1979: December 29-January 4

Cover: Paula Duncan, John Orcsik, Joanna Lockwood, Peter Adams (Cop Shop)

TV in the ‘70s
As the 1970s come to a close, TV Times takes a look back at some of the names, programs and events that helped shape the decade that was.

1970: The Long Arm, axed after a short run on the 0-10 Network.  Don Lane’s Tonight show is given the boot, as is Showcase, a year after Rod McLennan takes over as host.  Bert Newton hosts The Acid Test for Nine, and a sitcom, Mrs Finnegan, draws an indifferent response on Seven.  ABC launches a drama series, Dynasty, and a panel show, Would You Believe?, with Carmen Duncan and Jacki Weaver.  New quiz show, Temptation, hosted by Tony Barber.  Noel Ferrier hosts Australia A To Z on ABC.

1971: Networks now obliged to increase Australian-made programming by 50 per cent and must each screen six hours each month of first-run Australian drama or comedy.  Matlock Police begins on the 0-10 Network, and The Godfathers starts on Nine.  In Melbourne Tonight is cancelled after 14 years.  Pick A Box comes to an end after 23 years on radio and television, and a new show, Money Makers, is launched with Philip Brady (pictured).  Hey Hey It’s Saturday begins on GTV9.  Johnny Young launches Young Talent Time and the acclaimed US children’s show Sesame Street begins on ABC.  Cash-Harmon Productions present the 0-10 Network with a pilot for a new adults-only drama, Number 96.  Mike Willesee launches A Current Affair on Nine.  Television begins in Darwin.

1972:  The Nine Network launches a private detective drama, The Spoiler, with Bruce Barry, while Rod Mullinar stars as Ryan for the Seven Network.  New Zealander James Laurenson appears as half-caste Aboriginal detective Napoleon Bonaparte in the Seven Network series, Boney.  Number 96 (pictured) makes its debut, and some of the opening episode is censored from viewing in Melbourne after being shown in Sydney the night before.  ABC launches a new comedy show, The Aunty Jack Show.  The Government announces that Australia will convert to colour television in 1975.

1973:  The Mike Walsh Show makes its debut and marks a new standard for daytime television.  Certain Women and Seven Little Australians begin on ABC, and Bert Newton hosts a variety series for the national broadcaster.  The Price Is Right with Garry Meadows begins on the 0-10 Network.

1974: Crawford Productions launches The Box for the 0-10 Network.  The Seven Network launches a variety show, JC At 8.30, to combat Number 96, but is taken off-air after 10 shows.  Reg Grundy’s first soap opera, Class Of ‘74, debuts on Seven. Peter Wherrett presents the first series of motoring program Torque for ABC.  Gordon Chater and Gwen Plumb star in an ABC comedy, Mac And Merle (pictured).  The gold rush of the 1850s is recreated in the ABC series, Rush, starring John Waters.  A new pop music show, Countdown, is launched on ABC.  All networks are given the go-ahead to broadcast test colour transmissions.  The Nine Network launches a telethon to raise relief funds after Cyclone Tracy wipes out Darwin.

1975:  All networks convert to full-scale colour transmission on 1 March.  Cash-Harmon follows up Number 96 with an early-evening series for Nine, The Unisexers, which is taken off the air after three weeks.  Graham Kennedy (pictured) is banned from appearing on live TV after his suspect “crow call”.  Mike Willesee hosts This Is Your Life for the Seven Network and Garry Meadows hosts a game show, High Rollers.  Don Lane returns to Australia to launch The Don Lane Show on Nine.  An end of an era as Crawford cop shows Division 4 and Homicide are both cancelled.

1976: The 0-10 Network adapts the British program It’s A Knockout as Almost Anything Goes.  A new sitcom, The Bluestone Boys, makes light of life in prison.  The Nine Network launches two new early-evening series, The Young Doctors and The Sullivans.  The Young Doctors is axed after a few weeks on air but given a reprieve following public reaction.  TV Times, in association with the Seven Network, present the first Sammy Awards.  The Ernie Sigley Show is abruptly axed following an off-air outburst by the show’s host directed at Kerry Packer and producer Peter Faiman.

1977:  Number 96 and The Box are both cancelled by the 0-10 Network.  Bellbird comes to an end on ABC after ten years, and Homicide winds up on Seven after 12 years.  Graham Kennedy returns to TV as host of Blankety Blanks.  The Naked Vicar Show is launched on ABC, and Benny Hill makes a series of specials in Australia for the 0-10 Network.  The Seven Network launches Glenview High and Cop Shop, and 0-10 launches The Restless Years.  Tony Barber (pictured) returns to TV as host of Family Feud. The US mini-series Roots attracts high ratings.

1978: ABC debuts quiz show Mastermind and a light-hearted panel show, Micro Macro (pictured).  The Seven Network screens its landmark mini-series Against The Wind.  A Current Affair is axed by the Nine Network, and Monday Conference winds up on ABC.  The comedy series Tickled Pink begins on ABC.  The 0-10 Network launches The Steve Raymond Show in response to losing The Mike Walsh Show to Nine.

1979: ABC re-launches its afternoon children’s programming block as ARVO.  Peter Luck presents documentary series This Fabulous Century for Seven.  Airport drama comes to Seven with Skyways, and the 0-10 Network’s Prisoner becomes a hit.  Nationwide marks a new era of current affairs for ABC, replacing This Day Tonight.  The Nine Network takes a costly gamble with its new current affairs show, 60 Minutes.  New dramas The Oracle, Golden Soak and Twenty Good Years air on ABC.  New requirements for local children’s TV programming lead to new shows Simon Townsend’s Wonder World and Shirl’s Neighbourhood.  Hey Hey It’s Saturday returns to TV after the ill-fated The Daryl And Ossie Show on the 0-10 Network.  The Special Broadcasting Service presents a series of multicultural programs on ABC.

Young Doc’s sidetrack
The Young Doctors star Eric Oldfield has turned his talents to pop music.  The former star of The Godfathers and one-time Cleo centrefold (pictured) has recorded Girls On The Beach, to be released by the Grundy Organisation.  Grundy’s publicity manager Felicity Goscombe defends the song as being purely commercial: “Why not?  He’s good looking, has a good voice and is such a change from the ‘uglies’.  We’re trying to bring back some entertainment to the music business – and a lot of glamour.”

Voyage to Greece along Yarra
The producers of the 0-10 Network’s weekly Greek variety show, Grecian Scene, have produced a Melbourne-based Christmas special for national distribution in Greece.  Grecian Scene co-host Olga Davis described the show as “a typical party, with Greek food and wines, music, songs and dancers.  A traditional Greek Christmas celebration with an Australian background.”  The special, filmed on board a paddle-steamer cruising the Yarra River, aired in Melbourne last week.  “The Greek TV station bought the show for its national network.  They seemed to think it a good idea, to show people some part of the life their relatives live in Australia,” Davis told TV Times.

