Glamorous femmes fatales had made their mark throughout history including Marie Antoinette, Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Mata Hari and Delilah. On Australian television for over three years between 1982 and 1985, Rowena Wallace was credited for "brilliantly interpreted" the role of Patricia the Terrible in 'Sons and Daughters'. "Truth to tell, 'Sons and Daughters' would be nothing without Patricia. She gives the show whatever conflict and tension it has. She's the cat among the pigeons," critic Harry Robinson remarked.
Also known as "S.A.D", 'Sons and Daughters' was "about the interwoven lives of two Australian families, a million light years apart in terms of attitudes, standing in the community, feelings of self-worth and money, but bound together by a strong cord: each has raised half of a set of 20-year-old twins, separated at birth." In writing the theme song to 'Sons and Daughters', Peter Pinne and Don Battye noted, "We will find out our sons and daughters; Are what, we too, were once about."
David Lyle observed, "All soaps demand easily identifiable characters. Unlike anyone you have ever met, soapie characters are completely transparent within five minutes. There are angry youths, tarts with hearts, pining lovers and cute kids. Oldies are a distinct character class: either lovable old codgers (male) or old maids (female). Rarely do the very poor get a run in soapies. Middleclass is the order of the day. Like the semi-virgin, soap operas present an altered version of reality."
Speaking to John Miner in 1984, Rowena Wallace described Patricia, "I think, in a way, that she became like a conglomeration of things that women are; attitudes that women have. It was like somebody decided to make a list of all the things – this is on a fairly superficial level – that women do in relationships, and they shoved them all into Patricia and she lived through everything. It's like she's a shining example of what can go wrong to everything.
"It's an interesting character. I think that she's, in a way, almost cathartic to some people. She gets away with saying and doing things that nobody ever could in our society. If there really was a person like that, she wouldn’t last five minutes. I think there is an area of catharsis there. Because they say they love the way she schemes and manipulates, and then they love it when she falls flat on her face, then they love it when she struggles back up and says, 'Bugger you lot, I'm a survivor. I'm going to get on with this.' There's a spirit there, a tremendous urge to survive and spirit to get on: people identify with that."
On 'S.A.D', the characters of Patricia and Fiona were the equivalent of Abby and Karen on 'Knots Landing'. In one scene, Patricia told Fiona, "I'll do anything necessary to make sure that the company survives but I must have your support … You and I are both in a very dangerous situation … All I'm asking for is your support on a business level. There are plenty of people in business who hated each other guts but are willing to stick together if they know that's the only way they are going to survive … You must be worried about the money. What are you going to do? Suddenly lower your living standard?"
In another scene, the Hamilton business interests were on the verge of collapse. Patricia told her friend, "Oh the joke is on me, isn't it? Married Gordon for money; went after James (Sheppard) for money. Now I'm back to square one. We’re broke - as in penniless. Oh Charlie you don't know what it's like to be poor. I'll never forget when David and I first arrive in Sydney (in her teens 20 plus years earlier).
"We had absolutely nothing. He couldn't even keep a job. We have to live in seedy boarding houses. We even had to run away from one in the middle of the night because we couldn't pay the rent. No, there's nothing romantic about being poor. I made up my mind I was going to be rich and I did it and Gordon can sit in there and talking about accepting it all. Well, I won't. If he want to give up, fine. But he's not going to drag me down with him. I'll do everything to make sure that doesn't happen."
At the reading of the will of James Sheppard, Patricia learnt, "You've just become a very wealthy woman (in her late thirties 20 plus years later)." As a major beneficiary, Patricia had inherited a fortune including large amount of shares in James Sheppard's company, Ramberg. Patricia was invited to sit on the Board, "You'll be in a very strong position to influence policy decisions." In one scene, Patricia said to Fiona, "I want your assurance that no matter of what we think of each other you'll make an effort to work with me. Ramberg is our bread and butter now. Won't do us much good if we continually at odd with each other."
Bevan Lee developed the original story line for 'Sons and Daughters' in 1981 and who was instrumental in developing the Patricia Dunne character. Of Patricia, Bevan believed, "It's one of the most popular in the history of Australian television." However, "the show has worked consistently on the strength of the story line … Because the storylines are riveting, fast-moving and strong. It's one of the fastest moving of all the series. We put the characters through the hoops, but always try to keep the balance, not go into once-upon-a-time-land. Otherwise, we'd lose our audience.
"Primarily, we are out to entertain in what we see as a recession mentality. 'Sons and Daughters', like Indiana Jones, survives because it is fantasy. It may be less expensive fantasy, but it's still fantasy. We've had a slagging in the press. Right across the board, they said 'We don't possibly see how this could last more that six weeks', but it's now (near the end of 1984) running into a very healthy fourth year. And it could run into a fifth.
