Going to party like it’s 1990…

Each week for the past two years we’ve been documenting the events of Australian TV during the corresponding week of thirty years ago – 1978 and 1979 – as reported in TV Times magazine.

Now, sadly, we have to bring that sequence of posts to an end as we do not have a weekly archive of TV Times beyond the close of 1979 – and, indeed, the magazine title itself became obsolete in August 1980 when it was merged with rival magazine TV Week.

However, we are able to ‘skip’ a decade and can bring you TV as it was in the corresponding week of 1990 – twenty years ago – as reported in TV Week.  This will start in the new year.

As we move into a new decade in the present day TV continues to come to terms with the new era of digital multi-channelling.  The year will see the continued presence, and possibly even the addition, of new channels under the Freeview banner.  2009 saw the introduction of One HD, SBS2, GO!, 7TWO and ABC3, and there could be more to follow.  Freeview will also continue to be challenged by Foxtel’s “next generation” offering.  The year will also see community TV allowed its first steps in digital broadcasting, having waited and campaigned for many years for access to digital broadcasting spectrum, and Mildura will witness Australia’s first phase-out of analogue television signals.

The year will see the return of Masterchef Australia – will it maintain the public’s attention in 2010 as it did in 2009? – and more of Hey Hey It’s Saturday after its two reunion specials garnered massive support in 2009.  There will be no more Rove but we may see a greater presence from Shaun Micallef, following the popularity of Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation.  The 7PM Project will continue to hope to gain stronger support – but how long will Ten pursue it?  There will be a third series in the Underbelly franchise, and Neighbours will celebrate its 25th anniversary. 

The TV Week Logie Awards could break with tradition and be held in Queensland, and the year will also include the Commonwealth Games, from Delhi, India, and the Winter Olympics, from Vancouver, Canada.

The new year also marks a new era in the reporting of ratings data as, for the first time, viewing by time-shifted means (e.g. viewing of programs recorded by devices such as VCRs, PVRs, etc.) will be tallied along with programs that are viewed ‘live’ to air.

The year 2010 will also mark the 50th anniversary of ABC channels ABS2 Adelaide, ABT2 Hobart and ABW2 Perth, as well as commercial station TVT6 Hobart (now a branch of WIN Television).  SBS will celebrate its 30th anniversary later in the year and aggregation of Regional Queensland television will be 20 years old from the end of 2010.

And 2010 will mark ten years since the website Television.AU was established.

1978: December 30-January 5

Holden rocks Hollywood
Mark Holden burst onto American TV screens in Hollywood's Diamond Jubilee special. Within days the CBS network's Hollywood offices were deluged with fan mail. But, despite his newfound attention, the Aussie pop star is keeping a low profile on the PR circuit. Besides, he has enough to keep him busy with writing and recording songs for his new album, working with a drama coach, and keeping various business appointments. And the phone doesn't stop ringing. Holden's new American album, to be released in 1979, will feature a new direction for him musically with a stronger focus on rock and roll.

The Dean Report
TV Times columnist Peter Dean looks back on the year 1978, describing it as a year 'remarkable mediocrity, broken by the occasional oasis of quality'. Dean's highlights of the year included imported series I Claudius, Are You Being Served?, The Incredible Hulk, Doctor Who and The Muppet Show. Current affairs program Willesee At Seven was the only Australian program to make his 'best of' list. Even big-ticket mini-series Holocaust, hailed as the TV event of the year, was reviewed by Dean as "a novelettish treatment of indescribable human agony, presented with slicknesss and flair, but failing to move or ignite." Dean lamented the axe falling on current affairs programs This Day Tonight, Monday Conference and A Current Affair, and deemed Blankety Blanks the winner of the Vinegar Award for supremacy in bad taste. Sport had a bumper year with cricket, golf, tennis, racing, World Cup soccer and the Commonwealth Games.

Doctor on the glow
Feeling tired after a day at the office? Then go for a jog - that's the advice given by Bartholomew John (pictured) the New Zealand actor appearing in The Young Doctors: "It's the best way to get rid of tiredness. It wakes you up, sharpens your appetite - and puts the fridge out of reach so you don't nibble." He also suggests a quick dip afterwards, even in winter. "I'm certainly no Bondi iceberg but sometimes in winter, instead of going to the heated pool at the gym, I jump into the surf. But go for a run to warm up. It's freezing in - but it is refreshing."

Briefly:
The title of the new 0-10 Network drama series Prisoner has been changed to Women Behind Bars.

The second series of Father Dear Father, made in Australia for the Seven Network, is likely to be seen first in the United Kingdom where it is scheduled for screening in the new year.

Fred Parslow, who played Jarvis in The Sullivans, returns to Crawford Productions to play a guest role as a dodgy businessman in Cop Shop.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"Countdown is a very entertaining show and even my parents watch it sometimes, although they have the volume turned down low." F. Allison, SA.

"It is great that overseas networks have bought Against The Wind (pictured) as they now shouldn't be so ignorant as to think that Australians only have koalas living in our backyard gum trees and kangaroos hopping in and out of shopping centres." D. Hewett, VIC.

"Of all the Sunday night shows the various channels offer us, the ABC series Nicholas Nickleby, standards inestimably above the rest. With such perfect casting and brilliant overall production, shows like Nicholas Nickleby put the best of Australia's and America's dramatic offerings to shame." E. Hawksford, NSW.

What's On (December 30-January 6):
New Year's Eve is Sunday, and ABC features British and American specials on the night before a New Year's presentation at 11.59pm and music special Blood Sweat And Tears just after midnight. HSV7 presents New Year's greetings at midnight, followed by a special edition of Nightmoves. GTV9 does little special for the evening with movies running through the night, and ATV0 closes down before midnight.

Sport continues throughout the week with the Australian Open from Melbourne, and Australian Hardcourt Championships from Tasmania, on HSV7, World Series Cricket on GTV9 and continuation of the cricket Third Test on ABC.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 30 December 1978. ABC/ACP

1978: December 23-29

Cover: Humphrey B Bear (Here's Humphrey)

Barber's still a big game hunter
Tony Barber has a reputation for stamina, and surviving.  Two years ago, the career of the former radio disc jockey and game show host was at an all-time low with the axing of Great Temptation and Name That Tune and the failure of his variety show for ATN7 Sydney.  To add to his woes, the Nine Network signed him up to host a revival of Great Temptation but it did not eventuate.  Barber then returned to his former home of Perth and there the energetic host bounced back with the national game show Family Feud being produced at TVW7, and now being seen on over 30 stations around Australia. 