Timeless town
In re-creating Sydney Town, circa-1788, for the upcoming mini-series The Timeless Land, a great deal of research and design went into constructing cottages, barns and buildings of the period, including an impressive two-storey Government House – but had it not been for modern-day plastic the reconstructed town could never have happened.  The cottages have timber frames, with sheets of clear plastic moulded into the shape of timber logs and wooden roof shingles.  Supervising designer George Liddle told TV Times, “We wouldn’t have had a hope of being able to afford to build the town if it hadn’t been for vacuum-formed plastic sheeting.  Each of these sheets costs $2, which means we were able to build a cottage for around $500, instead of at least four times the price for timber, and four times quicker – a great economy.”  The reconstructed town is situated on a private properly in Kellyville, outside of Sydney, which the producers have rented.  Apart from offering the perfect scenery the property has a large dam, which is being used as a Sydney Harbour backdrop.  The Timeless Land, starring Michael Craig, Angela Punch McGregor (pictured) and Nicola Paget and a supporting cast including Noel Trevarthen, Rod Mullinar, Peter Cousens, David Gulpilil, Anna Volska, Patrick Dickson and Arnhem Land tribesman Charles Yunupingu, is expected to go to air on ABC around mid-1980.

Briefly…
Actress Kerry Armstrong (pictured) has left Prisoner and taken up the role of another country girl, the niece of Fay (Kris McQuade) in Skyways:  “I don’t know why I always get cast as a country girl – maybe it’s because of my big leg muscles.  I got them from dancing school.”  After she’s finished on Skyways, Armstrong will be appearing in the upcoming mini-series Water Under The Bridge, now in production for the 0-10 Network.

Young Talent Time cast member Bobby Dreissen is recovering from injuries after a hit-run incident in Melbourne.  The 13-year-old was riding a bicycle when he was hit by a car.  “I was frightened more than anything else.  I hadn’t a clue what was happening at the time – one minute I was pedalling along, the next I’m rolling about on the street in agony.”  Despite injuries to his back and hands, Dreissen continued to meet his commitments to Young Talent Time, performing the day after the incident.

Helen Morse is tipped to win the lead female role in the upcoming mini-series A Town Like Alice.

Peggy Toppano and Lorrae Desmond, who play two sisters who run a bookstore in the new series Arcade, are finding work positively absorbing.  “Sometimes I get so engrossed in all the fascinating books on the set that I have to drag myself away to rehearse my lines,” Toppano told TV Times.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”I just cannot resist commenting on Tracey Yesberg’s letter (Viewpoint, 24 November 1979) regarding So You Want To Be A Centrefold.  Anyone with such narrow views was under no obligation to watch, but naturally curiosity wins again.  I am also female, and also watched, as I am the lone female in our family and I was curious.  I agree it was trash but something different for all the wide-eyed men.  I personally admire the models for having the guts to be so uninhibited in front of the TV cameras, and, anyway, there are far more important morals in today’s corrupt society to worry about, and nude models are certainly not one of them.” J. Lewy, NSW.

“I would like to see some of Gracie Fields’ movies on TV.  They’ve done festivals of movies to honour stars like John Wayne and Elvis Presley, so why not Gracie?  I am 71, and used to live near Gracie in Rochdale, Lancashire.  As a matter of fact I sing some of her songs as a member of the Country Women’s Association concert party in Wollongong, NSW.”  B. Lindop, NSW.

What’s On (December 29-January 4):
HSV7’s coverage of the Australian Open tennis, live from Kooyong, Melbourne, continues from Saturday through to Wednesday.  From Thursday, attention shifts to Hobart for the Australian Hardcourt Championships.

New Year’s Eve includes ATV0’s coverage of the Festival of Sydney – New Year’s Eve Concert from the Sydney Opera House, hosted by Rolf Harris and including appearances by John St Peeters, Marcia Hines, Jon English, The Angels and the Combined Pipe Band of Sydney.  The 5-and-a-half hour telecast includes Sydney’s spectacular New Year’s Eve fireworks to signal the arrival of the new year and the new decade.

HSV7 farewells 1979 with overseas specials Dick Clark And A Cast Of Thousands and Elton John At Wembley, before New Year’s greetings at midnight.  At 12.02am, Lee Simon presents a special New Year edition of Nightmoves.  Meanwhile, GTV9 presents the Concert Of The Decade, featuring highlights from the recent 2SM/Moove Festival from the steps of the Sydney Opera House.  Highlights from the day’s cricket between Australia and the West Indies airs at 10.00pm, with the 1970 movie Song Of Norway at midnight.

ABC’s New Year’s Eve starts with the People’s Command Performance, from Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, featuring Joan Rivers, Chubby Checker, Vincent Price, Rod Stewart, Jerry Lewis and Lainie Kazan.  At 9.40pm, Gregory Peck and Ann-Margret present A Holiday Tribute To The Radio City Music Hall, followed at 11.10pm with New Year’s Rocking Eve, a concert featuring Blondie, Village People and Barry Manilow.  Then, at 12.40am, a concert special from Elton John that was recorded on Christmas Eve, 1974.

On New Year’s Day, HSV7 crosses to Perth at 6.00pm for the annual Perth Cup and GTV9 has more cricket from 4.00pm.  Later in the evening, ABC presents the Edinburgh Military Tattoo 1979, and ATV0 presents a re-run of the British mini-series, Elizabeth R.

Wednesday night’s Faces Of The Eighties features politician Simon Crean, who, at the age of 30, is one of the rising stars of the Labor movement.

Sunday night movies: The Taming Of The Shrew (HSV7), My Father’s House (GTV9), A New Leaf (ATV0).  After the movie, ATV0 repeats the two-hour special Thanks For The Memory, a roundup of the news and events of the 1970s, originally aired last month.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 29 December 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: December 22-28

Cover (clockwise from bottom right): Peter Lochran (The Young Doctors), Marcia Hines, Mike Walsh, Susan Hannaford (The Sullivans), John Orcsik (Cop Shop), June Salter (The Restless Years)

Belinda buries her sexy past
Belinda Giblin doesn’t want to be known as “that sexy secretary from The Box.”  She’d much rather be known as an actress who won a Sammy award this year for Best Actress in a Single TV Performance, for her role in the telemovie Say You Want Me:  “That award was a compliment to my acting.  It wasn’t a popularity poll win but a win because of my acting skills.  It’s been the biggest buzz of my professional career.”  Now featuring in the Seven Network series Skyways in a seven-week guest role, Giblin has no regrets about doing The Box, though the “sex symbol” tag was quite amusing, she says. 

On wings of song…
A one-hour special to air this week on ABC, Christmas Round Australia, takes a look at the diversity of an Australian Christmas.  The special program features Santa arriving by helicopter at an RAAF base in Amberley, QLD.  At Falls Creek in the Victorian Alps he switches to a snow mobile, and in the remote town of Cook he arrives into town in a converted railcar.  The special also looks at the multicultural diversity in celebrating Christmas, with Greek children singing Ta Kalanda, an Italian children’s choir singing Tu Scendi-Della Stella, and Aboriginal children at the Ernabella Mission singing carols translated into native languages.  Christmas Round Australia is narrated by Margaret Throsby and produced by Ric Birch.

Death of Robert Moore
Robert Moore has died in Melbourne at the age of 46.  The former host of Monday Conference was in Melbourne where he was working on an interview with Professor Sir Gustav Nossal for the ABC series Faces Of The Eighties.  It was to be the final program in the series.  ABC general manager Talbot Duckmanton paid tribute to Moore:  “Bob Moore was held in widespread respect by all who encountered him.  His fairness and integrity were beyond question in his interpretation of politics and the art of government – fields so frequently wracked with controversy.  He was above all a professional, totally dedicated and absorbed in the job he had to do.  The ABC, and public life, can ill afford to lose a figure of the calibre of Bob Moore.  At 46, he had so much still to offer.”  Born in Adelaide in 1932, Moore first joined ABC in 1960 and later progressed to the current affairs program Four Corners as a reporter and later producer and anchorman.  In 1970 he made a ten-part series of interviews, Profiles Of Power, and the following year became the host and producer of Monday Conference, which ran for 290 editions.  Moore’s death came a year to the day after the end of Monday Conference.

