1992: May 31-June 6

Shaping up for motherhood!
Teenage star Rebekah Elmaloglou (pictured) was determined that her on-screen pregnancy in Home And Away would look as real as possible.  For almost nine months she wore bodysuits of various shapes and sizes as her character Sophie’s pregnancy progressed.  “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” she told TV Week.  “However, I haven’t felt very attractive – just fat and large.  But it was comfortable and looked quite real, so I got into the role with ease.  As Sophie got bigger, I had to make it look as though her situation was very awkward and extremely uncomfortable.” 

Michelle ‘fesses up!
Fast Forward’s street-wise couple Michelle (Magda Szubanski) and Ferret (Alan Pentland) give TV Week a few pointers on life on the streets.  “Well, firsta all, if youse lag on someone, ya dob ‘em in, ya become a dog,” Michelle says while the normally mute Ferret nods in agreement.  "And then rollin’ someone is muggin’ em, nod the head is pleadin’ guilty and ‘fess up is confess to the coppers on tape.”  Michelle also says that to look good is important.  “The jeans have to look like you’ve been born in ‘em and the hickeys are a fashion accessory, but more than two is in bad taste,” she says. 

Will Mike stop the clock?
60 Minutes reporter Mike Munro talks to TV Week about his plans to spend more time with the family and less time travelling the globe filing reports for the program.  “Things will definitely come to a head over the next couple of years,” he said.  “I’ve got two priorities in life – my family and 60 Minutes, in that order.  I’m happy at the moment, but eventually I will have to start spending a lot more time with the family.  I could even qualify as a house husband!  I’m pretty domesticated, a good cook, and I clean and iron and do all those sorts of things.”

On their blocks!
When the Seven Network successfully bid $40 million for the Australian television rights for the Barcelona Olympic Games, many high-profile media personalities from other networks fought for a place on Seven’s team.  One of those was Bruce McAvaney (pictured), who was unhappy at the financially-ailing Ten Network and saw the Games as a great reason to change camps.  Fortunately for him Seven agreed, but not everyone was successful in getting a spot on Seven’s team.  “We had calls from some extraordinary people,” Seven’s director of sport Gary Fenton told TV Week.  “I’m talking about technical and on-air people.  A lot wanted to be part of this were not considered good enough to be involved.”  The Seven Network is sending a team of 154 to Barcelona, including commentators and technical personnel – putting together what Seven claims is the largest offshore broadcast in the history of Australian TV.  However, Seven’s investment is minuscule when compared to the US network giant NBC which paid $401 million for the broadcast rights and is sending over a team of 3000.  Seven’s coverage will be fronted by McAvaney and Garry Wilkinson, while specialist commentators will include Ron Casey (boxing), John Bertrand (yachting), John Alexander (tennis), Neil Brooks (swimming) and Lindsay Gaze (basketball).  Seven’s on-air team for the Games also includes Sandy Roberts, Peter Landy, Drew Morphett, Peter Mitchell, Pat Welsh, Cameron Williams, Lisa Curry-Kenny, Dennis Cometti, Max Stevens, Edwina Gatenby, Ian Hyslop, Duncan Armstrong, Alexis Hamilton-Smith, Cathy Freeman, Steve Moneghetti, Andrew Gaze, Lisa Forrest, Peter Meares and Kim Watkins.  The Barcelona Olympic Games launch with the opening ceremony on 25 July.

Briefly…
The hot tip going around the industry is that A Current Affair host, TV Week Gold Logie winner Jana Wendt is keen to step away from the program and spend more time with her young son, Daniel.  She is also believed to be considering returning to university to do extra studies.  Midday host Ray Martin is tipped to take over Wendt’s role on A Current Affair with John Mangos taking over Martin’s spot on Midday.

Network Ten sports reporter Eddie McGuire (pictured) is confirmed as part of the line-up for new Melbourne radio station 3EE which is due to launch at the end of June.  McGuire will be hosting a Saturday morning show on the new station which fills the gap left by the closure of 3XY in September last year.

Former Home And Away star Julian McMahon has turned down a guest role in E Street. The former model is about to head off to the US, but E Street producers are still keen to pursue him for other roles in the future.

What’s Cooking co-host Colette Mann says that since the show launched a year ago she’s constantly being approached by the public when shopping.  “People will come up to me and say, ‘Shouldn’t you be somewhere else?’, meaning on TV,” she said.  “You want to scream at them, ‘No, the show’s taped!’.  Or they go, ‘What’s cooking, Colette?’, and they think they’re the first person in the world to think of it.  But I must say I’ve never had a bad reaction from people about the show.”  And when asked about her co-star, French-born chef Gabriel Gate, she says their unlikely on-screen partnership has benefited both of them.  “My cooking has improved a lot and his television has improved a lot!”

Let The Blood Run Free, the off-beat hospital comedy from the producers of The Comedy Company and featuring Jean Kittson and Peter Rowsthorn (pictured), is coming back for a second series.  Production is to resume at the Network Ten studios in Melbourne, although the network has yet to make a commitment to programming the series.  The first series, produced in 1990, was sold to 12 countries and was a hit in Germany and the Netherlands.