When Santa went to war!
Steven Tandy, Richard Morgan and Jamie Higgins (pictured), of The Sullivans, might be indulging in some off-screen Christmas cheer, but things weren't so cheery in the show's early-'40s setting where even Father Christmas was rationed and was banned from appearing in advertising.  Australians were instead encouraged to put their money to more patriotic causes such as war savings loans and bonds.  Sue Cram, researcher for The Sullivans, has been meticulously tracing back just what impact the war had on Australians at Christmas.  There were rations on various items including tea, beer, cigarettes, potatoes, chocolate and nuts, all normally popular items at Christmas.  Australia was also supplying the American forces with food and they got much of the ham that was produced.  On Christmas Eve 1942, the temperature hit 101 degrees Fahrenheit in Melbourne, where even ice was rationed.

Wooley cornered
Former This Day Tonight Hobart reporter Charles Wooley has joined ABC's Four Corners.  The 30-year-old has worked in newspapers and television in Western Australia and Tasmania and joined This Day Tonight in 1974.  Married with "two daughters, a dog and a cat" he sees the move to Four Corners as an advancement in his career.

Shake-up for Lane show
A reshuffle in the production team for Nine's The Don Lane Show has had an impact on plans to take the show out on location in 1979.  Two of the show's comedy writers, Mike McColl-Jones and Tim Evans, already may be missing from the show when it returns in the new year.  McColl-Jones has accepted a position at rival ATV0's Peter Couchman Tonight, and Evans is believed to be in negotiation with HSV7 for the role of producer on the Saturday night Penthouse Club.  Also missing from The Don Lane Show in the new year will be producer Lesley Shaw, to be replaced by producer and former journalist Vince Lovegrove.  And returning to the position of executive producer for the show will be Peter Faiman.

Briefly:
Cop Shop actress Jo-Anne Moore and former This Day Tonight host Sonia Humphrey have been cast for the ABC series Twenty Good Years.  Former The Box actress Helen Hemingway has also been signed up for the series which is currently in production.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"I hope we aren't going to be bored to death over the Christmas holidays when all the good shows have a break.  Blankety Blanks saved the day last year but now that's been axed we will be left high and dry." M. Allen, SA.

"Why do we have to have so many repeat programs, and in some cases, repeats of repeats!  There are many programs in Australia which are not screened here in Tasmania.  Is this because we can't afford to have them here? The repeats go on, and even good comedians become stale after a while." J. McRae, TAS.

"Why is it that any decent TV program or movie is programmed for viewing either in the middle of the day or night?  It makes me angry that a top class series like Poldark is screened at 11.00pm, or that the repeat of Upstairs Downstairs is shown at 2.00pm, when working people in 9-5 jobs simply cannot watch." R. Ogilvie, QLD.

What's On (December 23-29):
Saturday brings NSW Open tennis on HSV7, World Series Cricket on GTV9 and Gillette Cup cricket on ATV0.  On Saturday night, Young Talent Time on ATV0 presents a special Christmas edition with an hour of Christmas carols.

Sunday is Christmas Eve, and ABC devotes much of the evening to British Christmas specials.  HSV7 presents a movie, Father Knows Best Reunion, and GTV9's World Series Cricket continues until 10.30pm.  ATV0 continues a Melbourne tradition with Carols By Candlelight from 9.30pm, followed by Christmas Midnight Mass at 11.30pm.  And viewers are offered two versions of the Christmas classic Miracle On 34th Street, with the black-and-white 1947 version airing on HSV7 at 10.00pm, and the more-recent 1973 version on ATV0 earlier in the night at 8.00pm.

Christmas Day on Monday has movies and Christmas specials throughout the day on HSV7 and GTV9, while ATV0 has a late start to the day, commencing transmission at 3.00pm with a repeat of Carols By Candlelight followed by The Early Bird Christmas Day Show.  ABC's traditional Divine Service appears at 10.00am, then the test pattern takes over until mid-afternoon.  At 3.30pm, the cast of Play School, including Benita Collings, John Hamblin, Alister Smart, Don Spencer, John Waters and Noni Hazelhurst, present a special version of the Christmas story, told in Godspell-style with songs, improvisation and props.

ABC's 7.00pm news is cut to ten minutes for Christmas night, followed by the traditional Queen's Christmas Message.  Like the previous night, ABC has more British fare with Christmas specials throughout the evening.  But over at GTV9, not even Family Feud and The Young Doctors get the night off for Christmas, both screening as usual.

Boxing Day, 26 December, has the Australian Open tennis from Kooyong, Melbourne, live on HSV7.  ABC has the One Day International live from the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and GTV9 has two hours coverage of the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race.  The evening includes HSV7's live coverage of the Australian Derby horse racing from Perth.

Friday includes the first day's play in the cricket Third Test, live from the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on ABC.

ATV0's weekday afternoon game show lineup, Blankety Blanks, Pyramid Challenge and Perfect Match, quietly comes to an end on Friday.  For Blankety Blanks (pictured) it is an inglorious end for a program that only a year earlier was a prime-time ratings giant before being moved by ATV0 to a midday timeslot earlier in the year following reports of a falling out between the station and the show's host Graham Kennedy.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 23 December 1978.  ABC/ACP

1978: December 16-22

Cover: Marlon Brando (Superman The Movie)

Restless break for June Salter
Actress June Salter will take an extended break from The Restless Years to tour with the theatrical production Crown Matrimonial.  The hit stage play has had an extended season in Sydney and has also played to packed houses in Brisbane and Newcastle, but a national tour was not possible unless Salter could be relieved from her commitments to The Restless Years.  Crown Matrimonial starts its three-month national tour in February 1979.

War of the words
Veteran TV scriptwriter Mike McColl-Jones has left the Nine Network's The Don Lane Show to work on ATV0's late-night Peter Couchman program which is headed for a higher profile in the new year, extending to five nights a week.  "I think Peter Couchman has that same attraction that Graham Kennedy had.  Women want to mother him.  That is a particularly good quality for a man in his job to have," he told TV Times.

I'm not just a pretty face!
Actor Tony Bonner is feeling he has been able to shake off the stigma of the young, handsome, heroic type which he earned by playing helicopter pilot Jerry King in the '60s TV series Skippy The Bush Kangaroo.  The Sammy Award-winning actor has had recent roles in Power Without Glory, the telemovie The Alternative and ABC play End Of Summer before taking on an ongoing role in Cop Shop.  Bonner has also directed a series of half-hour documentaries, titled Making It Together, and is preparing to play the role of a blind man in an upcoming Seven Network telemovie Image Of Death.

From bullets to ballots
Millions of viewers know Gregory Ross as Constable Tony Benjamin in Cop Shop, but to his colleagues he is known as the Prime Minister.  Ross is closely associated with the Liberal Party in Victoria and hopes to stand as a candidate in the future.  "I hope to become a full-time politician in the future, maybe three or four years.  I've had the ambition for some time and I am deadly serious about a career in politics," he told TV Times. 

