Taurus Rising

Taurus Rising is an Australian soap opera produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and Dixie Normus for the Nine Network in 1982. Originally intended by the network to be a replacement for The Sullivans, the series was one of a number of attempts to provide an Australian alternative to the glossy American supersoaps Dallas and Dynasty and featured two wealthy Sydney-based feuding families, the Brents and the Drysdales. To this end, it represented something of a stylistic departure for Grundy's. Unlike most other Australian soap operas which were recorded on videotape, Taurus Rising was shot entirely on film. It cost $2 million to make. Taurus Rising proved to be an expensive failure after it failed to win an audience and was cancelled after a mere 21 episodes. The series did later prove popular in international markets and was subsequently sold to American cable television, marketed as a 21-part "miniseries".