Power Without Glory Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
Episode 1 - Heads I Win, Tails You LoseJohn West, retrenched from his job in a Carringbush boot factory, lives in poverty with his widowed mother. Falsely arrested as an accomplice in a petty theft, and humiliated in his mothers home, West vows revenge. With the help of his friends, Sugar, Barney and Paddy, he decides to 'fix' pigeon races and run a book on them in the pubs in and around Carringbush.
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Episode 2 - HomecomingsJohn West's elder brother Arthur is released from goal after serving a twelve year sentence for rape. Arthur is embittered, and the family reunion falls flat. John has become attracted to the lovely young Catholic girl Nellie Moran, and attends the church bazaar so that his generosity will impress her. But while he is at the bazaar, the police organise a secret raid on the Tote.
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Episode 3 - Friends and NeighboursThe newly appointed head of the gaming squad, Detective Sergeant O'Flaherty sees an opportunity to break West. He persuades police pimp Bob Standish to give him betting slips from the Tote. Standish gets the evidence, and West tries to buy him off. Sugar Renfrey, the man destined to remain West's lifelong friend, now enters West's life, and John decides it is time to propose to Nellie Moran.
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Episode 4 - Legal ProceedingsCaught trying to bribe a police spy, West is arrested and brought to trial. As a result, he is late for his enagagment party. Wily Lawyer David Garside is confident he can find loop holes in the Gaming Act to protect West's tote, and his suggestions on how to do this make West's activities look like children's games.
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Episode 5 - A Remedy Against SinNellie suffers last minute doubts about the wisdom of marrying John West and in despair her mother sends her to consult Father O'Toole. John interprets her unease, as being interest in another man. He has another major problem. How to prevent Standish, the police witness from giving evidence at West's trial.
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Episode 6 - Stalwarts of LabourThe marriage takes place, and returned from the honeymoon, West learns from Garside that the conservative State Government is contemplating anti-gambling legislation which would mean the end of West's Tote. Garside urges West to extend his influence within the Parliament, which suggests to West an extension of bribery.
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Episode 7 - Law and OrderO'Flahert attempts to close down the Tote, but West, now a millionaire with interests in hotels, sporting activities and clubs, is determined to fight for the Tote's survival.
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Episode 8 - An Honourable EstateWith years of experience in fixing races and buying off police, West is surprised to learn that the Victoria Cup cannot be rigged. The ambitious Frank Lammence, a protege of West's Lawyer David Garside, is anxious to join the West empire, and inagratiates himself with West.
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Episode 9 - Life Goes OnJohn West is now completely absorbed in his money making and empire building. Left alone and bored by her existence, Nellie is desperate for company. She becomes attracted to a handsome young builder, Bill Evans, who is carrying out alterations to the West mansion.
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Episode 10 - Borrowed TimeNellie and Bill Evans enjoy a blissful affair, meeting in a rented hotel room. West learns that a gang is robbing one of his offices, and blackmails the secretary of the builders' labourers into revealing the members of the gang. Nellie sends a note to Bill ending their affair. She is calm and happy but realises it could not continure.
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Episode 11 - Marching As to WarWith the outbrak of the war, John West has joined the Army to organise a 'Sportsman's Thousand'. He has not the slightest intention of going to war, but uses his influence to pressure well-known sportsmen to join the army.
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Episode 12 - Divine InterventionWest is bitter about the Melbourne Catholic Church's attitude to the war, and in particular, the anti-conscription stand of Dr. Malone, the Coadjutor Bishop, who is preoccupied with the Irish uprising. Dr. Malone has heard that a fiery young priest has insulted John West in church.
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Episode 13 - Peacetime ManoeuvresWith the end of the war, West has forgotten his earlier antagonism to the Irish threat to England's war effort, and as a staunch supporter of Dr. Malone, now fancies himself as an Irish patriot. He takes it upon himself to arrange the St.Patricks Day parade but encounters formidable opposition from anti Catholic and anti Irish forces which even daunts the Archbishop.