Briefly:
GTV9's children's series Nine Will Fix It recently featured a story on money being made at the Royal Reserve Treasury in Melbourne.  The crew also had the heart-breaking task of witnessing old money being shovelled into furnaces.  "That was painful!," according to presenter Penny Spence.

The Young Doctors star Marcus Hale, an experienced motorcycle stunt rider, found himself in a real hospital after an accident while riding to work had rendered him unconscious and with deep cuts on his chest, facial abrasions and a lump on the head.  The actor recalls nothing of what caused the accident.

ABC newsman Richard Carleton is currently on a trek through darkest Africa, on his way back to Australia for the new current affairs program Nationwide.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
"ABC must be mad screening that rubbish Three's Company after only last year showing us the brilliantly funny Man About The House.  You would think the Americans could come up with something original."  D. Builton, TAS.

"What I want to know is why TCN9 Sydney is screening so many appalling programs in prime time while really superb movies like Medium Cool and Molly And Lawless John are hidden away in late night slots?  And if it's because they're repeats, it won't wash.  None of the channels has any qualms about repeating other programs in prime time." J. Anderson, NSW.

What's On (December 16-22):
Another week, and more tennis on HSV7 with the Ampol Men's Challenge, South Australian Women's Classic and the New South Wales Open filling afternoons during the week.  More cricket, too, with the Second Test on ABC and World Series Cricket on GTV9.

Christmas specials feature throughout the week, with specials from Good Times, Laugh-In, Grizzly Adams, Donny And Marie, Morecambe And Wise and The Black And White Minstrels.  On Thursday night, ATV0 screens Christmas carols from the Sydney University Choir.

Sunday night movies are All The Way To Paris (HSV7), Out Of Season (GTV9) and Operation Petticoat (ATV0).  ABC presents a Royal Heritage special on Queen Victoria.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 16 December 1978, ABC/ACP

1978: December 9-15

Cover: Ron Howard (Happy Days)

Where's our wonder woman?
The producers of Nine's upcoming current affairs program 60 Minutes are looking for a female reporter following the unexpected departure of Kate Ballieu from the team due to sickness and personal reasons.  "I think it would be nice in this day and age to have a woman on the reporting team.  But in no way will she be what is actually accepted as a woman reporter.  She will not be doing so-called women's stories," producer Gerald Stone told TV Times.  The big budget program, based on the US program of the same name, is set to premiere early in 1979 with reporters Ray Martin, George Negus and Ian Leslie. 

96 wouldn't know the new-look Flo
Eighteen months after Number 96 ceased production, actress Bunney Brooke (pictured), who played the pragmatic Flo Patterson in the long-running series, has moved onto a promising movie career with roles in recent productions Dawn and Newsfront as well as upcoming titles Alison's Birthday and Welcome Back Stranger and a telemovie A Good Thing Going.  As well as movie roles, Brooke has also been busy with appearances in TV series The Young Doctors, Kirby's Company and Wayzgoose and in ABC plays A Visit To The Uncle and Palace Of Dreams.

Those forthcoming attractions
TV Times often receive letters from viewers who are sick of on-screen promotions for upcoming programs, but for the networks they are serious business and are here to stay.  Brisbane QTQ9 publicist Dorothea Timms said that the channel spends more than $2 million on station promotions, including labour costs and airtime. "Channel Nine's biggest client is Channel Nine," she said.  ABC promotions manager John Woods said that on-screen promotions have been used to success, one example being shows like British comedy The Goodies recording a ratings boost after an on-screen campaign around the theme 'The Goodies Will Get You'.  The commercial networks have also found that heavily-promoted programs do generally perform better in the ratings with recent examples being Roots (0-10), Against The Wind (Seven) and The Godfather (Nine).

It may become three-way traffic
Australian TV producers the Reg Grundy Organisation and Crawford Productions may have a new player to contend with next year with US company Hanna-Barbera embarking on local productions in Australia, with one science-fiction and two historical dramas being considered for production.  The company will have the assistance of movie producers Hal and Jim McElroy in developing the new programs.

Briefly:
Rumours persist that Graham Kennedy may return to TV in the new year with a Saturday evening show for GTV9, and that former Penthouse '78 co-host Mary Hardy could join him.

Trial By Marriage, a new comedy series written by The Truckies actor Michael Aitken, is to go into production in mid-1979 for ABC.

The dedication of Cop Shop actor George Mallaby was put to the test when he turned up for work with a fever and a temperature of 104 (F) and ignoring medical advice to postpone filming he stayed on set the whole day.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
"I would like to praise the series Against The Wind (pictured).  This show was so good our family even went without our longtime favourite The Don Lane Show."  B. Hestelow, NSW

"I would like you to know how much myself and friends enjoy The Restless Years.  We like everyone in it, and Miss McKenzie (June Salter) is a lovely person.  June Salter was also in Certain Women and was lovely."  J. Ryan, QLD.

"Why do ABC announcers wear the sort of clothes that interfere with the colour contrast on one's TV set? Last night I was watching Bruce Wakely telling viewers about forthcoming programs on ABC, just before station close-down, when suddenly, his tie started to turn a funny colour.  I have found similar problems with some of James Dibble's suits and Graham Lindon's shirts.  Surely ABC technical staff can do better than this?" G. Wymer, NSW.

What's On (December 9-15)
Australia versus the World features in GTV9's World Series Cricket over the weekend and on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.  On Sunday, ATV0 presents live coverage of the Gillette Cup cricket from Brisbane.

There's also more cricket with ABC's telecast of the Sheffield Shield from Sydney on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, and the Second Test, live from Perth, starting on Friday.

Seven's tennis coverage continues every day during the week from Sydney and Adelaide, and on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, HSV7 presents live coverage of the Adelaide International Tournament.

On Tuesday night, ABC presents a telemovie Shimmering Light, starring John Meillon, Mark Hembrow, Ingrid Mason, Patrick Ward and US actors Beau Bridges and Lloyd Bridges.

On Friday night, HSV7 movie host Ivan Hutchinson presents Ivan's Holiday Movie Guide previewing some of the movies coming to cinemas over the upcoming holiday period, including International Velvet, Battlestar Galactica, The Boys From Brazil and Death On The Nile.

Sunday night movies are He Is My Brother (HSV7), Judith (GTV9) and That Touch Of Mink (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 9 December 1978.  ABC/ACP

1978: December 2-8

The Sullivans' amazing Grace...
Actress Lorraine Bayly is made to look considerably older than her 36 years when playing the motherly Grace Sullivan in The Sullivans - with make-up applied to add wrinkles and darken her cheeks, having her hair tied back and wearing loose-fitting dresses.  In fact, when she is not in Grace Sullivan mode, she is barely recognised in public.  But when asked how long we can expect to see Grace on screen: "Well, we are negotiating at the moment and I've signed to continue to next year.  There's a strong possibility that Grace will be there when the war ends in 1945."