"Very few of the press have ever stopped to ask 'How come the show is such a high rater after two-and-a-half years? What's the show got going for it that people flick the switch for two hours every week?' Well the answer is the show is a bit escapist. Not too much, just a little. People have an electricity bill which they can't pay. Well, it is almost preferable to have Pat there to slap your face, because in a way the problem is less threatening. Some kids would rather watch another sportsman go through a trauma in preference to the trauma which they themselves face. 'Sons and Daughters' isn't their own problem. I think if there is anyone out there with a problem like those suffered by 'Sons and Daughters' characters, they've really got problems."
Rowena Wallace told 'The Sydney Morning Herald', "There hasn't been a lot of communication between the writers and actors. It's very frustrating when you don't know where a character is heading. You play scenes in a block one week and you think 'Oh, I see, that's what she's up to' and you relate to a certain character that way. Next week you find that it wasn't that at all, that's not the reason you were doing that, and you think 'I've gone and blown it now completely'. So I decided right at the beginning that it was better to be enigmatic just about everything. A soapie's a strange thing. The writers don't know where it's going. I suppose it's like life really – we don't really know what's going to happen – except it's a speeded-up version."
John Miner: There must be some conflict between the actress as artist, wanting to do something new, and the actress as craftsman, trying to see the product through.
Rowena Wallace: I see what you're getting at. I don't think you can apply that to a soapie, because it's hard to make that kind of commitment to a show like this. You don't know where it's going to end, so you don't really know what you're working with. As far as craftsmanship is concerned, working on a soapie can be very detrimental to your craft or it can be a huge advantage.
"You work under enormous pressure, and you have to do all the things that an actor wants to do with something in the shortest possible time, which means you've got to work very quickly. You can learn an awful lot from it. On the other hand, because of the nature of the beast, many compromises have to be made with everybody involved: directors, technicians and actors.
"You can never really give rein to artistic expression. And I think if you're in that situation for too long, the continual frustration of not being able to give rein to that creative urge can make you ill. It can make you quite sick. There's not much time. You don't get much help, you just do it the best way you can. Fortunately, for an experienced actor, you've learned – not tricks, so much, but just ways of dealing with a situation."
David Lyle observed, "All soaps demand easily identifiable characters. Unlike anyone you have ever met, soapie characters are completely transparent within five minutes. There are angry youths, tarts with hearts, pining lovers and cute kids. Oldies are a distinct character class: either lovable old codgers (male) or old maids (female). Rarely do the very poor get a run in soapies. Middleclass is the order of the day. Like the semi-virgin, soap operas present an altered version of reality."
Speaking to John Miner in 1984, Rowena Wallace described Patricia, "I think, in a way, that she became like a conglomeration of things that women are; attitudes that women have. It was like somebody decided to make a list of all the things – this is on a fairly superficial level – that women do in relationships, and they shoved them all into Patricia and she lived through everything. It's like she's a shining example of what can go wrong to everything.
"It's an interesting character. I think that she's, in a way, almost cathartic to some people. She gets away with saying and doing things that nobody ever could in our society. If there really was a person like that, she wouldn’t last five minutes. I think there is an area of catharsis there. Because they say they love the way she schemes and manipulates, and then they love it when she falls flat on her face, then they love it when she struggles back up and says, 'Bugger you lot, I'm a survivor. I'm going to get on with this.' There's a spirit there, a tremendous urge to survive and spirit to get on: people identify with that."
On 'S.A.D', the characters of Patricia and Fiona were the equivalent of Abby and Karen on 'Knots Landing'. In one scene, Patricia told Fiona, "I'll do anything necessary to make sure that the company survives but I must have your support … You and I are both in a very dangerous situation … All I'm asking for is your support on a business level. There are plenty of people in business who hated each other guts but are willing to stick together if they know that's the only way they are going to survive … You must be worried about the money. What are you going to do? Suddenly lower your living standard?"
In another scene, the Hamilton business interests were on the verge of collapse. Patricia told her friend, "Oh the joke is on me, isn't it? Married Gordon for money; went after James (Sheppard) for money. Now I'm back to square one. We’re broke - as in penniless. Oh Charlie you don't know what it's like to be poor. I'll never forget when David and I first arrive in Sydney (in her teens 20 plus years earlier).
"We had absolutely nothing. He couldn't even keep a job. We have to live in seedy boarding houses. We even had to run away from one in the middle of the night because we couldn't pay the rent. No, there's nothing romantic about being poor. I made up my mind I was going to be rich and I did it and Gordon can sit in there and talking about accepting it all. Well, I won't. If he want to give up, fine. But he's not going to drag me down with him. I'll do everything to make sure that doesn't happen."
