1991: September 28-October 4

Hey, look who’s in love!
While Chris Mayer and Rachael Beck (pictured) are constantly bickering as their Hey Dad! alter egos Simon and Sam, off-screen the two have been secretly dating.  “Yes, I am in love,” Mayer told TV Week.  “It feels great.  I’m really enjoying it.”  During an upcoming production break for the series, he intends to head to Italy, staying in the town of Perugia and studying Italian – and it looks like Beck will be joining him.

It’s goodbye Bob and Cookie!
As the Seven Network’s A Country Practice approaches its tenth anniversary, some drastic cast changes are set to shock fans of the popular drama.  Actors Gordon Piper and Syd Heylen, who play characters Bob Hatfield and Cookie, are not having their contracts renewed at the end of the year, both having worked on the show for much of its ten year run.  Producer James Davern has said that the actors have other commitments – Piper is producing corporate videos and Heylen also runs a marketing company and is keen to spend time in Queensland with his wife who isn’t well – and that the characters will not be written out in any “Wandin Valley massacre” storyline and will be able to return at a later stage.  However, TV Week reports that neither actor had any option to stay on the show.  Also leaving the series is Matt Day, who will tape his final scenes in December, and Georgie Parker and John Tarrant, who will finish up early in the new year.  All three have decided it is time to move on.  To fill the void left by losing five characters some new additions will be signed on.  Former Brides Of Christ star Kym Wilson has joined the series and will make her on screen debut in November, and three other new characters will be written in over the coming months but have yet to be cast. 

Stig cops right out!
Col’n Carpenter star Stig Wemyss has left the Network Ten series after a falling out with the show’s producers.  Wemyss, who has played the role of Colin’s flatmate Michael Preeble since the show started 18 months ago, has told TV Week that he is “extremely disappointed” that an agreement with producers could not be reached.  “I wanted the storylines to explore a bit more of Michael.  I didn’t think that was too much to ask because the character had been there so long.  I’m not saying I wanted it to be the Michael Preeble show or to be any less about Colin (Kim Gyngell), but if you don’t expand a character, he just becomes nothing.  For me, the strength of the show was having an ensemble cast.  It was obvious Michael wasn’t going to be playing a major part in the way the show was going, so I didn’t want to continue.”

Briefly…
Just months after the bomb-blast storyline that killed off three characters, the neighbourhood of Network Ten’s E Street is about to be stalked by a psychopathic serial killer.  Architect Steven Richardson, played by Vince Martin, is set to reveal a darker side as he takes on the identity of ‘Mr Bad’ (pictured) whose first victim is Dr Virginia Travers (Julieanne Newbould).  Producer Forrest Redlich has defended the frightening storyline (“Where A Country Practice and GP do things on alcoholism, venereal diseases and such social subjects, we chose the serial killer.  Unfortunately they do exist.”) and a spokesperson for Ten has said that the network is mindful of the show’s 7.30pm timeslot and all episodes in question have to be approved at multiple levels within the network before being submitted for final approval by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal.

Ernie Sigley, co-host of the Nine Network’s In Melbourne Today and In Sydney Today programs, talks to TV Week about his upcoming 40th anniversary in showbusiness.  Starting in radio as a teenager, at Melbourne station 3DB, Sigley made the move to television as a performer on HSV7’s Teenage Mailbox (pictured) and went on to a successful television career including several years as host of Adelaide Tonight and later The Ernie Sigley Show, The Penthouse Club (later Saturday Night Live), Pot Luck and Wheel Of Fortune.  The one-time Gold Logie winner also mentions the reported altercation with Don Lane at the after party for the 1988 TV Week Logie Awards.  “I didn’t say anything to him to upset him.  The relationship had been strained for a few years,” he said.

When boxing champion Lionel Rose was told of plans to make a mini-series about his life, he wasn’t enthusiastic.  He told producers nobody would want to see his life story.  “I told them I was unreliable and they couldn’t depend on me to help them out,” Rose told TV Week.  “But they kept at me until I agreed.  I told them I wanted the whole story to be told… warts and all.”  However, TV Week production editor Frank Quill, who also happens to be a member of the World Boxing Council’s executive and considered Australia’s most senior professional boxing official, says that despite Rose’s request that his portrayal be “warts and all”, viewers may be short-changed by viewing the final product.  “Certainly, some viewers, human enough to think everything in Odds actually happened, will be misled,” he wrote.  Rose Against The Odds, which stars newcomer Paul Williams as Rose and former The Flying Doctors star Vikki Blanche as his wife Jenny, screens this week on the Seven Network.  The two-part mini-series also stars Kris McQuade, Tony Barry and Hollywood actor Telly Savalas.

Former A Country Practice star Sophie Heathcote has won a role in Yahoo Serious’ upcoming movie project, a contemporary comedy about Ned Kelly.  “The character I play is really young and silly and very funny,” she told TV Week.  “She is in love with Ned and I am going to have a ball playing her.”

John Laws says…
”There can often be something ghoulish about screening the “final” TV interviews of prominent people, those unfortunate enough to die suddenly soon after such interviews are given.  We have had the “final interview” with Dr Victor Chang, the brilliant heart surgeon shot dead in a Sydney street in early July.  Happily, SBS’ King Of Hearts documentary managed to avoid any overt sense of ghoulishness in giving us a nicely balanced portrait of Dr Chang.  This was, it has to be admitted, the most emotionally-draining documentary you are likely to see in a long time – not because of any exploitative intention on the part of reporter Amanda Hickey, but because of the simple, profoundly moving tributes paid to Chang by his friends, patients and colleagues.  This was a wonderful piece of TV documentary work.  It probably would have turned out a completely different product had Dr Chang still been alive, because Hickey began working on it a few weeks before his death.  Dr Chang was slain only six weeks after talking to SBS.  I have a feeling that public response to the Dr Chang documentary will lead to a speedy re-screening.  It pointed up only too bleakly how the circumstances of his death resulted in such endless waste.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, September 28-October 4):
Saturday:  It’s Grand Final day for the AFL.  Seven’s coverage, started late last night with the Football Marathon, continues through the day – with the traditional North Melbourne Football Club Grand Final Breakfast at 8.00am, followed by live coverage of the Under 19s and Reserves grand finals.  Then at 2.00pm live coverage from AFL Park, Waverley, for the end of season clash between Hawthorn and the West Coast Eagles.  Daryl Braithwaite – the key performer at the pre-game entertainment at the Grand Final – will also appear on Nine’s Hey Hey It’s Saturday in the evening.

Sunday:  Seven presents the first instalment of the two-part mini-series Rose Against The Odds (pictured), telling the story of boxing champion Lionel Rose who captured the world’s attention when he defied the odds to become the World Bantamweight champion as a 19-year old in the 1960s.  Sunday night movies are The Karate Kid II (Nine) and The Abyss (Ten).

