1992: March 22-28

Cover: Josephine Byrnes, John Stamos, Georgie Parker

Now cop this!
The 34th annual TV Week Logie Awards, held at Melbourne’s Radisson President Hotel, gave the audience and viewers some surprises.  After the show’s opening production number – a parody of Michael Jackson’s Black Or White, recalling the old days of black and white television, featuring Cathy Godbold (Home And Away), Nick Giannopoulos (Acropolis Now) and Bruno Lucia (All Together Now) – introduced to the Logies stage were three TV veterans who hadn’t appeared on screen together for years.  George Mallaby, Alwyn Kurts and Leonard Teale, all from the halcyon days of the pioneer Australian drama Homicide, got the most rousing welcome of all those that appeared that evening.  But the on-stage reunion of the Homicide trio wasn’t to be the last big surprise of the night – as for the first time in Logies history the winner of the Gold Logie, Jana Wendt, was not present to accept her award.

Jana – What really happened…
It was the biggest disappointment of Logies night that Jana Wendt, the winner of the Gold Logie for Australia’s most popular television personality was not present to accept the award personally.  TV Week had about a week’s prior knowledge that Wendt was unlikely to attend – being told that her commitments to A Current Affair plus the fact that daylight saving was still in place in some states that throws production schedules into havoc and meant that Wendt had to stay at Nine’s Sydney studios into the evening in case a major news story broke.  Nine had offered to work around these logistics if they could be assured that Wendt had won the Gold Logie.  TV Week, in the interests of maintaining the security of the Logies results, decided that such information could not be released to the network in advance, even in the strictest confidence.  Wendt’s Gold Logie was accepted on stage by her boss Peter Meakin (pictured).  “I’m sorry she’s not here.  She’s sorry she’s not here,” he told the audience.  “Jana, as she always does, put the program first.  I know she regrets not being here.  It’s a shame.” 

TV Week Logie Winners 1992: Public Voting Categories:
Gold Logie – Most Popular Personality On Australian TV: Jana Wendt

Silver Logie – Most Popular Actor On Australian TV: Bruce Samazan (E Street)
Silver Logie – Most Popular Actress On Australian TV: Georgie Parker (A Country Practice)

Most Popular Series: E Street (Ten)
Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy Program:  Fast Forward (Seven)
Most Popular Lifestyle Information Program: Burke’s Backyard (Nine)
Most Popular Telemovie Or Mini-Series: Brides Of Christ (ABC)
Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy Male Performer: Steve Vizard (Tonight Live With Steve Vizard/Fast Forward)
Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy Female Performer: Magda Szubanski (Fast Forward)
Most Popular Sports Coverage: Cricket (Nine)
Most Popular Actor In A Telemovie Or Mini-Series: Cameron Daddo (Golden Fiddles)
Most Popular Actress In A Telemovie Or Mini-Series: Josephine Byrnes (pictured) (Brides Of Christ)
Most Popular Public Affairs Program: A Current Affair (Nine)
Most Popular Music Video:  When Something Is Wrong With My Baby (Jimmy Barnes/John Farnham)
Most Popular Children’s Program: Agro’s Cartoon Connection (Seven)
Most Popular New Talent: Kym Wilson (Brides Of Christ)

TV Week Logie Winners 1992: Industry Voting Categories:
Gold Logie – TV Week Logie Awards’ Hall Of Fame: Four Corners (ABC)

Silver Logie – Most Outstanding Actor On Australian TV: John McTernan (pictured) (GP)
Silver Logie – Most Outstanding Actress On Australian TV: Josephine Byrnes (Brides Of Christ)

Most Outstanding Telemovie Or Mini-Series: Brides Of Christ (ABC)
Most Outstanding Series: GP (ABC)
Most Outstanding Achievement In Public Affairs: “Soviet Union” (Lateline, ABC)
Most Outstanding Achievement In News: “Coode Island Fires” (Nine)
Most Outstanding Single Documentary Or Series: The Time Of Your Life (ABC)
Most Outstanding Achievement By Regional Television: The Very Fast Train (WIN)