Best wishes from Brian for a good news decade
GTV9 newsreader Brian Naylor wishes he could promise only good news in the 1980s.  “I’d be less than honest if I said I could expect the 1980s to be a happier, or more peaceful, decade than the one just past, but I can only hope that it will be.”  Naylor will be the compere of Carols By Candlelight which is being telecast on the Nine Network for the first time after several years on the 0-10 Network.  “I feel very strongly about how much and what kind of programs newsreaders should ally themselves with outside the news area, but this is one that I’m delighted to do.  It’s a happy family night and I feel honoured working on a show that will be screened in homes at Christmas time around the country,” he told TV Times.  Having just completed his first year as newsreader at GTV9, the switch from rival HSV7 has proved so successful that Naylor and GTV are now negotiating a new three-year deal after only one year of the previous three-year contract.

Are you being served down under?
John Inman will star as the flamboyant Mr Humphries in an Australian version of the comedy series Are You Being Served?  Lyle McCabe Productions is set to make the 13-episode series for the 0-10 Network, with production due to start in Melbourne early in the new year.  “The idea is that Mr Humphries has been sent out to Australia to help a cousin of young Mr Grace,” producer Lyle McCabe told TV Times.  “All the characters in the Australian series will be similar to the ones in the British comedy.  Department stores around the world seem to attract a similar kind of person.”  A full cast list for the new series is expected to be announced in a few weeks.

Briefly…
The Restless Years star Ivar Kants is leaving the series after nine months as Ken Garrett.  Kants, with his wife and two children, will be heading to England where he will reprise the role of footballer Geoff Hayward in David Williamson’s play The Club.

Bert Newton (pictured) is almost certain to make his movie debut in Fatty Finn, based on the famous Australian comic strip.  It will be Newton’s first acting role since he appeared as a TV reporter in the short-lived comedy series, The Bluestone Boys.

Gerard Kennedy, best known from Division 4 and more recently in Against The Wind, is returning to TV with an ongoing role in Skyways as airline executive Gary Doolan.

Former Melbourne and Adelaide tonight show host Bob Moors hasn’t been seen on TV for a while, but is set to appear in the upcoming 0-10 Network mini-series Water Under The Bridge. 

Television producer Ron Way has left Seven’s This Is Your Life after 166 episodes to move to his latest venture, a telemovie based on the life of Johnny O’Keefe for the Reg Grundy Organisation.  Way had produced O’Keefe’s early-‘60s variety show Sing Sing Sing for the Seven Network.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”I want to express my great disappointment at everyone’s best actress, Lorraine Bayly, not winning anything at all at the Sammy awards.  Every week we read of The Sullivans being Australia’s best show, yet it hardly rated a mention throughout the Sammys.”  V. Hannaford, WA.

“I am downright annoyed at all the TV networks for using late timeslots for shows worth watching.  Programs with a three-star rating are starting at 9.00pm to 10.30pm.  This is ridiculous when a movie buff like myself has to get up for work the next day.  What happened to the good old time of 8.30pm?” M. Mather, VIC.

“Is it any wonder that overseas celebrities often baulk at interviews by our TV reporters?  Sydney TEN10’s effort with Sammy Davis Jnr is a typical example.  Katrina Lee introduced him, then he was shown talking to her but we were not allowed to hear him at first before Katrina was too busy telling us what he was going to say.  Then we were allowed to hear Sammy say exactly what Katrina had already said.  Now by this I take it that the stations either think we are too stupid to understand such people or that these celebrities are so inarticulate that they won’t be understood.”  B. Rose, NSW.

What’s On (December 22-28):
Saturday and Sunday features the closing stages of the New South Wales Open tennis tournament, live on HSV7.  From Monday (Christmas Eve), attention moves to Melbourne’s Kooyong courts for the Australian Open.  With a break on Christmas Day, the Open resumes on Boxing Day.

GTV9 presents England versus the West Indies in World Series Cup cricket on Sunday, live from Brisbane.  Cricket resumes on Wednesday (Boxing Day) when Australia and England play in Sydney.

On Monday night (Christmas Eve), GTV9 presents live coverage of Carols By Candelight from Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl.  Hosted by Brian Naylor (pictured) and including performances by Rolf Harris, John Farnham and Linda George.

Christmas Eve also includes overseas Christmas specials from Are You Being Served? (ABC), Carry On Christmas (HSV7), Bing Crosby: The Christmas Years (GTV9) and the Morecambe And Wise Christmas Show (ATV0).  ATV0 also presents Sing We Noel, from the Mormon Symphony Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall, London, and a repeat of last week’s Sydney Festival Of Carols before Midnight Mass.

HSV7 starts earlier than usual on Christmas Day with movies from 8.00am through to 1.30pm.  Various Christmas and variety specials continue through the rest of the afternoon.  ABC starts its day at 11.00am with Divine Service, from the Anglican Church of St Clement in Kingston, Tasmania.  GTV9 has cartoons through the early morning before a Christian Television Association special at 8.30am.  Humphrey B. Bear presents his own Christmas message at 9.00am before GTV9 presents a replay of Carols By Candlelight at 10.00am.  Movies continue through the afternoon.

ATV0 doesn’t start on Christmas Day until 2.00pm with a special, The Magic Of Christmas, followed by the 1973 movie Miracle On 34th Street.

On Christmas night, ABC presents the Queen’s annual Christmas Message at 7.15pm followed by Christmas Round Australia at 7.30pm, showing the variety of ways in which children celebrate Christmas across Australia.  Followed at 8.30pm by a Christmas episode of Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em.

HSV7’s Christmas night includes The Flintstones Christmas, The Stanley Baxter Christmas Show and the Father Knows Best Christmas Reunion.  GTV9 has Christmas episodes of The Odd Couple, Laverne And Shirley and Happy Days, followed by the 1978 telemovie Gift Of Love, starring Marie Osmond, Timothy Bottoms, June Lockhart, Bethel Leslie and Donald Moffatt.  At 10.30pm, GTV9 presents the Queen’s Christmas message followed by the movie Godspell.

ATV0 starts Christmas night with a Young Talent Time Christmas special at 6.30pm, followed at 7.30pm by the 1954 movie White Christmas, starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.

Boxing Day features the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race, preview and official start, on ABC from 11.00am with Australian Open tennis and World Series Cup cricket on HSV7 and GTV9 respectively.  In the evening, HSV7 crosses to Ascot racecourse in Perth for the annual Australian Derby.

Sunday night movies: A Christmas To Remember (HSV7), Kotch (GTV9), Christmas: The Coal Mine Miracle (ATV0). 

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 22 December 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: December 15-21

Cover: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek)

Countdown to the ‘80s
Countdown’s Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum and producer Ted Emery have travelled the world to compile a 90-minute special edition of the show to signal the end of the 1970s.  The pair interviewed more than 100 pop stars across Australia, the US, UK and Europe for the special which will air on ABC this weekend.  “The program is still being sorted out but we plan to present a variety of top world stars of the decade talking about the music of the ‘70s,” Emery told TV Times.  The program will also discuss the future and who is likely to be a dominant force in the 1980s.  Some of the interviewed pop stars include David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, ABBA, the Rolling Stones, the Doobie Brothers, the Boomtown Rats, Alice Cooper, Bryan Ferry, Fleetwood Mac and Australians Olivia Newton-John, Daryl Braithwaite and Glenn Shorrock.