Monday:  The conclusion to Rose Against The Odds (Seven) sees Lionel Rose’s sporting career at an end and his entering the seedy world of small-time crime and drug abuse, and the battle to get his life back on track.

Tuesday:  In A Country Practice (Seven), Lucy (Georgie Parker) is shattered when the results of her IVF program come back.  In Chances (Nine), Alex (Jeremy Sims) stuns the family when he re-appears after they had believed he had perished in a plane crash, and Paris (Annie Jones) is devastated when she learns a close friend has AIDS.

Wednesday:  SBS newsreader Mary Kostakidis presents the Ethnic Small Business Awards, live from the Sheraton-Wentworth in Sydney.

Thursday:  Ernie Dingo guest starts in The Flying Doctors (Nine) as a university dropout who clashes violently with his brother (Luke Carroll) and Dr Guy Reid (David Reyne) over the pending death of his grandfather.  ABC’s coverage of the 1991 Rugby World Cup, being held in France and the United Kingdom, begins with late-night coverage of the opening ceremony and the first match between England and New Zealand. 

Friday:  In Home And Away (Seven), Sam (Ryan Clark) finds out who his father is.  ABC’s coverage of the Rugby World Cup continues with the match between Australia and Argentina.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  28 September 1991.  Southdown Press

The Circle reunites Ernie and Denise

It was a reunion of one of TV’s most popular partnerships when The Circle co-host Denise Drysdale was joined by guest Ernie Sigley on the show.

The pair were a hit with viewers in the mid 1970s on The Ernie Sigley Show, with both of them (pictured, with Hollywood legend John Wayne) winning TV Week Gold Logies in 1975 as the most popular personalities on television.  Drysdale went on to win another Gold Logie the following year.  Their popularity also saw their cover version of the 1960s hit Hey Paula hit the top of the charts in 1974.

Their career paths have crossed numerous times in the years that followed, including several years co-hosting the Nine Network’s In Melbourne Today and sister program In Sydney Today, before both programs were amalgamated into Ernie And Denise.

Sigley then returned to radio, presenting the afternoon program on radio 3AW for over a decade, while Drysdale went on to the 1990s revival of In Melbourne Tonight before hosting her own morning show, Denise, on the Seven Network.

The appearance of Sigley next to Drysdale on The Circle – showing that they still have that comic chemistry alongside each other – leads up to a series of live shows to be performed by the duo.

1990: September 1-7

Get me to the church on time…
The upcoming A Country Practice wedding between Lucy Gardiner (Georgie Parker) and Matt Tyler (John Tarrant) will continue Wandin Valley’s tradition of dramatic weddings.  “The problem is the parents,” Parker tells TV Week.  “And whether the ceremony is going to be held in an Anglican or Catholic church.  Matt’s father Gilbert (George Mallaby) is pompous and doesn’t think Matt is coping without good financial backing.  My parents are supposedly splitting up and my father Patrick (Jonathan Hardy) refuses to come because it’s not being held in a Catholic church.  My mother Lois (Jill Perryman) turns up without him.”  The lead-up to the wedding has also been marred by Lucy’s cancer scare and the couple’s house being burnt to the ground in recent episodes.  “Post-marriage is much calmer,” Parker hastily points out.

The Great Soap Shake-Up!
A number of key cast shake-ups are about to unsettle popular soaps Home And Away, A Country Practice and E Street, while cop drama Skirts is about to lose one cast member.  Julian McMahon and Sharyn Hodgson (pictured), who play Home And Away newlyweds Ben and Carly, are leaving the show over the coming months.  Their exit from Home And Away follows recent news that original cast member Adam Willits is about to leave the show – and Craig McLachlan is also planning to leave the show but will return for guest appearances during 1991.  James Davern, producer of Seven’s A Country Practice, has confirmed that the series is about to lose cast members Michael Muntz, Mary Regan and child actor Georgina Fisher.  Actors Muntz and Regan are leaving to pursue other opportunities, while the young Fisher is leaving after two years with the show.  “I spoke to her parents and two years are enough for a child actor,” Davern told TV Week.  Meanwhile, Network Ten’s E Street is about to lose cast members Paul Kelman and Lisbeth Kennelly, whose contracts have not been renewed.  Also tipped to be leaving E Street are Chelsea Brown and Rebecca Saunders.  And Skirts star Kate Gillick is leaving the police drama to return to the theatre.

Caught in the crossfire
Tragedy strikes Neighbours when Kerry Mangel (Linda Hartley, pictured, with Mark Little) is left fighting for her life after being accidentally shot while taking part in a duck-shooting protest.  “This storyline brings out the side of Kerry’s character that I’ve always liked the most,” Hartley tells TV Week.  “She has been in a very domestic situation lately, but no-one can forget their past.  I’m pleased the opportunity came up for her to be more forthright about things she cares about.”    

Briefly…
The Comedy Company producer Ian McFadyen (pictured) has admitted that the show’s return has been tougher than expected.  “We’ve obviously got a mandate to deliver a big audience pretty soon and that’s a lot of pressure to carry.  Our ratings are worse than I thought they would be.  60 Minutes has an enormous following – a very strong loyalty – and we’re working on that at the moment.”  Meanwhile, McFadyen’s other project, Mark Mitchell’s The Big Time, has been taken off air after a short time and is set to be re-worked.

Robbo’s World Tonight host Clive Robertson insists he couldn’t care less that his show is being beaten by Tonight Live With Steve Vizard in the ratings.  “If they don’t want my show after next March (when his contract runs out), that’s fine,” he told TV Week.  “I’ll do something else.  I wouldn’t mind going back to Seven or even the ABC.”  He also admits to not liking the name of his own show.  “”Robbo’ sounds a bit silly,” he says.  If he had his choice, he’d call it something like ‘The Final Word, With Mr Robertson’.

Denise Drysdale and Ernie Sigley have spoken to TV Week about their daytime show, In Melbourne Today.  “We really are like an old married couple,” Drysdale says.  “We can have a go at each other, and it’s all part of the fun.”  While Sigley says it is a battle to try and stay ahead of the gags that the studio crew have in store for them.  “They once blew up a chook on the set and scared the living daylights out of me,” he said.

John Laws says…
”SBS’ The Movie Show with David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz is certainly a reflection of two completely different personalities.  Pomeranz is bubbly, earnestly sincere and prone to gush the extremities of praise and criticism; Stratton is cool, laidback and possessed of both gentlemanly charm and viper-like attack.”

Program Highlights (September 1-7):
Saturday:  HSV7 starts its celebrity-led assault on the top-rating Hey Hey It’s Saturday with two new shows, Celebrity Family Feud and Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune.