TV Week Logie Winners 1992: State Awards (Most Popular Personality, Most Popular Program):
New South Wales: Ray Martin (TCN9), Home And Away (ATN7)
Victoria: Daryl Somers (GTV9), Neighbours (ATV10)
Queensland: Robert Brough (BTQ7), Family Feud (BTQ7)
South Australia: Anne Wills (SAS7), Wheel Of Fortune (SAS7)
Western Australia: Rick Ardon (TVW7), Seven Nightly News (TVW7)
Tasmania: Ron Christie (TVT6), Tasmania Today (TVT6)

Briefly (at the Logies):
As well as Jana Wendt, there was another non-appearance on Logies night – Diana Ross.  Despite a planned live cross from Queensland, Ross refused to appear because, Seven say, she didn’t want to appear live after her concert, saying her looks wouldn’t be up to scratch.  When the network offered to pre-record her segment, she still declined.

At the post-Logies party Bob Campbell, managing director of the Seven Network, approached Derryn Hinch (recently axed by Seven) for a chat.  “That’s the first time we’ve spoken since he sacked me,” a surprised Hinch commented.  “I bear no grudge.”

Wheel Of Fortune host John Burgess had to attend the pre-awards cocktail party in a floral shirt because his luggage had ended up in Queensland – while Lateline host Kerry O’Brien found his seat on the plane to Melbourne had been taken, so he had to fly with the crew in the cockpit.

There was lots of buzz around the room about the new-look The Flying Doctors, soon to commence production, and the news that former Neighbours star Elaine Smith had just joined the cast list.

Lawrie Masterson: The View From Here
”No doubt you are aware the ABC’s current affairs flagship Four Corners has joined an elite band in the TV Week Logie Awards’ Hall Of Fame.  And you could not help but be more than aware that Four Corners also has been the oven in which a political potato was heated up – at microwave speed, on high.  Personally, I don’t feel any discomfort about it all, other than I think the timing could have been better.  If the Four Corners program Winners And Losers had been screened on 22 March instead of 2 March, then I wouldn’t be writing this.  As it’s happened, certain people who don’t need an excuse to become hysterical about some aspect of each year’s Logies now could see the award to Four Corners as an endorsement of the program’s – or the ABC’s – stance against the goods and services tax (GST) component of Opposition Leader Dr John Hewson’s Fightback package.  Rather than recognising a specific achievement, the TV Week Logie Awards’ Hall Of Fame is an award for sustained excellence over many years – coming up 31 years in the case of Four Corners.  And what a consistently excellent program it has been.  Since its debut in 1961 it has won eight Logies, nine Walkley Awards for journalistic excellence, two United Nations Peace Prizes and two gold medals at the New York Film and Television Festival.  Four Corners thoroughly deserves this accolade.  Congratulations to those who have maintained its high standards over the years.  Four Corners also deserves this: the Winners And Losers program was a blot on its copybook.  On the morning of the program’s air date I’m sure I heard reporter Frank McGuire say in a radio interview that it would prompt howls from both sides of politics.  Since then I have heard only one side baying, and surely that says it all about balance.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, March 22-28):
Sunday:  Afternoon sport includes the Gold Coast Indy Classic (Nine), Benson And Hedges World Cup – Second Semi-Final (Nine), AFL – Adelaide versus Footscray (Seven) and Five Nations Rugby – Wales versus Scotland (Ten).  While on ABC’s arts program Sunday Afternoon With Peter Ross, performer Reg Livermore is this week’s special guest.  There is only one Sunday night movie this week – The War Of The Roses (Ten) – while Seven presents the Royal Variety Performance and Nine has the night session of the second semi-final of the Benson And Hedges World Cup cricket live from Sydney.

Monday:  In the series final of Mother And Son (ABC), Arthur (Garry McDonald) introduces his new girlfriend to the family.  In A Country Practice (Seven), Hugo (Gavin Harrison, pictured) becomes involved with Down’s syndrome swimmer Ruth Klein (Ruth Cromer) and her protective parents Rob and Diane (Peter Browne and Michele Fawdon).

Tuesday:  In GP (ABC), after Robert’s (John McTernan) funeral William (Michael Craig) says he will work in general practice full-time.  In A Country Practice, Hugo encourages Ruth to try for the Special Olympics.  In Chances (Nine), Angela (Patsy Stephen) is fascinated with Cal (Gerry Sont), while Barbara (Brenda Addie) shocks Dan (John Sheerin) with an announcement.

