1991: September 21-27

The great Coopers Crossing reunion!
This week’s episode of The Flying Doctors (Nine) features a reunion of past and present cast members as the town of Coopers Crossing, the fictional setting of the series, hosts a party to break the gloom of the recession.  Some of the show’s most popular former stars, including Rebecca Gibney, Andrew McFarlane, Liz Burch and George Kapiniaris, have made a return for the special event.  “I’ve been hoping for a long time this would happen,” Gibney told TV Week.  “You form some great relationships with people when you work on a show like The Flying Doctors.”  Kapiniaris, who played radio operator DJ in the series, is excited about the reunion storyline – with DJ returning to Coopers Crossing somewhat wiser and wealthier after working overseas.  “It’s the best episode DJ ever had,” he told TV Week.  “The problem is that some people who don’t know him take him the wrong way, with some interesting consequences!”

Stormy Waters!
Actor John Waters (pictured) stars in Network Ten’s new mini-series Which Way Home which debuts this week.  Which Way Home is about American nurse Karen Parsons (Cybill Shepherd), who sets out with a small band of orphan children from a Thai refugee camp during the Cambodian conflict to find freedom in Australia.  Waters plays Steve Hannah, an Australian charter boat captain who becomes a reluctant hero when he helps Karen and the children through their horrendous journey.  So did Waters find it daunting working with such a high-profiled actress?  “I don’t think so,” he says.  “I’ve always found that once you get on the set, however many magazines you may have been in, or whatever your salary might be – and how much bigger than mine – it all comes down to doing the same thing.”  He is also impressed by the team of Thai youngsters who played the orphans.  “Some of the kids had actually been through boat-people experiences,” Waters said.  “When you mention you’ve done a film with seven kids, some people say, ‘That must have been a nightmare’, but we were lucky.  These kids were very forgiving of the demands made of them.”  He also said that he has remained friends with the young cast members and they continue to stay in contact. Which Way Home is produced by Hal McElroy (Picnic At Hanging Rock, Return To Eden) and also stars Peta Toppano, John Ewart, Marc Gray, Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Andy Tran.

Good-news Gordon
When former Good Morning Australia host Gordon Elliott (pictured) left Australian television four years ago, he had no idea of the impending industry blood-spilling he was escaping from.  “I’m really lucky,” he told TV Week.  “Many of my friends got a bad deal out of the television upheaval in Australia.”  But despite the still-difficult state of the industry here, Elliott has returned to Australian TV as the host of Network Ten’s Hard Copy – although he is presenting it from Los Angeles.  He is also juggling his Hard Copy commitments in LA with his regular hosting of Good Day, New York, which he does three days a week.  The original US version of Hard Copy, a success for Rupert Murdoch’s Fox network, is a spin-off from the American version of A Current Affair, which Elliott was a reporter for.  And Elliott points out that Hard Copy was actually developed by an Australian, Peter Brennan, and was in part inspired by the original Willesee current affairs shows of the 1970s.  “Brennan developed it from there, and gave it more punch,” Elliott said.

Briefly…
TV Week columnist and Hey Hey It’s Saturday presenter Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum (pictured) has triggered an investigation by the FBI in the United States over a possible video piracy case.  “I was at a record bar in LA checking things out when I saw this tape labelled The Interview Series: Madonna,” he said.  “It was one I hadn’t heard of before and, being such a fan, I paid $26 for it and took it back to my hotel.  I put it in the VCR – and there was me!  The bulk of the tape was from two interviews I did with Madonna, plus stuff from Spanish and Japanese television and the American Today show.  I was stunned.”  Meldrum then contacted Madonna’s management company.  “They were amazed – and furious,” he said.  “Now they’ve got the FBI in on it, to track the bootleggers down.”

TV Week, in association with Coca-Cola and MCM Entertainment, has announced plans to stage an annual Australian Music Awards.  The inaugural AMAs are to be held at Melbourne’s Congress Centre in November and televised to a national audience.  The awards will be decided by the public – via voting coupons to be published in TV Week, giving readers more than 20 categories to decide Australia’s most popular artists, records and videos.

The ABC and the cast of Brides Of Christ have been celebrating the show’s recent ratings success.  The series, a co-production between ABC and Roadshow, Coote and Carroll, has received the ABC’s highest ever ratings for a non-sports telecast.

Melbourne radio announcer Barry Bissell, celebrating ten years at Fox FM this month, admits that he has no ambitions to move into television.  “I once did a TV pilot.  It was like a Casey Kasem countdown, and it was one of the worst experiences of my life.  TV doesn’t interest me,” he said.

John Laws says…
”Not even the most kindly disposed critic could describe the acting in soapies as memorable and, of course, no-one expects it to be, given the demands placed upon the actors – many of them inexperienced – to churn out so many hours of drama each week.  Fine acting, though, can be found in some of the big-budget drama series, Nicole Kidman’s performance in Bangkok Hilton, Terry Gill’s crooked cop in Police Crop, Peter Strauss’ alcoholic psychiatrist in Tender Is The Night, and the late Ray McAnally’s left-wing Prime Minister in A Very British Coup.  The performance, however, that ranks as the most electrifying for a long time has been that of Lisa Hensley as the young nun Veronica (pictured) in the ABC’s splendid Brides Of Christ series.  It was a performance of depth, intelligence and humour from a young actress who I can’t recall seeing much of before, but who I am sure will be featuring in a great deal more on TV in years to come.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, September 21-27):
Saturday:  Seven presents highlights of today’s AFL Preliminary Final – then Larry Emdur (pictured), Teresa Linnane and Gerry Connolly are this week’s contestants on Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune.  The Bayswater Roller Dancers are special guests on this week’s That’s Dancin’ (ABC).

