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{{Short description|1981–1993; 1994 Australian television series}}
{{For|the song "A Country Practice" by Half Man Half Biscuit|Four Lads Who Shook the Wirral}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=July 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2011}}
{{Infobox television 
| image                    = A Country Practice 1981 title card.jpg
| caption                  = Main title caption in 1981,<br>depicting the Wandin Valley Clinic.
| alt_name                 =
| genre                    = [[Soap opera]]
| creator                  = [[James Davern]]
| based_on                 = 
| developer                = 
| director                 = 
| creative_director        = 
| starring                 = (see Cast List in Article)
| narrated                 = 
| theme_music_composer     = [[Mike Perjanik]]
| opentheme                = ''A Country Practice'' (instrumental)
| endtheme                 = Reprise 
| composer                 = 
| country                  = Australia
| language                 = English
| num_seasons              = 14
| num_episodes             = 1,088 ([[List of A Country Practice episodes|List of episodes]])
| list_episodes            = 
| executive_producer       = 
| producer                 = James Davern
| editor                   = 
| cinematography           = 
| camera                   = 
| runtime                  = 48 minutes
| company                  = JNP Productions
| network                  = [[Seven Network]] (1981–93)<br />[[Network Ten]] (1994)
| first_aired              = {{start date|df=yes|1981|11|18}}
| last_aired               = {{end date|df=yes|1994|11|5}}
| related                  = 
}}

'''''A Country Practice''''' is an Australian television [[soap opera]]/serial which was broadcast on the [[Seven Network]] from 18 November 1981 until 22 November 1993, and subsequently on [[Network Ten]] from 13 April 1994 to 5 November 1994. Altogether, 14 seasons and 1,088 episodes were produced.

The show was produced at the [[ATN-7]]'s production facility at [[Epping, New South Wales]]; [[Pitt Town]] and [[Oakville, New South Wales|Oakville]], suburbs on the outskirts of northwest [[Sydney, Australia|Sydney]], [[Australia]], were used for most of the exterior filming, with the historic heritage-listed Clare House, built in 1838, serving as the location of the Wandin Valley Bush Nursing Hospital.

Many other fictional locations, including Dr. Terence Elliot's ([[Shane Porteous]]) medical practice, the house of Frank and Shirley Gilroy ([[Brian Wenzel]] and [[Lorrae Desmond]]), the Wandin Valley Church and Burrigan High School were filmed in the Hawkesbury.<ref name="site">{{cite web|url=https://www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/gallery/exhibitions/exhibitions/2019-exhibitions/a-country-practice|title=The Wonders of Wandin Valley}}</ref>

Several of the regular cast members became popular celebrities as a result of their roles in the series. It also featured a number of native Australian animals, particularly the iconic "Fatso the [[wombat]]" adding to its appeal both domestically and internationally. After the series was cancelled by the Seven Network in 1993, the series was relaunched on the [[Network Ten]] in 1994.

At the time of its cancellation, ''A Country Practice'' was the longest-running Australian TV drama; however, by the late 1990s, that record was surpassed by [[Network Ten]] series ''[[Neighbours]]''. At the height of its popularity, the show attracted 8–10 million Australian viewers weekly{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} (at a time when the population of Australia was 15 million). The series was eventually sold to, and broadcast in 48 countries.

==Creation==
''A Country Practice'' creator and executive producer [[James Davern]] had previously worked on a similar rural-based series as the producer and director of the long-running ''[[Bellbird (TV series)|Bellbird]]'', which screened on [[ABC Television (Australian TV network)|ABC Television]] (1967–1977). In 1979, he entered the pilot episode for a script contest by Network Ten, which was looking for a new hit soap opera after the demise of ''[[Number 96 (TV series)|Number 96]]''. Davern came third and won a merit award.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086689/|title=A Country Practice (TV Series 1981–1993)|author=baybee|work=IMDb}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=June 2022}} Although TEN turned the series down, rival TV station Seven Network picked it up. Davern's contribution to the industry was recognised when he was honoured with the [[Order of Australia|Order of Australia (OAM)]] in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mr James Edmund Davern|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1149129|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-19|website=It's An Honour|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519052610/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1149129 |archive-date=19 May 2021 }}</ref>

==Production==
===Format===
Though sometimes considered a soap opera, the storylines of the show's two 45 minute episodes screened over any one week formed a self-contained narrative block. The storylines were meant to have a primary appeal to adult and older youthful audiences, and in particular they had greater appeal to children from middle-class backgrounds.<ref>Jacinta Burke; Helen Wilson; Susanna Agardy (1983), ''"A Country Practice" and the child audience: a case study,'' Australian Broadcasting Tribunal, Melbourne. {{ISBN|0-642-87073-X}}</ref> As it did not have the open ended narrative of a traditional soap opera, it was technically a "series".<ref name="Bowles, Kate 2000. p 127">Bowles, Kate. ''Soap opera: 'No end of story, ever' '' in ''The Australian TV Book'', (Eds. Graeme Turner and Stuart Cunningham), Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, NSW, 2000. {{ISBN|1-86508-014-4}} p 127</ref> Nevertheless, many storylines were developed as sub-plots for several episodes before becoming the focus of a particular week's narrative block. Overall, the program "so emphasized the ongoing storylines of its major characters as to make the distinction between series and serial more or less meaningless".<ref name="Bowles, Kate 2000. p 127"/>

===Cancellation and continuation===
After the end of its run on the Seven Network, it was announced that the serial would be picked up by Network Ten with a mainly new cast and a few key cast members continuing from the Seven series. Unlike the Seven series which was produced in Sydney, the Network Ten series was produced in [[Melbourne]] with location shooting in [[Emerald, Victoria]]. The new series debuted in April 1994, but was not as successful and was abruptly cancelled in November. The series featured actors including [[Paul Gleason]], [[Jane Hall (actress)|Jane Hall]], [[Vince Colosimo]], [[Claudia Black]] and Laura Armstrong.