Lawrie Masterson: The View From Here
”The American sitcom Cheers has a chequered history in this country.  From memory, it started life here on Network Ten and was pushed around various timeslots until – like other US sitcoms such as Roseanne and Married… With Children – someone at Ten placed it in someone else’s too hard basket.  Since it became Nine Network property two or three years ago, Cheers has enjoyed increased success, while never setting the globe ablaze and while still having to cope with some buffeting around the program schedule.  In the US, of course, it’s been a different story.  The NBC sitcom regularly finishes in the five top-rating shows on the year and the nondescript little bar on Beacon Street in Boston, where the show is set, has become a national landmark.  After making its US debut in 1982 at a lowly number 77 in the ratings, Cheers climbed steadily until – by the time it celebrated its 200th episode about 18 months ago – it was number one.  Better late than never, the Nine Network will screen the special hour-long celebration episode this week.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne: May 31-June 6):
Sunday:  Seven crosses to Football Park, Adelaide, for live coverage of the afternoon AFL match between Adelaide Crows and North Melbourne.  Sunday night movies are Road House (Seven), I Love You To Death (Nine) and Aliens (Ten).

Monday:  Martin Jacobs, Geraldine Turner and Ben Oxenbould star in That Man’s Father, the final instalment of SBS’ Six Pack drama series.  In A Country Practice (Seven), Sergeant Newman (Jon Concannon) suspects young James Hutton (Ari Mattes) is a victim of incest.

Tuesday:  In All Together Now (Nine), Marcus (Lochie Daddo, pictured) a school friend of Thomas’ (Steven Jacobs) falls for Tracy (Rebecca Gibney).  In Chances (Nine), Sean Becker (Stephen Whittaker), an old friend of Alex’s (Jeremy Sims) arrives at the agency and sets his sights on Angela (Patsy Stephen).

Wednesday:   In Neighbours (Ten), Madge (Anne Charleston) makes a decision about Lou’s (Tom Oliver) marriage proposal.  Nine crosses to the Sydney Football Stadium for live coverage of the Rugby League State Of Origin match between NSW and Queensland.

Thursday:  Seven presents a one-hour special, Barcelona With Steve Vizard, exploring life in Barcelona today and its cultural history in the lead up to the city hosting the Olympic Games.  In Embassy (ABC), Terry Blake (Frankie J. Holden) applies for a promotion to a job in Canberra.

Friday:  Following Andrew Denton: Live And Sweaty, ABC presents the debut of a British game show with a difference – Sticky Moments With Julian Clary.

Saturday:  Network Ten launches a new children’s program, The Shorn Sheep Show, featuring Joy Smithers, a former MTV co-host and actress in the acclaimed mini-series Bangkok Hilton.  SBS current affairs program Dateline presents a special report to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Six-Day War, with Mike Carey reporting from Egypt, Israel and Jordan.

Source: TV Week (Melbourne edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  30 May 1992.  Southdown Press.

1992: March 15-21

Cover: John Stamos

Pregnant… then a pause
E Street character Sheridan Sturgess (Kate Raison, pictured lower right with co-star Marcus Graham) has been through a fair bit lately. She’s been hunted by a serial killer, menaced by him, locked up in prison and then becomes an escapee. Now she’s having a baby! The latest development is yet another twist in the saga involving Sheridan, Wheels (Graham) and “Mr Bad” (Vince Martin). “It isn’t, by any means, a planned pregnancy,” Raison told TV Week. “And it’s a very difficult thing for both the characters to come to terms with. Neither of them expected to become a mother or a father.” The pregnancy storyline marks the beginning of Raison’s planned departure from E Street. “I’m leaving, but there are a few more twists and turns to go yet,” she said.

Bligh: The mutiny continues!
The Seven Network’s popular sketch comedy series Fast Forward will be back this year but will be produced in a reduced capacity – two eight-episode blocks – as much of the cast will be focused on production of a new sitcom.  Bligh is set in 1807 and features Michael Veitch (pictured) as the beleaguered Governor of New South Wales, William Bligh.  Also starring in the series are Fast Forward regulars Magda Szubanski, Peter Moon, Marg Downey and Gina Riley as well as actor William McInnes and comedian Jimeoin.  And while the series is essentially a period comedy, it also satirises current-day issues.  The 13-part series is now in production but will not air until later in the year.

One of the masters
Award-winning Four Corners journalist Chris Masters (pictured) says there is nothing particularly glamorous about his line of work.   “It’s a particularly demoralising type of work,” he told TV Week.  “It’s not just the enormous amount of work.  When you think about proving the Queensland Police Force as corrupt, that’s something the Federal Police or the National Crime Authority couldn’t do.  It’s not fun work.  It’s not fun being reminded that your fellow man is a crook, or that you’re sticking your head down the corruption sewer all the time.  It gives you a rather bleak view of mankind.”  Masters has also documented the facts behind some of his TV scoops in a new book, Inside Story.  

Briefly…
Jeff Phillips (pictured), Seventies pop star and former host of talent quest Star Search, is making a shock return to television with a guest appearance in Nine’s steamy soap Chances.  “The Chances episode has some steamy scenes and it will attract a bit of interest… I’m sure I’ll get more attention than if I were doing a role on Neighbours or Home And Away!” 