At the reading of the will of James Sheppard, Patricia learnt, "You've just become a very wealthy woman (in her late thirties 20 plus years later)." As a major beneficiary, Patricia had inherited a fortune including large amount of shares in James Sheppard's company, Ramberg. Patricia was invited to sit on the Board, "You'll be in a very strong position to influence policy decisions." In one scene, Patricia said to Fiona, "I want your assurance that no matter of what we think of each other you'll make an effort to work with me. Ramberg is our bread and butter now. Won't do us much good if we continually at odd with each other."
Bevan Lee developed the original story line for 'Sons and Daughters' in 1981 and who was instrumental in developing the Patricia Dunne character. Of Patricia, Bevan believed, "It's one of the most popular in the history of Australian television." However, "the show has worked consistently on the strength of the story line … Because the storylines are riveting, fast-moving and strong. It's one of the fastest moving of all the series. We put the characters through the hoops, but always try to keep the balance, not go into once-upon-a-time-land. Otherwise, we'd lose our audience.
"Primarily, we are out to entertain in what we see as a recession mentality. 'Sons and Daughters', like Indiana Jones, survives because it is fantasy. It may be less expensive fantasy, but it's still fantasy. We've had a slagging in the press. Right across the board, they said 'We don't possibly see how this could last more that six weeks', but it's now (near the end of 1984) running into a very healthy fourth year. And it could run into a fifth.
"Very few of the press have ever stopped to ask 'How come the show is such a high rater after two-and-a-half years? What's the show got going for it that people flick the switch for two hours every week?' Well the answer is the show is a bit escapist. Not too much, just a little. People have an electricity bill which they can't pay. Well, it is almost preferable to have Pat there to slap your face, because in a way the problem is less threatening. Some kids would rather watch another sportsman go through a trauma in preference to the trauma which they themselves face. 'Sons and Daughters' isn't their own problem. I think if there is anyone out there with a problem like those suffered by 'Sons and Daughters' characters, they've really got problems."
Rowena Wallace told 'The Sydney Morning Herald', "There hasn't been a lot of communication between the writers and actors. It's very frustrating when you don't know where a character is heading. You play scenes in a block one week and you think 'Oh, I see, that's what she's up to' and you relate to a certain character that way. Next week you find that it wasn't that at all, that's not the reason you were doing that, and you think 'I've gone and blown it now completely'. So I decided right at the beginning that it was better to be enigmatic just about everything. A soapie's a strange thing. The writers don't know where it's going. I suppose it's like life really – we don't really know what's going to happen – except it's a speeded-up version."
John Miner: There must be some conflict between the actress as artist, wanting to do something new, and the actress as craftsman, trying to see the product through.
Rowena Wallace: I see what you're getting at. I don't think you can apply that to a soapie, because it's hard to make that kind of commitment to a show like this. You don't know where it's going to end, so you don't really know what you're working with. As far as craftsmanship is concerned, working on a soapie can be very detrimental to your craft or it can be a huge advantage.
"You work under enormous pressure, and you have to do all the things that an actor wants to do with something in the shortest possible time, which means you've got to work very quickly. You can learn an awful lot from it. On the other hand, because of the nature of the beast, many compromises have to be made with everybody involved: directors, technicians and actors.
"You can never really give rein to artistic expression. And I think if you're in that situation for too long, the continual frustration of not being able to give rein to that creative urge can make you ill. It can make you quite sick. There's not much time. You don't get much help, you just do it the best way you can. Fortunately, for an experienced actor, you've learned – not tricks, so much, but just ways of dealing with a situation."
Dr Warren White told 'The Age' in 1982, "All of us have a reality and a fantasy. The healthy individual has the right mix. Soap operas can be a trial solution for people. Many adopt experiences from soaps and use them in their own lives." In his review, Garry Shelley made the comment, "Television viewers have always been baffling creatures: extremely loyal when secrets and taboos are there to be uncovered, but somewhat fickle after all has been hauled out into the open. They do not like too much too soon.
"They prefer to be tantalized. Many up until now (three months into the first season), 'Sons and Daughters' was, for a lot of us, a moderately tantalizing exercise. Many 'S.A.D' addicts hoped the answer would not come for a long, long time. They liked the tingle of suspense tipped with intrigue. Other viewers, perhaps not as devoted but curious, had the niggling impatience which pressed that 'they hurry up, get on with it and reveal all.'
"I enjoy 'Sons and Daughters'. From an acting point of view, with one or two exceptions, it is at present (in March 1982) a happy experience. Rowena Wallace, coldly insensitive because of her tendency to social climb, is lovely to hate. Hers is a gloriously-bitchy character, with iceberg eyes and a match-striking face. Pat McDonald as Fiona is her antithesis; a no-nonsense type but bubbling with fun, a bit of a busybody with a heart of gold." In one scene, a jaw-dropping Fiona told Bez Keegan (or Beryl Palmer), "I've just inherited more money than I've ever thought I'd see in my life."