==Cast==
===Main cast timeline===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" | Actor
! rowspan="2" | Character
! colspan="15" | Seasons
|-
! |[[List of A Country Practice episodes#Season 1 (1981)|1<br>('81)]]
! |[[List of A Country Practice episodes#Season 2 (1982)|2<br>('82)]]
! |[[List of A Country Practice episodes#Season 3 (1983)|3<br>('83)]]
! |[[List of A Country Practice episodes#Season 4 (1984)|4<br>('84)]]
! |[[List of A Country Practice episodes#Season 5 (1985)|5<br>('85)]]
! |[[List of A Country Practice episodes#Season 6 (1986)|6<br>('86)]]
! |[[List of A Country Practice episodes#Season 7 (1987)|7<br>('87)]]
! |[[List of A Country Practice episodes#Season 8 (1988)|8<br>('88)]]
! |[[List of A Country Practice episodes#Season 9 (1989)|9<br>('89)]]
! |[[List of A Country Practice episodes#Season 10 (1990)|10<br>('90)]]
! |[[List of A Country Practice episodes#Season 11 (1991)|11<br>('91)]]
! |[[List of A Country Practice episodes#Season 12 (1992)|12<br>('92)]]
! |[[List of A Country Practice episodes#Season 13 (1993)|13<br>('93)]]
! |[[List of A Country Practice episodes#Season 14 (1994)|14<br>('94)]]
|-
| [[Shane Porteous]]
| Dr. Terence Elliott
| colspan="13" {{CMain|Main}}
| colspan="1" {{cNone}}
|-
| [[Helen Scott (actress)|Helen Scott]]
| Marta Kertesz
| colspan="3" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Scott departs in "Love & Glory" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 3.20).}}
| colspan="11" {{cNone}}
|-
| [[Grant Dodwell]]
| Dr. Simon Bowen
| colspan="6" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Dodwell departs in "Good Mates" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 6.10).}}
| colspan="8" {{cNone}}
|-
| [[Penny Cook]]
| Vicky Dean
| colspan="5" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Cook departs in "New Pastures" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 5.70).}}
| {{cGuest|Guest}}
| colspan="6" {{cNone}}
| {{cGuest|Guest}}
| colspan="1" {{cNone}}
|-
| [[Brian Wenzel]]
| Frank Gilroy
| colspan="13" {{CMain|Main}}
| colspan="1" {{cNone}}
|-
| [[Lorrae Desmond]]
| Shirley Dean
| colspan="12" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Desmond departs in "A Kiss Before Dying" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 12.42).}}
| colspan="2" {{cNone}}
|-
| [[Anne Tenney]]
| Molly Jones
| colspan="5" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Tenney departs in "Molly" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 5.32).}}
| colspan="9" {{cNone}}
|-
| [[Shane Withington]]
| Brendan Jones
| colspan="6" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|name=withingtonnicol|Withington and Nicol depart in "One For the Road" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 6.28).}}
| colspan="8" {{cNone}}
|-
| [[Joyce Jacobs]]
| Esme Watson
| colspan="1" {{CGuest|Guest}}
| colspan="13" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|name=jacobsheylenpiper|Initially recurring, Jacobs, Heylen and Piper are added to the opening credits from "The Push" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 2.93).}}
|-
| [[Syd Heylen]]
| Vernon
"Cookie" Locke
| colspan="1" {{cNone}}
| colspan="11" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|name=jacobsheylenpiper}}{{efn|name=heylenpiper|Heylen, Piper and Day depart in "Wings" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 12.16). Heylen and Piper return as guests in "Travelling South" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 12.30).}}
| colspan="2" {{cNone}}
|-
| [[Gordon Piper]]
| Bob Hatfield
| colspan="1" {{CGuest|Guest}}
| colspan="11" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|name=jacobsheylenpiper}}{{efn|name=heylenpiper}} 
| colspan="2" {{cNone}}
|-
| Emily Nicol
| Chloe Jones
| colspan="1" {{cNone}}
| colspan="3" {{CRecurring|Recurring}}{{efn|Sarah Lucek-Rowley initially plays the role from "Coming Ready or Not" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 2.81), before Nicol takes over the role from "Little Voices" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 3.1).}}
| colspan="2" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|name=nicolsydneystrehlow|Initially recurring, Nicol, Sydney and Strehlow are added to the opening credits from "On the Edge" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 5.7).}}{{efn|name=withingtonnicol}}
| colspan="8" {{cNone}}
|-
| [[Joan Sydney]]
| Maggie Sloan
| colspan="2" {{cNone}}
| colspan="2" {{CRecurring|Recurring}}
| colspan="6" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|name=nicolsydneystrehlow}}{{efn|Sydney departs in "Romancing the Sloan" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 10.18).}}
| colspan="2" {{cNone}}
|{{cGuest|Guest}}
|{{CMain|Main}}
|-
| [[Wendy Strehlow]]
| Judy Loveday
| colspan="1" {{CGuest|Guest}}
| colspan="3" {{CRecurring|Recurring}}
| colspan="2" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|name=nicolsydneystrehlow}}{{efn|Strehlow departs in "Caterpillars & Butterflies" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 6.54).}}
| colspan="8" {{cNone}}
|-
|[[Nicholas Bufalo]]
|Dr. Ben Green
| colspan="4" {{cNone}}
| colspan="4" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|name=bufalodavies|Bufalo and Davies are added to the opening credits from "Time Out" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 5.71).}}{{efn|Bufalo departs in "Matters of the Heart" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 8.22).}}
| colspan="6" {{cNone}}
|-
|Annie Davies
|Kelly Shanahan
| colspan="4" {{cNone}}
| colspan="2" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|name=bufalodavies}}{{efn|Davies departs in "Fighting Chance" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 6.36).}}
| colspan="8" {{cNone}}
|-
|[[Josephine Mitchell]]
|Jo Loveday
| colspan="4" {{cNone}}
| colspan="1" {{CRecurring|Recurring}}
| colspan="4" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Initially recurring, Mitchell is added to the opening credits from "Track Record" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 6.29).}}{{efn|name=mitchellclimo|Mitchell and Climo depart in "On the Threshold" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 9.14).}}
| colspan="5" {{cNone}}
|-
|Diane Smith
|Dr. Alex Fraser
| colspan="5" {{cNone}}
| colspan="4" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Smith is added to the opening credits from "In Love and War" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 6.37).}}{{efn|Smith departs in "Last of the Summer Wine" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 9.16).}}
| colspan="5" {{cNone}}
|-
|[[Mark Owen-Taylor]]
|Peter Manning
| colspan="5" {{cNone}}
| colspan="2" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Owen-Taylor is added to the opening credits from "Black Sheep" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 6.41).}}{{efn|Owen-Taylor departs in "Keep on Truckin'" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 7.46), but returns as a guest in "Picking up the Pieces" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 7.63).}}
| colspan="7" {{cNone}}
|-
|Caroline Johansson
|Donna Manning
| colspan="5" {{cNone}}
| colspan="2" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Johannson is added to the opening credits from "The Deep End" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 6.49).}}{{efn|Owen-Johansson departs in "Mozart Rules" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 7.62).}}
| colspan="7" {{cNone}}
|-
|[[Kate Raison]]
|Cathy Hayden
| colspan="6" {{cNone}}
| colspan="4" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Initially recurring, Raison is added to the opening credits from "Nobody's Perfect" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 7.47).}}{{efn|Raison departs in "Kiss Me Kate" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 10.20).}}
| colspan="4" {{cNone}}
|-
|[[Brett Climo]]
|Michael Langley
| colspan="6" {{cNone}}
| colspan="3" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Climo is added to the opening credits from "Going for Broke" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 7.73).}}{{efn|name=mitchellclimo}}
| colspan="5" {{cNone}}
|-
|John Tarrant
|Matthew Tyler
| colspan="7" {{cNone}}
| colspan="5" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Initially recurring, Tarrant is added to the opening credits from "Common Cause" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 8.23).}}{{efn|name=tarrantparker|Tarrant and Parker depart in "Little Boy Blue" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 12.28).}}
| colspan="2" {{cNone}}
|-
|[[Georgie Parker]]
|Lucy Gardner
| colspan="8" {{cNone}}
| colspan="4" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Parker is added to the opening credits from "Snake in the Grass" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 9.17).}}{{efn|name=tarrantparker}}
| colspan="2" {{cNone}}
|-
|Michael Muntz
|Dr. Cris Kouros
| colspan="8" {{cNone}}
| colspan="3" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|name=muntzfisher|Muntz and Fisher are added to the opening credits from "Nobody's Fool" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 9.23). They depart (with Regan) in "Such Sweet Sorrow" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 11.20).}}
| colspan="3" {{cNone}}
|-
|Georgina Fisher
|Jessie Kouros
| colspan="8" {{cNone}}
| colspan="3" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|name=muntzfisher}}
| colspan="3" {{cNone}}
|-
|[[Matt Day]]
|Luke Ross
| colspan="8" {{cNone}}
| colspan="4" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Initially recurring, Day is added to the opening credits from "Hook, Line and Sinker" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 9.67).}}{{efn|name=heylenpiper}} 
| colspan="2" {{cNone}}
|-
|[[Sophie Heathcote]]
|Steve Brennan
| colspan="9" {{cNone}}
| colspan="2" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Heathcote is added to the opening credits from "Change of Heart" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 10.21).}}{{efn|Heathcote departs in "Farewell My Lovely" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 11.54).}}
| colspan="3" {{cNone}}
|-
|Mary Regan
|Ann Brennan
| colspan="9" {{cNone}}
| colspan="2" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Regan is added to the opening credits from "Sisters" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 10.23).}}{{efn|name=muntzfisher}}
| colspan="3" {{cNone}}
|-
|[[Maureen Edwards]]
|Rosemary Prior
| colspan="10" {{cNone}}
| colspan="3" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Edwards is added to the opening credits from "Out of Africa" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 11.21).}}
| colspan="1" {{cNone}}
|-
|[[Andrew Blackman]]
|Dr. Harry Morrison
| colspan="10" {{cNone}}
| colspan="4" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Blackman is added to the opening credits from "Bigger Than Texas" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 11.25).}}
|-
|[[Michelle Pettigrove]]
|Kate Bryant
| colspan="10" {{cNone}}
| colspan="3" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Pettigrove is added to the opening credits from "Gift of Life" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 11.33).}}
| {{cGuest|Guest}}
|-
|[[Kym Wilson]]
|Darcy Hudson
| colspan="10" {{cNone}}
| colspan="3" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Wilson is added to the opening credits from "Dangerous Liaisons" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 11.83).}}
| colspan="1" {{cNone}}
|-
|Gavin Harrison
|Hugo Szreclecki
| colspan="11" {{cNone}}
| colspan="2" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Harrison is added to the opening credits from "Feet of Clay" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 12.3).}}
| colspan="1" {{cNone}}
|-
|Jon Concannon
|Tom Newman
| colspan="11" {{cNone}}
| colspan="2" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Concannon is added to the opening credits from "A Different Drum" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 12.17).}}
| colspan="1" {{cNone}}
|-
|[[Judith McGrath]]
|Bernice Hudson
| colspan="11" {{cNone}}
| colspan="2" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|McGrath is added to the opening credits from "Travelling South" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 12.29).}}
| colspan="1" {{cNone}}
|-
|[[Anne Looby]]
| Dr. Anna Lacey
| colspan="11" {{cNone}}
| colspan="2" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|name=loobycroft|Looby and Croft are added to the opening credits from "Phoenix" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 12.31).}}
| colspan="1" {{cNone}}
|-
|[[Jamie Croft]]
|Billy Moss
| colspan="11" {{cNone}}
| colspan="2" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|name=loobycroft|Looby and Croft are added to the opening credits from "Phoenix" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 12.31).}}
| colspan="1" {{cNone}}
|-
|Allan Penney
|Perce Hudson
| colspan="6" {{cNone}}
| colspan="4" {{cGuest|Guest}}
| colspan="2" {{cRecurring|Recurring}}
| colspan="1" {{CMain|Main}}
| colspan="1" {{cNone}}
|-
|Paul Gleeson
|Ian McIntyre
| colspan="12" {{cNone}}
| colspan="1" {{cRecurring|Recurring}}
| colspan="1" {{CMain|Main}}
|-
|[[Claudia Black]]
|Claire Bonacci
| colspan="12" {{cNone}}
| colspan="1" {{cGuest|Guest}}
| colspan="1" {{CMain|Main}}
|-
|[[Vince Colosimo]]
|Danny Sabatini
|colspan="13" {{cNone}}
|colspan="1" {{CMain|Main}}
|-
|Laura Armstrong
|Georgie Wilkes
| colspan="13" {{cNone}}
| colspan="1" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Armstrong is added to the opening credits from "the Trouble With Women" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 14.3).}}
|-
|[[Jane Hall (actress)|Jane Hall]]
|Dr. Jess Morrison
| colspan="13" {{cNone}}
| colspan="1" {{CMain|Main}}{{efn|Hall is added to the opening credits from "Best of Friends" ({{Abbr|ep.|episode}} 14.4).}}
|}