Sunday:  With More Winners now finished up, ABC starts screening the original Winners series of children’s dramas that had originally screened on the Ten Network.  Tonight’s episode is The Other Facts Of Life starring Ken Talbot, Dennis Miller and Anne Grigg.  Sunday night movies are Stakeout (HSV7), Children Of A Lesser God (GTV9) and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (ATV10).

Monday:  Tonight Live With Steve Vizard (HSV7) starts a week of shows presented live from London.

Wednesday:  John Bach, Oliver Tobias, Rebecca Gilling and Peta Toppano star in ABC’s new mini-series The Paper Man, screening over three consecutive nights.  Australian Democrats politician Janine Haines is this week’s guest on Speaking For Myself (SBS).  HSV7 screens the long-awaited telemovie Bony, starring Cameron Daddo, Burnum Burnum, Catherine Oxenberg, David Reyne and Tom Richards.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  1 September 1990. Southdown Press.

Adriana Xenides

Former television personality Adriana Xenides has died in a Sydney hospital after being admitted a few days ago with a stomach complaint.

Born in Argentina, model Xenides rose to fame in Australia as the co-host of game show Wheel Of Fortune. She was with the show alongside host Ernie Sigley when the Adelaide-based show began production in 1981 and continued with the show through until 1999. At the time she was recognised by the Guinness Book Of Records as the longest-serving game show hostess in the world. 

After Wheel Of Fortune, Xenides appeared as a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother and as a panellist on Beauty And The Beast.

In 2007 she appeared on Today Tonight to reveal that she was suffering from a digestive disorder thought to be genetic.

Source: Wikipedia

1990: March 3-9

‘I want to show the real me!’
Sale Of The Century hostess Alyce Platt (pictured) wants to dump her conservative, quiz-show image.  The former Sons And Daughters star is now in her fourth year on the Nine Network quiz show and is daring to bring a new daring look to the long-running program.  “It was frustrating when people kept coming up to me in the street and telling me I looked younger in real life.  What has happened in the past on Sale Of The Century is that I’ve developed an image that is not really me.  I don’t dress as you’re used to seeing me on Sale.  I’ve just signed a new contract with the show and told them I wanted a say in how I look,” Platt told TV Week.  “I feel I might as well make a huge statement.  We’re finding that a lot of younger people are watching the show now.”  The new-look is set to feature designs from three major designers – Covers, Mariana Hardwick and Jenny Bannister.

Is this the new Kylie?
Beth Buchanan, the younger sister of Hey Dad! star Simone Buchanan, is to become a new resident of Ramsay Street.  The 17-year-old has been offered a high-profile role in Neighbours, following the departure of actress Rachel Friend from the show, sparking speculation that she is set to become “the new Kylie.”  A Network Ten spokesperson is staying tight-lipped, though:  “She has been offered the part, but I cannot confirm whether she has signed on the dotted line.” 

Are Denise and husband about to be reunited?
The year just passed is not one that Denise Drysdale (pictured) will want to cope with again.  The Hey Hey It’s Saturday and In Melbourne Today co-star is still coming to terms with the announcement that her ten-year marriage to actor Chris Milne had ended, and the impact it has had on her two boys, aged 9 and 7.  But there is no evidence of bitterness or discomfort when it comes to her former husband.   When asked if she would consider reuniting with Milne, she only responds “I just don’t know.  Stranger things have happened… I’m the sort of person who lives day to day.”  As well as working on her farm property in Gippsland, a 90-minute drive from Melbourne, Drysdale commutes to Melbourne twice a week for tapings of In Melbourne Today and Hey Hey It’s Saturday, hosts a weekly magazine show for local Gippsland channel GLV8 and is in constant demand for club appearances with long-time colleague Ernie Sigley.  Drysdale also responds to rumours that all is not well with her Hey Hey It’s Saturday co-stars, with reports that they’re miffed that she was doing and saying too much.  “Because Jacki MacDonald had been there for so long, I think it’s taken a lot of time for the others to realise there’s someone there to make a lot of noise… I can’t just stand there.  But I don’t think I would have been put in the job if they (the producers) didn’t like the way I work.  They know I’m not like Jacki.  I still think it will take more time to settle in.”  And when asked if she tires of her co-stars constant references to her anatomy, she only responds “No, they’ve been hanging around for years!”

Briefly…
Joining the list of guests jetting in for the upcoming TV Week Logie Awards is actor John Travolta, on the eve of the Australian release of his latest movie, Look Who’s Talking, and Aussie actress Sigrid Thornton, currently based in Los Angeles as the star of the CBS series, Paradise.

The arrival of Julian McMahon’s (pictured) character, Ben Lucini, in Seven’s Home And Away triggers a whirlwind romance with Carly (Sharyn Hodgson) with the pair becoming engaged within only a couple of weeks.

This week sees comedian Glynn Nicholas take over from Wendy Harmer as host of ABC’s popular comedy program, The Big Gig.  Harmer is now working on her own show, In Harmer’s Way, which is set to debut on ABC in April.

John Laws says…
”Kerry O’Brien, for whom I have a high personal regard, launched his promising new show Lateline at a time when a transport workers’ strike was gripping NSW and elsewhere, when Andrew Peacock was reeling from another pre-election poll tumble, when TNT had announced a dramatic fall in profits due to the airline dispute, and when the nation was on the brink of another national election campaign.  But what did O’Brien serve up on his first Lateline?  South Africa!  Sure, Nelson Mandela had been freed a couple of days earlier and South Africa was dominating TV news and hogging all the newspaper headlines.  But that’s my point:  By the time Lateline arrived, I suspect we were all totally overdosed on Mandela and the South African issue.  How much more were we expected to take?”

Program Highlights (March 3-9):
Saturday:  GTV9’s Cartoon Company returns to early Saturday mornings, but is now also joined by C-Company, presenting three-and-a-half hours of C-rated programming, including The Curiosity Show and Tasmanian-based KTV.
Sunday:  ATV10 crosses to the banks of the Yarra River to televise the 1990 Birdman Rally, part of the annual Moomba festival, hosted by Greg Evans and Colette Mann.  Sunday night movies are Cop (HSV7), White Mischief (GTV9) and Rambo III (ATV10).
Monday:  ABC and GTV9 interrupt their normal Monday night schedules for a half-hour Liberal Party policy speech, leading up the the Federal Election.  A re-run of the early-‘80s soap opera Holiday Island begins to get a late-night re-run on ATV10, screening Monday to Thursday nights after midnight.
Wednesday:  In E Street (ATV10), Alice (Marianne Howard) learns the truth about Paul (Warren Jones) and Lisa (Alyssa-Jane Cook).  A new beginning for Chris (Paul Kelman) and Megan (Lisbeth Kennelly) fuels the Abby (Chelsea Brown) and Vi (Bunney Brooke) feud.
Thursday:  After Tuesday night’s Liberal Party speech, it is now the ALP’s turn with Prime Minister Bob Hawke getting equal time with a half-hour policy speech on ABC and GTV9.
Friday:  Mark Mitchell hosts the 32nd annual presentation of the TV Week Logie Awards, live from the Hyatt On Collins Hotel, Melbourne, and televised on ATV10.  The two-and-a-half presentation culminates with the presentation of the Gold Logie to Australia’s most popular TV personality.  Up against the Logie Awards are movies The Dirty Dozen (HSV7), Every Which Way But Loose (GTV9) and The Last Innocent Man (ABC).

