The tangled web of the TV soap ‘Sons and Daughters’

There are television soap operas, and then there was Sons and Daughters.  A program with more twist and turns than a mountain road it ran for 972 episodes from 1981 to 1987.  It was a huge international success gaining popularity equal to Australia in the UK and Belgium.

In its simplest description, and anyone who watched the show knows breaking it down into a simple sentence isn’t easy, Sons and Daughters was a modern retelling of William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet with a big twist. 

The wealthy Hamilton family and the working class Palmers are perfect modern takes on the Montagues and Capulets.  Angela, the typical spoiled rich girl of the Hamilton clan, seems to get everything she wants including the love of working class Palmer boy John.  The problem ends up being that they are actually twins that were separated at birth under dubious circumstances.

That was the storyline that kicked off the program, but by season three of the six seasons, it was almost an entirely different show as many of the cast left to peruse other career options.  However, in the closing moments of the final episode, a pregnant woman appears at the same place Angela and John were born and gave birth to twins to bring the series full circle.

While many amazing actors passed through the Sons and Daughters sets including Brian Blain, Rowena Wallace, Ally Fowler, Peter Phelps, Pat McDonald, and a who’s who of Australian acting royalty.  

Sons and Daughters will continue its legacy as one of the most influential and controversial Australian soaps that will forever inspire the next generation like Home and Away on how it is done.

What was your favourite story arc of Sons and Daughters?  Who was your favourite character and who did you love to hate?