I Can Jump Puddles
I Can Jump Puddles is a 1981 Australian television mini-series based on the 1955 autobiographical series of the same name by author Alan Marshall. Adapted for television by screenwriters Cliff Green and Roger Simpson, the series starred Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Adam Garnett, Tony Barry, Julie Hamilton, Ann Henderson, Lesley Baker, Olivia Brown, Debra Lawrance and Darren MacDonald. Several prominent television actors also had supporting roles including Lisa Aldenhoven, Kaarin Fairfax, Maurie Fields, Terry Gill, Reg Gorman, Matthew King, Julie Nihill, Maureen Edwards and Dennis Miller and Jason Donovan and Cliff Ellen. A large part of supporting and minor roles also featured cameo appearances by cast members of Prisoner such as Esme Melville, Peter Curtin, Ian Smith, Christine Amor, Fiona Spence, Edward Hepple, Sigrid Thornton, Leila Hayes, Sandy Gore, Mary Ward, Anne Phelan. Future cast members included Billie Hammerberg and Pepe Trevor.
Episodes
In the country town of Turalla, Victoria in the early 1900s Alan Marshall had not long started school when he contracted the crippling disease poliomyelitis.
With the aid of crutches and a wheelchair, young Alan is able to attend school, where he makes new friends and confronts the class bully.
Young Alan adapts quickly to walking on crutches and goes on to the new challenge of horseback riding.
An interest in writing is awakened by Alan's experiences on his first trip away from home.
Nineteen-year-old Alan travels to Melbourne in search of a job and finds that few employers are eager to hire a handicapped person.
Alan receives word that Australia's leading literary magazine is preparing to publish his first story.
Because of his handicap, Alan is forced to work for half pay. Meanwhile, he travels the streets of Melbourne in search of material for his stories.
The year 1929 finds Alan working as an accountant in a boot factory, and falling in love for the first time.
The Depression takes its toll on the boot industry, so Alan helps his employer meet the payroll, and ultimately attempts to save the factory.