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

1990: February 3-9

Justine’s back… but is Alex set to take off?
Justine Clarke and Alex Papps, former Home And Away couple Roo Stewart and Frank Morgan, are now both on the Nine Network.  But while Papps is settled in at The Flying Doctors, Clarke has moved into TV’s newest suburb, Kingsmead, in the new series Family And Friends.  Clarke admits that she had second thoughts about signing up with another series.  “I did um and ah for a while.  But I knew I was working with the same team who developed Home And Away, so I was confident and it was easier for me to make the decision,” she told TV Week.  But the future of her former colleague is unknown as production has finished filming the sixth series of The Flying Doctors, but there is no word as to whether there will be a seventh.  Nine has asked to reduce the show’s budget, but Crawford Productions don’t want to lower the standard of the show.  “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Papps told TV Week.  “Ratings-wise it’s doing well.  It’s just the cost.  If it goes into series seven, I’ll definitely be there.”

Annie lands in Cooper’s Crossing
Now sporting a short-cropped haircut, former Neighbours star Annie Jones is forging ahead with her career.  The TV Week Logie Award-winning actress has just completed work on the Crawford Productions’ mini-series Jackaroo and is now embarking on a new role as an opal miner’s daughter in The Flying Doctors.  Her character’s arrival in the outback drama leads to a romance with Dr David Radcliffe (Brett Climo).  For the former Neighbours star, Ramsay Street feels a million miles away:  “It was such an intense time and all of a sudden it was gone.  I was lucky I had something else (Jackaroo) to go to.”

Well, what a start!
The Nine Network’s new drama Family And Friends kicks off with a cliffhanger when two of the main characters are stuck in a well.  Young lovers Jennifer Chandler (Roxane Wilson) and Robert Rossi (Renato Bartolomei) are caught in a Romeo And Juliet-style romance as it brings together two families with long-standing feuds.  After a fight between the two lovers’ fathers, the pair are told to leave and not come back.  In their bid to secretly elope, they meet at an old well which is covered but as they walk across it, the cover breaks.  The new series also stars Sean Myers, Robert Forza, Simon Westaway, Anna-Maria Monticelli, Diane Craig, Anne Phelan and Dinah Shearing.

Briefly…
Nine’s long-running quiz show Sale Of The Century returns for its 10th year, starting the year with a masters’ challenge featuring world champions from the past three years over a two-week battle.  Previous Sale contests, such as “the Ashes” and “the Commonwealth Games”, have been a hit with viewers and it is hoped this latest contest will be a new year ratings hit.

A cast shake-up in Network Ten’s E Street will see no less than five characters written out of the series.  Lawyer Jennifer St James (Virginia Hey) will upset the pending nuptials between Daniel Windsor (Chris Orchard) and Dr Elly Fielding (Penny Cook), and will result in Jennifer departing with Daniel to Switzerland, taking three of his four children.  His eldest daughter, Toni (Toni Pearen), will remain in Westside.

Actor Paul Keane was ready to resign from his long-running role as Des Clarke in Neighbours, but has instead opted to take a four-month break and is expected to return in April.  Keane’s break from the show comes as cast morale is at an all-time low following the departure of several key cast members, but producers are confident that Des will return with some good storylines.

On The Grapevine…
The Vine was really knocked out by the astrologer who “predicted” that former Perfect Match hostess Kerrie Friend would be doing some travelling overseas this year.  This amazing prediction hit the streets after Friend, who’d announced her intentions well in advance, had left Australia for Los Angeles.

John Laws says…
”There’s some good news in the comedy area with confirmation of a new 13-episode series of Acropolis Now on Seven.  Making its debut last year, it provided one of the ‘sleeper’ hits, pulling in ratings in the low 20s in the major cities.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne):
Saturday:  GTV9 presents the last day of competition and the Closing Ceremony from the Commonwealth Games, live from Auckland. 
Sunday:  ATV10 crosses to Manly, Sydney, for the Ironman Super Series.  Competitors include Grant Kenny, Guy Leach and Trevor Hendy.  HSV7 presents live coverage of the Davis Cup tennis, from Royal Kings Park, Perth, and GTV9 crosses to the SCG for Australia versus Pakistan in the Cricket Third Test.  Sunday night movies are At Close Range (HSV7), Smokey And The Bandit (GTV9) and the first instalment of the re-run of mini-series Vietnam (ATV10), starring Nicholas Eadie, Barry Otto and Nicole Kidman.
Monday:  GTV9’s morning chat show, In Melbourne Today, returns for a new year with hosts Ernie Sigley and Denise Drysdale.
Wednesday:  The debut of GTV9’s new drama Family And Friends is up against E Street (ATV10).  HSV7 presents the AFL pre-season competiton, the Fosters Cup, featuring Footscray versus Richmond.
Thursday:  The second episode of Family And Friends is followed by The Flying Doctors’ return with a new series.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide. 3 February 1990. Southdown Press. 

Ding Dong Denise back on daytime TV

Denise Drysdale is set to make her return to TV as a panellist on the upcoming Ten Network program, The Circle.

One of Australia’s true TV veterans, Drysdale was a performer in children’s television in the 1960s, later featuring in pop music shows Kommotion, Uptight and Dig We Must and on Graham Kennedy’s In Melbourne Tonight. 

A number of guest appearances in Crawford dramas Division Four and Homicide later led to her becoming Ernie Sigley’s sidekick on the Nine Network’s The Ernie Sigley Show.  Their popularity led to them, in 1975, winning TV Week Gold Logies for most popular male and female on Australian TV.  Drysdale then won a second Gold Logie the following year.

She also starred in the sitcom The Bluestone Boys and musical special The 20s And All That Jazz (pictured) and appeared on Young Talent Time, Cop Shop, Countdown, The Penthouse Club, The Truckies, The Don Lane Show, The Mike Walsh Show, The Daryl Somers Show and co-hosted Hey Hey It’s Saturday after the departure of Jacki MacDonald from the show.  Living on a farm since the late-‘70s, she also hosted her own weekly program in the 1980s on local channel GLV8, based in Gippsland, Victoria.

