2. The Box
February 1974 October 1977On air: 3 years 8 monthsEpisodes: 602 Owing its existence almost entirely to Number 96, The Box was just as over-the-top and even more sex-obsessed than its progenitor. Set at fictional Melbourne television station Channel 12, its storylines - like those of Number 96 - were mostly of an 'adult' nature, with frequent sexual allusions and on-screen nudity. The similarities with Number 96 didn't end there. The Box also featured both a bisexual character and an openly gay character. A young Judy Nunn, as journalist Vicki Stafford, was one half of the first lesbian kiss on Australian TV. One of Channel 12's producers was openly gay and the station's tea lady's son ended up falling in love with him after being released from prison. By 1974 standards, that situation was the very definition of "the perfect storm". The Box was also able to surreptitiously comment on contemporary TV productions, actual people and then-current social issues through Channel 12's schedule of programs. Many were clearly based on real programs and the main cast of characters of The Box was primarily assembled from the personnel involved in the fictional network's equally fictional programming. Like Number 96, The Box was also produced as a one-off cinematic release, though with far less fanfare than the Number 96 version had attracted. Number 96 had been on air for nearly two years before The Box started, so it was a little late to the party and he Australian love-affair with over-the-top sex-driven melodrama was nearly over. Consequently, so was The Box after just three and half years on air, with the final episode screening just three months after the big Number 96 finale.