incest retraction". ninemsn. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008.
4. Knox, David. "Week 7". TV Tonight.
5. Knox, David. "Week 8". TV Tonight.
6. Knox, David. "Week 9". TV Tonight.
7. Knox, David. "Week 10". TV Tonight.
8. Knox, David. "Week 11". TV Tonight.
9. Knox, David. "Week 12". TV Tonight.
10. Knox, David. "Week 13". TV Tonight.
11. Knox, David. "Week 14". TV Tonight.
12. Knox, David. "Week 15". TV Tonight.
13. Knox, David. "Week 16". TV Tonight.
14. Knox, David. "Week 17". TV Tonight.
15. Knox, David. "Week 18". TV Tonight.
16. Knox, David. "Week 19". TV Tonight.
17. Knox, David. "Week 20". TV Tonight.
18. Knox, David. "Week 21". TV Tonight.
19. Knox, David. "Week 22". TV Tonight.
20. Knox, David. "Week 23". TV Tonight.
21. Knox, David. "Week 24". TV Tonight.
22. Knox, David. "Week 25". TV Tonight.
23. Knox, David. "Week 26". TV Tonight.
24. Knox, David. "Week 27". TV Tonight.
25. Knox, David. "Week 28". TV Tonight.
26. Knox, David. "Week 29". TV Tonight.
27. Knox, David. "Week 30". TV Tonight.
28. Knox, David. "Week 31". TV Tonight.
29. Knox, David. "Week 32". TV Tonight.
30. Knox, David. "Week 35". TV Tonight.
31. Knox, David. "Week 36". TV Tonight.