The new Ten Network show marks Drysdale’s return to daytime TV after previous success when re-united with Sigley for In Melbourne Today in the late ‘80s, the program later titled Ernie And Denise when the show went national.  Then after two years as co-host on the revived In Melbourne Tonight with Frankie J Holden, Drysdale had her own daytime show, Denise, on the Seven Network in the late 1990s.

Recently, she has appeared as a guest on ABC’s Spicks And Specks and in the Hey Hey It’s Saturday reunion.

The Circle, due to start on Tuesday 9 February, is the replacement for Ten’s 9AM With David And Kim which wound up in December after four years on-air.  (The last two months have seen a “best of” collection of segments from the show airing as 9AM Summertime in the two-hour morning timeslot)

Also appearing as regulars on The Circle will be Foxtel presenter Yumi Stynes, performer and TV presenter Gorgi Coghlan and former Big Brother contestant and Vega FM breakfast presenter Chrissie Swan.

Scheduled to air weekdays from 10.00am, the new two-hour show promises topical chat with audience interaction.  The existing one-hour Ten News bulletin at 11.00am will move to 9.00am.

From the outset, it appears that The Circle looks like a daytime twist on Ten’s early evening The 7PM Project, a program that also features regular and guest panellists discussing issues of the day with some audience interaction.  The Circle’s all-female panel format also appears to bear a resemblance to the popular US show The View (shown in Australia on Foxtel and Nine), and its less-successful Australian adaptation, The Catch-Up, which aired on Nine in 2007.  It will be interesting to see if The Circle can overcome these perceptions and offer a viable alternative to The Morning Show and Mornings With Kerri-Anne on rival networks Seven and Nine.

1979: September 8-14

Emergency edition: Due to an industrial dispute at TV Times’ printers, this issue of the magazine has required a change in its usual format.  All regular features have been maintained as well as our complete program coverage.  We apologise for any inconvenience to your usual reading habits.

High-flying mates
Friendships are rare among actors, who often have to fight for themselves and seldom work long together.  An exception is the friendship of over 13 years between Ken James and Tony Bonner, both stars of Skippy The Bush Kangaroo, The Box and now Skyways.  Bonner recalls that it was in 1966 when he first met James, then 13 or 14 years old and auditioning for a role in Skippy.  Despite their nine year age difference, and a stint overseas by Bonner, the pair often found their paths crossing professionally and personally and their families meet quite frequently.  James recalls Bonner’s enthusiasm for motorbikes and some of the his antics caused producers some anxiety.  He also recalls how the pair also went on strike against the canteen at ATV0 while taping The Box: “We didn’t like the food so we used to bring in our own prawns and avocados and set up the white wine and dine in style.”

Gunston in the gun!
John Eastway, producer and director of The Norman Gunston Show, watched horrified as the giant sumo wrestler picked up the pint-sized Norman Gunston (Garry McDonald, pictured).  Despite Eastway carefully explaining through an interpreter what he wanted the wrestler to do, something was lost in translation.  So without so much as a ripple of a muscle, the wrestler threw Gunston a couple of metres and then pounded him onto the ground.  McDonald managed to get to his feet – and cracked a joke.  “Garry took a terrible beating that day.  It took him all afternoon to recover,” Eastway said.  The wrestler incident is just one of many unpredictable moments during four-and-a-half years of producing the show for ABC and now the Seven Network.  Another unplanned moment was when Gunston was interviewing Keith Moon, drummer with the Who rock group, in London in 1976 and Moon poured a bottle of vodka over him.  Although temporarily blinded by the vodka, McDonald carried on as Gunston and the cameras kept rolling.  Both McDonald and Eastway were angry from the incident and Moon’s entourage apologised profusely.  Despite the number of unscripted incidents, only once has Eastway decided against screening an interview – that with British film-maker Ken Russell who didn’t take too kindly to Gunston asking him if he wrote, produced and directed his owns films because he couldn’t afford staff.  Russell became extremely upset, even violent, threatening the crew.  Eastway ushered McDonald from the scene.

Judy takes the plunge
Actress Judy Morris likes playing many different characters – and it shows in her most recent parts.  Playing a lesbian air hostess in Skyways, Morris is also seen as a photographic model in the feature film In Search Of Anna and this week plays a marine biologist in ABC’s Patrol Boat.  Morris took on the role of air hostess Robyn Davies (pictured) in Skyways because she thought it presented an interesting approach to lesbianism:  “I did the part because I felt like working, the role was different and it only took a few weeks to do.”  At 32, Morris has been an entertainer for twenty years – starting in radio plays for ABC while still at school in Queensland.  But experience hasn’t made her work any easier:  “It’s harder to act now than when I was younger.  When you’re young you can think you can play any part, even an 80-year-old woman with a limp.  As you get older you realise how hard it is to play roles, and you ask much more of yourself.” 

Briefly…
Acclaimed stage actor John Gaden has joined the cast of The Young Doctors for a guest role as a hotel manager.  Also making a guest appearance, in a different storyline in the series, is Pamela Gibbons, who has worked on The Norman Gunston Show and appeared in Number 96 and The Oracle.

After a three-year battle, the controversial Australian film Petersen (pictured) is allowed by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal for release to television, on the condition that it is not shown before 9.30pm.  The movie, starring Jack Thompson, was originally scheduled and promoted for screening by HSV7 in 1976 but was withdrawn from the schedule at the last moment by the censors.  Ironically, the version that has been permitted to air on Australian TV is the edited version for American television.  A late programming change by HSV7 will now see Petersen aired this week.

Former The Box actress Monica Maughan returns to TV in an upcoming role in Prisoner as mother Pat O’Connell, a very family-minded inmate at Wentworth Detention Centre.

Although Peter Wherrett has publicly said that he wouldn’t produce another Torque series, the mail and phone calls received since the last series went to air indicates that there is public demand for another series.  The eighth series of the popular motoring program will go into production in December and will air on ABC next year.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”I watch Countdown often but when Ian Meldrum’s Humdrum comes on I feel like turning off the TV.  When great pop stars come to the show he wears shirts and jumpers with their names all over them, but as soon as they leave the country he criticises them.” T. Mitchell, QLD.

“When a friend told me that there would be a two-hour episode of Cop Shop, I settled down to enjoy it, but was so disappointed and disgusted that I switched to another channel.  Who except the morally sick would enjoy hearing about lesbians and homosexuals?  I know what the reaction of some readers will be to this letter, but I also happen to know a great number of people who think the same as I do.  Can’t we “make Australia beautiful” by cultivating clean minds.  TV can do so much in that line.” M. Caffery, QLD.