...is also TV's golden girl
The Sullivans' Lorraine Bayly (pictured, with co-stars Richard Morgan and Steven Tandy) has become the highest-paid series actress in the history of Australian TV.  The actress, who recently won Best TV Actress at the 1978 Sammy Awards, is not saying exactly what she is being paid but it is reported to be more than $1000 a week.  Meanwhile, the cast of The Sullivans are about to take a four-week break over Christmas and Bayly will also be taking an extended break during  1979 for a trip to Brazil. 

American TV accents ousting the ocker!
A survey of Australian TV commercials has found that almost one in three are using American-accented dialogue.  This compares to around ten per cent of commercials shown on British television.  The study, carried out by the University of Melbourne, showed that the ocker Aussie accent was rarely used in prestige commercials and that, except for big names like Paul Hogan, it was used more in program content rather than commercials.

Buddha's golden ransom
The telemovie Puzzle, one of a series of telemovies made between Australia's ABC and international Trans-Atlantic Enterprises, was originally to feature American actress Tina Louise.  A last minute withdrawal by Louise saw the role of glamorous Claudine Cunningham played by Australian actress Wendy Hughes.   To screen on ABC this week, Puzzle also features Robert Helpmann, Kerry McGuire (pictured) and US actor James Franciscus.

Briefly:
Colleen Hewett and Michael Aitken played husband and wife in ABC's The Truckies, and now have again been cast as partners for an upcoming guest appearance in Seven's Cop Shop.

Robert Coleby, one of the cast of ABC's new series Patrol Boat, will be joined in one episode by seven-year-old daughter Anja.  The young actress also appeared in an episode of Coleby's previous series Chopper Squad.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
"I would very much like to congratulate anyone who had anything to do with Against The Wind.  It is a great pity that there aren't more shows like it." N Webster, QLD.

"I would like to add my voice to the many praising The Truckies.  With a bit of luck we may have another series.  Our family always enjoys the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas which ABC has occasionally shown, and hope for more." J Williams, VIC.

"As Countdown is primarily for teens and pre-teens, it should be more selective with the film clips chosen to be featured.  One in particular is Deadlock Holiday by 10cc, which in my opinion was very suggestive.  Film clips of this nature should only be shown to mature audiences.  Countdown viewers are at a very impressionable age and could be influenced in the wrong way."  B Baker, SA.

"I would like to congratulate Neil Inall and his excellent team of reporters on Horizon 5.  It is a pleasure to be able, daily, to view this program which is very interesting and informative." H Kerns, QLD.

What's On (December 2-8):
HSV7's summer tennis coverage continues with all-day coverage, from 11.00am to 6.00pm each day, of the women's Federation Cup from Melbourne and the Toyota Women's Classic from Sydney.

ABC has live coverage from Brisbane of the cricket First Test on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 11.55am to 7.00pm.

Wednesday night includes the series final of The Inventors on ABC, with the announcement of the winner of The Inventors Award selected from the 72 who have featured on the show during the year.  Presenting the award will be David Port, son of panelist Leo Port who passed away earlier in the year. Later in the evening, a Holiday special, Bill Peach In China, takes a rare look at life and tourism in China.

The Mike Walsh Show finishes up for 1978, ending its second year at the Nine Network after moving across from the 0-10 Network.

Sunday night movies are Dirty Weekend (HSV7), Goodbye Columbus (GTV9) and The Hornet's Nest (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 2 December 1978.  ABC/ACP

1978: November 25-December 1

How Georgiou stays a jump ahead
The cops featured in Crawford Productions' police dramas are used to high-speed car chases, but actor John Orcsik (pictured) from Cop Shop is just at home on a horse.  A former bodybuilder and karate student, Orcsik for several years owned and operated a horse riding school in Western Australia: "I gave it away in the end because I was working on my body at the time and as I built myself up I became too heavy for the horses."  Orcsik is glad to be able to include horse-riding as a skill when applying for acting roles, but it has only been called upon in the ABC series Ben Hall and in a guest appearance on Tandarra.

Mark's taste of Hollywood
Returning from the Cannes Film Festival saw pop star and actor Mark Holden make a stop in Hollywood, and three months later he's still there.  Originally planning to visit the US to gather songs for his new album, Holden has ended up with a producer and has been arranging and recording tracks, proposing them to record companies, and also attending an acting school.

Germaine to look us over
Aussie ex-pat Germaine Greer is heading to Australia to make a documentary on Sydney as part of the Canadian-produced series Cities Of The World.  Other cities to be featured in the series include Leningrad, Rome, Stockholm, Berlin, Toronto, Jerusalem, New York and Dublin.  The series, being produced by British-born John McGreevy, is expected to air towards the end of 1979.

Tiny talented Tina
According to her mother, 10-year-old Tina Arena (pictured) "had been making singing and chattering noises almost from the day she was born, and when she was two we knew she would have to do something in showbusiness."  The youngster's penchant for singing led to her parents entering her into the Young Talent Time new talent segment.  Tina recalls, "I won the heat and the quarter finals, but I lost the semi-finals.  I wasn't disappointed and I enjoyed myself, but it was a complete surprise when Johnny Young asked if I would join the team. "  The young star is hopeful of an acting career when she is older.

Briefly:
Staff at Melbourne's ATV0 have been amused by the placement of sets for the new series Prisoner.  The replica prison wall, exercise area and vegetable garden are all located next to the channel's administration offices.

Former Number 96 star Harry Michaels (pictured) is celebrating the first anniversary of his weekly daytime variety program Greek Affair which he hosts and produces for the 0-10 Network.  The program is also screened in Cyprus and Michaels is also negotiating to sell the program to the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.

ABC sports commentator Norman May has tipped England to win the Australia-England Test Series which starts in Brisbane this week.  Joining May on ABC's summer cricket coverage will be former Test captain Bobby Simpson, Keith Miller and Frank Tyson.

Newly-retired naval officer Commander Alun Evans has joined ABC as an advisor on the new series Patrol Boat.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"ABC has one big weak point.  It does not show good quality full-length movies on a regular basis."  D Irving, NSW.

"What is wrong with the stations they they spend thousands on such rubbish as Micro Macro (pictured) and Blankety Blanks?  They are an insult to the average person's intelligence.  Do they really think we are so dumb?"  A McCallum, VIC.

"I'd like to see foreign films on TV (with subtitles of course), and every TV station having its own theatrette in town, to take the place of 'news theatres'.  Why shouldn't someone, who has an hour or two to spare, be able to pop into a mini-theatre to pay to watch on a maxi-screen, the program that they could have been watching had they stayed at home."  P Cunningham, NSW.