Wednesday:  Nine has afternoon coverage of the final of the Benson And Hedges World Cup cricket, live from Melbourne, although Melbourne viewers are barred from live coverage of the evening session’s play, instead receiving only a one-hour highlights package at midnight.

Thursday:  The ABC series on health and well-being, Everybody, returns for a second season – hosted by former Midday reporter Lisa Forrest.  In Acropolis Now (Seven), will Memo (George Kapiniaris) make a fortune on a game show?

Friday:  From midnight, Seven crosses to Lund, Sweden, for overnight live coverage of the Davis Cup tennis match, Sweden versus Australia.

Saturday:  With no live local sport during the day there is lots of C-rated (children’s programming) during the day across the three commercial networks – mostly repeats – including Round The Twist (Seven), Pugwall (Nine), Goodsports (Nine), Bush Beat (Nine), KTV (Nine), Look Who’s Talking (Nine) and The Henderson Kids (Ten).  Seven crosses again to Sweden for Davis Cup tennis late in the evening, while Ten has delayed coverage of the NBL Preliminary match between Sydney Kings and the Brisbane Bullets.

Source: TV Week (Melbourne edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  21 March 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

1991: November 16-22

‘It hurts…’
The Flying Doctors and The Bugs Bunny Show star Sophie Lee (pictured) has hit out at critics accusing her of being offered fame based on looks rather than intelligence or ability, likening their comments to schoolyard taunts.  “Of course plenty of it hurts,” she told TV Week.  “If the comments are witty or well done, then you have respect for what that particular person is doing.  But often it’s coming from an empty-headed DJ and you find yourself asking, ‘Where’s the wit?’.  There’s an unusual situation to contend with in Australia.  When you begin to succeed, you have to put up with jealousy and sexism.  And the more successful you become, the more negative things people say.”  The daughter of academics, Lee received outstanding results in her high school certificate but decided against a tertiary education and entered the entertainment industry, starting with the local repertory company in Newcastle and then taking on modelling assignments which took her overseas.  Her first major TV appearance was in the telemovie Raw Silk before gaining the hosting role for The Bugs Bunny Show and the part of Penny Wellings in The Flying Doctors.

Two celebrations of Oz TV’s historic anniversary 
To celebrate this year’s milestone of 35 years of television, the Nine Network this week pays tribute to the small screen in a three-hour special, produced in co-operation with all the networks.  The special will feature segments devoted to various program genres – including Bert Newton making a return to television to present the quiz and game show segment, Olivia Newton-John presenting the tribute to children’s shows, Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum looking at the history of rock music on TV, and Kylie Mole (Maryanne Fahey) presenting the look at Australian TV comedy.  “Like, some of the shows in this special are so good like Aunty Jack and Norman Gunston and they were on telly when Mum was a kid, so they must be, like, from the 18th century,” Mole told TV Week.  Graham Kennedy, not seen on TV since hosting Graham Kennedy’s Funniest Home Video Show a year ago, will be presenting the tribute to variety shows.  Meanwhile, Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art has launched its own tribute to Australian television with the exhibition TV Times: 35 Years Of Television In Australia.  The exhibition includes a ‘Hall of Fame’ of some of Australia’s most famous stars, and a unique game show wheel which spins not prizes but old clips of game show winners and losers.

Just horsin’ around
On the eve of his return to TV – as above – Graham Kennedy (pictured) allowed TV Week to visit his country property in the NSW southern highlands, but as per Kennedy tradition, the interview still had to be carried out by fax.  The multiple Gold Logie winner is now based full-time at his 124 acre property with Dave and Sarah, his beloved clydesdale horses.  Kennedy told TV Week that Nine had offered him the opportunity to present another series of his Funniest Home Video Show after a successful run last year but he declined.  “I’ve reached a time in my life when I’m captivated by something for only a short time,” he said.  He also mentioned that his upcoming TV appearance is likely to be his last for a while, as he now sees himself as “just an Australian who lives in the country with horses”.  When asked if he would consider writing an autobiography, he responded, “Well, who else could write my autobiography?”

Briefly…
Former A Country Practice star Josephine Mitchell has joined E Street, playing the part of fashion designer Penny O’Brien.  “Forrest Redlich, the producer, has a lot of ideas for the future of E Street, and it’s nice to be one of them,” she told TV Week.  Meanwhile, actress Tammy MacIntosh has signed up for the second series of ABC’s Police Rescue, marking her return to TV following a brief stint on the Nine Network’s Chances.