Sunday:  Ten crosses to the Sydney Football Stadium this afternoon for the Grand Final of the NSW Rugby League Winfield Cup, with commentators Graeme Hughes, Bill Anderson and Wayne Pearce.  ABC presents live coverage of the VFA Grand Final from Princes Park, and Seven leads into the news with a two-hour special, That Was The Season That Was, reviewing the 1991 AFL season in the lead-up to the Grand Final next Saturday.  Sunday night movies are Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (Seven) and Chances Are (Nine) up against the debut of two-part mini-series Which Way Home (Ten).

Monday:  In A Country Practice (Seven), the developing relationship between Terence Elliott (Shane Porteous) and Lizzy Walker (Joanne Hunt) is threatened when her criminal boyfriend arrives in Wandin Valley.  Seven then crosses to the Southern Cross Hotel, Melbourne, for the annual presentation of the Brownlow Medal to the league’s best and fairest player.

Tuesday: Beyond 2000 (Seven) presents a report on an ambitious American attempt at environmental restoration by rebuilding a river.  In All Together Now (Nine), Bobby (Jon English) and Doug (Garry Who) are convinced Count Dracula is their new next door neighbour.

Wednesday:  In Neighbours (Ten), Ramsay Street is rocked by a tragic shooting.  In E Street (Ten), Sheridan (Kate Raison) makes a shocking discovery.

Thursday:  It’s the reunion episode of The Flying Doctors (Nine) with former residents of Coopers Crossing make a return visit to boost morale in the town due to the recession – including guest appearances by Andrew McFarlane, Liz Burch, Rebecca Gibney, Terry Gill, Bruce Barry and George Kapiniaris.  ABC presents a repeat screening of Andrew Denton’s chat-comedy show The Money Or The Gun.

Friday:  Performer Rhonda Burchmore is this week’s guest on Burke’s Backyard (Nine).  Just before midnight, Seven launches its annual Football Marathon, presenting six hours of memorable moments from the past 25 years of Australian Rules football, including past finals and grand finals.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  21 September 1991.  Southdown Press

1991: July 6-12

Cover: Kevin Costner

‘Butterfly’ takes off again
The Seven Network has announced production for a further sixteen episodes of Butterfly Island.  The series, starring Grigor Taylor and Penne Hackforth-Jones, first appeared on ABC in 1984 with a follow up series produced by Seven in 1986, although the later series did not appear on Seven until last year.  Taylor plays the part of Charlie Wilson, a widower who runs a struggling tourist resort.

Look who’s back in town!
Some former favourites from Nine’s The Flying Doctors have been reunited for a special episode.  Former cast members Andrew McFarlane, Liz Burch, Rebecca Gibney and George Kapiniaris are returning in an upcoming episode.  The town of Coopers Crossing has been hit hard by the recession and to help boosts its spirits hosts a street party, with some of the town’s former residents attending.  The episode went into production this week and will go to air in September.

‘Girls want me for my money!’
At the mere age of eight, Matthew Krok is trying to come to grips with his rise to fame.  Having featured in 16 television commercials since last year, Krok went on to a guest appearance in A Country Practice before taking on the role of Arthur McArthur in Hey Dad! and has just finished his first feature film role in Eight Ball.  But the young star doesn’t quite understand the fuss that tends to surround him.  “I don’t think I’m any different to anyone else,” he told TV Week.  And while his Hey Dad! character is having a crush on Sam (Rachael Beck), the young actor has no romantic aspirations just yet.  “I’m not interested in girls,” he insists.  “They’re interested in me.  A girl at my school wants to marry me because of my money, but I said, ‘No way!’.”

Briefly…
Former The Young Doctors and Cop Shop star Lynda Stoner is returning to television with a guest role in Nine’s Chances, playing the part of nurse Dee Dee Nelson, hired to care for Jack Taylor (Tim Robertson) and help him recover from a stroke, including sex therapy!

Felicity Soper, best known as policewoman Susan Miller in the former Network Ten series Richmond Hill, has scored a role in a new Seven Network mini-series, Good Vibrations.  Also appearing in the series will be Genevieve Picot, Stephen Whittaker, Jeffrey Walker, David Hoflin and former Neighbours star Sasha Close.

Fast Forward star Geoff Brooks says that his character of Bruce Rump isn’t directly based on real-life RSL stalwart Bruce Ruxton, but that they are on the same wavelength.  “At about the same time I said, ‘The Reds aren’t under the bed, they’re in the bed’, Bruce was quoted by a paper saying the same thing,” Brooks told TV Week.  “Rump is actually a composite of a lot of people.  People like Sir Henry Bolte, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Bruce and my dad – people who see things in black and white.”