Neighbours star Lorraine Bayly is set to return to the stage, starting rehearsals soon for the Australian premiere of the play Dear Liar.  Bayly will be starring alongside Lewis Fiander.  “I think Lewis is one of the finest actors this country has produced,” she told TV Week.  Although she only joined Neighbours late last year she will be making her final appearances on screen in May. 

Home And Away co-stars Debra Lawrance and Dennis Coard not only play husband and wife in the series, but are now married in real life following a hush-hush wedding in Sydney recently.  Although the pair engaged last year, their wedding was a surprise to everyone in the show.  “The first thing anyone knew about it was when they turned up on set on the Monday wearing wedding rings,” a Seven Network spokesperson said.

Lawrie Masterson: The View From Here
”’Did you see that debacle last night?’ a colleague asked, a hint of alarm in his voice as he bustled past my desk on some matutinal errand.  At that delicate stage of the morning, I had not even begun the task of kicking the dew off what remains of my mental processes.  Bear in mind that this was the morning after [a] South Africa had destroyed Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground; [b] the West Coast Eagles had almost recovered from a 50-point deficit against Geelong in an AFL pre-season competition match; [c] King Paul of Canberra had favoured us with his economic blueprint for our future well-being; and [d] the Channel Ten Eyewitness News had gone to air at five o’clock yet again. Later in the day my worst fears were confirmed – he was part of a majority and had been talking about the cricket and, to a lesser extent, the football.  King Paul’s decree didn’t create much of a ripple on the apathy meter, and the Channel Ten news… well, it had done about as well as Oprah Winfrey, shown mid-afternoon.  The greater percentage of people are busy at work then, too.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, March 15-21):
Sunday:  Nine crosses to Adelaide for all-day coverage of the Benson And Hedges World Cup cricket match between India and South Africa.  After the news, Nine presents a Burke’s Backyard special, Densey And Jim’s Close-Up On Wildlife, with Densey Clyne and Jim Frazier presenting a close-up view on Australian wildlife – this week observing the mating ritual of the rifle bird.  Sunday night movies are Overboard (Seven) The Untouchables (Nine) and Fletch Lives (Ten).  After the movie, Seven presents a one-hour special to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Film Victoria, hosted by Jennifer Keyte and movie host Ivan Hutchinson.

Monday:  In Mother And Son (ABC), a baby in the house is the last thing Arthur (Garry McDonald) expected when he arrives home from work.  He comes to the conclusion that the baby is the result of one of brother Robert’s (Henri Szeps) dalliances, leaving Robert guilt-ridden.

Tuesday:  Col’n Carpenter star Kim Gyngell guest stars in the series return of All Together Now (Nine).  In GP (ABC), Robert (John McTernan) has come to terms with his spinal tumour and enters hospital to have the operation.  In Beyond 2000 (Seven), reporter Tracey Curro (pictured) investigates the meaning of a cashless society.

Wednesday:  Andrew Denton presents a premiere special, The Money Or The Gun: The Brain (ABC), where he embarks on the ultimate travel documentary.  His destination?  The human brain… and madness!

Thursday:  Seven presents a repeat of special Graham Kennedy’s World Of Comedy – while Nine has a one-hour special, Sex, hosted by Sophie Lee (pictured).  The documentary looks at the issues of safe sex and the use of condoms, sex education, AIDS, homosexuality and pornography.

Friday:  ABC’s documentary series A Big Country reports on Roger Crosby, a truckie who has a fascination with the skies.  He asks himself all all the questions about the universe and comes up with some interesting answers.  In Neighbours (Ten), the police discover evidence which incriminates Pam (Sue Jones) into Garth’s (Roy Baldwin) death.  Later in the evening, Ten has a delayed telecast of the K Mart Australian Classic basketball, while ABC launches a new series of Andrew Denton: Live And Sweaty (pictured).

Saturday:  Nine crosses to Auckland, New Zealand, for the First-Semi Final of the Benson And Hedges World Cup cricket.  Seven’s coverage of the 1992 AFL season kicks off with highlights of the day’s matches followed by live coverage from the Gold Coast of the match between Brisbane and Carlton.  Ten has live coverage of the playoff for the first and second positions in the K Mart Classic basketball.

Source: TV Week (Melbourne edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  14 March 1992.  Southdown Press.

1991: November 23-29

Melissa’s shock exit!
E Street star Melissa Tkautz has made a sudden exit from the Network Ten soap, halfway through a three-year contract, after an apparent rift developed between herself and the show’s producers.  It is not known exactly what problems have arisen although it is suspected that Tkautz’s pop star commitments – such as preparing to tour with C&C Music Factory next month – have conflicted with her filming commitments to the series.  Producer Forrest Redlich told TV Week that “the official line is, ‘She’s leaving to pursue musical interests’.”  He also said that Tkautz’s pop career almost came about by accident as the pop songs were intended to promote the show and Tkautz was chosen from the show’s cast as the best match for the proposed first single, Read My Lips (“I thought it was too raunchy for Toni Pearen and too teeny-bopper for Alyssa-Jane Cook.”)  The debut single hit the top of the charts as did the follow up single, Sexy (Is The Word), and suddenly Tkautz has become a big pop star.  “She was a successful marketing exercise for us,” Redlich said.  “I don’t know if this will hurt the show.  She had fans.”  Tkautz’s sudden departure will see her character Nikki sent off to New Zealand.