What's On (November 25-December 1):
The Seven Network's summer tennis coverage begins with the Queensland Open from Brisbane on Saturday and Sunday, followed by the Federation Cup, the women's equivalent of the Davis Cup, from Monday through to Friday, live from Kooyong in Melbourne.

The Nine Network's usual daytime line-up of US soap operas takes a break for summer, with re-runs of Australian dramas Division Four and Silent Number appearing in the schedule.

ABC's weekly game show Micro Macro moves from Friday nights to Monday at 6.25pm.

The 1978-79 season of World Series Cricket starts on Tuesday with Australia versus the West Indies, telecast live from the Sydney Cricket Ground, on GTV9 from 2.20pm through to 10.30pm.  The following day features Australia versus The World.

On Wednesday night, HSV7 presents a repeat of the one-hour special John Denver In Australia, while ATV0 screens a repeat of the Holiday Survival Test showing viewers how to avoid common accidents over the upcoming holiday period.

The first cricket Test, Australia versus England, starts on Friday with live coverage on ABC from the Brisbane Cricket Ground.  Coverage starts at 11.50am and continues through to 6.30pm.

Friday night sees the final edition of ABC's long-running current affairs program This Day Tonight, ending an almost twelve-year run.

Sunday night movies are Baffled (HSV7), Kotch (GTV9) and an Australian film Squeeze A Flower (ATV0) featuring Rowena Wallace, Jeff Ashby and Barry Crocker.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 25 November 1978.  ABC/ACP

1978: November 18-24

Alfred Sandor - Lonely hearts specialist
Alfred Sandor might be the un-romantic Dr Raymond Shaw in The Young Doctors, but in real life he is the ladies man and met his third wife after coming to Australia in 1969.  But in a career that has included appearing in more than 250 TV shows, including daytime soaps, and stage productions in the US before moving to Australia, Sandor (pictured, centre, with TYD co-stars Michael Beecher and Lyn James) doesn't quite know what makes soaps so popular.  "I think it's because there's a lot of lonely people around," he guesses.  "But I've been aghast when doctors have told me they look at the program.  They say they get a good laugh out of the program and enjoy it.  They say what happens would never happen in a real hospital but still enjoy the show."

Quest winner's dilemma
Should a 14-year-old musical prodigy finish her schooling, or go overseas to study with the world's leading teachers?  That is the question facing the family of pianist Marilyn Meier, the viewers' top choice in the finals of ABC's Quest '78.  Meier's parents are also prepared to sell up their orchard in Camden NSW, and take the family to the US or Europe to give their daughter a chance at an international music career.

Ruth's happy behind the times
Actress Ruth Cracknell (pictured) admits she isn't a seventies person.  She happily claims that her time was back in the Edwardian era, back before World War I.  "Given a chance I would have loved to have lived then, in Edwardian England."  Currently in rehearsals for an upcoming stage production of Bedroom Farce, Cracknell has also been working on a new ABC series Golden Soak for screening next year.  But like most actresses, she is frustrated by the lack of solid roles for women in films and television.  "Most writers - not all - are men and they write purely from a male viewpoint.  The time is right now, for stories about women through women's eyes."

Briefly:
This year's Sydney Opera House New Year's Eve concert, starring Sherbet, is to be telecast by TEN10 Sydney and ATV0 Melbourne, with the possibility of other 0-10 Network stations taking the program.  The concert is also expected to be relayed via satellite for screening in Japan.

During the recent Miss Australia telecast, co-host Annette Allison was so excited at fellow Queenslander Anne Sneddon winning the title that she waved her arms in joy and knocked over floor manager Gary Rhodes off the podium.

Roy Hampson, whose morning hosting on ATV0 has taken a break this year, is due to return to the channel in the new year.

Actor John Dommett has returned to Australia after an extended break in the United Kingdom, and is to return to his former role in The Young Doctors in January.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"I have been watching The Truckies ever since the show started.  In short I love The Truckies.  I know quite a few gear jerkers (truck drivers) because I own a flipflop (CB radio).  They swear just as much, they work just as much and booze just as much.  I'm sure The Truckies will be a boomer of it goes overseas."  J. Blackshaw, NSW.

"I would like to express my appreciation to ABC for the Tickled Pink series.  The plays I saw were refreshing, both for their comedy and production.  Usually I'm not a fan of Australian shows because of their boredom.  Tickled Pink was so vivid, the cast so professional and general production outstanding."  J. Couani, NSW.

"I was delighted to see during the Sammys an award going to one of this country's most talented actors, George Mallaby.  His role in Cop Shop as the stern desk-bound station chief is played to perfection."  R. Bruce, NSW.

What's On (November 18-24):
GTV9's telecast of the Australian Open Golf Championships continues on the weekend with eight hours coverage on both Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday, ATV0 devotes much of the day to the Nerve Deafness Telethon.  The telethon starts at 9.00am with hosts Steve Raymond and Mickie de Stoop (pictured) and continues through to 6.00pm.  At 6.30pm, Young Talent Time presents a special telethon edition with live performances and acknowledging of donations.  Then later, at 8.30pm, the telethon's evening segment is hosted by Peter Couchman through to the telethon's close at 11.45pm.

ABC's Sunday night 7.00pm news is cut to ten minutes, and the magazine program Weekend Magazine is given the night off, to make room for a 50-minute documentary Vietnam Today.  Presented by Tony Joyce, the special captures the realities of everyday life for the average Vietnamese in the new Vietnam.

GTV9's Family Feud moves from its regular 5.00pm timeslot to 7.00pm weeknights for the summer, replacing The Sullivans.

On Monday night, ABC presents O'se Shalom, a 90-minute documentary analysing and explaining the Jewish faith, including rituals, family life, marriage, diet and worship.  Presenting the program is Sydney rabbi Raymond Apple and This Day Tonight host Sonia Humphrey.

Sunday night movies are Point Blank (HSV7), Our Man Flint (GTV9) and The Seventh Dawn (ATV0).  All are repeats.  Later in the evening, GTV9 presents the movie classic Sorry Wrong Number, and HSV7 screens The Hunchback Of Notre Dame.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 18 November 1978.  ABC/ACP

1978: November 11-17

A little bit of what John fancies
Although he's been an actor since the age of 11, John Meillon (pictured, with Stuart Wagstaff) has never been a walk-on, say-a-few-words, walk-off-again actor... a bit player. But that will change with a role in Bit Part, one of the series of plays featured in ABC's Stuart Wagstaff's World Playhouse. "This play is quite funny really. It's a sort of joke in the industry, 'Hello, you're finally playing a bit part'," he told TV Times. The veteran actor had declined offers for bit parts in the past, instead choosing the maintain a certain level in the roles he's accepted: "If you want to - with all due respect - be in things like The Restless Years, The Young Doctors and those Crawford things, if you want to do that, well, there is work. But to me the quality work has always been with ABC. My maxim has always been quality over quantity."