John Laws says…
”Bangkok Hilton set out to be dramatic, exciting and emotion-packed, and it achieved it all.  Not much subtlety, of course, just straightforward, honest to goodness shock-horror stuff – lots of anguish howls, impassioned pleas from our heroine and lots of nasty bad guys.  Bangkok Hilton, as we know, was a ratings knockout the first time around and, as expected, did very well the second time, too.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, July 6-12):
Saturday: SBS presents a special edition of current affairs program Dateline, where reporter Mike Carey has just returned with a film crew after two weeks in disaster-torn Bangladesh, where more than 150,000 people died in recent cyclones.

Sunday:  Sunday night movies are Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Seven), She-Devil (Nine) and My Stepmother Is An Alien (Ten).  Nine then crosses to Wimbledon for live coverage of the Men’s Singles Final.

Monday:  In A Country Practice (Seven), Luke (Matt Day) helps Steve (Sophie Heathcote) plan for an overseas trip, while a hospital health check reveals one of the nurses proves HIV positive.

Tuesday:  In Neighbours (Ten), Jim (Alan Dale) is afraid that something is still going on between half-siblings Glen (Richard Huggett, pictured) and Lucy (Melissa Bell).  Robert Mammone guest stars in GP’s 100th episode.

Wednesday:  Bruce Spence, Hugo Weaving and American actress Rosanna Arquette star in the Australian-made telemovie Wendy Cracked A Walnut (ABC), telling the story of a housewife who yearns for the romance and passion she finds in pulp novels.

Thursday:  John Polson guest stars in The Flying Doctors (Nine).  In Hampton Court (Seven), an astronomical electricity bill means desperate measures are called for.

Friday:  In Neighbours (Ten), Helen (Anne Haddy) gives Michael (Brian Blain) her answer to his marriage proposal.  In ABC’s documentary series A Big Country, a restaurant owner’s Chinese family in Bendigo recount their experiences in a country town since the war.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  6 July 1991.  Southdown Press

1991: June 15-21

‘I’m still a country bumpkin’
As the saying goes, you can take new Hey Dad! star Rachael Beck (pictured) out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of Rachael Beck.  The 19-year-old actress, who started her career in the musical Cats at 16, says that despite the bright lights of showbusiness she is still a country girl.  “I am still a country bumpkin at heart,” she told TV Week.  “My parents are back in the country now and it’s wonderful to go and home and visit them and a lot of my friends who are still living there.”  Beck has also chosen to debut her new one-woman show, based on the early career of Judy Garland, on the NSW north coast.

Designing woman!
During the 1970s and early ‘80s, Susan Hannaford (pictured) was better known to viewers as Kitty Sullivan, the youngest member of The Sullivans.  After the show ended, Hannaford moved into the fashion industry and set up a thriving career in design while maintaining ties to acting.  When she was approached to design clothes for the US soap The Bold And The Beautiful she ended up appearing on the show, as herself, for around 18 months.  She is currently back in Australia for a guest appearance, again as herself, in the Nine Network series Chances.  “Chances was a fun little script and I had great fun doing it.  It really felt comfortable,” she told TV Week.  “It’s fun coming back to the Nine studios and seeing people I had worked with on The Sullivans.”  One of those people was former The Sullivans co-star Michael Caton, who plays Bill Anderson in Chances.

A bid to aid the world’s starving
The stars of Australian showbusiness will be doing their bit to help raise funds for the World Vision 40-hour famine to be held this week.  Stars including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Craig McLachlan, Paul Hogan, Rebecca Gibney, Marina Prior, Steve Vizard, Jana Wendt, John Farnham and cast members of Neighbours, The Flying Doctors and Fast Forward will be contributing items of personal memorabilia to be auctioned off over the weekend.  The auctions will be broadcast through the entire weekend on radio stations TTFM in Melbourne and 2UW in Sydney.  Craig McLachlan has donated his first guitar to the auction, while Marina Prior has donated the ballet slippers she wore on the opening night of Phantom Of The Opera in Melbourne.  Steve Vizard and Ray Martin (pictured, with Midday reporter Rachel Friend) have donated merchandise from their respective shows.  Glenn Robbins has donated clothes worn by his one-time alter-ego Uncle Arthur. 

Briefly…
Newsreader Jo Pearson is back at Network Ten, reading Melbourne’s Ten Eyewitness News again with David Johnston, and has spoken to TV Week about the three years she spent at Nine, which included hosting short-lived programs Live At Five and Body And Soul.  “In hindsight you could say it was a mistake for me to go, but at the time I went with promise and expectation of a new career,” she said.  “I think I had a lot of bad luck.  There were political and geographical differences that made it extremely difficult for me and the shows.”

Victor and Sveta (Peter Moon and Jane Turner), those groovy hosts of Fast Forward’s “Good Morning Moscow” are about to hit the charts with a double A-side release featuring Tutti Frutti (I Want A Rutti) and the Soviet rap, The Soviet Bloc.  Proceeds from the sale of the record will aid children of the Chernobyl disaster. 

Tessa Humphries, daughter of comedian Barry Humphries, is returning home to Australia after several years in the UK.  Having starred in London’s West End and in the UK soap Families, Humphries is back home for a guest role in GP… and is keen to stay in Australia if there is the opportunity for more work.  “It is very important for me to work in Australia,” she told TV Week.  “After all, it is my home.”