Ilona Rodgers’ private battle
It has been a tough year for actress Ilona Rodgers, the newcomer to the cast of The Sullivans.  For the New Zealand actress there was enough pressure coming into the popular series, with producers’ hopes of her taking on the high-profile star status in the wake of losing Lorraine Bayly, but Rodgers was also seven months pregnant when she took on the role. She was also tending her mother who was dying of cancer, and supporting her husband, who has stayed in NZ, trying to start up a new farming venture.  But Rodgers is happy with the role in The Sullivans:  “The first three months were really tough, but now I think I’m on top of it.  My only complaint is that I haven’t had a good game of snooker since John Waters (pictured, with Rodgers) finished working on the show.”  Her husband, David Warren, has made frequent visits to Australia since the birth of son Mischa, who has also made several trips across the Tasman to spend time with his father.  “I had him with me for a long time, but it’s unfair that I should have the only benefit of watching him grow up,” Rodgers told TV Times.

TV star ‘back from the grave’
Film actor Bryan Brown has been signed up for the upcoming mini-series A Town Like Alice to play the role of Joe Harmon – a role made famous in film by Peter Finch.  The mini-series, based on Nevil Shute’s novel, will go into production for the Seven Network early next year.  In charge of production will be Henry Crawford, producer of Seven’s earlier success story Against The Wind.  For actor Brown, his only other TV appearance has been in Against The Wind, as the Irish boyfriend of Mary Mulvane (Mary Larkin), killed in the first episode.

Those restless colonial years
When Jeff Archer of The Restless Years goes off on an overseas trip, actor Noel Trevarthen will be going back in time to play Judge Advocate Captain Collins in ABC’s eight-part drama, The Timeless Land.  Trevarthen will appear in the series’ first two episodes, covering the four years from 1788 when the British landed and Captain Collins read out the proclamation claiming Australia for the Crown.  “Collins is an interesting character.  He was a court favourite of George III, and, as a reward for his services, the King made him judge advocate of NSW.  But he was one of the few people at the time who believed in the future of NSW.  A lot of his contemporaries were only interested in grabbing the land.” 

Briefly…
The town of Echuca, on the Murray River, will be the star of a new mini-series adapted from Nancy Cato’s best-selling book, All The Rivers Run. Producer Hector Crawford (pictured) is currently negotiating with American interests for financial backing for the series, which is expected to be made as 10 or 12 one-hour episodes.  Production is likely to start later next year.

Actress Liddy Clark (Ride On Stranger) has won the award for Best New Talent at the recent annual Penguin Awards, held in Melbourne.  Other winners on the night included NWS9’s Ian Fairweather, for his contribution to children’s television, Cop Shop’s Peter Adams as Best Actor and Prisoner’s Carol Burns for Best Actress.

Janet Kingsbury has left her job as a reporter for the travel show, Bill Peach’s Holiday, to return to acting.  The parting from the ABC series has been amicable, and stories featuring Kingsbury that have already been completed will go to air during 1980.  Kingsbury, whose last acting job was four years ago in the movie Let The Balloon Go, has started a new role as Anne Hunter in the series The Restless Years.

Anne Sneddon (pictured), the 1979 Miss Australia, has entered TV current affairs as a reporter and co-host on BTQ7’s Haydn Sargent’s Brisbane:  “I like journalism and I’d like to be the best on TV.  I can wait 15 years, as long as I keep getting better.  With the help I’m getting from the whole team here, I should.  If I don’t, I need a hard kick.” 

 

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”I really have to laugh at the ad asking private motorists to save petrol!  Why isn’t the ad directed more towards those who race cars?  Don’t they waste more petrol than the private motorist?” R. Goodwin, NSW.

“Isn’t it about time women had a go where nudity on TV is concerned?  How about the men getting more of their gear off?  Put men in see-through baths etc.  So come on and give us women something to watch on TV.  After all, women watch more TV than men.  There is enough of the female body being exposed, so come on men, have a go.” L. Davies, NSW.

“I have read where the Australian series Skyways has not been getting good ratings and may be axed.  Why, oh why, are we subjected to such insults to our intelligence as CHiPs and Lucan?  The storylines are weak, the direction terrible and the acting second-rate.  Yet the Australian show is good.  Myself, my family and friends have lived almost every story in real life.  The acting is really first-rate and the direction is excellent.  I can watch Prisoner, Cop Shop and Skyways frequently, but the above-mentioned American shows only get one or two viewings because they are appalling!” M. Arnett, NSW.

What’s On (December 15-21):
HSV7’s summer of tennis continues with the South Australian Open on Saturday and Sunday, live from Memorial Drive, Adelaide, and the New South Wales Open from Monday to Friday.

On Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, GTV9 crosses to Perth for the World Series Cup cricket between Australia and England.  Then on Friday, the World Series Cup moves to Sydney for Australia versus the West Indies.

Paul Griffiths (pictured), Patrick O’Neill, Mark Hamlyn and Dale Sinclair are the team presenting Line-Up, a new weekly magazine-style program on ABC, starting Saturday night in the timeslot normally occupied by Four Corners.

In Cop Shop (HSV7, Monday), Danni (Paula Duncan) has a surprise visitor who has managed to pull a few strings to obtain her address.  Meanwhile, Liz (Liz Burch) and Baker (Gil Tucker) seem to be sharing many precious moments together.

Friday night on HSV7, Shirley Strachan and the gang from Shirl’s Neighbourhood appear in a one-hour special, Christmas In The Neighbourhood, featuring guest appearances by Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons.  Later in the evening, ATV0 crosses to Sydney Festival Of Carols, held at the Domain and hosted by John McNally with performances by June Bronhill, Helen Zerefos, Steve Watson, Sandy Scott, Suzanne Steele, the Claire Poole Singers and the Crusade and St. Mary’s Cathedral Choirs.

Other Christmas specials to appear during the week include Bing Crosby’s Merry Olde Christmas, Bob Hope’s All-Star Christmas Show and Laugh-In’s Christmas.

Sunday night movies: Amelia Earhart (HSV7), The Entertainer (GTV9), Zandy’s Bride (ATV0).  ABC presents the Australian Opera production of Norma, featuring Joan Sutherland and the Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra conducted by Richard Bonynge.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 15 December 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: November 3-9

Sammys golden night out
The fourth annual Australian TV and Film Awards, the Sammys, have been presented at Sydney’s Seymour Centre.  Winning the Gold Sammy awards, for excellence in performance during the year, were daytime TV host Mike Walsh and singer and TV presenter Marcia Hines.  For Walsh it is his second Gold Sammy and Hines also won a Sammy for Best Variety Performer.

But the biggest hit of the night was the mini-series Against The Wind, taking out four awards including Best Drama Series, Best Actor in a TV series (Gerard Kennedy) and Best Actress in a TV Series (Kerry McGuire).