Australia’s Funniest Home Video Show is going global as host Jacki MacDonald (pictured) links up with hosts of overseas versions of the show for a special international edition to screen this week.  “I can’t even begin to think what’s going to happen on the night,” she told TV Week. “I don’t speak French, German or Spanish, so I hope the hosts all speak English.  But there is no language barrier where humour is concerned.  Regardless of nationality, people enjoy a good laugh.”

As the Nine Network’s Sunday program celebrates a decade on air, host Jim Waley doesn’t take the credit for the show’s longevity.  “The difference between Sunday and every other news program on TV is we don’t have any tall poppies.  Everyone pulls together and that is the only reason we have survived,” he told TV Week. 

John Laws says…
”SBS’ eminently watchable The Movie Show celebrated its fifth birthday recently.  Not many TV shows can claim that many birthdays.  David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz have got the formula worked out to a nicety.  They’ve had some 225 programs to air and reviewed close to 1000 movies.  Like many other programs that work well, The Movie Show succeeds because it keeps the action tight and flowing.  The hosts don’t preach and they never pull a punch when it comes to crunching a bad movie, and that’s exactly how it should be.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, November 16-22):
Saturday:  Hey Hey It’s Saturday (Nine) presents its second Hollywood-based special, with guest stars Madonna, Rita Rudner, Alison Porter, Christina Applegate and Richard Crenna.  This week’s contestants on Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune (Seven) are Brian Wenzel, Agro, Fat Cat and performer Maria Venuti.

Sunday:  The Nine Network televises the annual Rock Eisteddfod, featuring performances of secondary school students from around Australia, hosted by Steven Jacobs and Jane Hall.  Ten crosses to Bondi Beach for the Iron Man Super Series.  Sunday night movies are Nuns On The Run (Seven) and Legal Eagles (Ten), up against the Australian Opera production of Carmen (ABC) and the Nine Network’s three-hour special 35 Years Of Television, featuring Graham Kennedy, Bert Newton, Jana Wendt, Mike Willesee, Ray Martin, Craig McLachlan, John Waters, Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum, Brian Henderson, Olivia Newton-John, Kylie Mole (Maryanne Fahey), Max Walker and David Lyle.

Monday: In Col’n Carpenter (Ten), Colin (Kim Gyngell) discovers he has a copy of a very rare Phantom comic.  Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum presents a half-hour special on Nine, Michael Jackson – Dangerous, previewing the pop star’s new video Black And White.  ABC’s Four Corners and Media Watch present their final editions for 1991.

Tuesday:  In A Country Practice (Seven), Esme (Joyce Jacobs) gets her just rewards after she thinks she is being investigated by ASIO.  In Beyond 2000 (Seven), Amanda Keller presents a two-part report on stress – looking at its effects on elderly people and pregnant women.  Former The Flying Doctors star Liz Burch guest stars in Chances (Nine).

Wednesday:  Couchman Over Australia (ABC) presents its final show for 1991.

Thursday:  Hey Hey It’s Saturday’s Wilbur Wilde (pictured) guest stars in The Flying Doctors as a lovable, irresistible musician who lures the Coopers Crossing locals to an outback feast when a wedding is cancelled and the gourmet food is up for grabs.  In E Street (Ten), Joey Valentine (Lorry D’Ercole) is caught up in a rock’n’roll duel.  ABC debuts a new documentary series, The First Australians – the first episode looking at the Watson family of Mt Anderson Station in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Friday:  Rock star Jimmy Barnes is this week’s guest on Burke’s Backyard (Nine).  Seven crosses to the State Sports Centre, Homebush, for the World Amateur Boxing Championships final – with 54 countries competing in the competition, Australia is represented by five NSW boxers, five from Queensland and one from Tasmania.

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

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: September 7-13

Toni re-signs to E Street
The demands of combining acting and music careers almost saw Toni Pearen (pictured, near right, with co-star Melissa Tkautz) quit the Network Ten series E Street.  “I was thinking about leaving because my workload has been so hectic,” she told TV Week.  “When it came to the crunch I decided to stay.  The new contract includes a few new negotiations.  It took some deciding because now I have other aspects to my career.”  The 20-year-old has also recently signed with Mushroom Records and her band, Kon-X-ion, is soon to release its debut single.