John Laws says…
”Often it’s the really off-beat, and sometimes silliest, ideas that translate into the best TV programs, be they drama or light entertainment.  Soccer star Craig Johnston’s The Main Event (hosted by Larry Emdur, pictured) is an example.  It’s a pretty wacky format – celebrities playing a quiz game on behalf of various families out there in suburbia – but the ratings have been promising, which is further proof of the theory that in a recession the viewing public demands “fun” entertainment on a grand scale."

Program Highlights (Melbourne, June 15-21):
Saturday:  SBS crosses live to Portugal for the match between Australia and Trinidad and Tobago in the FIFA World Youth Cup.

Sunday:  Sunday night movies are Police Academy IV: City Under Siege (Nine) and Manhunter (Ten).  Seven debuts mini-series Love Lies And Murder, which concludes Monday night.  Later, Nine crosses live to Madrid for the 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix.

Monday:  In Neighbours (Ten), the future of Paul (Stefan Dennis) and Christina’s (Gillian Blakeney) unborn baby is under serious threat after Christina collapses while out shopping.

Tuesday:  In Beyond 2000 (Seven), Amanda Keller reports on a breakthrough diagnosis for one of Asia’s most crippling diseases, while Dr John D’Arcy introduces a device capable of projecting three-dimensional objects on to a wall.  In Chances (Nine), Alex (Jeremy Sims) is shocked when he learns the true identity of his father and aims to punish the entire family.

Wednesday:  SBS makes an early-morning cross to Portugal for Australia versus USSR in the FIFA World Youth Cup.  Ten begins a re-run of the two-part 1989 mini-series Bangkok Hilton, starring Nicole Kidman, Denholm Elliott, Judy Morris, Hugo Weaving and Joy Smithers.

Thursday:  Judy Banks guest stars in The Flying Doctors (Nine).  Nine presents the heavily-censored ‘modified TV version’ network premiere of 1972 movie Deliverance.  SBS presents live coverage of Australia versus Egypt in the FIFA World Youth Cup.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  15 June 1991.  Southdown Press

1990: March 17-23

Gold, silver… and a touch of brass!
The 32nd annual TV Week Logie Awards, held at Melbourne’s Hyatt On Collins, honoured the most popular and outstanding achievements of Australian TV in 1989.  Hosted by Mark Mitchell, the presentation was attended by overseas guests John Travolta, Ernest Borgnine, Pauline Collins and John Alderton, with Australian actress Sigrid Thornton, currently based on the US, also a special guest.  Also present on the night was the ever-glamorous Dame Edna Everage and a special appearance by jazz musician James Morrison.  The official proceedings of the night culminated with Travolta handing out the TV Week Gold Logie to former Neighbours star Craig McLachlan as Most Popular Personality on Australian TV.  McLachlan, now starring in rival soap Home And Away, also took away a Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor, and his partner Rachel Friend won the Silver Logie for Most Popular Actress.

TV Week Logie Winners 1990: Publicly-voted categories
Gold Logie – Most Popular Personality On Australian TV: Craig McLachlan
Silver Logie – Most Popular Actor On Australian TV: Craig McLachlan
Silver Logie – Most Popular Actress On Australian TV: Rachel Friend
Most Popular Series: Neighbours
Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy Program: The Comedy Company
Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy Personality: Daryl Somers
Most Popular Sports Coverage: Cricket (Nine Network)
Most Popular Telemovie/Mini-Series: Bangkok Hilton
Most Popular Actor In A Telemovie/Mini-Series: Jason Donovan
Most Popular Actress In A Telemovie/Mini-Series: Nicole Kidman
Most Popular Lifestyle Information Program: Burke’s Backyard
Most Popular Music Video: Never Too Late (Kylie Minogue)
Most Popular Children’s Program: Wombat
Most Popular New Talent: Georgie Parker
Most Popular Public Affairs Program: A Current Affair

TV Week Logie Winners 1990: Industry-voted categories
Gold Logie – Hall of Fame: Johnny Young
Most Outstanding Actor: Shane Porteous
Most Outstanding Actress: Nicole Kidman
Most Outstanding Achievement In Public Affairs: True Believers (4 Corners)
Most Outstanding Achievement In News: Romanian Revolution (Nine Network)
Most Outstanding Single Documentary Or Series: Ladies In Lines (ABC)
Most Outstanding Achievement By Regional Television: My Place, My Land, My People (QTV, Townsville, QLD)

TV Week Logie Winners 1990: State-based categories (Most Popular Personality, Most Popular Program)
New South Wales: Ray Martin, Home And Away
Victoria: Daryl Somers, Neighbours
Queensland: Jill Ray, Wombat
South Australia: Anne Wills, Wheel Of Fortune
Western Australia: Rick Ardon, Seven Nightly News
Tasmania: Bert Taylor, Taylor’s Australia

Briefly…
There’s wedding bells for several of the team from Seven’s Acropolis Now – with producer Pino Amenta now engaged to make-up artist Amanda Rowbottom, Simon Palomares engaged to co-star Tracey Callander, and George Kapiniaris engaged to make-up artist Peta Hastings.  Pictured on stage at the recent TV Week Logie Awards are Nick Giannopoulos, Simon Palomares and George Kapiniaris.