1979 Sammy Awards TV category winners Gold (male): Mike Walsh Gold (female): Marcia Hines Chips Rafferty Memorial Award: Stanley Hawes Best Actor in a Single TV Performance: John Hargreaves (A Good Thing Going) Best Actress in a Single TV Performance: Belinda Giblin (Say You Want Me) Best Actor in a TV Series: Gerard Kennedy (Against The Wind) Best Actress in a TV Series: Kerry McGuire (Against The Wind) Best Variety Performer: Marcia Hines Best Drama Series: Against The Wind Best Comedy Program: Neutral Ground (Tickled Pink) Best TV Play: The Plumber Best Variety Program: Hollywood (TV Follies) Best Documentary: The Last Tasmanians Best News Coverage: Pentridge Riot (GTV9 Melbourne) Best Current Affairs Program: 60 Minutes Best Sports Coverage: Australian Open Golf (Nine Network) Best Children’s Series: Top Mates Best Light Entertainment Series: Parkinson In Australia Best Art Direction: Quentin Hole (Ride On Stranger) Best Writer (TV Series): Peter Yeldham (Run From The Morning) Best Writer (TV Play): Peter Weir (The Plumber) Best Editing: Michael Balson (Mutiny On The Western Front) Best Costume Design: Clare Griffin (Against The Wind)

Trapping Lorraine was a piece of cake!
It was Lorraine Bayly’s sweet tooth that led her into being featured on the Seven Network’s This Is Your Life.  TV Times reporter Joanna Parsons and photographer David Murray were asked by the show to invite Bayly (pictured) to an interview while she was in Sydney attending the Sammy Awards.  The interview was to take place in a hotel restaurant where TIYL host Roger Climpson and camera crew would sneak into the restaurant via the kitchen and quietly set up at a table behind Bayly.  The maitre d’hotel would then present Bayly with flowers “sent by the gentleman sitting at the next table.”  Then Bayly would turn around to find Climpson to declare “Lorraine Bayly, This Is Your Life.”  But the plans for the mock interview almost went awry when Bayly suggested the interview be conducted in her hotel room.  It was a quick-thinking Parsons, knowing Bayly’s weakness for chocolate cake, who then responded, “but they have the most wonderful chocolate cake in the restaurant.  Wouldn’t you like to try it?”  Bayly fell for it and the set-up continued as planned.  Bayly then responded, “Do you mean the interview wasn’t really…?”  Parsons assured her that it was still a genuine interview, to be published soon in TV Times.

They’re off!
In the lead-up to the Melbourne Cup, TV Times talks to four of Australia’s top race callers about the ‘race that stops a nation.’  ATV0 race caller Clem Dimsey (pictured) admitted that when he first called the Melbourne Cup for the 0-10 Network last year, he lost a stone in weight due to the tension.  Although Dimsey has called the Melbourne Cup race on a number of prior occasions, last year was the first as part of a nationwide coverage of the race.  Dimsey’s tip for the Melbourne Cup is a New Zealand horse, Kankama.  ABC race caller Joe Brown will notch up a milestone when he calls the Melbourne Cup for the 32nd time, equalling the record set by the late Ken Howard.  “It’s the highlight of the working year,” he says.  Brown has tipped Dulcify for the Melbourne Cup.  Radio 3UZ caller John Russell, who will also call the race for the Macquarie Radio Network and the Nine Network, has called the Melbourne Cup only twice before now but had been the understudy for veteran caller Bert Bryant for 23 years.  Russell is reluctant to give a tip for the big race as he is involved in various phantom race calls involving big prizes, though he does name Dulcify, Kankama and Our Big Gamble as good chances.  The Seven Network and radio 3DB’s Bill Collins will be calling the Melbourne Cup for the 26th time this year, but still admits to getting nerves before the race.  “I still remember the nerves before I called my first cup and the drama still gets to me these days.  The build-up is impossible to resist,” he says.  Collins, nicknamed ‘The Accurate One’, was reluctant to give a cup tip too far in advance but did feel that Dulcify and Double Century should do well.

Briefly…
Many of the staff from Riverside were present for the baptism of Cop Shop’s latest addition, Prudence Jane Marion Benjamin, the daughter of Claire (Louise Philip, pictured) and Tony Benjamin (Greg Ross).  Prudence, played by a baby boy named Zigi Barrett, took to the filming calmly with only a small cry of protest towards the end of filming.  The episode airs this week in Sydney and Melbourne, next week in Brisbane and later in Adelaide.

Three former TV cops, George Mallaby, Leonard Teale and Warwick Randall, have recorded safety messages for Melbourne radio station 3MP.

The Seven Network is negotiating to buy the TV rights to the film Cathy’s Child, the film which won three awards at the recent Sammys.  However, it will be some time before the film appears on TV as it has still yet to be released in cinemas in Perth and many country areas.

ATV0 newsreader Bruce Mansfield likes to dress well.  His current favourite tie is a classy number with a rose motif.  Anyone can buy a similar one, if prepared to pay $75.

Actress Penny Ramsey has made a return to work, after seven years as a full-time housewife and mother of two, as the wife of deputy governor Jim Fletcher (Gerard Maguire) in Prisoner.  The daughter of actress Lois Ramsey has had a varied career, including appearing on The Mavis Bramston Show as a teenager in the ‘60s, hosting a children’s show and appearing in the stage musical Hair.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”After more than 10 years of journalists using the word “charisma” I have a vague notion of what it means.  Could you ask ABC journalists in Canberra if I have to wait as long to crack on to ‘hiatus’?” W. Murphy, NSW.

“I would like to express my extreme disappointment at the way ABC deprived us of the presentation of the awards at both the State of Origin Australian Rules carnival and the 1979 grand final in Western Australia.  On 6 and 8 October, ABC were good enough to televise the State of Origin matches.  This included something like nine hours of top-class football, and surely, if this was possible an extra half-hour at the conclusion was possible.  When they returned to the studio it was only to show an absolutely pathetic cartoon, The White Seal, or, on the weekend of the WA grand final, a repeat of Countdown.  Remember that country viewers are, unfortunately, stuck with only this one annoying channel.” L. Beaton, WA.

“Lately, I don’t think Prisoner has had its usual quick humour and zest.  This seems to have come about only since the character of Noelene Bourke (Jude Kuring) left the series.  Although she was unpopular, I believe she put the finishing touches to the show.  She and her daughter, Leanne (Tracey-Jo Riley), should be reintroduced.  Having a youngster in the program is a good idea, as it keeps us in contact with the difficulties of the young.” D. Harvey, NSW.

What’s On (November 3-9):
Weekend sport includes the NSW Open Championship Golf, from The Lakes in Sydney, live on ABC.  ATV0’s coverage of the Melbourne Cup Carnival kicks off on Saturday with Michael Williamson hosting the Derby Day Sportsman’s Breakfast, followed by Phil Gibbs and Clem Dimsey’s preview of the Derby Day races and then ATV0 crosses to Flemington for five hours of live coverage of all the day’s races.

GTV9 presents the first in a series of Australian-made specials featuring Ronnie Corbett, of The Two Ronnies.  The special features guest stars Pamela Gibbons, Chris Kirby and June Bronhill.

ATV0’s Melbourne Cup coverage starts with a half-hour special on Monday night followed by a 90-minute preview on Tuesday morning.  At midday, ATV0 crosses to Flemington for five hours coverage of all the day’s races for Melbourne Cup Day.  Phil Gibbs and Michael Schilberger head the coverage, with Annette Allison providing interviews with special guests during the day.  Clem Dimsey calls the day’s races.

