appeal against the verdict (which was ultimately quashed). The Oz-Mavis connection was reinforced on 15 November, four days after the pilot aired, when the Mavis stars appeared at the Sydney University Theatre as part of a benefit to raise money for the Oz defence appeal. They performed a parody song entitled "Poof The Tragic Queen", which sent up the folk-song staple "Puff, the Magic Dragon". The benefit also featured radical Sydney proto-punk band The Missing Links and Homicide star Leonard Teale, who recited a "surfie" parody of Banjo Paterson's Clancy of the Overflow. The Mavis pilot was broadcast on ATN-7 (in Sydney only) on 11 November 1964 and it was an immediate success, with the Sydney Sun newspaper praising it as "... a fresh new show" that brought "authentic, biting, saucy, swinging satire to ATN". The film recording of the pilot episode survived and is now preserved in the collection of the National Film & Sound Archive in Canberra. Seven soon announced that they were commissioning a series. It was evident that the chemistry between the three stars was a crucial factor in its success, so Seven insisted that Raye should continue as co-star, whereas she had hoped to find a permanent female lead to replace her, so she could concentrate on production; as a compromise, Seven agreed to ease her workload by appointing Michael Plant as co-producer. Five more episodes were made during late 1964, but these were screened in Sydney and Canberra only; the Collection database of Australia's National Film and Sound Archive suggests that only three of these first six episodes have survived. Noeline Brown made a brief weekly appearance as Mavis in these first shows, but she soon tired of the one-joke role and was reluctant to take on the promotional duties required. Seven wanted her to retain her, but Brown intended to go to England and since Seven had neglected to sign her to a contract, she left the show, to be replaced by actress Maggie Dence, although she returned to the series after her visit to the UK. National breakthrough, 1965 Mavis was an immediate success in New South Wales and this was replicated when it was broadcast nationally from early 1965. It created a media sensation and at its peak it became the highest-rating Australian TV series ever made up to that time, pulling in unprecedented 59% of the viewing audience. Capping its