“I’d like to complain about the time Blue Fire Lady was shown on Sydney’s TCN9.  TV Times programs showed the screening time as 8.30pm to 10.30pm on Friday 27 July, but it was on from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.  Through the fault of TCN9 and TV Times, I missed the first hour of the movie.  I hope the same mistake won’t be made again, as there will be many unhappy viewers.” R. Courts, NSW.  (TV Times responds:  “This program change by TCN9 came too late to catch the publication of the Sydney edition of TV Times.”)

What’s On (September 8-14):
On Saturday afternoon, ATV0 presents the gospel outreach World Literature Crusade, a 5-hour special hosted by Dr Jack McAlistair, President of World Literature Crusade, featuring musical performances and dramatised historical conversations with pioneer missionaries.

Saturday Night Live (HSV7), hosted by Ernie Sigley with Trudy Jaworski, features a music hall theme with guest appearances by Bartholomew John, Ian Turpie, Terry O’Neill, Terry Norris and Vi Greenhalf.

With the VFL finals now in progress, ATV0 presents the Cazaly Awards on Monday night.  Hosted by Michael Williamson, Ted Whitten, Harry Beitzel and Jack Dyer, live from VFL Park.  The Gold Cazaly and $5000 will be awarded to the outstanding footballer of the year.  A further $20,000 in prize money will be awarded to the overall best players in all eighteen game positions.  The awards will also recognise the most popular footballer from each club.

In Cop Shop (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), a pedestrian is nearly killed as a car spins out of control, the driver of the car claims he was only a passenger.  O’Reilly (Terry Norris) waits for the birth of his grandson, and Vic Cameron (Terence Donovan) is gradually becoming accepted and liked at Riverside.  Constable Roy Baker (Gil Tucker, pictured) decides his love life is wearing a bit thin and joins a computer-dating service.

In Prisoner (ATV0, Tuesday and Wednesday), Vera Bennett (Fiona Spence) has hopes of a new interest in her personal life.  While in Skyways (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), Anne Williamson (Kathryn Dagher) is a new hostess at Pacific International, and David Rankin (Fred Parslow) arrives with news of a 15 per cent pay cut in Pacific’s personnel.

Special guests on The Norman Gunston Show (HSV7, Wednesday) include Elliot Gould, George Segal, Valerie Perrine, Ed Asner and Hal Linden.

Jim Waley presents a one-hour special, The Babymakers (GTV9, Thursday) which unveils some of the facts about infertility in Australia which will surprise many Australians and bring hope to couples who have been unable to conceive.  The special also discusses fertility clinics, artificial insemination centres and the possibility of Australia’s first test tube baby.

On Friday night, GTV9 presents a delayed telecast of the 31st annual Emmy Awards for 1978-79.  The awards presentation took place in California on the previous weekend.

Sunday night movies: A Magnificent Hustle (HSV7), Love’s Savage Fury (GTV9), The Prisoner Of Second Avenue (ATV0).  A Man Of Action is the third instalment of ABC’s A Place In The World, starring Nick Tate, Carmen Duncan and Max Osbiston.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 8 September 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: September 1-7

Emergency Edition: “Due to a fire at TV Times’ printers, this issue of the magazine has required a change to its usual format.  All regular features have been maintained as well as our complete program coverage.  We apologise for any inconvenience to your usual reading habits and assure you that normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.”

First love…
When actor Sam Neill arrived in Australia for the first time he was a movie star nobody wanted to know.  Now, as the new love for Kitty Sullivan (Susan Hannaford, pictured with Neill) in The Sullivans, he is a TV star everyone wants to interview.  Despite the lack of interest when he first visited Australia, to promote a New Zealand film Sleeping Dogs, Neill took the opportunity to observe the Australian industry and decided that he wanted to stay.  A key role in the movie My Brilliant Career led to his role in The Sullivans.  “I’ve had a wonderful introduction to life as an actor in Australia through a good quality film and a top rating, top quality TV show.” 

A date to remember!
The Australia’s film and television industry will gather at Sydney’s Seymour Centre on 17 October for this year’s Australian Film and TV Awards – the Sammys.  The awards ceremony, presented by TV Times for the Variety Club of Australia charity for underprivileged children, will be telecast by the Seven Network and hosted by Roger Climpson (pictured).  More than 350 nominations have been made for the 40 award categories.  Nominations for the two Gold Sammy awards (male and female) include Harry Butler, Garry McDonald, Mike Walsh, Paul Cronin, Don Lane, Bert Newton, Gerard Kennedy, Julie Anthony, Lorraine Bayly, Marcia Hines, Judy Morris and Julieanne Newbould.

Series took six years to see the light
This week’s debut of the 0-10 Network’s new children’s program Simon Townsend’s Wonder World marks the culmination of six years’ work for journalist and producer Simon Townsend (pictured).  Townsend first developed the concept in 1973 after two years editing a children’s newspaper, Zoot, and produced a pilot with the assistance of the Seven Network.  Townsend then joined the Nine Network’s A Current Affair and was later assisted by Mike Willesee in negotiating with the 0-10 Network.  A second pilot, produced independently, was successful in gaining approval for the ‘C’ classification by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal and formed the basis for the 0-10 Network series.  The new show, described by Townsend as “current affairs in style – but not adult current affairs explained down for children,” has a staff of around 20, including four reporters, two researchers, two editors, two associate producers and a full-time animator.

Briefly…
Robyn Nevin plays Nellie Melba in ABC’s adaptation of Jack Hibberd’s play A Toast To Melba.  It is one of six Australian plays being made by ABC for screening next year.

Denise Drysdale and actor Chris Milne have just married at a ceremony attended by 175 invited guests – and 100 ‘uninvited’ guests who gate-crashed the event.  There will be no honeymoon for the couple as Drysdale is currently working on Cop Shop and Milne is working at renovating the country cottage they have just bought from Ernie Sigley.

If Vince Martin is missing when he’s needed on the set of The Restless Years, chances are he can be found in TEN10’s props department, playing his own compositions at a grand piano once used in The Steve Raymond Show and surrounded by various props and other relics discarded from the set of Number 96. 

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”I am always home on weekends and all I get to see on TV is rubbish.  Why don’t TV stations put on some all-night movies so people can enjoy themselves at home on Saturday night?” M. Smith, WA.

“I was disturbed to see that the Miss Universe pageant was compered by Americans, though the show was held in Australia.  Why was this so?” G. Scott, VIC. (TV Times responds - “The Miss Universe pageant is an American-owned and American-sponsored contest, and American TV personality Bob Barker has compered it for more than a decade.”)