===Cast notes===
{{notelist}}
===Seven Network years (1981–1993)===
*[[Shane Porteous]] as Dr. Terence Elliot (seasons 1–13)
*[[Helen Scott (actress)|Helen Scott]] as Matron Marta Kurtesz (seasons 1–3)
*[[Grant Dodwell]] as Dr. Simon Bowen (seasons 1–6)
*[[Penny Cook]] as Vicky Dean Bowen (seasons 1–5; guest in seasons 6, 13)
*[[Brian Wenzel]] as Frank Gilroy (seasons 1–13)
*[[Lorrae Desmond]] as Nurse Sister Shirley Dean Gilroy (seasons 1–12)
*[[Anne Tenney]] as Molly Jones (seasons 1–5)
*[[Shane Withington]] as Brendan Jones (seasons 1–6)
*[[Joyce Jacobs]] as Esme Watson (seasons 2–13; guest in season 1), appeared in pilot as Norma
*[[Syd Heylen]] as Vernon "Cookie" Locke (seasons 2–12)
*[[Gordon Piper]] as Bob Hatfield (seasons 2–12; guest in season 1)
*Emily Nicol as Chloe Jones (seasons 5–6; recurring seasons 3–4)
*[[Joan Sydney]] as Matron Margaret "Maggie" Sloane (seasons 5–10; recurring seasons 3–4, 13)
*[[Wendy Strehlow]] as Sister Judy Loveday (seasons 5–6; recurring seasons 1–4)
*[[Nicholas Bufalo]] as Dr. Ben Green (seasons 5–8)
*Annie Davies as Kelly Shanahan (seasons 5–6)
*[[Josephine Mitchell]] as Jo Loveday Langley (season 6–9; recurring season 5)
*Diane Smith as Dr. Alex Fraser (seasons 6–9)
*[[Mark Owen-Taylor]] as Peter Manning (seasons 6–7)
*Caroline Johansson as Nurse Sister Donna Manning (seasons 6–8)
*[[Kate Raison]] as Cathy Hayden (seasons 7–10)
*[[Brett Climo]] as Michael Langley (seasons 7–9)
*John Tarrant as Matthew Tyler (seasons 8–12)
*[[Georgie Parker]] as Nurse Lucy Gardner Tyler (seasons 9–12), had previously appeared in a guest role as Barbara Gottlieb in 1988
*Michael Muntz as Dr. Cris Kouros (seasons 9–11)
*Georgina Fisher as Jessica "Jessie" Kouros (seasons 9–11)
*[[Matt Day]] as Julian "Luke" Ross (seasons 9–12)
*[[Sophie Heathcote]] as Stephanie "Steve" Brennan (seasons 10–11)
*Mary Regan as Director of Nursing Ann Brennan (seasons 10–11)
*[[Maureen Edwards]] as Matron Rosemary Prior Elliot (seasons 11–13), had previously appeared in guest roles as Yvonne McLean in 1983, and Katherine D'Angelo in 1990) 
*[[Andrew Blackman]] as Dr. Harry Morrison (seasons 11–13)
*[[Michelle Pettigrove]] as Nurse Kate Bryant Morrison (seasons 11–13), had previously appeared in a guest role as Mary O'Connor in 1988
*[[Kym Wilson]] as Darcy Hudson (seasons 11–13), had previously appeared in a guest role as Leanne Baxter in 1989
*Jon Concannon as Senior Constable Tom Newman (seasons 12–13)
*Gavin Harrison as Hugo Szreclecki (seasons 12–13), had previously appeared in a guest role as J.J. Moffitt in 1987 and Mick O'Brian in 1990)
*[[Judith McGrath]] as Bernice Hudson (seasons 12–13)
*[[Anne Looby]] as Dr. Anna Lacey Newman (seasons 12–13), had previously appeared in a guest role as Jennifer Rose in 1990
*[[Jamie Croft]] as Billy Moss (seasons 12–13), had previously appeared in a guest role as Ashley Baker in 1991
*Allan Penney as Perce Hudson (season 13; recurring seasons 7–12), had previously appeared in guest roles as Arty Turner in 1981, Alf Trotter in 1982 and Alfred Hitchins in 1984