Motoring expert Peter Wherrett, host of popular shows Torque and Marque, returns to TV to present a 40-minute special, Torque About A Crisis, on ABC.  Wherrett examines the Federal Government’s campaign to educate drivers about improving the efficiency of their vehicles with proper treatment and improved driving style.

ATV0 presents a repeat of the documentary, The Last Tasmanian, a recent winner at the Sammy Awards.

GTV9’s Friday night movies is ABBA The Movie, the 1977 production featuring the story of a radio disc jockey (played by Robert Hughes) following the pop group on their Australian tour in order to get an interview with them.  The movie also features Tom Oliver, formerly of Number 96 fame.

Sunday night movies: The Hindenburg (HSV7), Nightmare In Badham County (GTV9), Holocaust 2000 (ATV0).  ABC presents the latest in its series of Australian plays, Money In The Bank, starring Tom Richards (Matlock Police), Barbara Stephens and Max Meldrum.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 3 November 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: September 22-28

Cover: Kermit The Frog, Miss Piggy

The Sullivans prepare for peace
As the Nine Network’s The Sullivans moves into its fourth year of production, fans needn’t worry that the end of World War II will mean the end of the show.  “Yes, The Sullivans definitely will go on after the war,” says Crawford Productions chairman Hector Crawford.  “It is a reflection of Australia of that period.  The war has been a vital part of it to date, but the stormy period after will be just as interesting a background when the time comes.  The years just after the war were stormy ones for the economy, politics and everyday life of the country.”  But when asked whether Grace Sullivan (Lorraine Bayly) will return to the series, Crawford could say only that “options remain open.”  Bayly has been travelling overseas for several months but her future plans remain a mystery, even for the cast of the show.  As the show passes its third birthday, two of the key characters from the recent spin-off telemovie Jovan: The John Sullivan Story will be joining the series, secret service agent Captain Meg Fulton (Olivia Hamnett) and John Sullivan’s lover Nadia (Vera Plevnik).

Top film role to Sullivans regular
Sydney actor David Cameron has won a key role in the upcoming 0-10 Network mini-series Water Under The Bridge.  The 27-year-old, who graduated from NIDA in 1968, has appeared in Bellbird, Certain Women, Dynasty, Against The Wind, The Truckies and Power Without Glory.  Cameron’s most recent role has been as Russell Hardwicke in The Sullivans.  In Water Under The Bridge, Cameron plays Neil Atkins, an aspiring actor in love with a newspaper columnist.  Cameron’s appointment to Water Under The Bridge follows the recent announcement that Robyn Nevin will play the lead female role of Shasta.

Graham Kennedy: The man and the myth – Part Two
More has been written (true and false) about Graham Kennedy (pictured) than any other Australian celebrity, including sports stars and prime ministers.  So what is the truth about some of the Kennedy myths and idiosyncrasies?  MYTH:  He was jealous of other IMT hosts.  Fact:  There are stories to the contrary.  When Father Michael King guest hosted IMT in 1969, he received a telegram from Kennedy:  “Be good but we don’t want any miracles.”  Then when he retired from IMT he personally recommended Ugly Dave Gray as his successor.  MYTH: Kennedy is disinterested in his huge collection of awards and uses them as door stops.  Fact:  He’s said this as a gag.  He keeps every award he has ever won on a silver tray.  MYTH: Kennedy doesn’t like and doesn’t relate to children.  Fact: He’s been a godfather six times, including to the daughter of his friend and manager, Harry M Miller and also to the daughter of former colleague Joy Westmore.  He also sponsored a Vietnamese war orphan through World Vision.  MYTH: Kennedy is colour blind and cannot tell red from green.  Fact: Kennedy said, “it’s true I do have trouble telling the difference between some greys, greens, blues.  I have to watched about the clothes I wear, or I might turn up in a red shirt with a green jacket which I think is blue.”  MYTH: His nickname is Gra-Gra.  Fact:  It’s Gay-Gay, which dates from when Kennedy was about 11 when a neighbour’s small daughter couldn’t say the word Graham.  “My aunt Nancy still calls me Gay-Gay when she calls,” Kennedy said.  Among Kennedy’s idiosyncrasies:  He is a night person that rarely goes to bed before midnight and has been known to leave messages on Harry M Miller’s phone at 2.30am;  During the IMT era everyone on the show noticed he never worked quite as well on the nights he wore a white suit – he became less extroverted; He’s nervous about every performance, whether it’s his own show or guest appearances;  He has a phenomenal memory.  He can recall a tag of a sketch he did 15 years ago and even whether or not someone fluffed up a line.  Producer Peter Faiman recalls that Kennedy will accept that problems will come up and be rectified.  But if that same mistake is made 12 years later, he’ll remind you that you made that same error 12 years before; Kennedy has a fear of crowds and had declined many offers to be the King of Melbourne’s Moomba festival, but finally relented in the year of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee year.  As to commentary on his private life and relationships with women, Kennedy said in a 1976 interview, “I lead a fairly private life.  It’s my business what I do or don’t do when I close my bedroom door.”  Although he did once admit that he’d seriously considered marriage twice in his life, and there was his engagement to singer Lana Cantrell.

Why Tina’s head is in the clouds
Despite working as an actress on TV, stage and film for over ten years, Tina Bursill still finds that people can’t recall her name when they meet her:  “Then I have to patiently explain that I am not Tina Grenville nor a relative of film-maker Tim Burstall.”  The confusion was not helped when Bursill was cast alongside Grenville in the short-lived series The People Next Door, the sequel to The Godfathers.  The 28-year-old actress hopes that the public will have an easier time of recognising her now that she is starring in the new Seven Network series Skyways as ambitious assistant airport manager Louise Carter. “She is developing nicely now, and I hope the public like her as much as I do.”

Briefly…
Garry Meadows (pictured) was disappointed when his children’s TV show, Meet The Giants, was refused a C classification.  But now the Family Feud producer is re-submitting the show for approval following some modifications to the format.  The pilot, produced earlier this year for the Reg Grundy Organisation, features four schoolchildren aged between 10 and 14 in a panel interview with Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.

Foreign Affairs Minister Andrew Peacock will be one of the presenters at this year’s Sammy awards presentation to be held on 17 October.  The awards, a joint venture between the Seven Network, TV Times and the Variety Club of Australia, will be hosted by Roger Climpson.

The success of Australian programs Prisoner and Against The Wind in Los Angeles is helping efforts to get The Don Lane Show sold to US television.  Meanwhile, Against The Wind has scored a front cover story on the Los Angeles Times’ TV magazine.

Former ABC newsreader Margaret Throsby, who resigned from the broadcaster to have a baby, is returning on a part-time basis.  Throsby’s first appearance following her comeback is co-hosting the presentation of the Prince Philip Prize for Australian Design to be held in Perth.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”Congratulations to the Nine Network for showing The John Sullivan Story.  I’m sure a lot of families who don’t watch The Sullivans enjoyed this movie, which was a pleasant change to the usually violent Sunday night movies.”  M. Lewis, NSW.

“Tony Barber (Family Feud, pictured) never fails to irritate me with his idiotic antics and endless drivel, but he really disgusted me when he remarked to a contestant that she was in quite an advanced stage of pregnancy.  It was true, but only a very arrogant man would have deliberately drawn attention to the fact.”  N. Wilson, NSW.