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Episode 14 - Back to the ShadowsOn his return from Rome, Malone tells West that the Pope is uneasy about West's reputation, and that although their private friendship would be unaffected, they should no longer be seen together in public. Malone still needs West's political and financial support to influence the Labour Party.
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Episode 15 - Musical ChairsMary West's partying and repeated late nights out with her fast young set of friends angers her father, and he admonishes her. Preoccupied with politics, West is shocked to learn that Snoopy Tanner has been embezzling his money. He sacks him and when Tanner threatens his life, West tells the Police Commissioner that it would be advantageous to his career if tanner were eliminated.
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Episode 16 - Polite SocietySnoopy Tanner is shot dead in mysterious circumstances, and West feels great relief. He arranges for Mary and her new friend Father Byrne to acquire an old warehouse where, with the help of Harriet Marshall, they establish a youth centre for the impoverished. The opening is performed by Frank Ashton, who then suffers a heart attack.
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Episode 17 - Foreign AffairsJohn West clashes with his elder daughter Marjorie, when she announces her intention of marrying Paul Andreas. Returning from her musical studies in Italy, Marjorie introduces the handsome young man to the family, but West is convinced that Andreas is only interested in the family's money. The fact that Andreas is also German annoys him further.
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Episode 18 - Rough and TumbleWrestling columnist Clive Parker is running a one man campaign to expose John West's crooked wrestling matches. Parkers vitriolic comments start to affect attendance. West's son, Brendan tried to improve the image of the game but promoter Bill Tinns argues that if Parker cant be bought off, more positive action should be taken.
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Episode 19 - Solidarity ForeverRecently elected to power, the labour Government finds it difficult to pass legislation because the nationalist controlled Senate threatens to veto the Bills. The Party Left, led by Frank Ashton, wants a double dissolution, confident that they can win power in both Houses of Parliament.
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Episode 20 - Hard TimesMary West continues to feel worried about her uselessness during the depression. The Unemployed Workers Movement finally leads her to believe she has found a worthwhile meaning to her life and she throws all her energies into working for the cause.
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Episode 21 - Reason in RevoltLabour has just been swept out of office and Frank Ashton is booed when he faces a meeting with workers. At the same meeting, Mary encounters and is attracted to a young communist, Ben Worth. Meanwhile, Nallie's mother, Mrs Moran has been taken seriously ill and despite the family's pleas, John insists on putting her into a hospital for the dying.
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Episode 22 - Lest We ForgetMary falls in love with Ben Worth as they work together in the campaign against fascism. Her father has grown increasingly concerned about his daughters contact with communists, and matters are brought to a head when Mary helps to organise a rally to be addressed by the Czeck anti fascist Egan Kisch.
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Episode 23 - Confound Their PoliticsMary West marries Ben Worth despite her father's opposition, but her happiness is short lived when Ben goes to fight the fascists in Spain. West's worries are entirely local. A scandal erupts concerning politicians who accept bribes, and legislation which would damage West's business interests in dairying and milk distribution is discarded.
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Episode 24 - Fallen HeroesBen Worth returns from the Spanish Civil War blind. He experiences pain in adjusting to his new life and Mary is faced with the problem of earning a living for both of them. Still bitter about Ben's and Mary's connection with communism, John West will not be reconciled with them, believing their only interest in him is his money.
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Episode 25 - War DamageWith the end of the World War 2, West once again turns his attentions to local politics, confident of having a free hand with the Catholic voters in the Mitchell by election. Sugar Renfrey is delighted to be able to use his experience in vote rigging to counter the attempt to Michael Kievly and Vincent Parelli, leaders of a new group out to secure pre selection.
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Episode 26 - This, Thy ServantRecovering from a heart attack and realising he is not immortal, West decides it is time to become a 'good' Catholic. Mindful of the multitude of his sins he asks the Archbishop just how specific he must be in confession. Depressed, worried about the future, and only slightly interested in his empire, West is now a pathetic figure.
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