===Network Ten year (1994)===
Only three series regulars from the Network Seven series – [[Joan Sydney]], [[Joyce Jacobs]], and [[Andrew Blackman]] – were retained in the Network Ten re-launch. [[Michelle Pettigrove]] returned as a guest in the first episode only.

* [[Joan Sydney]] as Matron Maggie Morrison 
* [[Andrew Blackman]] as Dr. Harry Morrison
* [[Joyce Jacobs]] as Esme Watson 
* Paul Gleeson as Ian McIntyre (appeared in the final 8 episodes of the Seven Network series)
* [[Claudia Black]] as Claire Bonacci (appeared in the final 4 episodes of the Seven Network series)
* [[Vince Colosimo]] as Danny Sabatini 
* Laura Armstrong as Georgie Wilkes
* [[Jane Hall (actress)|Jane Hall]] as Dr. Jess Morrison

==Episodes==
{{Main|List of A Country Practice episodes}}
{{:List of A Country Practice episodes}}

===Setting and stories===
The series followed the workings of a small hospital in the fictional [[New South Wales]] rural country town of Wandin Valley, as well as its connected medical clinic, the town's veterinary surgery, RSL club/pub and local police station. The show's storylines focused on the staff and regular patients of the hospital and general practice, their families, and other residents of the town. Through its weekly guest actors, it explored various social and medical problems. The series examined such topical issues as youth [[unemployment]], [[suicide]], [[drug addiction]], [[HIV/AIDS]] and [[terminal illness]]. Apart from its regular rotating cast, ''A Country Practice'' also had a cast of semi-regulars who made appearances as the storylines permitted. The program also showcased a number of animal stars and Australian native wildlife, most famously Fatso the wombat. Fatso was played throughout the series by three separate wombats, the original actually named Fatso (1981–1986) was replaced due to temperament issues with the cast, a wombat George (1986–1990), he himself replaced due to early signs of wombat mange (a marsupial viral disease), and Garth (1990 through series end).

===Highest rating episode===
[[Anne Tenney]] played Molly Jones, who became one of the most popular characters, particularly in the series' early years. Molly was an unconventional fashion designer, farmer and Green-hugging local environmentalist, and after Tenney decided to leave the series, her character's death episode became the highest rating, and most remembered storyline. The series 13 week storyline arc dealt with how a young woman, as well as her husband and local residents, coped with terminal illness, after the character was diagnosed with [[leukaemia]]. The final episode sees the character of Molly sitting in her back garden and waving while her husband, Brendan, is teaching their daughter, Chloe, to fly a kite. He sees Molly is fading, and calls her name as the screen fades to black.<ref name="theguardian">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/feb/06/how-mollys-death-on-a-country-practice-touched-a-nation-the-writers-room-was-shedding-tears|title=How Molly's death on A Country Practice touched the nation:'the writers' room was shedding tears'|website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date=6 February 2020 }}</ref> This storyline arc was originally written to be featured over a continuing 11 week script. A producer realised that the ratings were not being monitored during this period, so it was extended for 13 weeks, and hence 4 extra 1 hour episodes.

Other iconic storylines over its 12-year run include the wedding of Dr. Simon Bowen ([[Grant Dodwell]]) to local vet Vicki Dean ([[Penny Cook]]) in 1983, the death of nurse Donna Manning in a car crash in 1987, and the off-screen death of longtime resident Shirley Gilroy, played by original [[Lorrae Desmond]] in a plane crash in 1992.

==Logie Awards==
''A Country Practice'' is the third most successful television program after ''[[Home and Away]]'' (1st) and ''[[Neighbours]]'' (2nd), at the [[Logie Awards]], having won 29 awards during its twelve years of production.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://au.tv.yahoo.com/the-logie-awards/winners/|title=TV Week Logie Awards – Past Winners|publisher=Yahoo!7 TV}}<!-- Almost dead link: The URL provided currently shows links to summaries for Logies awarded in years 1989 to 2008, and links to pages 2 and 3, but these pages show the same links again. And you have to try hard to locate yahoo7's local search (rather than the general web search). But http://au.tv.search.yahoo.com/search?p=The+<n><th>+Annual+TV+Week+Logie+Awards does seem to locate the summaries for n=2 up, where <th> is nd for second, rd for third, etc.--></ref>

'''[[Logie Awards of 1983|Logie Awards 1983]]'''
*Best Supporting Actor In A Series: Brian Wenzel 
*Best Juvenile Performance: Jeremy Shadlow