Swimming champion Lisa Curry has become the first Australian woman to host a sports show, joining Mark Warren on the Nine Network’s Sports Sunday.

Dozens of celebrities from around Australia, including showbusiness names and sports stars, have gathered at the South Melbourne Cricket Ground for the annual Variety Club Celebrity Thrill, including Aussie rules handball contests, basketball, golf putting, croquet and a tug of war.  The event, now in its sixth year, was attended by thousands of fans with proceeds going to the Variety Club program for underprivileged children.

John Laws says…
”Comedienne Gretel Killeen showed a measure of courage unusual in the TV industry when she decided to leave Nine’s Coast To Coast after only two weeks as a co-presenter.  Or was it that she saw, with alarming clarity, the writing on the wall and decided to quit before she copped at least some of the blame for a TV Titanic?  The ratings and the press criticisms should force Nine to the realisation that Coast To Coast was no more than a clever comedy vehicle for Graham Kennedy, and that without him the program is extremely vulnerable, particularly in the face of Steve Vizard’s rapidly-improving Tonight Live on Seven.  What Coast To Coast needs, perhaps, is someone like Kerri-Anne Kennerley, a TV trouper who knows how to smile, how to laugh, and how to crack a funny ad-lib gag.”

Program Highlights (March 17-23):
Saturday:  ABC presents live coverage of Day 3 of the Trans-Tasman Test, Australia versus New Zealand, from Wellington, New Zealand.  In the evening, HSV7 presents live coverage of the Fosters Cup Grand Final.
Sunday:  ABC has live coverage of Day 4 of the Trans-Tasman Test, live from New Zealand, while GTV9 crosses live to Adelaide for the FAI Cup, South Australia versus New South Wales.  Sunday night movies are Lethal Weapon (GTV9) and Mask (ATV10).  HSV7 presents Part One of the mini-series All The Rivers Run II, starring John Waters (pictured), Nikki Coghill, Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell, Peta Toppano and American actor Parker Stevenson.
Monday:  HSV7 presents the second and final part of All The Rivers Run II, while ABC presents the debut of Wendy Harmer’s new talk show, In Harmer’s Way.
Wednesday:  ABC presents the controversial telemovie, Police Crop, recreating the events that led to the assassination of Assistant Commissioner Colin Winchester.
Friday:  Dorothy’s (Maggie Dence) arrival in Neighbours causes problems for Joe (Mark Little), while Jim (Alan Dale) tries to come to terms with the return of Beverley’s (Shauna O’Grady) old flame.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  
17 March 1990. Southdown Press.

1990: March 10-16

Logies 1990: Who’ll grab the glittering prize?
Last year’s TV Week Gold Logie winner Daryl Somers has been nominated for the 1990 TV Week Gold Logie, but has some tough competition – Nine Network colleagues Jana Wendt (A Current Affair) and Ray Martin (Midday), and soapie heart-throb Craig McLachlan (Neighbours).  Somers has already won three TV Week Gold Logies (1983, 1986, 1989) and another Gold will almost rank him with as many Gold Logie wins as predecessors Graham Kennedy (five Gold Logies) and Bert Newton (four Gold Logies and a Hall of Fame Award).

TV Week Logie Awards nominations (Publicly voted categories):
Gold Logie: Ray Martin, Daryl Somers, Jana Wendt, Craig McLachlan.
Most Popular Actor: Andrew McFarlane, Shane Porteous, John Tarrant, Craig McLachlan
Most Popular Actress: Nicolle Dickson, Rachel Friend, Dannii Minogue, Georgie Parker
Most Popular Series: A Country Practice, The Flying Doctors, Home And Away, Neighbours
Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy Program: The Comedy Company, Fast Forward, Hey Hey It’s Saturday, Hey Dad!
Most Popular Sports Coverage: Cricket, Grand Prix, Tennis
Most Popular Telemovie or Mini-Series: Bangkok Hilton, Fields Of Fire III, The Heroes, The Magistrate
Most Popular Public Affairs Program: A Current Affair, Hinch, 60 Minutes
Most Popular Children’s Program: C’mon Kids, Play School, Wombat
Most Popular New Talent: Matt Day, Marcus Graham, Georgie Parker

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

The joke’s on us!
With Mark Mitchell at the helm, comedy will be the emphasis of this year’s TV Week Logie Awards, to be held at the Hyatt On Collins, Melbourne.  Among those joining Mitchell on the Network Ten telecast will be Kim Gyngell (Col’n Carpenter), Steve Vizard (Tonight Live) and the cast of the Seven Network series Acropolis Now.

‘No commercial network could touch this…’
Gerard Kennedy, Terry Gill and Frankie J Holden are among the cast of a controversial ABC telemovie, Police Crop.  The 100-minute dramatisation exposes the extent of police collusion with the Mafia in Australia over several years, leading up to the death of Superintendent Colin Winchester.  The program is the culmination of painstaking research and goes to air the day after the Winchester inquest resumes.  Director Ken Cameron says that such a program could never air on a commercial network:  “No commercial network could touch this.  They’ve been advised not to.”