New series woos John
John Waters is tipped for the lead role in a new weekly drama series to be filmed in Brisbane next year.  The new series, Darling And Partners, is to be set in a law firm and according to producer Phillip Bowman is hoped to demystify the process of law.  “It is not an expose of the Australian legal system,” Bowman told TV Week.  “Lawyers I have spoken to see this series as having positive potential.”  The pilot for Darling And Partners will begin filming early in 1992.

‘The worst year of my life…’
For Wheel Of Fortune’s Adriana Xenides it has been a traumatic year, with an increase in work commitments, being plagued by illness for months, and the breakdown of her two-year marriage.  She also became the target of a hate-mail campaign where an anonymous writer had contacted many media outlets, including TV Week, with some very personal details and her personal telephone number.  “Initially it hurt, but that didn’t last very long,” she told TV Week.  “When I thought about it, I felt very sorry for whoever took the time to write a note like that to the press.  I feel whoever did that must be a lonely person or terribly bored.”  Apart from the marriage breakdown, she was hit by a “mystery” illness which turned out to be a combination of glandular fever and viral pneumonia.  “I’ve had the worst year of my life with sickness,” she said.  “I usually have the odd cold or whatever, but I’ve never been this sick.”  The year has ended on a highlight, however, with her visit to Disney World as part of the international 20th anniversary celebration of Wheel Of Fortune. 

Briefly…
Live And Sweaty host Andrew Denton is to start work soon on a pilot for a proposed interview series for ABC.  With the working title One On One, it will feature Denton interviewing a single guest.  “(One On One) will either be one of the greatest moments in modern television or a complete failure,” he told TV Week.  Production is due to start next month.

Home And Away is set to end the year where the sudden return of Frank (Alex Papps) after the collapse of his marriage to Roo (Justine Clarke) sees him make a beeline for former wife Bobby (Nicolle Dickson), claiming that he is sorry that he divorced her and is still in love with her.

Fast Forward stars Glenn Robbins and Michael Veitch have been criticised for glamorising alcohol use with their “yuppie drunk” characters that appear in the sketch comedy show.  ABC’s Media Watch and the spokesman for the Drug Offensive campaign have slammed the sketches as trivialising alcohol abuse.  But Robbins has defended the sketches.  ”The drink gives them the confidence to say the things they want to say.  They are ‘blokes’ and they find it hard to do this otherwise.  It’s tragic that they need alcohol to be able to say these things,” he said.  “So we don’t believe it’s glamorising alcohol use at all… it’s showing the reality of a bad situation.”  Veitch also notes that it is significant that their characters fail in their romantic pursuits as a result of drinking.  “It’s obvious they are not attractive people,” he said.  “They talk to girls but they never get any.  They lead pretty sad lives.”

Alison Brahe, the host of Nine’s upcoming children’s quiz show Guess What?, has no intention of using her married name after she marries actor Cameron Daddo next month.  “We will have Seven, Nine and Ten covered by the Daddos so I’m just going to stick to Brahe,” she told TV Week.  “I don’t think television is ready for another Daddo just yet.”  Production on Guess What?, which will also feature Hey Hey It’s Saturday cartoonist Andrew Fyfe, will commence at the studios of NWS9 in Adelaide in January.

John Laws says…
”After the coarse humour of Married… With Children, the bitchery of The Golden Girls and the cloying cuteness of The Cosby Show, the consistent freshness and vitality of Australia’s Hey Dad! comes as a welcome relief.  So it’s nice to know that as the TV year grinds to a conclusion – leaving behind the usual clutch of falling stars and ratings bombs – Hey Dad! is comfortably maintaining its bright and appealing honest approach.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, November 23-29):
Saturday:  That’s Dancin’ (ABC) presents its series semi-final.  This week’s contestants on Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune (Seven) are Stuart Wagstaff, Rachael Beck and Maynard F. Sharp Crabbes.  The main event of the night is the first annual presentation of the Australian Music Awards (Ten), from Melbourne’s World Congress Centre, a three-hour celebration of Australian music with awards in 20 categories. The AMAs feature guests including John Farnham, Jimmy Barnes, Kate Ceberano, Grace Knight, Craig McLachlan, Jo Beth Taylor, Jack Jones, James Blundell, Melissa Tkautz, Johnny Diesel, Boom Crash Opera, Ratcat, David Reyne, Juno, Roxus, Indecent Obsession and Glenn Shorrock.

Sunday:  The beginning of the final week of official ratings surveys for the year sees the final editions of Wide World Of Sports (Nine), Sports Sunday (Nine) and 60 Minutes (Nine) for 1991.  Sunday night movies are The Presidio (Seven), National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Nine) and Out Of Africa (Ten) – while ABC presents the Australian Opera production of Puccini’s last opera, Turandot.

Monday:  Ten debuts a new children’s series, The Miraculous Mellops.  ABC presents a one-hour special, Sex, taking a comic approach to a serious topic in discussing questions and attitudes about sexual activity, safe sex and sexually-transmitted diseases amongst young adults.

Tuesday:  In the season final of A Country Practice (Seven), romance is in the air after Darcy (Kym Wilson) and Luke (Matt Day) get their HSC results.  And in the series final of All Together Now (Nine), while planning a traditional Christmas celebration the Rivers household is visited by a very pregnant woman and her husband (played by Maryanne Fahey and husband Ian McFadyen) on Christmas Eve who are stranded with no accommodation – a coincidence not lost on Bobby (Jon English).  The episode also features a guest appearance by Robert Grubb (The Flying Doctors).