'''[[Logie Awards of 1984|Logie awards 1984]]'''
*[[Logie Award for Most Popular Actor|Most Popular Actor]]: Grant Dodwell 
*NSW Most Popular Female: Penny Cook 
*[[Logie Award for Most Popular Australian Program|NSW Most Popular Show]]: ''A Country Practice'' 
*[[Logie Award for Most Popular Drama Program|Most Popular Drama Series]]: ''A Country Practice'' 
*Best Supporting Actress In A Series: Lorrae Desmond

'''[[Logie Awards of 1985|Logie Awards 1985]]'''
*Most Popular Lead Actor: Grant Dodwell 
*[[Logie Award for Most Popular Actress|Most Popular Lead Actress]]: Anne Tenney 
*NSW Most Popular Male: Grant Dodwell 
*NSW Most Popular Female: Penny Cook
*NSW Most Popular Show: ''A Country Practice'' 
*Most Popular Drama Program: ''A Country Practice'' 
*Best Lead Actor In A Series: Shane Withington 
*Best Supporting Actress In A Series: Wendy Strehlow

'''[[Logie Awards of 1986|Logie Awards 1986]]'''
*Most Popular Australian Actor: Grant Dodwell 
*Most Popular Australian Actress: Anne Tenney 
*NSW Most Popular Female: Anne Tenney 
*NSW Most Popular Program: ''A Country Practice'' 
*Most Popular Australian Drama: ''A Country Practice''

'''[[Logie Awards of 1987|Logie Awards 1987]]'''
*NSW Most Popular Program: ''A Country Practice''

'''[[Logie Awards of 1988|Logie Awards 1988]]'''
*NSW Most Popular Program: ''A Country Practice''

'''[[Logie Awards of 1989|Logie Awards 1989]]'''
*[[Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress|Most Outstanding Actress]]: Joan Sydney 
*NSW Most Popular Program: ''A Country Practice''

'''[[Logie Awards of 1990|Logie Awards 1990]]'''
*[[Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actor|Most Outstanding Actor]]: Shane Porteous 
*[[Logie Award for Most Popular New Talent|Most Popular New Talent]]: Georgie Parker

'''[[Logie Awards of 1991|Logie Awards 1991]]'''
*Most Popular Actress: Georgie Parker

'''[[Logie Awards of 1992|Logie Awards 1992]]'''
*Most Popular Actress: Georgie Parker

'''[[Logie Awards of 1993|Logie Awards 1993]]'''
*Most Popular Actress: Georgie Parker

==Broadcast==
''A Country Practice'' originally aired on [[Seven Network]] Monday (Part 1) and Tuesday (Part 2) nights at 7:30. {{citation needed|date=November 2021}} The unsuccessful 1994 [[Network 10]] remake of the series aired originally at 7:30 on Wednesday nights, but then moved to 7:30 on Saturday nights a few weeks later. In late July, it moved to a low-rating timeslot of 5:30 Saturday evenings, directly against Channel Seven's Saturday AFL coverage.

Seven also aired repeats of the original series at 9:30 weekday mornings from 1995 to 2002.

Foxtel's Hallmark Channel broadcast the complete series twice (including the short-lived [[Network Ten]] series) in a 2-hour block at 3:30 to 5:30 weekday afternoons from 2002 to 30 June 2010.

In 2014, 7TWO ran repeats at 02:00 on weekday mornings.

==International broadcasts==
===United Kingdom===
The series also had a successful run on the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] network in the United Kingdom. ''A Country Practice'' began on Wednesday, 27 October 1982 – less than a year after its debut on [[Seven Network]] in Australia.

Originally, the series was partially networked (similar in theory to [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]]) by [[Thames Television]], the weekday contractor for the London area, to a cluster of five [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] regions; [[Anglia Television]], [[Border Television]], [[ITV Tyne Tees|Tyne Tees]], [[Yorkshire Television]] and [[Television South|TVS]]. These regions all aired one weekly episode on Wednesdays at 14:45–15:45, and in the original, hour-long format. The remaining ITV contractors: [[Central Independent Television]], [[Channel Television]], [[Harlech Television|HTV]], [[Television South West|TSW]], [[Granada Television]], [[Scottish Television]], [[UTV (TV channel)|UTV]], and [[Grampian Television]] – all started later, with [[UTV (TV channel)|UTV]] being the last to start in late 1989. 

Of the broadcast years covering 1982 through to 1989, all of the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] regions began scheduling the program on a day and at a time of their own choice, but most generally continued with the weekly hour-long format. The slower pace of one weekly episode all year round (as opposed to ''two'' in Australia for ten months, Feb-Nov) meant that UK broadcasts quickly fell behind Australia, and the regions were all at vastly different points in the storyline by 1988 when the serial was put on hiatus in a handful of areas for a new Australian series, ''[[Richmond Hill (TV series)|Richmond Hill]]'', which took the Wednesday and Thursday afternoon 14:00 slot from October. When that series ended in August the following year, ''A Country Practice'' was resumed as its replacement (although some regions, such as Thames, TSW, TVS, and Granada, had continued to show it).

By around May 1990 (regions do vary), the ITV network decided to change how it broadcast episodes of ''A Country Practice''. Each franchise adopted the method of editing each episode into two half-hour editions, which allowed the series to be stripped Monday to Friday, usually before, or after, the lunchtime edition of ''[[Home and Away]]''. This half-hour format of airing the series had already been established by Yorkshire Television from October 1984, TVS from 1987, Thames from 1988, and due to the backlog of episodes now available, stripped half-hour editions could air uninterrupted (except on bank holidays etc) and at an increased output of up to two and a half episodes each week. This format did however result in the curtailment of the full closing credits in certain regions from January 1994. Scottish Television was the only exception, and they chose various days and timeslots, but always screened ''A Country Practice'' in the original hour-long format.

A substantial amount was withdrawn from transmission by some regions as the content was considered unsuitable for daytime viewing and this inevitably led to considerable chunks of the story being skipped. Considered a daytime soap, ''A Country Practice'' was popular in the UK and achieved consolidated viewing figures of between 2–3 million. Some regions (HTV, Border, Grampian, TSW and Granada) moved the later episodes of the series to an early evening slot of 17.10–17.40.