More of Parkinson's lore!
British TV interviewer Michael Parkinson is due to come to Australia in early 1979 to record a series of shows for ABC. Parkinson's Saturday night series has been a British favourite for seven years and has been screening on ABC since earlier this year. It's also been revealed that Parkinson was offered the chance to host the Nine Network's upcoming current affairs program 60 Minutes but declined as it meant permanently relocating to Australia.

Happy Dave is here to stay
British comedian Dave Allenby (pictured) first came to Australia in 1970 to compere the Beach Boys concert tour. The sunshine and opportunities for future work was enough to lure him back permanently. Now settled with his family in Australia, Allenby is also settled in as host of the 0-10 Network's new game show Perfect Match, where husband and wife contestants are asked questions about each other: "The format is just right. It's relaxed and I can crack gags and ad-lib as much as I like."

Briefly:
The cast of Cop Shop celebrated the show's 100th episode with a special lunch courtesy of the Seven Network, while Nine's The Young Doctors has just taped its 500th episode.

An album of Irish songs released by The Saturday Show's John MacNally (pictured with co-star Suzanne Steele) has sold more than 120,000 copies, with a single due to be released in time for Christmas and a second album next year.

A five-part documentary series China - The Human Face has been made by Film Australia, breaking the long-standing ban on Western film crews entering the nation. The documentary is expected to screen early in 1979.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"I hope that ABC can sell The Truckies overseas. People should understand that Australian truckies' long hauls are not like those in smaller countries. I have been married to a truckie for over 27 years and we all wait to see who the next program will remind us of." B. Longhurst, NSW.

"Why doesn't ABC screen some Elvis Presley movies? When Elvis died only capital city stations showed his movies. But country people who simply receive ABC would like to see his movies too." E. Eames, QLD.

What's On (November 11-17):
11 November is Remembrance Day, and HSV7 takes time out for two minutes silence at 11.00am, while GTV9 presents a special to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Remembrance Day.

On Saturday, ATV0 presents the last day's events of the VRC Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Australian series Glenview High returns to HSV7 on Saturday night for screening over the summer months.

GTV9 launches a summer mid-evening edition of National Nine News, screening weeknights at 9.30pm and read by Peter Hitchener.

On Thursday, GTV9 begins four days' coverage of the Australian Open Golf Championships, live from Sydney - with four hours of coverage on each of Thursday and Friday, but interrupted by The Mike Walsh Show and US soaps Days Of Our Lives and The Young And The Restless.

The Brisbane-based Orton's Old Time Music Hall, hosted by Paul Sharratt, begins on GTV9 on Friday night.

Sunday night movies are Love's Dark Ride (HSV7), My Father's House (GTV9) and Up The Sandbox (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 11 November 1978. ABC/ACP

1978: November 4-10

Their Restless Years
Three of The Restless Years' more 'senior' cast members were asked by TV Times to recall some of their own 'restless years'.  June Salter (pictured, bottom right) recalled hiding her smoking habit from her parents, "when I finally had the courage to tell mum 'I'm 23 and I'm going to smoke in front of you from now on,' she replied 'I don't see why not, you've been doing it behind my back since you were 17."  John Hamblin admitted to being a bit of a loner and spending a lot time bird-watching: "not the two-legged variety, the feathery kind.  Birds, history and castles were my passions." But at the age of 20 he was seduced by a woman 15 years his senior, changing his whole attitude to life.  Jill Forster said in her younger years she was "all those terrible things: Head prefect, school captain, very bookish.  Probably because I was an only child."  She later had a string of failed romances from the time she was 17, "I was always a romantic in search of the great love."

Our Sally hits the jackpot!
Former Young Talent Time cast member Sally Boyden has just returned from Hollywood where she completed a role in the movie Little Dragons, and is now to return to the US to star in the Mary Poppins-type film The Adventures Of Holly Hobby.  The young star, now set to become the highest paid Australian child performer to date, is also contracted to appear in a thirteen-part TV series based on the telemovie Lassie The New Beginning. 

TV's reluctant prince of pop
Countdown's Ian 'Molly' Meldrum (pictured, interviewing HRH Prince Charles on Countdown's 100th episode) can't sing, dance or act, admits that he isn't the most articulate speaker, and hates being on camera.  Despite this he is one of Australian TV's most influential personalities.  "I never wanted to work in front of the camera - in fact, all I ever wanted to do was to be a record producer and a journalist," he told TV Times. "If I had my way I wouldn't be on screen at all."  Meldrum's TV career started miming pop songs on ATV0's Kommotion and later presenting a weekly segment on Uptight, a program which Meldrum describes as "the best thing ever to happen in Australian pop.  It was the forerunner to everything."  After working in London and the US, Meldrum reluctantly returned to TV in 1973 to present a rock report on a Saturday morning program for HSV7, and then the following year was involved in a trial run for a new pop music show for ABC called Countdown.  But despite hosting one of the most popular TV shows in the country and earning what he calls a "comfortable" wage, Meldrum still says he's hopeless with money, forgetting to pay a string of parking fines and, after a recent burglary, realised he'd also forgotten to renew his insurance, "I have an accountant to look after my interests now."

Briefly:
Cast members of The Restless Years made a guest appearance on the 1000th episode of Bernard King's (pictured) morning TV show King's Kitchen, to screen next month on the 0-10 Network and on STW9 Perth. 

Cast and crew associated with the new 0-10 Network series Prisoner have been banned from speaking to the press.

TV Times reporter Joanna Parsons was involved in a plot to lure actor Ron Frazer into a fake interview which would be 'interrupted' by Roger Climpson claiming "Ron Frazer, This Is Your Life!"

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"What is going on?  We have one variety show in Adelaide, The Ernie Sigley Show, apart from the eastern imports.  Is this all Adelaide can offer?  Compared to The Don Lane Show and Mike Walsh, the Ernie Sigley show is dead.  Poor old Ernie, I think it is time he gave it away before it gives him away."  G. Culbertson, SA.

"Having only one channel here, ABC, we are forced to watch with disgust, episodes of The Truckies.  I feel The Truckies is a slur on hard-working and responsible truck drivers and makes them look like morons."  N. Ford, NT.

"I think The Truckies is thoroughly entertaining and John Wood (pictured), who plays Stokey, is one of my favourite Australian actors."  G. Wallenda, WA.

