How much of this series is true and how much is fiction is difficult to tell. The series purports to be about someone like a John Laws (for you non-Aussies, he was then a VERY famous and VERY controversial talk-back radio host).
In the 60s and 70s, there were a few incidents, greatly (and I mean GREATLY) sensationalised by the print media, where some sad unfortunate who was in the process of committing suicide would phone one of these radio hosts, possibly for help, possibly for some last-fling publicity, who knows? Anyway, the idea was that the talk-back host would, on air, try to talk the unfortunate out of committing suicide. Apparently these sorts of incidents would dramatically improve the ratings, which to me says much about the state of health of the listeners, but I digress.
Anyway, in this series, we have one such suicidee, whom "The Oracle" is unable to help, and the suicide does happen. Jumps off the cliff at The Gap, I think, which was a "popular" method at the time. This "failure" throws the radio host into great self-doubt and turmoil. He holds himself responsible for the suicide. To make things worse, he discovers - or at least suspects - that his wife may be having an affair.
Like I said, how much of this actually happened, I can't possibly tell. Nevertheless, the series provided a very interesting and very credible look at how such a public high-profile figure might act and react under such circumstances.
In the 60s and 70s, there were a few incidents, greatly (and I mean GREATLY) sensationalised by the print media, where some sad unfortunate who was in the process of committing suicide would phone one of these radio hosts, possibly for help, possibly for some last-fling publicity, who knows? Anyway, the idea was that the talk-back host would, on air, try to talk the unfortunate out of committing suicide. Apparently these sorts of incidents would dramatically improve the ratings, which to me says much about the state of health of the listeners, but I digress.
Anyway, in this series, we have one such suicidee, whom "The Oracle" is unable to help, and the suicide does happen. Jumps off the cliff at The Gap, I think, which was a "popular" method at the time. This "failure" throws the radio host into great self-doubt and turmoil. He holds himself responsible for the suicide. To make things worse, he discovers - or at least suspects - that his wife may be having an affair.
Like I said, how much of this actually happened, I can't possibly tell. Nevertheless, the series provided a very interesting and very credible look at how such a public high-profile figure might act and react under such circumstances.