Fast Forward to London!
Steve Vizard and business partner Andrew Knight are excited at the prospect of the BBC snapping up Fast Forward for screening in the United Kingdom.  “I was surprised the show worked in Australia, so I was genuinely amazed that the BBC can’t get enough of it,” Vizard told TV Week.  “The parodies translate and we have 80 hours of Fast Forward.  Even if we have to edit more than half of it, we’ll still have a lot of television left.”  The pair stopped over in London for negotiations with the BBC on their way to Barcelona where they will be producing some Olympic-themed specials for the Seven Network in the lead up to the 1992 Olympic Games.

Court to close?
The Seven Network’s Hampton Court, the spin-off to the popular Hey Dad!, is facing the axe after its current round of 13 episodes.  The series, starring Julie McGregor (pictured), Adam Willits, Danielle Spencer, Roy Billing and Maxine Klibingaitis, has been receiving only a modest response from viewers in a tough Thursday night timeslot where it is up against The Flying Doctors on Nine and E Street on Ten.  A spokesperson for Seven said that the decision on the show’s future will be made by the network’s programming bosses at their next meeting, scheduled for this week.

Briefly…
Neighbours star Richard Huggett has told producers that he will not be seeking to renew his contract when it expires in November.  “I was always pretty adamant that one year is enough to be in one TV series,” he told TV Week.  “I want to do material which means something to me, stuff with a harder edge.  I suppose quality is what I mean – not pumping it out like a sausage factory.” 

Actor Simon Burke (pictured) has certainly been keeping busy.  In the space of a few months he has played the role of a priest in Brides Of Christ (now screening on ABC), an army captain in Heroes II, and a gay film director in Loveless, one of the episodes of SBS’ upcoming series Six Pack.

Kim Hoggard, the US-born wife of 60 Minutes reporter Jeff McMullen, has left her two-year post at the US State Department and returned to Sydney, where she will be a semi-regular guest on Midday With Ray Martin, reporting on the international political arena.  "Certainly, I can provide a different point to view from what Australian audiences are used to hearing,” she told TV Week.

John Laws says…
”As with the Gulf War, the recent Clayton’s “coup” in the Soviet Union saw television presented with a golden opportunity for live and dramatic news programs.  Unlike the Gulf War – where Ten grabbed the honours because of its excellent CNN coverage – it was the ABC and SBS which emerged with the major honours in Moscow.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, September 7-13):
Saturday:  This week’s guests on Hey Hey It’s Saturday (Nine) are EMF, James Blundell, Roger Kabler and Melissa Tkautz.  Meanwhile, George Kapiniaris, Angela Moore and Gerry Connolly are this week’s contestants on Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune (Seven).  Ten presents a Mad Max movie double-feature, with the 1979 original followed by the 1981 sequel.

Sunday:  Sunday night movies are Weekend At Bernie’s (Seven), Steel Magnolias (Nine) and Jaws The Revenge (Ten).

Monday:  In Home And Away (Seven), Sophie (Rebekah Elmaloglou) blames Michael (Dennis Coard) and Pippa (Debra Lawrence) for David’s (Guy Pearce) death.  In A Country Practice (Seven), Matt (John Tarrant) and Lucy (Georgie Parker) make a decision about having a baby.

Tuesday:  In GP (ABC), Beth (Penny Cook) proposes marriage to Steve (Michael O’Neill) who is distracted by a suspicious suicide.  Beyond 2000 (Seven) presents a report on villagers in Zimbabwe, faced with a scarcity of wood, making furniture from paper.

Wednesday:  In Neighbours (Ten), Helen (Anne Haddy) makes a final decision about her future.  The third episode of Brides Of Christ (ABC) focuses on Mother Ambrose (played by Sandy Gore, pictured) who is forced to make crucial decisions which affect both her personal life and the lives of the sisters of the Order.

Thursday:  Seven presents a re-run of the D-Generation special A Salute To Roy Smeck,  “a tribute to one of the founding fathers of Australian television; the man who helped make Australian television one of the top 59 television industries in the Southern hemisphere”.  In The Flying Doctors (Nine), Sister Jackie Crane (Nikki Coghill) is placed in an awkward position when she discovers the locum replacement for Dr Geoff Standish (Robert Grubb) is a heroin addict.