Wednesday:  In the lead up to World AIDS Day, Ita Buttrose introduces the US special Common Threads – Stories From The Quilt (ABC), the story of five people who have died from AIDS.  Their names have been commemorated in five panels of an ever-growing quilt that now covers 14 acres.

Thursday:  Seven begins four days of coverage of the Australian Open golf, with commentators Sandy Roberts, Jack Newton and Pat Welsh.  Nine’s Midday With Ray Martin presents its final episode for 1991 with a two-hour special.  In The Flying Doctors (Nine), a bus load of Japanese tourists arrive in Coopers Crossing and the locals’ reaction varies from enthusiastic to racist.

Friday:  Nine’s daytime is dominated by the first day of the cricket First Test between Australia and India, live from the Gabba in Brisbane.  In the evening, Burke’s Backyard (Nine) presents its final edition for 1991.  Ten debuts US youth drama Beverly Hills 90210.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  23 November 1991.  Southdown Press

Obituary: Rex Mossop

Sydney football legend and former commentator Rex Mossop has died in a Sydney hospital at the age of 83.

The former rugby league and rugby union international forward had been admitted to hospital earlier this year with Alzheimer’s disease.  He was surrounded by family and friends when he died.

Although he retired from the sport in the early 1960s, Mossop maintained a high profile as a television commentator and presenter for Sydney channels ATN7 and TEN10 in the 1970s and 1980s.

Mossop also presented The Club Show for ATN7 in the 1970s and was a regular panellist on the 1990s sports-comedy show Andrew Denton: Live And Sweaty for ABC.

Source: ABC, NMA

1991: June 1-7

Hollywood comes down under!
It’s been three years in the making, but Hollywood comes to the Gold Coast this week with the opening of Warner Bros Movie World – and Nine Network programs Hey Hey It’s Saturday, Today and The Bugs Bunny Show will be presenting special episodes this week from the movie theme park.  Located 67 kilometres south of Brisbane Airport, Movie World has cost around $120 million to build and will employ around 400 staff.  Sophie Lee, Daryl Somers and Jo Bailey (pictured) visited the theme park to preview the opening for TV Week.

‘I was too nervous to read the script…’
Neighbours’ most controversial romance ever reaches crisis point this week.  With the rest of the Robinson family away for the weekend, daughter Lucy Robinson (Melissa Bell) and long-lost half-brother Glen Donnelly (Richard Huggett), who have long been fighting their feelings for each other, end up alone and a romantic dinner ends up in the bedroom.  “When I got the script I put it away and for weeks I didn’t touch it because I was just too nervous to look at it,” Bell told TV Week.  “I kept thinking, ‘I’ll have to be really careful with this’.” 

No news is good news
Seven’s Melbourne newsreader Jennifer Keyte (pictured) has been saying little to the media about her recently-ended romance with Sydney advertising identity Siimon Reynolds.  “Nice try,” she said to TV Week when questioned.  The newsreader is more enthusiastic at talking up the Melbourne-based Seven Nightly News which is enjoying ratings growth in the face of increased competition from Ten’s revamped one-hour bulletin with David Johnston and Jo Pearson.  “Our ratings are steadily improving as is our news service,” she said.  On suggestions that she may be leaving her post as newsreader on the late-night Tonight Live, Keyte says anything is possible.  “Sitting here now, I would probably say, ‘No, I won’t do a third year’, but who knows?”

Briefly…
A fifth series of popular comedy Mother And Son is scheduled to go into production in September for ABC.  Seven episodes will be made for the new series, which will again feature Ruth Cracknell, Garry McDonald, Henri Szeps and Judy Morris.  The new episodes are expected to go to air next year, while re-runs of earlier episodes are currently screening, to high ratings, on Network Ten.

John Waters and Jon English have been friends for 20 years, but this week the two are appearing together for the first time with Waters making a guest appearance in All Together Now, starring as Lochlan Burns, a member of Bobby Rivers’ (English) Seventies band Still Waters.

E Street star Malcolm Kennard has dropped a bombshell on the show’s producers by announcing he will be leaving the show.  His departure comes at a time when his character, Harley, is involved in an affair with the older Sheridan Sturgess (Kate Raison) and gets addicted to cocaine.  Kennard’s departure from the series comes just prior to the return of former series regular Marcus Graham, who will reprise his role as Wheels.

John Laws says…
”The rise and rise of Miss Sophie Lee (pictured) demonstrates that even in its present chronically-unsound economic condition, the TV industry still offers just about anyone the chance of being a “star”.  Miss Lee’s case is a classic example of what can happen if you’re in the right place at the right time – in her case landing the job of introducing Bugs Bunny cartoons on the Nine Network.  Now she not only continues to host The Bugs Bunny Show (whose bright idea was it to have a host, anyway!), she has become an actor, and is making her mark in the rock’n’roll music world.  She is satirised on Fast Forward.  She appears in The Flying Doctors, plays saxophone and does backing vocals for her band The Freaked Out Flower Children.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, June 1-7):
Saturday:  Hey Hey It’s Saturday (Nine) is presented live from Warner Bros Movie World on the Gold Coast.  Network Ten starts re-runs of a classic ABC drama, Patrol Boat, starring Andrew McFarlane and Robert Coleby.  ABC crosses to the Sydney Football Stadium for live coverage of The Big Match soccer match between the Socceroos and England.