"I wish to complain about a program on our local TV station, a special The Battle Of Eureka Stockade, rated A.  It was on at 5pm and this is a time that young children are watching television.  I thought it would be a good educational program, but with words like 'bastards', 'slut', 'rip your guts out' and so on, it was not very educational."  E. O'Connor, QLD.

What's On (November 4-10):
The 0-10 Network has secured the rights to televising the events of the VRC Melbourne Cup Carnival for the first time.  Saturday's coverage starts with a Cup Carnival Breakfast, held at the ATV0 studios and hosted by Michael Williamson, followed by Derby Day coverage from Flemington.  On Tuesday, ATV0 presents eight hours of Melbourne Cup Day coverage, starting at 9.00am with a Melbourne Cup Day Preview, then at 11.00am Michael Schildberger hosts six hours of Melbourne Cup coverage, with races called by Clem Dimsey.  Thirteen cameras will be placed around Flemington Racecourse to capture the day's events including fashion displays.  ATV0 then returns to Flemington for Oaks Day on Thursday.

The non-ratings season is now evident with some regular shows having finished up or moved to alternative timeslots and some lesser-known replacements filling in. 

GTV9's The Young Doctors (pictured) has been moved to 8.30pm two nights a week, with its usual 6.00pm timeslot filled by repeats of the US comedy Nanny And The Professor.  And filling the gap left by The Daryl And Ossie Show, which finished on ATV0 last week, is an American game show All Star Anything Goes, featuring teams representing various US sitcoms and dramas including Eight Is Enough, The Brady Bunch, The Jeffersons and The Waltons.  ATV0's The Peter Couchman Show has been replaced by late-night movies, and British series Coronation Street is returned to GTV9, screening Monday and Tuesday nights.

Despite the exodus of some programs for the summer, regular programs including Cop Shop, The Sullivans, The Don Lane Show, The Mike Walsh Show, The Steve Raymond Show, Blankety Blanks, The Restless Years, Willesee At Seven, Countdown, The Inventors, Micro Macro (pictured) and This Day Tonight are still in the schedule.

Sunday night movies are the Australian film The Night Nurse (HSV7), Rosetti And Ryan (GTV9) and Assault On A Queen (ATV0), while ABC presents the Australian Opera production of  Fra Diavolo.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 4 November 1978.  ABC/ACP

1978: October 28-November 3

Sammys Golden Night
It was a Who's Who of Australian Showbusiness when 800 stars, producers and writers gathered at Sydney's Seymour Centre on 11 October for the third annual Sammy Awards.  The awards, held in partnership between TV Times, the Variety Club of Australia charity and the Seven Network, honour the Australian film and television industries.  The event is also a major fund-raising effort for Variety which has collected over $30,000 over the last three years.

1978 Sammy Awards TV category winners: Gold (male): Mike Walsh Gold (female): June Salter Chips Rafferty Memorial Award: Ken G Hall Best Actor in a Single TV Performance: Tony Bonner (End Of Summer) Best Actress in a Single TV Performance: Davina Whitehouse (The Night Nurse) Best Actor in a TV Series: George Mallaby (Cop Shop) Best Actress in a TV Series: Lorraine Bayly (The Sullivans) Best Variety Performer: Julie Anthony Best Variety Program: Julie Anthony's First Special Best Comedy Program: The Norman Gunston Show Best Drama Series: The Sullivans Best TV Play: End Of Summer Best News Coverage: Brisbane shoot-out (QTQ9) Best Documentary: A Big Country Best Current Affairs Program: Four Corners 'Utah' report Best Children's Series: Wombat (BTQ7) Best Sports Coverage: Australian Open Golf 1977 Best Light Entertainment Program: The Mike Walsh Show Best Writer TV Series: Tony Morphett (The Sullivans) Best Writer TV Play: Cliff Green (End Of Summer)

News team under fire in Vietnam
An ABC news team came under fire on the Cambodian-Vietnamese border, during a four-week news-gathering visit to Vietnam.  ABC's Singapore correspondent Tony Joyce, sound recordist Steven de Vroom and cameraman David Westray, were filming material for a documentary, Vietnam Today, to screen nationally on ABC later in the year.  "There was quite a bit of sniper fire and shelling so we were creeping and crawling, close to the ground.  We were warned if the Cambodians saw us they would assume we were Russian military advisors.  Then they would really let loose.  Luckily they didn't," Joyce told TV Times.  The Vietnam visit is only the second by Australian newsmen since the war ended in 1975.  A team from the 0-10 Network had been there earlier this year.

Polly put the kettle on for Kerry
Before Against The Wind and the role of convict woman Polly came along, actress Kerry McGuire (pictured) had almost despaired that her big acting break would ever happen.  The 32-year-old actress, who had studied at NIDA and scored some roles in TV series such as ABC's Dynasty and the Seven Network's Catwalk and stage productions including Hedda Gabler and Antony And Cleopatra, was still waiting for a big break but feels now with Against The Wind she is able to move into the next stage of her acting career: "I think I'm just beginning to break into my age group.  I've been a mature style of actress competing with some very good older women.  Now I'm growing into the era that should be mine..."

Briefly:
Marcia Hines is to present another series of six shows for ABC in the new year, but still has commitments in Europe to fulfil before she can start work on the series.

Former Homicide cop Don Barker is back in Melbourne for a guest role in the new 0-10 Network series Prisoner, now in production.

Former Australian Test skipper Bobby Simpson is to be chief commentator for the Gillette Cup series of cricket matches to be telecast on the 0-10 Network over the next three months. 

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"Why, oh why has TEN10 decided to put The Steve Raymond Show on at 1.30 of all times?  Don't they realise that a very popular show is on the other channel at the same time.  Steve Raymond will put on a fantastic show, but after watching Days Of Our Lives for the past twelve years, I think TEN10 could have found any other time to put the show on." E. Fuller, NSW.

"Although I am enjoying Against The Wind (pictured), I find it difficult to believe that after a hard life for 10 years that people would not age at all.  It is a pity that the continuity was not up to the excellent standard of the rest of the series so far." J. Higson, NSW.

"I really enjoyed the article in TV Times about viewers who ring in to TV stations.  However, I hope they got a better reception than I did on the two occasions I phoned TV stations here in Sydney.  When I called ATN7 to congratulate them on their camera-work in the 1977 Hardie-Ferodo at Bathurst, the switchboard operator was amazed that a woman would even watch motor racing, let alone comment on the camera-work.  Then I called ABC to say how much I was enjoying Sailor, but the girl on the switchboard  didn't go a bundle on my taste in TV programs either.  I'll never ring in again, that's for sure." M. Bennett, NSW.

What's On (October 28-November 3):
On Saturday, ATV0 presents the Gillette Cup cricket, live from the Gabba in Brisbane, for the match between Queensland and South Australia.  On Sunday, the Gillette Cup moves to the Sydney Cricket Ground for the match between New South Wales and Victoria.