'''ITV regional broadcasts'''
*Originally starting in 1982, [[Yorkshire Television]] were the first region to break away from the networked transmissions in October 1984 and began editing each episode into two half-hour episodes, screening on Mondays and Tuesdays at 15:30. This led to continuity problems as whenever a public holiday occurred (on Monday), the 15:30 slot would be unavailable. The series was moved back to an early afternoon hour-long format in 1988 when ''Sons and Daughters'' was aired five afternoons a week at 15:30. ''A Country Practice'' then replaced ''Sons and Daughters'' when that series ended in March 1989, again split into half-hour episodes and shown five afternoons a week for the first time. In 1990, it was then moved to earlier afternoon, 13:50–14:00, and eventually, hour-long episodes were reinstated. The series concluded in March 1998 and the Network Ten series was not shown. When [[Tyne Tees Television]] merged with Yorkshire, a number of episodes were skipped. This was to allow an alignment of schedules for the two regions.
* After initially airing weekly hour-long episodes (usually on Wednesdays) from 1982, both [[Television South|TVS]] and [[Thames Television]] followed Yorkshire's example of showing half-hour episodes each week. TVS initially used 14:00-14:30 from 1987 before following Thames with the 12:30–13:00, Monday to Wednesday, slot, from 1988. In 1990, both of these regions adopted the 13:50–14:20 time, on various days and frequency.
* [[ITV Central|Central Television]] originally began ''A Country Practice'' in July 1983, airing weekly on Tuesday mornings, 11:10–12:00, during the summer of 1983, but by September, the series had been shelved. Several years later in the spring of 1990 - while all the other ITV regions were well into their respective runs – Central re-launched the series, and followed Thames, Yorkshire, and TVS with half-hour episodes, starting with the first episode of the 1982 season. In May, it appeared in an early-afternoon slot, 14:00-14:30, Monday to Friday, and in September 1990, this changed slightly to 13:50–14:20. From January 1993, moves to 13:15–13:45, and then briefly switches to mid-afternoon in September 1993, and then 15:00–15:30 until the end of that year. Returns to 14:50–15:20 until March 1994, after which, it is moved back to lunchtimes at 13:55–14:25. By 1997, Central was airing ''A Country Practice'' at 12:55–13:25, and in 1998, the network concluded the original series in April in the 13:00–13:30 slot, and then immediately commenced the short-lived, 30-episode [[Network Ten]] version, finally completing all the episodes on Friday, 31 July 1998.
* [[Scottish Television]] started broadcasting the series in 1983 and always aired ''A Country Practice'' as hour-long episodes. Throughout the 1980s the program moved about in time and day but was generally broadcast once a week in an afternoon slot. In January 1994, after (episode #486), it was dropped from the schedules for about 4 months until June. From episode 491 screened every weekday morning at 10:55 for the duration of the summer school holidays (around 6 weeks) until 2 September. It reverted to its old weekly Tuesday slot the following week. It was the dropped completely after episode #588, during April 1995 replaced by Blue Heelers.  Although the company took over [[Grampian Television]], the series continued until the end. The Series switched to 30min format in 1995, by Summer 1998 was being screened each week day. 
* [[ITV Wales & West|HTV]] started the series on Wednesday, 26 October 1983, broadcasting 1 hour episodes [most] Wednesdays, 14:00–14:55, until 1990, when the series moved to 15:25, Wednesday to Friday as replacement for ''Sons and Daughters'' in half-hour format for the first time on HTV. This briefly increased to Monday-Friday, but from September 1993, it's moved to earlier time, 13:50–14:20, and only twice weekly. In March 1994, it began airing in the early evening, 17:10–17:40. By the end of 1998, the series had been reduced again to being shown on Thursdays and Fridays only. From January to March 1999, the series was shown on Tuesday through to Friday until Friday 5 March 1999 when the final Channel Seven episode was reached. HTV were the last ITV region to complete the series (and did not show the short lived Channel 10 series).
* [[Carlton Television]] superseded [[Thames Television]] in January 1993, and they continued to air the series using the 13:50–14:20 timeslot. In January 1995, Carlton launched a new Australian series, ''[[Blue Heelers]]'', and it took the 14:50–15:20 slot, Monday to Wednesday, and a new series from New Zealand ''[[Shortland Street]]'' in the 13:55 slot on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with ''A Country Practice'' on Tuesday and Thursday, and this pattern continued until they became the first region to reach the last episode, on 25 April 1996. [[Anglia Television]] was next to finish in 1997, and they then began a short repeat of the first 40 episodes. 
*[[Granada Television]] originally began with a regular weekly episode on Thursdays, 14:00–15:00, from January 1984. This continued until mid-1990, when Granada decided to follow the majority of ITV regions with the half-hourly stripped format, broadcast at lunchtime, Monday to Friday, 13:50–14:20. During 1994 until the autumn of 1996, the series was moved to the early-evening 17:10–17:40 timeslot, Monday to Thursday – in September 1996, however, it returned to 13:50–14:20, and now airing Tuesday to Friday. By January 1998, hour-long episodes had been reinstated, and these aired on Mondays and Fridays, 13:55–14:45, and this continued until the end of the series in April 1998. [[Border Television]] had, by now, aligned with Granada's run of the series and followed their broadcast schedule.
*[[Television South West|TSW]] and [[Channel Television]] did not begin until 1984, and initially aired ''A Country Practice'' weekly on Tuesdays at 14:00–15:00. In August 1989, TSW added an additional hour long episode on Thursdays (replacing ''Richmond Hill''). In 1990, TSW followed the rest of the English ITV regions and aired five, half-hour episodes, Monday to Friday, at lunchtimes. In January 1993, [[Westcountry Television]] took over the regional franchise, and they moved the series to 17:10-17:40, until they concluded the series in 1997. Due to changes in their networking arrangements, Channel Television aligned with TVS broadcasts rather than TSW broadcasts from January 1986, meaning some episodes were skipped in the Channel Islands.
*[[Television South|TVS]] was replaced by [[Meridian Television]] on 1 January 1993 and the company continued to air ''A Country Practice''. The original 7 Network series concluded in April 1997, and then Meridian immediately commenced the Network Ten series, with half-hour episodes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 12:55-13:25, until the last episode aired in September 1997.
*[[UTV (TV channel)|UTV]] dropped ''A Country Practice'' in early September 1998. At that particular point, UTV had been airing episodes only once a week - on Mondays - at 2:45pm, in a 30-minute slot. UTV had reached episodes from early 1993, season 13.

'''Satellite and cable broadcasts'''
* In the mid-1980s, ''A Country Practice'' was a prime-time series on the pan-European satellite channel, "Sky Channel", twice weekly at 20:00, from April 1984, on Tuesday and Thursday. By August 1985, the series was being screened at 19:20 and 20:10, still on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and in 1986, it was screened at 20:00 again. By January 1988, it was broadcast on Tuesday and Wednesday evening at 20:25. When the Sky Channel was re-launched on the new [[Astra 1A]] satellite in February 1989, it became a UK-only service, and play-out facilities for Sky programmes were moved to the UK. Due to the ITV network having first-run rights to ''A Country Practice'' in the UK, and Sky Channel having overtaken the point where ITV were in the storyline, they weren't able to premiere new episodes before ITV - therefore, ''A Country Practice'' disappeared from the Sky schedule after four and a half years and was never resumed. For a brief period, later episodes were shown in 1997 on the cable channel [[Carlton Select]].

Only the first 40 episodes have ever been repeated in the UK, in 1997, when ITV contractor, [[Anglia Television]], were the only region to repeat any episodes. Unlike other Australian soaps, which became cult viewing due to multiple runs; ''[[Prisoner (TV series)|Prisoner]]'' was broadcast twice, first on ITV, and then [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]]; ''[[The Sullivans]]'' also had two full runs, once on ITV and repeated on [[UK Gold]]; and also ''[[Sons and Daughters (Australian TV series)|Sons and Daughters]]'', which had three runs, first on ITV, then UK Gold, and finally, Channel 5 – ''A Country Practice'' has never been repeated in the UK or achieved the cult status of other soap operas of the same vintage.