Sunday:  Seven crosses to the Sydney Cricket Ground for live coverage of AFL, Sydney Swans versus Brisbane Bears, followed by highlights of the match between Footscray and Carlton.  Ten presents a half-hour special, Cry For Help: World Vision 40-Hour Famine, hosted by Greg Evans and Vince Sorrenti.  Sunday night movies are Hands Of A Murderer (Seven), Dead Ringers (Nine) and Dog Tags (Ten).

Monday:  Today (Nine) is presented live from Warner Bros Movie World to commemorate the official opening of the movie theme park.  In A Country Practice (Seven), Dr Harry Morrisson (Andrew Blackman) risks his life to operate on Lynda Shelley (Joy Miller), Terence Elliott’s (Shane Porteous) former lover.

Tuesday:  In Beyond 2000 (Seven), reporter Simon Reeve meets a French doctor using electricity to reduce the effects of cellulite, and Andrew Carroll reports on a Vegemite taste test in Tokyo.

Wednesday:  In Hey Dad! (Seven), Betty (Julie McGregor) decides to become a ventriloquist and enters the Lions Club talent quest.

Thursday:  Terry Serio (pictured), who portrayed Johnny O’Keefe in the mini-series Shout!, appears this week in ABC’s Embassy in a very different role – as a drug trafficker sentenced to death by firing squad in Ragaan.

Friday:  Rex Mossop, Debbie Spillane, Karen Tighe and Elle McFeast (Libbi Gorr) join Andrew Denton on ABC’s late-night sports-comedy show Andrew Denton: Live And Sweaty.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  1 June 1991.  Southdown Press

1991: April 13-19

‘I miss him very much’
A Country Practice star Georgie Parker (pictured) speaks to TV Week about the death of a close friend from AIDS and is angry at the myths, misunderstandings and misinformation surrounding the disease.  “We were very, very close and his work was magnificent,” she told TV Week of the friend, who she has asked not be named out of respect to his mother.  “He was always painfully thin, but always jolly – and he was a great raconteur.  He used to tell the most wonderful stories.  I miss him very much.”  But while AIDS can force couples to be brutally honest with each other, she is angry at the amount of ignorance about the disease.  “The education system here is supposed to be the best in the world when it comes to AIDS, but you still get enormous numbers of people who think you can contract it by sitting on the toilet.  Now, I think that’s criminal.  They (also) immediately connect AIDS with homosexuality, exclusively, which is a complete farce.”

New team set Sale
Glenn Ridge and Jo Bailey (pictured) have emerged as the new host and co-host of Nine’s Sale Of The Century following the sudden departure of Tony Barber and Alyce Platt from the program.  The new presenters, who only met for the first time when they attended TV Week’s photo shoot, are enthusiastic and confident about their new roles.  “It really is a huge credit to Nine and Grundys that they’ve selected us,” Ridge told TV Week.  “They could have gone for people who were already well known, so it was absolute shock when I found out I’d been selected.”  Ridge comes to Sale after a career in regional radio and television.  He had hosted a music show Breezin’ for Bendigo channel BCV8, and at Ballarat’s BTV6 he had hosted children’s and music shows including TV Week Logie winner Kids Only.  New co-host Bailey had only recently joined Sale Of The Century as a model and had no idea she was being considered as Platt’s replacement.  “When I auditioned, they didn’t tell me what it was for,” she said.

‘We’ll kick its teeth in!’
While Sale Of The Century’s new host and co-host are confident of success, their rival over at Seven, current affairs host Derryn Hinch is less confident of the show’s future.  “I don’t believe Sale will last long without Tony Barber… I really can’t see who could possibly replace him,” Hinch told TV Week.  “But I hope it’s still there at the end of the year because I think we’ll kick its teeth in.” 

Brave Sheila soldiers on
Veteran actress Sheila Florance (pictured) has not let her health battles, including three recent cancer operations, stop her making a return to TV as a special guest star on Ten’s Col’n Carpenter, marking her return to the Ten studios where she worked on Prisoner for several years.  “I’m looking forward to seeing if there is anyone left at Channel Ten,” she told TV Week.  “It was one of the saddest days when I left Prisoner because those crews with whom I worked, they were like my sons.”  The 74-year-old actress, with more than 60 years in showbusiness, has also just completed her first starring role in a film.  A Woman’s Tale, written for her by Paul Cox, tells the story of an elderly woman dying of cancer.  “There is nothing uncomfortable in this for me,” she told TV Week.  “This woman is me.  It’s absolutely honest.  Every day of filming was a delight.”

Briefly…
Former Neighbours star Jason Donovan, back in Australia to promote his new single I’m Doing Fine, has made a guest appearance as the enigmatic surfie “Craig Donovan” (pictured) in Fast Forward’s soapie send-up Dumb Street.  “The great thing about Fast Forward is that, even though I take my career seriously, at the end of the day we’re all there to have fun,” he said.