“There are a lot of people like myself who enjoy Australian football.  Some of us are lucky enough to view the direct telecast from Melbourne each Saturday afternoon.  Others have to try ABC’s The Winners on Sunday night.  One recent Sunday evening after a long, dreary wait we were given just a little over five minutes at 11.10pm.  I consider it an insult for the national network to give so little time to our national game.  Surely The Winners could be broadcast at an earlier time or on some other night of the week?” C. Wilson, QLD.

“I realise that Skyways needs advertising to keep it “in the air,” but I fail to see that ATN7 is aiding its cause – i.e. the toppling of Nine’s The Don Lane Show – by flooding Skyways with an incalculable number of advertisements.  I ask the question:  Is there a difference between skyjacking a plane for a million dollars and holding Skyways to advertising ransom?” S. McLean, NSW.

What’s On (September 1-7):
ATV0’s Deafness Appeal telethon continues on Saturday, taking a break only at 6.00pm for Eyewitness News, then resuming at 6.30pm with a special extended edition of Young Talent Time.  The telethon’s evening segment commences at 8.00pm and continues through to the Appeal close just before midnight.

ABC’s Tuesday night drama Twenty Good Years comes to a conclusion this week, having traced the lives of Ron Fielding (Harold Hopkins) and his wife Anne (Anne Pendlebury) since they first met in 1956 (pictured).  In the final episode, set in 1975, Ron becomes seriously ill and admits that the business is too much for him.  He sells up and buys a caravan park.  Michael Fielding (Jeremy Kewley) becomes involved with a Jewish woman ten years his senior.

This week’s episode of documentary series Hospital (ABC, Thursday) examines the constant pressure borne by hospital staff in the vital Intensive Care Unit.  The program follows the journey of a patient, seriously burned in a motor-cycle accident, from his admittance to the time the doctor tells him his recovery will be slow.

In Prisoner (ATV0, Tuesday and Wednesday), an underworld slaying leads to the arrival of a prisoner who makes a big impact.  In Cop Shop (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), one lottery pool winner has died and another is hospitalised with $100,000 missing.

Sunday night movies: Taxi (HSV7), The Agony And The Ecstasy (GTV9), A Step Out Of Line (ATV0).  ABC presents Man Of Dreams, the second play in the series A Place In The World.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 1 September 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: August 18-24

Young Doctor in love
Dr Peter Holland (Peter Lochran, pictured) has often been seen as the heartless playboy out for a good time in The Young Doctors.  But the arrival of Maria Pazios (Sigrid Thornton) is set to change all that.  It is love at first sight for the pair but it is set to be a rocky road to romance, as Maria’s parents have arranged a marriage for her in Malaysia.  She was born in Greece but raised in Malaysia.

Jackie Collins’ plans for Don Lane
Best-selling author Jackie Collins is determined that she will direct as well as write the next movie adaptation of one of her books – and Don Lane may have a key role in it.  In Australia to promote her book and movie The World Is Full Of Married Men, Jackie and her husband Oscar Lerman spoke at length with Lane and told him he would be the right fit for a key character in their next film.  Lane, admitting he had been “bitten” by movie offers, has adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

Not just a pretty voice!
Top-rating Melbourne radio announcer Greg Evans (pictured) has made the big break into television.  The popular night-time announcer on 3XY, voted Victoria’s most popular radio DJ four times, now presents a weekly segment on The Mike Walsh Show.  The 26-year-old is out on the streets interviewing adults on various topical subjects for the weekly segment.  “With my radio shift being an evening one, it means that I can utilise my daytime hours to fir in nicely with The Mike Walsh Show,” he told TV Times. 

Agreement over jail recess row
The dispute between the cast of Prisoner and Melbourne channel ATV0 has been resolved amicably.  The cast had protested when it was rumoured that production would stop with ten weeks over summer because of the channel’s commitment to racing – in particular the Melbourne Cup Carnival in November.  This would have meant a ten-week break without pay.  Producer Ian Bradley said a six-week break was now decided: “Facilities have been found for the remaining weeks of production.  Really, the dispute has been a non-event.  We have been having continuous discussion with the cast and Actors’ Equity and have reached an amicable solution without any trouble.”  Despite the shorter production break, two of the show’s cast, recently-married Barry Quin and Peita Toppano (pictured), will be taking a two-month holiday to the UK over the Christmas period.

Born to be wild
A former New Zealand bikie with a tough public image in his home country, actor Bill Stalker (pictured) is cautious about his portrayal of gruff airport security officer Ken Peterson in Skyways as he is not keen to sustain the same reputation in Australia.  “I started an acting career in 1969 and won a role in an episode of a series called Pukemianu as a character called Sammy, a bikie.  The casting people suggested me – then described as ‘that bikie who does a bit of acting.’  It was a fair description too.  As a teenager I did ride a big motorcycle in a gang and got up to the crazy stunts bikie gangs are known for.  We drank a lot, had wild parties and enjoyed the girls that go with them.  I wasn’t really surprised when I became an actor with the reputation of being a hell-raising tough guy.”  But now 31-years-old, Stalker is no longer the rebellious teenager and is hoping that he can break out of the tough image of his earlier years.  Before coming to Australia for Skyways, he had been in Shakespeare plays, a children’s film and a Spike Milligan comedy.  In 1976 he was nominated for actor of the year for his role in New Zealand drama Close To Home. 

Briefly…
Prisoner star Val Lehman has been allowed a two-week break from the series to star in an upcoming ABC play, The Dole Bludger, with former Prisoner co-star Carol Burns.

Sydney actor Robert Hughes, who has been appearing in underwear commercials warning about getting caught with your pants down, is currently working on Graham Kennedy’s ABC radio comedy show and is to be appear in upcoming pilots to be made by RS Productions for the Seven Network.

Actress Liddy Clark, fresh from her role in ABC’s Ride On Stranger, is now being seen on the 0-10 Network’s Prisoner.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
”I would like to congratulate ABC for their long-awaited Sunday morning ethnic programs.  It is about time the large ethnic community in Sydney was given a fair go on TV.” J. Gailis, NSW.

“It is with great disappointment that we will no longer be able to view the great Australian show, Cop Shop, due to BTQ7 Brisbane removing from its normal time of 8.30pm.  If it stays at 7.30pm we will sadly not be able to see it, as The Restless Years on TVQ0 is a more more suitable show for children aged nine to 13.  We will not be bothered to turn the dial back to Seven to watch Skyways, as the previews of it seem to consist of nothing but smut.  Good for our children to see, isn’t it?” M. Gundry, QLD.

“Congratulations to ABC for yet another fine Australian series, Twenty Good Years.  The acting must be about the best on TV.  Just look at the brilliant case.  Harold Hoplins, Peter Cummins, Anne Pendlebury, Michael Carmen, all those wonderful people from the Melbourne Theatre Company… Sandy Gore, Gary Down, Jonathan Hardy, Julia Blake and that wonderful pair Leila Hayes and John Murphy!  The sets, scripts and everything else are always at that perfect ABC standard.” J. Kelly, VIC.