“Why, in an area like the goldfields of Kalgoorlie with its early workers, does VEW8 have Poldark on so late at night – 9.45pm, sometimes later?  Surely it could be put on earlier.”  J. Ware, WA.

What’s On (September 22-28):
On Sunday afternoon, ABC presents the Grand Final of the NSW Rugby League, live from the Sydney Cricket Ground.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at the history of running in Australia, from the Stawell Gift to Sydney’s City to Surf run. 

On Monday night Peter Landy hosts HSV7’s telecast of The Brownlow Medal for 1979, live from the Southern Cross Ballroom in Melbourne.  Then on Wednesday night, HSV7 presents Sensational Seventies, a tribute to the decade in VFL including players Ted Whitten, Kevin Murray, Darryl Baldock and the emergence of Michael Roach, Kevin Templeton and Paul Van Der Haar.

In Skyways (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), MacFarlane (Tony Bonner) and Elaine (Carmen Duncan) examine their rapidly disintegrating family.  Mandy (Gaynor Martin), unable to cope with the sophisticated crowd at Anne’s (Kathryn Dagher) party, creates an unwanted scene.  Meanwhile, in Cop Shop (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), the West Riverside Bank is robbed and Amanda (Lynda Stoner) goes undercover to solve the case.

In the series final of Patrol Boat (ABC, Thursday), an attractive and tough woman journalist is assigned to HMAS Ambush for a day.  Starring Andrew McFarlane, Robert Coleby, Danny Adcock, Rob Baxter and Jacki Weaver.

The final lead-up to HSV7’s coverage of the VFL Grand Final starts on Friday afternoon with the lunchtime Football Procession through Bourke Street in Melbourne’s CBD, featuring the teams that will be playing in the Grand Final.  Then on Friday night, HSV7’s coverage of the The Commodore Cup Grand Final, live from the St Kilda Football Ground.  Leading the coverage are Peter Landy, Lou Richards, Bob Skilton, Doug Wade and Jack Elliott.  Then after a late news bulletin, HSV7 enters another all-night Football Marathon, with Stephen Phillips presenting highlights of past Grand Finals and interviews with team coaches and football personalities.

Also on Friday night, GTV9 presents the Australian Film Industry Awards, live from the Hoyts Entertainment Centre, Sydney.  Nominations for Best Film are Cathy’s Child, In Search Of Anna, Mad Max and My Brilliant Career.  And on the same night, ABC has the Prince Philip Prize For Australian Design, hosted by Stuart Wagstaff and Margaret Throsby in a direct telecast from the Sheraton Hotel, Perth.

Sunday night movies: High Rolling (HSV7), Bite The Bullet (GTV9), White Lightning (ATV0).  ABC presents Man Of Mateship, the fourth instalment of A Place In The World, starring Kerry Francis and Ian Gilmour.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 22 September 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: September 15-21

Cover: Mike Walsh

Top job for Robyn
Actress Robyn Nevin has scored a major role in the upcoming mini-series Water Under The Bridge.  Nevin will play the role of over-possessive foster mother Shasta in the mini-series based on Sumner Locke Elliott’s novel.  The role will also provide Nevin a more personal challenge – she scored the role of chain-smoking Shasta only days after quitting the habit in real life, “but I plan to stop again once the series has finished.”  The million-dollar production, funded by the Victoria Film Corporation, Australian Film Commission, South Pacific Television (New Zealand) and the 0-10 Network, will be produced in Melbourne even though the story is set in Sydney in the 1930s and 1940s. 

Jarratt tip for TV Kelly
Sydney actor John Jarratt (pictured) is the hot favourite to win the lead role of Ned Kelly in the new Seven Network mini-series now in production.  Ian Jones and Against The Wind producer Bronwyn Binns are now working on locations, scripts and other logistics for a start to production soon.  Jones, however, was reluctant to give away any clues as to who would play the lead role: “It would be dreadful to release a statement about such a thing and then have the actor miss out on the role.”

Graham Kennedy: The man and the myth
TV Times presents the first instalment on a series of articles about Graham Kennedy.  Born on 15 February 1934, the young Kennedy lived with his grandmother after his parents had separated.  As a Melbourne schoolboy, he worked at his uncle’s barber shop in Collins Street, in the same building as the newsroom for Radio Australia – he was then offered a job as copy boy for the broadcaster.  But his big radio break came at the age of 17, as the sidekick to Melbourne radio legend Cliff Nicholls “Nicky” Whitta on 3UZ: “Nicky became my mentor.  I was his straight man.  He taught me how to use radio, not just be in it.  He taught me how to send up a commercial and sell it at the same time.”  A guest appearance on a GTV9 telethon in 1957 brought him to the attention of TV producers, looking for a host for the channel’s new tonight show, In Melbourne Tonight.  IMT producer Norm Spencer said of Kennedy, “I think Kennedy is the greatest TV salesman ever.  If he advertised a product, it sold.  He got comedy out of the commercial spots and his unique rubbishing a product made fortunes for manufacturers.  Mind you we often got into trouble with the (then) Control Board because sometimes an ad spot might run for five minutes, but how do you judge where a commercial pitch stops and the comedy starts?”  Writer Hugh Stuckey, who was one of the writers for the early In Melbourne Tonight shows, writing as many as 16 comedy spots a week plus nightly topical gags, remembers Kennedy would sometimes insult his writers on camera, particularly if a gag fell flat:  “Sometimes I had to be physically restrained while watching this at home on TV from driving back to the studio and donging him one!  (But) off-camera he was always pleasant to us and never complained about his material.”  Philip Brady, the butt of many Kennedy jokes, has worked with Kennedy for years but seldom saw him lose his temper.  Though, the 1975 incident where Kennedy’s ‘crow call’ saw him banned from appearing on live TV led to some cutting remarks about the Minister for the Media.  Watching the delayed telecast from his dressing room, he exploded when he saw that his comments had been cut out.  He stormed out of the studio and, according to Brady, “I don’t think he ever came back.” While many took the attitude that the King had lost his crown, he was back on-air in 1977 as the host of a new game show, Blankety Blanks, an adaptation of an American format.  The Kennedy ad lib magic turned the show into one of the biggest hits of the year.  Next Week: Graham Kennedy – Myths, money, movies and women.

Briefly…
The Seven Network has turned down the McCabe-Paradine series Paradise Valley, though they still want to show the pilot as a telemovie.

The Sullivans will be taking production overseas next year, with plans to tape scenes in the Netherlands.  It will be the first time that location filming for the series is to be done outside of Australia – as storylines that featured Changi prison, the Middle East and Europe were all filmed in Australia.

Actor Paul Karo has returned to Australia after a lengthy stay overseas.  The former The Box star has been offered a role in a touring stage production, Flexitime, as well as a guest role in The Sullivans.

Tom Burlinson (pictured) has announced he is leaving The Restless Years, having played the role of Mickey Pratt for over a year:  “I want to work in other areas, such as films and stage.”

Despite his recent return to The Sullivans, Andrew McFarlane is not in any hurry to re-commit to an ongoing role in the series.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”I haven’t seen the movie Picnic At Hanging Rock, but I liked the book very much and was wondering when the movie will screen on TV.” D. Findlay, VIC. (TV Times responds: The Seven Network will screen it next year.)

“Congratulations on the new series of The Inventors, but the viewing public are still stuck with the ever-boring Diana Fisher.” R. Nelson, WA.