Friday:  Burke’s Backyard (Nine) presents a special edition to celebrate its fourth birthday, and includes a guest appearance by Western Australian Premier Dr Carmen Lawrence.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  7 September 1991.  Southdown Press

1991: August 31-September 6

Steve’s fast women!
Ask Steve Vizard about “his girls”, Fast Forward comediennes Gina Riley, Marg Downey, Magda Szubanski and Jane Turner (pictured as their Fast Forward alter egos Kerri-Anne Kennel, the SBS lady, Pixie Anne Wheatley and Sveta), and all you’ll hear is praise… well, almost.  “Frankly, if I can come clean, I carry the lot of them.  I’m the talent,” he says, with the trademark Vizard modesty.  “Take away their incredible acting ability, their comedic skills, their looks and their personalities, and they’re nothing… these girls are nothing!” 

Angry network dumps Rowena!
Gold Logie winner Rowena Wallace (pictured) has sparked a furore with the producers of Home And Away after making comments to a newspaper that derided her upcoming role in the Seven Network soap.  Wallace, who won the Gold Logie for her role as nasty Patricia Hamilton in Sons And Daughters, was cast to play Julia Bowman, the mother of a young girl dying of leukaemia in a storyline to air on Home And Away early next year.  But in a story published by Sydney’s Telegraph Mirror, Wallace was less than enthused about the role.  “I’m playing somebody’s mother.  It doesn’t really matter whose mother, does it?  She’s dying of leukaemia and I’m there crying a lot, I suppose.  I can see it now,” she told the paper.  “But I’m doing Home And Away for the money.  It’s a nice little earner until Christmas, and then I can go off and do the World Vision thing, you see.”  Although there is a signed contract for Wallace’s upcoming role, Seven has advised her management that her services are no longer required and the two parties are currently negotiating an outcome.  But a spokesperson for Seven has told TV Week, “the role is being re-cast and Rowena will not be doing it.”

E Street wipeout!
A major cast upheaval is headed for Network Ten’s E Street – with four cast members being written out, two former cast members returning, and question marks over three others.  By the end of the year cast members Joan Sydney, Graham Harvey, Julieanne Newbould (pictured) and teenager Daniel Knight will be gone.  Producer Forrest Redlich is currently negotiating with Marcus Graham, Alyssa-Jane Cook and Kate Raison, whose contracts are up for renewal.  “It’s a pretty good bet Marcus will be out.  I’m talking to him about another project,” Redlich told TV Week.  “If Marcus, Kate and A-J go, they’ll be on air until March.”  Meanwhile, Vic Rooney and Kelley Abbey will return to the series, and Diane Craig will take over the role of Dr Elly Fielding from former cast member Penny Cook.

Briefly…
Irish actress Brenda Fricker (pictured) has told TV Week that she was on the verge of collapse while filming the ABC mini-series Brides Of Christ, with long hours in a nun’s habit in temperatures of up to 40 degrees.  “The heat killed me and with the humidity I just couldn’t breathe,” she said.  “I don’t like heat and four months was too long away from home.  Although they did everything to make me feel at home at the place I was staying, it wasn’t home.  I also got very ill.  I went to a doctor and he said I was suffering from chronic fatigue.  He said that I needed a long break.  He said I would probably ignore his advice but, if I did, I would end up in hospital.”

Bert Newton and John Blackman have spoken to TV Week about what has been a frustrating year for both of them in terms of radio.  It is a year since Blackman and Wilbur Wilde were dumped from 3UZ’s breakfast program, and Newton (pictured) has reflected on a year that saw his failed attempt to launch an entertainment-based format on 3AK as well as an unsuccessful bid for the licence of 3XY.  “Radio is dead for me in this town at present,” Newton said.  “I’ve done my best to pick it up, but I feel I have run my race.”  Meanwhile, Blackman has had some discussions with KZFM but not confident of any return to radio in the short term.  “The phone is still deadly silent,” he said.  “Radio’s the thing that’s in my blood, and it’s terribly frustrating for me not to be a part of it.”

