--
biographical information extracted without permission from the unauthorized The
Life, Times and Sydney Morning Heralds of Filmmaker David McGhan.
David E. McGhan was born
Davidos Ernest Boris Frangipanny McGhan in the Spring of 1959 in Seaford,
Adelaide, to parents Frank and Hortence McGhan. It seemed that even at birth,
David's life was destined to be lived through a lens -- that is to say, infant
David had a hideous growth protruding from his left temple and was studied ad
nauseum by doctors through a one way mirror for much of his immediate
postnatal life.
Defects aside, young
David had an early fascination for the art of filmmaking. Indeed even before he
could walk, David had made his first documentary, tentatively titled Goo Goo
Ga Ga Splat -- a boyishly exuberant exploration of the bin under the
kitchen bench. As David matured in his methods, more acomplished filmmaking
efforts were soon to follow, with such joyously titled short films as Shelly
- The Stinky Girl With Cooties Next Door and the starkly truthful When I
Grow Up, I Want To Be Bill Collins - both shot on a combination of Super8
film and a My First Autocue and distributed to friends and neighbours on Beta.
David attended the
prestigious South Adelaide Orson Welles School of Filmmaking for the
first two months of his formative years, though a failing grade in 'Theory of
Documentary Making 101' would prove to be his unfortunate undoing in this
scholarly regard. This aspiring Attenborough was not to be discouraged in his
quest to make informative and entertaining snippets of film, however, and David
turned his attentions to a more arthouse style of film endeavour - culminating
in his critically ignored stream-of-conciousness narrative piece on Flea Dip,
devilishly entitled Old Man and the Flea.
David's big break
arguably came in the mid-90s, when he was presented with the opportunity to
produce a series of documentary features for Channel 7's flagship show Full
Frontal. Thinking the show was pornographic in nature, David mistakenly
pitched an adult documentary expose entitled David McGhan Exposes Boobies
and was understandably turned away. When he proposed a second documentary
series more suitably aimed at Full Frontal's major demographic category
of 8-10 year olds, however, history was made.
In the course of the
series, David made documentary features on such challenging topics as the
gill-less air-breathing habits of Johann Sebastian Bach, the controversial
Earth-Moon-Toast-Bridge and a stunning piece on the rare Goaty Creature of West
Adelaide. Sadly, the latter was never released for cited reasons of lack of
footage.
In producing and
narrating this series, David had succeeded in composing a documentary which
would eventually be described by critics as being "on tv". But even
with such success under his faux leather belt, David would next look to expand
his repetoir in the realms of television drama.
To shake off any
stereotypes that might accompany him on the transition from non-fiction to
fictional filmmaking, David made the difficult decision to change the spelling
of his surname from 'McGahan', as had been bestowed upon him by birth, to the
snappier and less vowel-challenged 'McGhan'. This change met with much abuse
from at least one fan of the filmmaker, who was heard to describe the sudden
nom de plume change as ".. what the f#ck?"
First came Roger
Explosion - a spy action series much in the vein of James Bond and Chip
and Dale, Rescue Rangers. In this endeavour, David once again lengthened
his range - writing, starring and producing the series, which featured the
exploits of suave super-spy Explosion and his ongoing battle with the evil
Bhuto. Next, David was to himself exploit the current trend of successful
hospital drama series E.R and Miffy Has A Cat Scan and similarly
write, produce and star in his own medical drama, Dr. Miracle MD. This
series, featuring the exploits of suave super-doctor Miracle was critically
noted for its particular attention to the nuances of the oft-complex canon of
medical jargon. Hot on the tail of Miracle came a third series ALSO
produced, written and starring David, which pursued the then-current trend of
legal drama series - namely, District Attorney Ferguson - and which
featured the exploits of suave super-barrister Ferguson and his ongoing battle
with the legal bureacracy.
But as tends to happen to
those blessed with a particular brand of creative genius, David McGhan's star
flared brightly for a fleeting instant and then burned up in the earth's cruel
atmosphere, turning into a meteorite and crashing into a playground north of
Brisbane, injuring four.
David has since retired
from filmmaking and shyed away from the public eye. It is thought that David's
decision to hang up his director's chair was due in part to the scathing
attacks upon his life's work by a West Australian media critic, but the
man himself - in all his sensitive idiosyncratic genius - could not be reached
for comment on the issue.
At latest reports, David
is thought to be living reclusively at 23 Ward Street, West Adelaide, (phone:
(04) 82613990) quietly writing that one great docu-drama to rival the
previously unmatched critical acclaim of Sylvania Waters and the
technical structure of Popstars. The series with the boys in.