After only a few months on-air, Network Ten’s new game show Let’s Make A Deal is about to celebrate handing out $1 million in cash and prizes.  Comedian Vince Sorrenti has settled into his new role as game show host.  “The producers have always let me do what I wanted,” he told TV Week.  “After the learning process I am now starting to have some real fun.  I don’t see Let’s Make A Deal as a game show.  It is entertaining people who wouldn’t normally watch a game show.”

Actor Gary Sweet has admitted that many of his previous roles have been “limited”, but his new role as photojournalist Larry in the ABC mini-series Sign Of The Snake he says is his most interesting.  “Larry is a thoughtful, creative photographer who is economical in his speech,” he told TV Week.  “Because he is not talkative, you suspect there is something bubbling under the surface of Larry.”  Sign Of The Snake, which also stars Linda Cropper, Lily Chen and Bob Peck, is set in China during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.  Although it is set in China, most of the filming was completed in Sydney.  “There is no way we would be allowed to set foot in China,” he said.

John Laws says…
”It’s hard to know what to make of comedian Andrew Denton’s new Live And Sweaty series on ABC.  It’s aimed at extracting laughs from the world of sport and, like much of Denton’s previous efforts, it’s laced with satirical, over-the-top humour and razor-sharp asides.  In the first program, Denton kisses a woman’s toes and later announces he’ll collect celebrity sweat – a signal for guest Craig McLachlan to offer some from his underarm.  In the midst of all this mayhem, Live And Sweaty suddenly got serious and we saw reporter Debbie Spillane, sitting at a desk, reading a straight and serious “sports update”.  It was all a little confusing.”

Program Highlights (April 13-19):
Saturday:  Rick Astley, Jimmy Barnes, Choir Boys, Debbie Byrne and Tommy Emmanuel are guest stars in this week’s Hey Hey It’s Saturday (Nine). 

Sunday:  Seven’s afternoon of sport includes NBL, Westside Melbourne versus Brisbane Bullets, followed by Brisbane Bears versus Geelong in AFL and then motor racing with the Australian Touring Car Championship.  Sunday night movies are Planes Trains And Automobiles (Seven), The Untouchables (Nine) and Married To The Mob (Ten).

Monday:  Seven presents a two-hour telecast of the John Farnham Chain Reaction Concert, taken from his recent Australian tour.  The program is simulcast on radio station Triple M.

Tuesday:  Dr Nikki Tanner (Judy McIntosh) has fallen in love with Sean Bracey (Marcus Graham) in GP (ABC)… but she knows the affair is a disaster as the distraction is affecting her work and she fails to respond to a crisis call.  Bracey then invites her to go with him to Paris.

Wednesday:  ABC presents Frank Sinatra The Final Concert, recorded last month at the National Tennis Centre, Melbourne.  The concert also features Eydie Gorme, Steve Lawrence and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.  Seven presents the two-hour Comedy Festival Charity Gala from Melbourne’s Her Majesty’s Theatre, featuring Wendy Harmer, Richard Stubbs, Steve Vizard, Garry McDonald, Barry Humphries, Mark Mitchell, Ian McFadyen, Maryanne Fahey and Kim Gyngell with cast members of Fast Forward, the D Generation and Acropolis Now.  The comedy event is a fund-raiser for the Salvation Army.

Thursday:  In The Flying Doctors (Nine), Jackie Crane (Nikki Coghill) and Guy Reid (David Reyne) are involved in a sensitive dilemma when a young mother is diagnosed as terminally ill, but refuses to accept her illness because there is nobody to care for her daughter.  The episode features guest star Shane Connor.

Friday:  Seven crosses to Sydney for the live telecast of the AFL game between Sydney Swans and Essendon.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  13 April 1991.  Southdown Press

1991: March 16-22

Will Daryl grab the Gold again?
The host of the 33rd annual TV Week Logie Awards, Daryl Somers, has never forgotten the night he won his first TV Week Gold Logie.  “It was in 1983.  After the show I went upstairs  at the hotel and had a few drinks  with Graham Kennedy and Bert Newton,” he told TV Week.  “I was obviously pretty happy and we had a long night chatting away, as I discovered when I left the session with them and saw that it was starting to get light outside.  And there was the limo.  It was still waiting for me!  I’d forgotten to send him home.  So I got in and went straight to work, because in those days we did Hey Hey It’s Saturday from eight on Saturday mornings.  We started the show with a bed on set, and I got in, still in my dinner suit, with the Gold Logie and a big grin.”  Somers is one of the four nominees for the Gold Logie for most popular television personality in the year 1990.