Kate Fitzpatrick (pictured) is soon to make a guest appearance in Nine’s Chances as a former brothel madam involved in the untimely death of a prominent figure.  “She’s a great character and introducing guest stars is a good way for the show to go,” she said.

John Laws says…
”The idea of ‘resting’ from his late-night show and installing temporary replacements is something Steve Vizard has perfected this year.  The star of Seven’s Tonight Live is sometimes missing from the limelight and replaced by various personalities, some of whom have appeared before as his guests.  Vizard’s recent stand-in host, the British comedian and comedy writer Ben Elton, made such a marvellous fist of the job that I dare say there were many viewers wishing he could be around all year.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, August 31-September 6):
Saturday:  The Choirboys and The Cockroaches are guest performers on this week’s Hey Hey It’s Saturday (Nine).

Sunday:  Sunday night movies are The Name Of The Rose (Seven) and Old Gringo (Nine) up against Ten’s re-run of mini-series Come In Spinner, a series originally aired on ABC.

Monday:  In Col’n Carpenter (Ten), Colin (Kim Gyngell) is jailed for a crime he didn’t commit and fights to prove his innocence.  In A Country Practice (Seven), Kate (Michelle Pettigrove) is caught in the middle of old rivalries between Harry (Andrew Blackman) and his brother Rick (John Adam).

Tuesday:  Gary Sweet (pictured with Rebecca Gibney) guest stars in All Together Now (Nine), playing the role of a sleazy fashion buyer.  Beyond 2000 (Seven) reports on the controversial abortion drug RU486, and a device which could enable us to control our dreams.  Henri Szeps and Miles Buchanan guest star in GP (ABC).

Wednesday:  ABC debuts mini-series Brides Of Christ, a six-part series set in Australia during a decade of radical upheaval in our society and in the Catholic Church, starring Josephine Byrnes, Kym Wilson, Lisa Hensley, Brenda Fricker and Naomi Watts.

Thursday:  In The Flying Doctors (Nine), rumours are sparked in Coopers Crossing when Guy (David Reyne) and Jackie (Nikki Coghill) spend the night alone after being stranded in a desolate Outback hut.

Friday:  Movie host Bill Collins is the celebrity guest on this week’s Burke’s Backyard (Seven).

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  31 August 1991.  Southdown Press

1991: August 24-30

‘Don’t call us the new Jason and Kylie!’
E Street’s Melissa Tkautz and Bruce Samazan (pictured) are set to become TV’s hottest couple, with their characters Nicky and Max deciding to turn their friendship into a closer relationship.  But with Tkautz already moving into a music career – with the top-selling single Read My Lips – and Samazan’s recording ambitions, the two stars are keen to distance themselves from comparisons to that one-time Neighbours supercouple, Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue. 

Future shock!
The Nine Network’s move to cut Chances down from two hours a week to one has seen the show embark on a new dramatic twist – jumping the storyline ahead a year in time.  The move forward will see the Taylor family believe that Alex (Jeremy Sims) has died after a plane he boarded crashes with no known survivors.  However, a man bearing a striking resemblance to Alex is found to be working hard as an honest farmhand and in a steady relationship with a hairdresser (played by Annie Jones), the sort of qualities that Alex is hardly known for.  The happy couple are unaware of the resemblance that the farmhand has to the devious advertising executive and the trouble it will eventually cause.  The format change to Chances also sees two cast members written out, with Anne Grigg and Leverne McDonnell exiting the series, following the recent departures of Kimberley Davenport and Yvonne Lawley.

Wild goose chase leads Lisa to the golden egg
The image of a nun wielding a rake while she chases a goose through the convent grounds is one that Brides Of Christ star Lisa Hensley holds dear.  It stood out as she read the script and dreamed of the role that would change her life.  As the faithful Sister Paul, Hensley could picture herself chasing that goose.  “I’d go to bed every night and visualise me in that scene,” she told TV Week.  “I wanted the role so badly.”  The role of Sister Paul sees Hensley reunited with Josephine Byrnes, a former colleague from the mini-series Shadows Of The Heart.  “I never thought in my wildest dreams that Josephine and I would work together again,” she said.  For Hensley, the Brides Of Christ role is a reward after taking the stand not to accept any of the ‘nice’ soapie roles offered to her after working on the Nine Network series All The Way.  “While the offers were flattering, I was scared I wouldn’t get to fulfil my dream of doing theatre and exploring different roles.  So I said no to the offers and disappeared for a while,” she said.  “It was a very hard decision and I don’t know if I could make it again.”