What a shocker!
Jason Donovan’s role in the $3.7 million mini-series Shadows Of The Heart will no doubt shock his many fans.  “They’ll certainly see something that’s a bit different and unexpected,” he tells TV Week.  The former Neighbours star plays Alex Fargo, a dark-haired, drunken and unkempt farmer who has a relationship with his bed-ridden cousin, Indy (Sherrie Krenn).  “My role as a singer and what I’ve done with Neighbours before has always been fresh and wholesome.  But it’s nice to play someone different.”

Briefly…
John Waters (pictured) and Peta Toppano starred together as hippies in the stage production Godspell and have now been re-united as lovers in upcoming mini-series All The Rivers Run II. 

William McInnes will be making a guest appearance in A Country Practice as the new love interest for Cathy Hayden (Kate Raison) in a storyline that will lead to Raison’s exit from the series.

US actress Cybill Sheppard is coming to Australia to star with John Waters in the $7 million mini-series, Which Way Home, a production of the McElroy brothers who also brought Dynasty star Linda Evans to the outback for The Last Frontier.  Which Way Home will start production in New Zealand before heading to Thailand and then finishing up with seven weeks in Sydney.  It is expected to air on Network Ten and the American TNT network in 1991.

John Laws says…
”What a pity Steve Vizard (pictured) got off to such a shaky start with his Tonight Live program on Seven.  You’ll recall that I was underwhelmed by his first week’s antics.  Vizard, to put it mildly, was unprepared for the challenge of hosting a live-to-air show.  That first week was a shambles.  But it’s a surprising what a few weeks in the “hot seat” can do.  Vizard, through sheer grit, determination and hard work, has turned the show around.  Vizard’s show rated a 9 in Sydney the other week, three points ahead of its chief rival, Coast To Coast (without Graham Kennedy) on Nine.  Coast To Coast – let’s be frank – is struggling.  Without Kennedy, the heart seems to have been ripped out of it.”

Program Highlights (March 10-16):
Saturday:  ABC crosses to Auckland, New Zealand, for the One Day International Cricket – Australia versus New Zealand.  Coverage starts at 7.55am and continues through to 3.45pm.
Sunday:  HSV7 presents coverage of NBL, Sydney Kings versus Illawarra Hawks, from the State Sports Centre, Homebush – followed by the Australian Touring Car Championships, live from Tasmania.  Sunday night movies are Perry Mason: Case Of The Avenging Ace (HSV7) and The Couch Trip (ATV10).  GTV9 presents the first instalment of mini-series Something Is Out There.
Monday:  ABC and HSV7 both cover the annual Moomba procession, from the streets of the Melbourne CBD.  HSV7 then devotes the afternoon to Moomba Masters water-skiing from Melbourne’s Yarra River.  After The 7.30 Report, ABC launches a new series, The Party Machine, featuring Andrew Denton as he takes an in-depth look at the upcoming Federal Election.  GTV9 presents the second and final instalment to the mini-series Something Is Out There.
Tuesday:  In Beyond 2000 (HSV7), Simon Reeve examines a robot designed to shear 300 sheep in a single day, Amanda Keller investigates an alternative to hysterectomies, and Bryan Smith takes an amazing journey through the human body.
Thursday and Friday:  ABC presents a late-night cricket highlights package of Day One of the Trans-Tasman Test – Australia versus New Zealand.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  
10 March 1990. Southdown Press. 

1990: January 20-26

Matt goes in to bat for the street kids
A Country Practice star Matt Day (pictured) is fed up with the media focusing on sensationalist issues surrounding street kids and homeless youth, such as prostitution and drug abuse, while ignoring possible solutions.  “The media should be dealing with issues that cover getting housing for these kids and better support.  Instead they just want to talk about the tragic stories and sell a few more papers,” he told TV Week.  These issues so close to Day’s heart will feature in upcoming storylines for his character Luke in A Country Practice, and he will also be volunteering his services for various refuges that need assistance.

Nine won’t admit it, but…
Graham Kennedy (pictured) has not negotiated a new contract for hosting his popular late-night Coast To Coast program and he has advised Nine that he won’t be returning to the show in 1990.  Despite the shock resignation, Nine continues to show its lavish 1990 ‘Shout!’ promos, featuring Kennedy and co-host John Mangos, and has only issued a statement that “we have no further comment to make than discussions are continuing for Mr Kennedy’s return to television in 1990.”  Nine is keen to sign up Kennedy for later in the year and to keep him away from any other network.  Rumours that Kennedy’s resignation is connected to the upcoming launch of Steve Vizard’s new show, Tonight Live, for the Seven Network have been denied.  It is believed that Kennedy’s decision was related the strain of a recent court case against his manager, Harry M Miller.

Dynamic Duo!
Former Neighbours star Jason Donovan and E Street’s Marcus Graham (pictured) have been signed up for roles in the new $3.7 million mini-series, Shadows Of The Heart, being produced for Network Ten by the South Australian Film Commission.  The new series, which also stars Jerome Ehlers (Bangkok Hilton), Nadine Garner, Colleen Hewett, Harold Hopkins, Barry Otto, Robyn Nevin, Sherrie Krenn and NIDA graduate Josephine Byrnes, is set in the summer of 1927 and is described as “a romantic epic set in the Twenties with Nineties morals.”  Production commences this month on location in Adelaide and Kangaroo Island.