TV Week Logie Awards nominations (Publicly voted categories):
Gold Logie: Ray Martin, Daryl Somers, Jana Wendt, Steve Vizard (Previous year’s winner: Craig McLachlan)

Most Popular Actor: Richard Huggett, Tony Martin, Craig McLachlan, Shane Porteous.  (Previous year’s winner: Craig McLachlan)

Most Popular Actress: Penny Cook, Nicolle Dickson, Georgie Parker, Lenore Smith  (Previous year’s winner: Rachel Friend)

Most Popular Series:  A Country Practice, E Street (pictured), Home And Away, Neighbours  (Previous year’s winner: Neighbours)

Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy Program:  Fast Forward, Hey Dad!, Hey Hey It’s Saturday  (Previous year’s winner:  The Comedy Company)

Most Popular Sports Coverage:  Commonwealth Games, Cricket, Tennis  (Previous year’s winner: Cricket)

Most Popular Telemovie or Mini-Series:  Come In Spinner, Jackaroo (pictured), Shadows Of The Heart  (Previous year’s winner: Bangkok Hilton)

Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy Male Personality:  Kim Gyngell, Daryl Somers, Steve Vizard (New category)

Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy Female Personality:  Jean Kittson, Julie McGregor, Magda Szubanski (New category)

Most Popular Public Affairs Program: A Current Affair, Hinch, 60 Minutes  (Previous year’s winner: A Current Affair)

Most Popular Children’s Program:  Cartoon Connection, Double Dare, Play School  (Previous year’s winner: Wombat)

Most Popular New Talent:  Rebekah Elmaloglou, Sophie Heathcote, Richard Huggett, Sophie Lee (pictured).  (Previous year’s winner: Georgie Parker)

Other public-voted awards: Most Popular Music Video, Most Popular Actor and Actress in a Telemovie or Mini-series, Most Popular Program (for each state) and Most Popular Personality (for each state).

200 up… and there’s dancing in the street!
The recent murder of four characters – and the suicide of another – still torments the mind of E Street producer Forrest Redlich (pictured).  “I am sorry.  But I had to kill them,” he says.  But Redlich is more upbeat about E Street reaching its 200 episode milestone this week – a significant achievement given that few were willing to give the show a chance.  And when the show was faced with budget cuts, the critics thought that E Street would just fade away, but it is now a ratings hit for the Ten Network.  “We have a lot to thank for the commitment and loyalty of the fans.  For them, it seems one of the dramatic highlights was the bathtub scene with Wheels (Marcus Graham) and Lisa (Alyssa-Jane Cook).  We still get letters about it.  But it has been satisfying for me to know that E Street has given a start to a whole lot of untried actors such as Marcus, Richard Huggett, Alyssa-Jane and Paul Kelman.  It’s funny to remember them as shy young people no-one had heard of and now see them as major players in television drama.”

Tania eyes a sitcom
Comedienne Tania Lacy (pictured) is anxiously waiting the go-ahead from the Nine Network for a Denise Drysdale sitcom in which she would co-star.  Lacy, formerly of ABC programs The Factory and Countdown Revolution, returned from a three-month stint in London to do a “read through” for Nine executives.  The proposed series is also set to star Drysdale along with Noeline Brown and Hazel Phillips. 

Briefly…
In-demand actress Naomi Watts is joining the cast of Home And Away, playing the role of paraplegic Julie Gibson.  In preparing for the role, Watts spent weeks before joining the series confined to a wheelchair.  Watts will also soon be appearing in the ABC mini-series Brides Of Christ.

Neighbours star Beth Buchanan has decided to leave the series when her contract expires in June.  She is keen to travel overseas and is also believed to be pursuing a movie role.

Former E Street star Marcus Graham (pictured), currently appearing in Seven’s Ratbag Hero, could be returning to the Network Ten series.  The actor is in negotiations with producers over reprising his “Wheels” character.  And rumours that he could be taking on a guest role in Chances – after playing the role of scheming Alex in the pilot – have been denied.

ABC mini-series The Paper Man has been making its mark on the international market.  The series has so far been sold to Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Singapore, Poland, Greece, Cyprus, Thailand, Turkey, Bulgaria, Namibia, Malta, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Jordan, Israel, Bahrain and Iceland.  Most significantly, the series has been sold to the American Arts & Entertainment cable network, Canada’s CTV and Britain’s Granada International.

John Laws says…
”Police Rescue (featuring Sonia Todd and Gary Sweet, pictured) is what Australian TV has been a long time in creating – a realistic, drama-packed production with a first-class script and excellent performances from a fine cast.  I thought the original pilot episode, where members of the squad searched for a little boy lost in Sydney’s massive underground sewer complex, was excellent.”

Program Highlights (March 16-22):
Saturday:  Seven presents the Grand Final of the AFL pre-season Foster’s Cup, live from AFL Park, Waverley.

Sunday:  ABC debuts a new Sunday morning children’s program, Couch Potato With Grant Piro.  Afternoon sport includes the NBL K-Mart Classic (Seven) and live coverage of the Gold Coast Indy Grand Prix (Nine).  Seven presents the second and final part of mini-series Ratbag Hero.  Sunday night movies are Perry Mason: Case Of The Musical Murder (Seven), Minnamurra (Nine) and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Ten).  ABC’s late-night religious series Compass presents A Question Of Sex, a documentary about transsexuals.

Tuesday:  In Beyond 2000 (Seven), Andrew Carroll tests a navigation system that works out the shortest, fastest route to take when driving and which also helps with safe driving – and Amanda Keller finds out the real reason why women feel the affects of alcohol faster than men.

Wednesday/Thursday:  Australia’s Tom Burlinson stars in the mini-series Piece Of Cake (Seven), the story of 12 young RAF fighter pilots during the first year of World War II.

Friday:  AFL’s Season 1991 starts with Adelaide versus Hawthorn, live on Seven from Football Park, Adelaide.  Andrew Denton’s new late-night sports chat show Live And Sweaty debuts on ABC.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  16 March 1991.  Southdown Press.