===European screenings===
====France====
''A Country Practice'' was named "À Coeur Ouvert". The series premiered on [[France 3|FR3]] in 1989.

====Germany====
''A Country Practice'' was named ''Das Buschkrankenhaus'' (''The Country Hospital''), and aired on [[Sat 1]] in 1985, and then on [[ARD (broadcaster)|ARD]] from 1989 to 1991.<ref>[https://www.fernsehserien.de/das-buschkrankenhaus Das Buschkrankenhaus – fernsehserien.de<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

====Italy====
''A Country Practice'' was named "Wandin Valley". Only 170 episodes were broadcast on local television stations in Italy, and the dub was made at TSI in Switzerland.

====Ireland====
Episode one debuted on [[RTÉ Two]] on Monday, 23 September 1985 at 18:15 airing weekdays. Start time later moved to 18:30. RTE split each episode in two to fill a 30-minute slot. On 3 October 1988, to make way for ''[[Home and Away]]'', RTE moved ACP to the main channel [[RTÉ One]], continuing weekdays at 17:30 in a 30-minute slot. The final episode (1088) aired on 13 February 1997.<ref name="RTÉ One and Two TV listings">{{cite web|title=RTÉ TV Listings 1981 – 1996|url=http://tvlistings.thetvroomplus.com/?id=6:ca|access-date=23 April 2010|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120730024510/http://tvlistings.thetvroomplus.com/?id=6:ca|archive-date=30 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Between 1998 and 2002, [[RTÉ]] rebroadcast seasons 8–10 (1988–1990). Episodes aired around midday and later moved to 09:30.

====Norway====
''A Country Practice'' (called "Hverdagsliv") was broadcast on TV2 from the channel's inception in 1992 to 2000.

===Africa===
====Kenya====
''A Country Practice'' was also transmitted on Kenyan Television (VoK now KBC) during the 1980s.

====Zimbabwe====
''A Country Practice was'' broadcast on ZBC state television in the 1980s.

===Oceania===
====New Zealand====
''A Country Practice'' was first transmitted on [[TVNZ 2|TV2]] on the afternoon of Thursday 13 February 1986. It was shown once a week on Thursdays at 2.30pm before moving to twice a week on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 6.30pm by 1987. By 1988, the series went back to once a week on Sundays at around 4pm, and by 1989 an additional episode was broadcast on Saturdays in the same timeslot. By 1990, ''A Country Practice'' screened on Channel 2 on Saturdays and Sundays at 5pm until it moved to [[TVNZ 1|TV One]] during the final months of 1991 replacing ''[[Fair Go]]'', where it was shown once a week on Tuesdays at 7.30pm until the end of 1992.

===North America===
====Canada====
The entire series was broadcast by [[CBC Television]] outlet [[CBET-DT|CBET]] in [[Windsor, Ontario]]. Two episodes were broadcast daily, Monday through Friday, starting in the late 1980s, until they were caught up to contemporary episodes in the early 1990s. Its inclusion on CBET's schedule was out of necessity to fill a television schedule: Windsor was located across from the much larger American city of [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], and was thus considered part of that city's TV market. The CBC network's schedule had a number of American programmes that CBET could not show as Detroit stations had often held exclusive rights to broadcast them (for example, popular game shows ''[[Wheel of Fortune (American game show)|Wheel of Fortune]]'' and ''[[Jeopardy!]]'' had their Detroit broadcasting rights held by [[WDIV-TV]]). Many Australian soap operas, ''A Country Practice'' among them, thus found loyal audiences in the Metro Detroit area, while they otherwise remain unknown in North America.

From 1991 to 1994, the show also aired on [[CTV Two Atlantic|ASN]], a cable network that served Canada's [[The Maritimes|Maritimes]]. Four hour-long episodes aired each week, from Monday to Thursday with Monday's and Tuesday's episodes repeated on Saturday and Wednesday's and Thursday's episodes on Sunday. The station aired the show from episode 1 to somewhere in the early 700s.

ASN ceased carrying the show when specialty cable channel [[Showcase (Canadian TV channel)|Showcase]] was launched on 1 January 1995, as they picked up ''A Country Practice'' for broadcast throughout Canada. It broadcast one episode daily, from Monday to Friday, and completed the entire series run (including the 30-episode Network Ten series) in June 1999. It began rebroadcasting the entire series on 28 June 1999, with promises that the entire series would be broadcast for those who missed the first airing. However, a single line of text scrolling across the bottom of the screen during 21 August 2000, episode announced that the show would be removed from the Showcase lineup as of Monday, 28 August 2000. According to the station's email autoresponse at the time, the decision was based on "declining viewership and a demand by viewers for more current programming". {{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

==Novel==
Series writer Judith Colquhoun, who also wrote episodes for other Australian serials, ''[[Blue Heelers]]'', ''[[Neighbours]]'' and ''[[Home and Away]]'' released a novel in 2015. Called ''New Beginnings'', it is based on the early episodes of the series from 1981. This was followed up by two further novels from the same author, ''To Everything a Season'' and ''Silver Linings''.