Denise Drysdale (pictured) is Ernie Sigley's special guest on HSV7's Penthouse '78.

On Monday night's A Big Country on ABC, reporter Kenyon Castle follows jazz musicians Don Burrows and George Golla on their tour through the mining areas of the north west.  The program features aboriginal performers David Gulpilil and David Blanasi.

Vince Lovegrove presents a two-hour special on HSV7, Australian Music To The World, paying tribute to the Australian artists who have achieved international acclaim.  Lovegrove and his film crew travelled the world to catch up with Australians including the Bee Gees, the Little River Band, Olivia Newton-John, Peter Allen and Sherbet.

The Naked Vicar Show and The Best Of Norman Gunston appear on HSV7 on Wednesday night, while on GTV9 there's a one-hour special An Evening With Les Girls, recorded at the Carousel Room of the Chevron Hotel, Surfers Paradise.

On Friday night, ATV0 presents the final episode of The Daryl And Ossie Show, after forty episodes, and The Peter Couchman Show presents a special Melbourne Cup preview on Friday night.

Jeanne Little (pictured) and John Ewart are guest panelists on ABC's Micro Macro on Friday night, joining host Noel Ferrier and regulars Carol Raye and Stuart Wagstaff.

Sunday night movies are The Shootist (HSV7), A Touch Of Class (GTV9) and The Drowning Pool (ATV0), while ABC's Sunday night opera is L'Heure Espagnole (The Spanish Hour) produced at ABC's Sydney studios and featuring the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 28 October 1978.  ABC/ACP

1978: October 21-27

Jimmy's still playing the game
In 22 years of TV, Jimmy Hannan has hosted more than twenty shows - including Celebrity Squares, Spending Spree, Split Second, Say When, Generation Gap, The Jimmy Hannan Show, Saturday Date and Let's Make A Deal - but since Nine axed Let's Make A Deal a year ago, the "eyes and teeth" of Australian TV has rarely been seen on screen. But Hannan is not lying low, instead he is spending his mornings hosting a radio show on 2GB Sydney and has just started as a panelist on the new ABC game show Micro Macro. And the father of four who rose to fame as a champion contestant on Australia's first TV game show, Name That Tune in 1956, has an untold ambition to be an actor. "I'm starting acting lessons next year," he told TV Times. (Pictured: Micro Macro's Carol Raye, Noel Ferrier and Jimmy Hannan)

Nurse Lynda cops out
Actress Lynda Stoner will be leaving The Young Doctors when her contract with the Nine Network soap expires early next year. The former Miss TV Times is due to start work on the Seven Network series Cop Shop as policewoman Amanda King. But when asked about her leaving The Young Doctors, John Fowler of the Reg Grundy Organisation, which produces The Young Doctors, knew nothing of Stoner's plans: "As far as we are concerned she is under contract with us."

Trisha's nobody's Patsy
Former Bandstand favourite Trisha Noble (pictured), now based in the US but currently visiting Australia, finds herself living a double life. Although she is known as an actress in Hollywood, with recent roles in TV series including Executive Suite, James At 15 and Husbands And Wives and as a call-girl in an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Noble is keen to shake off her image as the sweet, little gingham-gowned Patsy Ann of Bandstand. "I want so much to come back to my own country to do a strong, solid role which will once and for all get Patsy Ann off my back."

Sales plan for Wherrett series
Negotiations are already in progress to sell Peter Wherrett's big budget series on the history of the motor car internationally. The ten-part series, Peter Wherrett's Marque: 100 Years Of Motoring, is still in production and not due to screen on ABC until the new year. Wherrett has told TV Times, "a lot of interest has been shown and negotiations are going on in North America and England. We hope it will be the first ABC series to crack the overseas market in a big way." Wherrett also told TV Times his enthusiastic plans for a new series, potentially titled Highway One, which will follow the highway from Cairns to Darwin, circumnavigating Australia, but just needs the money to make it happen.

Briefly:
Malcolm Searle (pictured), host of the new 0-10 Network game show Pyramid Challenge, told TV Times, "I'm enjoying this more than I've ever enjoyed any TV work. But I won't be destroyed one way or the other when the show eventually finishes."

Rock singer Doug Parkinson is about to embark on a new role in soapie The Young Doctors, playing the manager of a country and western singer, to be played by 20-year-old Kim Durrant.

At a recent cast party to celebrate the first birthday of The Restless Years, TEN10 chief Ian Kennon announced that the network has chosen to renew the series for a further twelve months.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"When will the 0-10 Network realise that Blankety Blanks is the most boring show on TV?  Graham Kennedy wants a rap on the knuckles and told to get on with it. It should be a fast-moving show." A. Wilton, QLD.

"I eagerly sat down to watch ATV0's late movie The African Queen, as advertised in all TV guides.  But I had made a sad mistake, for The African Queen was obviously of secondary importance. Of primary concern was Ross D Wyllie and his endless rambling concerning mindless trivia. I realise ATV0 is a commercial channel and Mr Wyllie has to earn a living, but really!" H. Boer, VIC.

"What a great pity it is that ABC did not make that fine series Against The Wind (pictured). We would have been spared the excessive ads which break the concentration of the viewer." M. Nolan, NSW.

What's On (October 21-27):
ATV0 screens live coverage of the Custom Credit Indoor Tennis Championships, from Sydney's Hordern Pavilion, on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Commentators are Ray Warren and Bill Bowrey.

In a repeat of GTV9's The Paul Hogan Show, Paul Hogan and his team send up Number 96 and Pot Of Gold. Delvene Delaney joins Strop (John Cornell) and Hoges to discover the hazards of health clinics.

Barry Creyton and Kate Fitzpatrick are guest panelists on ABC's Micro Macro.  Followed by A Visit To The Uncle, the final episode of the comedy series Tickled Pink on ABC, starring Barry Otto, Max Gillies, Bunney Brooke and Johnny Lockwood.

This Is Your Life host Roger Climpson is joined by Annette Allison and Mike Higgins to host the Miss Australia 1979 contest, live from Brisbane, screening on HSV7 on Friday night.  In the same timeslot, ATV0 presents 21 Hours In Munich, a special movie presentation tracing the events at the 1972 Olympic Games which saw Arab terrorists kill two Israeli athletes and taking nine others hostage.

Sunday night movies are The Ghost Of Flight 401 (HSV7), Night Flight To Moscow (GTV9) and Carry On Abroad (ATV0). ABC presents a Sunday night opera, Lucrezia Borgia, from the Australian Opera Company featuring Joan Sutherland and the Elizabethan Symphony Orchestra.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 21 October 1978.  ABC/ACP