Briefly…
Former A Country Practice star Di Smith and The Flying Doctors’ Liz Burch are set to bare all in the upcoming Melbourne production of the stage play Steaming.  The controversial comedy also stars Gwen Plumb, Rosey Jones, Valerie Bader and Jenny Hall.

Former Prisoner star Colette Mann has spoken out about her recent shock resignation from Melbourne radio station 3UZ.  Despite a number of consecutive ratings rises for her morning program, Mann says she “never felt comfortable working at 3UZ” and objected to a proposed service agreement that could have her “given verbal notice if I was deemed unfit for work (and if given that notice) I couldn’t work within a 50 km radius of Melbourne.”  She also felt entitled to ask for “a little extra money” following the ratings rises, but station boss Clyde Simpson responded that Mann asked for a significant 43.5 per cent pay increase.  Despite her controversial departure from the station, Mann has said that she would like to do radio again but in the meantime is currently planning some TV work, including a mini-series and some special event work for Network Ten. 

Model-turned-actor Julian McMahon (pictured) has spoken out briefly about his relationship with Melissa Cornell, daughter of The Paul Hogan Show and Crocodile Dundee producer John “Strop” Cornell.  “Melissa and I have been together for just over a year now.  She moved down to Melbourne with me when I was doing The Power The Passion.  Now that I am back in Sydney for Home And Away, she has moved back with me.  It is only now that we are beginning to realise where we are and what we are going to be doing.” 

On The Grapevine…
Who is the celebrity hairdresser who how walks to work each day… and not by choice, either, courtesy of a blood-alcohol reading considerably in excess of the legal limit.

So desperate was one showbusiness reporter to secure an interview with one of Australia’s favourite daughters, that she had started to woo the star with chocolates and even had a jingle company pen a song for the lovely lady.

John Laws says…
”Sometimes it’s difficult to understand the reasoning of the ABC board members.  On the one hand, they complain of lack of funds; on the other, they refuse to agree to advertising on the ABC.  Advertising is part of the lifeblood of economics in this country.  There is nothing shameful about it.  The ABC would attract only a minor percentage of the estimated $1.8 billion of TV advertising every year – but even the injection of a few million dollars would make a lot of difference to the ABC’s slate.  So let’s not have too much humbug cluttering up this debate.  After all, the ABC is not shy in aggressively advertising its own ABC Shop products on TV, is it?”

Program Highlights (Melbourne):
Saturday: ABC presents the Coca Cola International Golf Classic, live from Royal Melbourne Golf Course, while HSV7’s coverage of the Australian Open tennis continues live from the National Tennis Centre.

Sunday: Sunday night movies are Gloria (HSV7), Liar’s Moon (GTV9), Blame It On Rio (ATV10).

Monday: Singer Maria Venuti (pictured, with Syd Heylen) guest stars in the first episode of A Country Practice for 1990, and the Nine Network’s breakfast show, Today, returns for another year.

Wednesday:  GTV9 presents live coverage of the opening ceremony of the 1990 Commonwealth Games from Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand.  Ken Sutcliffe, Ray Martin and Max Walker head the coverage.

Thursday:  GTV9’s live coverage of daily competition from the Commonwealth Games starts at 10.00am and continues through to 11.00pm, taking a break in the early evening for National Nine News, A Current Affair and US sitcom Growing Pains.  ABC presents the first of a two-part documentary, The Way We Really Were, hosted by Caroline Jones – a retrospective and nostalgic look at life in Australia taken from film and documentary footage of the past 30 years.

Friday: For Australia Day, Today is broadcast live from Admiralty House, Sydney, for the presentation of the Australia Day Awards, including the announcement of Australian of the Year by Prime Minister Bob Hawke.  In the evening, SBS presents a repeat of documentary Being True Blue and ABC presents the second part of The Way We Really Were, followed by the Governor General’s Australia Day Message.  ATV10’s Friday night movie is Tudawali, the 1988 movie starring Ernie Dingo, Jedda Cole, Peter Fisher and Frank Wilson – and SBS presents two Australian movies, Silver City and Backroads.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide. 20 January 1990. Southdown Press. 

1990: January 6-12

TV Week, incorporating TV Times and TV Guide. 6 January 1990 (Sydney edition). Southdown Press.

Cover: Kylie Minogue

The impossible dream
With careers on opposite sides of the world, actors Marcus Graham and Nicole Kidman have to put their relationship on hold.  Graham, formerly of E Street, is starring in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Sydney Opera House, while Kidman is in the US starring alongside Tom Cruise in the new movie Days Of Thunder.

John weds in secret
A Country Practice star John Tarrant has married his long-time girlfriend, ABC reporter Shereen Bates, while on a two-week production break from the series.  The couple had first met at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, where Tarrant was studying acting and Bates was doing a media course.  They were married at Caves House, near Yallingup in South Western Australia, in a ceremony attended by around 60 close friends and family. 