Briefly…
Despite disappointing ratings, Network Ten has renewed sitcom Col’n Carpenter for a fourth series.  The series will now continue on Monday nights after a disappointing run on Sundays.  “The new timeslot has been a big part of the decision to go on,” creator Kim Gyngell (pictured, as Col’n) told TV Week.  “We’ve just had to grin and bear the Sunday timeslot.  Monday is much better.  We all feel like we have a new lease on life now.”  Along with Gyngell as title character Colin, cast members Stig Wemyss and Anne Phelan will continue in the new series, but Kaarin Fairfax is unable to continue her role of Linda as she is expecting a baby in October.  The show is also seeking a new producer to replace Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell, who has had to leave for other commitments.

Actor Joss McWilliam (pictured), best remembered for his role as an iron-man in the movie Coolangatta Gold, is taking on his first ongoing TV role as a park ranger in the upcoming series The New Adventures Of Skippy.  “If I had the choice I’d rather work in film – it’s a great medium.  But the exposure from television is wider.  An ongoing role in Skippy could be my big chance,” he told TV Week.  The New Adventures Of Skippy is expected to debut on the Nine Network next year and has already been pre-sold to a number of countries.

Bruce McAvaney will be heading Seven’s coverage of the third World Athletic Championships from Tokyo.  “For pure excellence in sport, I rate the championships second only to the Olympics,” he told TV Week.  “These titles also give me the chance to work on my technique for next year’s Olympics because I haven’t called an international meet since 1989.”  Seven’s coverage will consist of daily highlights packages presented after Tonight Live, and live coverage of the women’s and men’s marathons.

Lawrie Masterson’s Sound Off
”I think there must be a recovery taking place in the television industry, because, just lately, it seems some of the networks have resumed their old habit of plying the rest of the media with food and booze, given the barest hint of an excuse.  As my mate Kenny pointed out last week when we were leaving a bash thrown by Network Ten to celebrate 1500 episodes of Neighbours, things have been so bad for so long that now there is a generation of young journos to whom the traditional Interstate Junket is a whole new experience.  The evening previous to the Neighbours bash, there was a very posh party on for the brilliant mini-series Brides Of Christ.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, August 24-30):
Saturday:  Greg Matthews, Marty Coffey and Syd Heylen are contestants on this week’s Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune (Seven). 

Sunday:  Seven crosses to Tokyo this morning for live coverage of the Women’s Marathon in the World Athletic Championships.  Sunday night movies are Casualties Of War (Nine) and Colors (Ten) up against the debut of two-part mini-series To Be The Best (Seven).

Monday:  Four Corners (ABC) presents a special edition to commemorate its 30th anniversary, introduced by reporter Chris Masters.  In Col’n Carpenter (Ten), close to death, Colin (Kim Gyngell) is rushed to hospital.  Ten then presents a delayed telecast of the 43rd Emmy Awards from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Los Angeles.

Tuesday:  Former Neighbours and Jackaroo star Annie Jones (pictured, with Jeremy Sims) makes her debut in Chances (Nine), while former The Young Doctors star Eric Oldfield guest stars.  Beyond 2000 (Seven) reports on new technology from Britain that offers a better way to fight fires on board aircraft.  All Together Now (Nine) is preparing for the 16th birthday of twins Thomas  (Steven Jacobs) and Anna (Jane Hall).

Wednesday: In Neighbours (Ten), Jim (Alan Dale) learns some startling news about Helen’s (Anne Haddy) new husband – and in E Street (Ten), Sheridan (Kate Raison) is playing games with Wheels (Marcus Graham), but who’s really fooling who?

Thursday:  In The Flying Doctors (Nine), a patient’s life is jeopardised when Guy (David Reyne) discovers golden staph in the operating theatre.  ABC screens the series final of Embassy, and Seven presents a repeat of the sketch comedy special from The D-Generation.

Friday:  ABC’s Backchat host Tim Bowden is a guest on Burke’s Backyard (Nine).  Documentary series A Big Country (ABC) focuses on two different cultures and how each contribute to the changing face of Australia.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  24 August 1991.  Southdown Press