==DVD release==
In late 2005, MRA Entertainment announced they had obtained the rights to release the entire series on DVD. In 2008, Magna Pacific Pty Ltd bought out MRA Entertainment, with plans to release Series 6, however the rights were then acquired by Beyond Home Entertainment which then re-released the first 5 seasons in 2007–2008, followed by Season 6 in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.acountrypractice.com/Stuff/DVDs/full-season-sets.html|title=A Country Practice – Full Episode DVD Box Sets|website=www.acountrypractice.com|access-date=3 August 2018}}</ref> On 27 May 2020 Via Vision Entertainment announced they would be releasing season 11 on DVD on 26 August 2020.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!Episodes
!Discs
!Licensed to
!Released
|-
|Season 1
|1–14
|4
|MRA Entertainment
|3 April 2006
|-
|Season 2, Part 1
|15–44
|6
|MRA Entertainment
|3 April 2006
|-
|Season 2, Part 2
|45–106
|12
|MRA Entertainment
|11 April 2007
|-
|Season 3, Part 1
|107–148
|12
|MRA Entertainment
|11 April 2007
|-
|Season 3, Part 2
|149–190
|12
|MRA Entertainment
|11 July 2007
|-
|Season 4, Part 1
|191–236
|12
|MRA Entertainment
|14 November 2007
|-
|Season 4, Part 2
|237–280
|12
|MRA Entertainment
|14 November 2007
|-
|Season 5, Part 1
|281–318
|12
|MRA Entertainment
|23 April 2008
|-
|Season 5, Part 2
|319–356
|12
|MRA Entertainment
|23 April 2008
|-
|Season 6, Part 1
|357–400
|11
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|7 April 2010
|-
|Season 6, Part 2
|401–444
|11
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|9 June 2010
|-
|Season 1
|1–14
|4
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|11 April 2007
|-
|Season 2 Part 1
|15–44
|6
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|11 April 2007
|-
|Season 2 Part 2
|45–106
|12
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|11 April 2007
|-
|Season 3 Part 1
|107–148
|12
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|11 April 2007
|-
|Season 3 Part 2
|149–190
|12
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|11 April 2007
|-
|Season 4 Part 1
|191–236
|12
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|14 November 2007
|-
|Season 4 Part 2
|237–280
|12
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|14 November 2007
|-
|Season 5 Part 1
|281–318
|12
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|16 April 2008
|-
|Season 5 Part 2
|319–356
|12
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|16 April 2008
|-
|Season 7, Part 1
|445–488
|11
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|5 October 2011
|-
|Season 7, Part 2
|489–532
|11
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|5 October 2011
|-
|The Early Years: Seasons 1–6
|1–444
|116
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|1 May 2013
|-
|Season 8, Part 1
|533–576
|11
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|2 January 2014
|-
|Season 8, Part 2
|577–622
|11
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|2 January 2014
|-
|Season 9, Part 1
|623–666
|11
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|5 March 2014
|-
|Season 9, Part 2
|667–706
|10
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|5 March 2014
|-
|Season 10, Part 1
|707–750
|11
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|28 April 2014
|-
|Season 10, Part 2
|751–792
|11
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|28 April 2014
|-
|The Middle Years: Seasons 7–10
|445–792
|87
|Beyond Home Entertainment
|28 April 2014
|-
|Season 11
|793–882
|22
|Via Vision Entertainment 
|26 August 2020
|-
|Season 12
|883–968
|22
|Via Vision Entertainment 
|21 October 2020
|-
|Season 13
|969–1058
|23
|Via Vision Entertainment 
|2 December 2020
|-
|Season 14
|1–30
|8
|Via Vision Entertainment 
|6 January 2021
|-
|Collection One
|1–148
|34
|Via Vision Entertainment
|17 March 2021<ref>{{Cite web|title=A Country Practice - Collection 1 - DVD|url=https://www.madman.com.au/catalogue/view/56177/a-country-practice-collection-1|access-date=2020-12-31|website=Madman Entertainment|language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
|Collection Two
|149–280
|34
|Via Vision Entertainment
|21 April 2021
|-
|Collection Three
|281–400
|35
|Via Vision Entertainment
|19 May 2021
|-
|Collection Four
|401–532
|33
|Via Vision Entertainment
|21 July 2021
|-
|Collection Five
|533–666
|34
|Via Vision Entertainment
|18 August 2021
|-
|Collection Six
|667–792
|32
|Via Vision Entertainment
|22 September 2021
|-
|Collection Seven
|793–968
|44
|Via Vision Entertainment
|6 April 2022
|}

== 7plus streaming service ==
As of January 2021 Channel 7's streaming service 7plus has made Seasons 1-14 available.

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Title
!Format
!Episodes #
!Release date
!Streaming status
!Special features
!Distributors 
|-
| A Country Practice (Season 1)
| Streaming 
| style="text-align:left;"| Episodes 14
| 20 March 2020
| Currently Streaming
| None
| [[7plus]]
|-
| A Country Practice (Season 2)
| Streaming 
| style="text-align:left;"| Episodes 93
| 20 March 2020
| Currently Streaming
| None
| [[7plus]]
|-
| A Country Practice (Season 3)
| Streaming 
| style="text-align:left;"| Episodes 84
| 7 April 2020
| Currently Streaming
| None
| [[7plus]]
|-
| A Country Practice (Season 4)
| Streaming 
| style="text-align:left;"| Episodes 90
| 14 May 2020
| Currently Streaming
| None
| [[7plus]]
|-
| A Country Practice (Season 5)
| Streaming 
| style="text-align:left;"| Episodes 76
| 11 June 2020
| Currently Streaming
| None
| [[7plus]]
|-
| A Country Practice (Season 6)
| Streaming 
| style="text-align:left;"| Episodes 88
| 9 July 2020
| Currently Streaming 
| None
| [[7plus]]
|-
| A Country Practice (Season 7)
| Streaming 
| style="text-align:left;"| Episodes 88
| 6 August 2020
| Currently Streaming 
| None
| [[7plus]]
|-
| A Country Practice (Season 8)
| Streaming 
| style="text-align:left;"| Episodes 90
| 3 September 2020
| Currently Streaming
| None
| [[7plus]]
|-
| A Country Practice (Season 9)
| Streaming 
| style="text-align:left;"| Episodes 84
| 1 October 2020
| Currently Streaming
| None
| [[7plus]]
|-
| A Country Practice (Season 10)
| Streaming 
| style="text-align:left;"| Episodes 86
| 29 October 2020
| Currently Streaming
| None
| [[7plus]]
|-
| A Country Practice (Season 11)
| Streaming 
| style="text-align:left;"| Episodes 90
| 26 November 2020
| Currently Streaming 
| None
| [[7plus]]
|-
| A Country Practice (Season 12)
| Streaming 
| style="text-align:left;"| Episodes 86
| 15 December 2020
| Currently Streaming 
| None
| [[7plus]]
|-
| A Country Practice (Season 13)
| Streaming 
| style="text-align:left;"| Episodes 90
| 30 December 2020
| Currently Streaming 
| None
| [[7plus]]
|-
| A Country Practice (Season 14)
| Streaming 
| style="text-align:left;"| Episodes 30
| 24 February 2021
| Currently Streaming 
| None
| [[7plus]]
|}

==See also==
* [[List of longest-running Australian television series]]
* [[List of longest-serving soap opera actors]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/C/htmlC/countrypract/countrypract.htm Encyclopedia of Television].
* {{IMDb title|id=0086689|title=A Country Practice (Seven Network)}}.
* {{IMDb title|id=0208071|title=A Country Practice (Network Ten)}}.
*[https://archive.today/20121127170005/http://colsearch.nfsa.afc.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=Number:138112;querytype=;rec=0;resCount=10 ''A Country Practice'' at the National Film and Sound Archive].
*[http://www.adamgerace.com/2014/06/13/holding-the-mirror-up-to-wendy/ "Holding the Mirror Up to Wendy" – Interview with Wendy Strehlow (2014)]
*[http://www.adamgerace.com/2015/02/07/calm-life-mind/ "Calm Life Mind" – Interview with Gavin Harrison (2015)]

{{Logie Award for Most Popular Drama Series on Australian Television}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Country Practice, A}}
[[Category:Seven Network original programming]]
[[Category:Network 10 original programming]]
[[Category:Television series by Endemol Shine Australia]]
[[Category:Australian television soap operas]]
[[Category:Australian medical television series]]
[[Category:Television shows set in New South Wales]]
[[Category:Television shows set in Victoria (state)]]
[[Category:1981 Australian television series debuts]]
[[Category:1994 Australian television series endings]]