Sophie’s their choice
Former Melbourne model Sophie Heathcote (pictured) has landed a major role in A Country Practice.  The 18-year-old will begin filming on the show later this month with her first scenes to appear on screen in April.  Heathcote will play Stephanie “Steve” Brennan, a country girl who helps her father, Snow (Ben Gabriel), run a farm in Wandin Valley.  Although Heathcote is not giving anything away, an involvement between her character and Luke Ross (Matt Day) may lead to something later on.

‘I never know what the year ahead will bring’
Jon Blake, the former The Restless Years star still battling to recover from a horrific car accident three years ago, after he had completed filming The Lighthorseman, was special guest at an important party last month.  Mascot Blake threw her son a 31st birthday party, attended by friends and some of the many volunteers who help Blake with his rehabilitation.  The party was also highlighted by phone calls from former The Restless Years colleagues Peter Phelps and Mark Hembrow, both who are overseas.  Another special guest at the party was Blake’s 11-year-old son, Dustin, who often visits his father when in Sydney.  Mrs Blake also thanked TV Week readers who donated generously to help with the rehabilitation effort and have offered their assistance to Mrs Blake.

Arthur cuts the apron strings
The cast of the ABC series Mother And Son have been told to be prepared for a fifth series of the comedy to go into production in 1991.  The series has been on a break for two years while writer Geoffrey Atherden attends to other projects.  The fifth series could reveal some interesting twists for the show’s central characters, with Arthur (Garry McDonald) possibly to be moved out of the family home, and scheming brother Robert (Henri Szeps) looking after mum Maggie (Ruth Cracknell).  The new series will be a welcome change for McDonald, who was disappointed after plans for a return to TV as his classic Norman Gunston character fell through.  Both Nine and Seven networks had negotiated for a new Gunston series, after his one-off appearance at the 1989 TV Week Logie Awards, and it is reported that an agreement was reached with Nine.  However, financial uncertainty in the industry meant that the project was dropped.

Briefly…
Adelaide teenagers Richard Norton and Jeremy Angerson have joined the cast of Neighbours as the show recovers from losing key cast member Craig McLachlan to rival series Home And Away.

Actress and model Sue Smithers, a former cast member on The Restless Years, is planning a showbusiness comeback after the end of her marriage to lawyer husband Randy.  As well as writing a musical, Higher Love, the sister of actress Joy Smithers is also planning to release a single with comedian Austen Tayshus.  “It will be a comic record – I love comedy and we’ve talking doing one for a long time,” she told TV Week.

Crawford Productions have just released two of its popular programs, All The Rivers Run and Zoo Family, on video as part of their Crawford’s Classics range.  Future releases are set to include the original mini-series of The Flying Doctors, Whose Baby? and The Far Country.  A sequel to All The Rivers Run is expected to screen on the Seven Network during the year.

On The Grapevine:
If one prominent Aussie actor wants people to take him seriously when he says he’s 32, he’d better get to work on his appearance.  While his body is in reasonable shape, a truck-load of brown tint is required for those rapidly spreading grey hairs.

Intelligence, poise and good grooming are just a couple of prerequisites for television reporters, so how is one lass going to explain her recent behaviour at a big-budget movie location?

Who is the struggling deputy editor taking guitar lessons in a park during his lunch break?  Is it a bid to launch a career in the music industry, or is it simply a release from the asylum in which he works?

John Laws says:
”Much happened in 1989 to sink a torpedo or two into the industry, and no one needs to be reminded of the financial problems of the various networks.  (But) despite its problems, TV in Australia isn’t so bad.  It’s not perfect but it hasn’t yet hit rock bottom.  For all his woes, Christopher Skase did try to add a touch of quality.  His TVAM, now ditched, was a gallant try at giving us a quality news and business program.  Neighbours, no matter what you might think of it, has won international acclaim, and made mega-stars of its two leading lights, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan.  Then, of course, the industry has, in the past 12 to 18 months, turned out some remarkably fine mini-series.  Bangkok Hilton is an example.  This was an international-class offering, and simply glowed when compared with much of the glossy trash imported from America.”

Program Highlights (Sydney):
Saturday:  ATN7 has the Danone Australian Women’s Hardcourt Championship, live from Milton Courts, Brisbane.  Former Australian Crawl musician Brad Robinson hosts a two-hour music program, Spin, on TEN10, and MTV (TCN9) presents Billy Joel Live In Leningrad.
Sunday: TCN9 presents Melbourne newsreader Brian Naylor’s one-hour documentary, Australia From The Outside Looking In, followed by On The Road With Midday with Midday reporters Lisa Forrest and Paul Lockyer.  Sunday night movies are Lies (TCN9) and Clan Of The Cave Bear (TEN10).
Monday: ATN7 presents live coverage of the NSW Open tennis from White City, Sydney.  A Current Affair (TCN9) returns for a new year, and TEN10 presents Part One of the re-run of mini-series Alice To Nowhere, starring John Waters, Rosey Jones and Ruth Cracknell.
Thursday: TEN10 crosses to Palm Meadows, Queensland for the Palm Meadows Golf Cup.
Friday: TCN9 crosses to the Melbourne Cricket Ground for Day One of the First Test, Australia versus Pakistan.  Commentators include Richie Benaud, Bill Lawry, Tony Greig, Ian Chappell and Max Walker.

Source: TV Week (Sydney edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide. 6 January 1990. Southdown Press.