“I have watched every episode of The Sullivans, The Restless Years, Prisoner and The Young Doctors, and in my opinion the two outstanding actresses are Victoria Nicolls and Susan Hannaford.  Val Lehman, as Bea in Prisoner, is also excellent.  I know that June Salter won a best actress title last year, but she was always June Salter and not really Miss Mackenzie in The Restless Years.  I am over 80 and I always read every word in TV Times.” N. Montagu, NSW.

What’s On (September 15-21):
Ask The Leyland Brothers (GTV9, Saturday) travels to New Zealand to visit Queenstown and take a ride down the Shotover River.  The Leylands also visit South Australia’s Coorong Lagoon and discover some of the unique wildlife it supports.

In Prisoner (ATV0, Tuesday and Wednesday), Monica (Lesley Baker) is worried about her parole.  Bea Smith (Val Lehman) is released from solitary and is a changed woman.  Karen (Peita Toppano, pictured) gets involved in the prison reform group.

GTV9 reruns a one-hour telemovie, Do I Have To Kill My Child?, looking at child abuse, both physical and emotional, its causes and effects.  Starring Jackie Weaver, Brendon Lunney and Willie Fennell.

Jimmy Hannan hosts the 1979 Quest of Quests, a direct telecast from the Albert Hall, Canberra.  (GTV9, Wednesday)  A repeat of The Barry Humphries Show screens the same night on ATV0.

Sunday night movies: The Fourth Wish (HSV7), The Three Musketeers (GTV9), Hannie Calder (ATV0).  ABC screens A Family Man, starring Paul Mason, Jenny McNae, Moya O’Sullivan and Arkie Whiteley, the fourth instalment of the series of plays A Place In The World.  Other movies to appear during the week include: Last Tango In Paris (ATV0), Yours Mine And Ours (HSV7), The Great Escape (ATV0) and Rescue From Gilligan’s Island (GTV9).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 15 September 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: July 28-August 3

Cover: Ronnie Barker, Ronnie Corbett (The Two Ronnies) 

For the love of Mike
For a group of 50 housewives, the daily chores will have to wait another day as they head into TCN9’s studios to be in the audience for The Mike Walsh Show.  The group, organised by a Padstow primary school as a fund-raiser, is one of many similar groups that flock to TCN9’s Willoughby studios, some from as far as Orange in the central west of NSW, for the 90-minute show.  For studio audience members, housewives Lyn Albrew and Bev Williams, watching the show at home is part of their daily routine and admit that without it many chores, such as ironing, would never get done.  Narabeen mother Judy Allen and her parents, Leslie and Peggy Searle, are also in the studio audience.  “It has a good variety of things and there are some interesting interviews.  It’s better than watching soap operas,” Mrs Allen told TV Times.  John Lynch, one of the few males in the Orange contingent, looks around for some other men in the audience.  “There aren’t many of us, are there?” 

The Australian Invasion!
Australian TV is making its presence felt in the US market – ending the usual one-way traffic of TV programming from the US.  The Seven Network’s hit mini-series Against The Wind was sold to the Taft Broadcasting Network for a six-figure sum and will go to air next month.  Paramount Pictures has bought the overseas distribution rights to the ABC series Patrol Boat while another ABC drama, Golden Soak, has been bought by the Interamerican Entertainment Company of USA.  The 0-10 Network’s hit series Prisoner (pictured) has also been sold to US and Canadian broadcasters.  Canada’s Global TV has purchased 26 episodes of the series, while a Los Angeles-based TV station has bought fourteen episodes.  Prisoner will launch in August on the LA station in a two-hour prime-time debut and will continue weekly thereafter.  American TV distributor Hal Golden has also approached the Nine Network with a view to packaging The Don Lane Show for US distribution, while singer Julie Anthony’s Gold Coast TV special has been syndicated to a network of 50 US TV stations.

Three firsts for restless Victoria
As well as playing the ditzy Raeleen in The Restless Years, Victoria Nicolls is embarking on a few career firsts.  Her first single, Midnight Rendezvous, has just been released.  She also wrote the flip-side song, Until Then, and is starring in a six-week season of Just Us And A Piano, co-starring David Collins and The Restless Years colleague Zoe Bertram, at a Sydney venue.  Nicolls has also signed a three-year contract as a lyricist for ATV-Northern Songs. 

Briefly…
Former The Restless Years star Sonny Blake (pictured) appears in this week’s episode of ABC’s Patrol Boat, playing the part of a heavily-tattooed father-to-be among the crew of HMAS Ambush.

Sydney electronics retail whiz Dick Smith is preparing to make a TV pilot with the Tasmanian Film Corporation.  The pilot, and possible series, will feature Smith and his family tracing the voyage of Captain James Cook along the eastern seaboard of Australia.

Simon Townsend has reportedly been given $1.5 million to produce his new daily children’s show for the 0-10 Network – an amount that has done a lot to raise the status of children’s TV production.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”Regarding TV advertisements for insecticides (or anything in that group): must they be shown at meal times?  I don’t know how other viewers feel but I certainly object to an ad for the elimination of cockroaches to be shown right at 6.00pm.” H. Jones, QLD.

“Does anyone have this sort of trouble with their local commercial channel?  You’ll get used to watching your favourite show on a certain night, and then without warning it is presented on another night.  ABC has never failed to let us know when a new show is starting and what it replaces, and they never swap programs around.” P. Criddle, WA.

The following letters were part of a group received from a class of nine-to-ten year olds from Bass Hill public school in NSW, after they had completed a class on the mass media – particularly TV:

"Children’s TV isn’t very good.  I think Channels Ten, Nine and Seven should put on less advertisements.  If Channel Nine did, they would be the most watched channel in Sydney.”  J. Power.  (TV Times responds:  Nine would maintain it is the most-watched channel in Sydney, notwithstanding the ads.)

“I think you should take off Search For Tomorrow, Days Of Our Lives, Superman and The Young Doctors and put more shows on like Scooby Doo.”  J. Coleman

“In the holidays and on weekends, there are too many adult shows.  Most cartoons are put on in the morning when everyone sleeps in.  On Tuesdays, The Love Boat is on when children go to bed and we don’t get to watch it.” P. Barker

“The worst thing about TV is the advertisements.  For example, if you watch a show for an hour, nearly a quarter of it is advertisements.” L. Kayrooz

What’s On (July 28-August 3):
John Farnham, Julie McKenna and Jimmy Hannan present ABC’s Saturday Special – The Magic Of Col Porter.

Sunday Spectrum (ABC, Sunday afternoon) includes a special on Greek-born singer Demis Roussos in Australia.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at one of Australia’s most famous symbols, the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  Host Peter Luck looks at the bridge’s origins, construction and controversial opening in 1932.

In Skyways (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), flight attendant Robyn’s (Judy Morris) attraction to her flatmate, Jacki (Deborah Coulls) leads to awkward results when she tries to seduce her.  Meanwhile, Peter Fanelli (Bill Stalker, pictured) becomes suspicious of a teenage girl in transit at Pacific International Airport.

One-Day Miller, the comedy spin-off from the Tickled Pink series, debuts on ABC on Friday night.  Starring Tony Llewellyn-Jones, Penne Hackforth-Jones, Lucky Grills and Willie Fennell.

Sunday night movies: Cat Ballou (HSV7), Five Days From Home (GTV9), The Offence (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 28 July 1979.  ABC/ACP