What’s On (August 18-24):
Joining Ernie Sigley and Belinda Leigh on HSV7’s Saturday Night Live are guests Michelle Fawdon, Normie Rowe, Julie McKenna, Shirlene Clancey, Russell Morris and Neil Williams.

ABC’s Sunday afternoon movie the the US drama Barnaby And Me, featuring Young Talent Time cast member Sally Boyden.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at the development of Australia’s motion picture and theatre industry – including footage from the world’s first feature film The Story Of The Kelly Gang.

Marc Hunter, Renee Geyer and Air Supply are guest performers in the latest Paul Hogan Show special screening on GTV9 on Tuesday night.  Later in the evening, ATV0 presents an adults-only special So You Want To Be A Centrefold – a ‘special investigation’ showing Australia’s centrefold girls at home, at work and in the studio.

The Federal Budget is handed down in Canberra on Tuesday.  ABC presents five and ten minute summaries at 8.25pm and 9.20pm before follow-up coverage in Nationwide at 9.30pm.  HSV7 presents a half-hour report at 10.30pm with Laurie Wilson in Canberra.  GTV9 has a one-hour Budget report at 10.30pm and ATV0 has five-minute reports at 9.30pm and 10.35pm.

ABC presents the first of a six-part series, Hospital.  The first episode, titled Casualty,  depicts the hectic day and night of the casualty section of St Vincent’s Hospital with cases ranging from small cuts to heroin doses, and coping with the drama faced by people entering hospital.

Sunday night movies: Maneaters Are Loose (HSV7), Harold And Maude (GTV9), Magnum Force (ATV0).  ABC presents Romeo And Juliet, the second in the series of all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays to be adapted for television by BBC.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 18 August 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: May 19-25

Wedding bells for Prisoner stars
TV’s love story of the year culminated in a wedding on Sunday 29 April – and there wasn’t a TV camera in sight.  Prisoner stars Barry Quin and Peita Toppano (pictured) got married in a garden wedding at the property of Toppano’s parents (Enzo and Peggy Toppano) in Pymble, NSW.  The bridesmaid at the ceremony was Prisoner co-star Carol Burns and the best man was The Young Doctors star John Dommett.  The newlywed couple had a week’s break from production to honeymoon on the NSW coast.

Bill looks at a peach of a city!
Bill Peach’s new ABC series, Peach’s Cities, is half-way through production.  In the series, Peach explores each of Australia’s eight capital cities.  The first four episodes have already been filmed.  The new series takes a similar format to Peach’s previous series, Peach’s Australia, though will put less emphasis on the historical background and more on the cities’ future and what problems they may face.  Peach’s Cities is expected to air on ABC later in 1979 and will be followed by a book.

My worst moment…
Being a TV interviewer can bring many challenges, whether talking to Mr and Mrs Average or the rich and famous, and sometimes things don’t always go to plan.  Countdown’s Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum recalled an interview with US singer Billy Joel: “I started by asking him a very involved question that took about 75 seconds to ask.  Then I found Billy was in one of those quiet moods.  All he said was ‘yes’.  So I asked Billy if he had anything else to say on the subject and he said ‘no’.  So I did all I could do and asked him long questions to which he gave his short answers.  It was a nightmare.”  Mike Walsh (pictured) didn’t recall his worst but, rather, his most embarrassing interview, featuring magazine columnist, veterinarian Dr Paul: “He came on the show to tell us how to tell the sex of a rabbit.  A local Catholic school and a Church of England school donated rabbits.  The rabbits soon made it clear which sex was which when, undeterred by their public appearance, they got on with the business.  I poured a glass of water over them but they just kept at it.”  TVW7 Today hostess Stephanie Quinlan never forget the day Warren Mitchell walked out on an interview: “Mitchell came for the interview when rebuilding work was going on at the studio.  The sounds of the work were clearly heard and Mitchell walked off the set at least three times.  He eventually agreed to the interview and so, with a prayer for quiet builders, I started the questions.  By that time, Mitchell’s mood was similar to a large black thundercloud so his answers were somewhat loud and rude.  I was surprised that such an educated man could vent his feelings so uncontrollably and show such a lack of professionalism.  I must say he didn’t act like a gentleman.”

Briefly…
The Grundy Organisation is making a pilot for a “topical light entertainment” show for the 7.00pm timeslot for the 0-10 Network.  The project, titled Graffiti, will feature a large cast from both Sydney and Melbourne.

Pete Smith, the long-time booth announcer for GTV9, is now hosting Adelaide Tonight for NWS9 following the departure of Ernie Sigley, now focusing on Saturday Night Live for HSV7 Melbourne.

The second series of Young Ramsay has commenced production in Melbourne.  The 13-part series will again feature John Hargreaves as vet Peter Ramsay and Serge Lazareff as wildlife ranger Ray Turner.

British sex symbol of the ‘50s, Diana Dors, is coming to Australia to promote her book Behind Closed Dors and will be making guest appearances on both The Mike Walsh Show and The Don Lane Show.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”I congratulate the staff of ATN7 and TEN10 Sydney who do such a wonderful job of program planning.  It was a stroke of genius to put The Muppet Show and Hans Christian Andersen on at the same time as the Star Wars Holiday Spectacular.  I hope these individuals of such superior intellect could inform a mother, with only one TV set, how she can explain to her two disappointed children that they could watch only one program.  I hope both Channels 7 and 10 take satisfaction in the fact that they upset a lot of children.” B. Hawk, NSW.  (TV Times responds: “All commercial TV channels are in competition to gain the biggest audiences, and “counter-programming” to reduce the anticipated ratings of an opposition channel’s programming is part of their business.  We get many letters on the subject.”)

“I’d like to take a shot at The Young Doctors – how the nurses carry on with the young doctors!  One would think that just about every nurse would have her going-on with the doctors.  The nurses on TV soapies are an insult to the honourable nursing profession.” I. Craig, NSW.

“Australian comedies are never usually worth watching, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that Doctors Down Under is not only distinctly worth watching, but it is nearly as good as the original.”  D. Dowell, NSW.

What’s On (May 19-25):
Philip Adams, Harry Butler and Lloyd Rees are the guests on the final Parkinson In Australia (ABC, Saturday).

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at fads and fashion – remembering the pogo-stick, mini-golf and yoyo crazes and the many changes in women’s fashions.

In Cop Shop (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), a dangerous epidemic threatens Riverside as police search desperately for a typhoid carrier.  Guest stars include Barbara Llewellyn and John Ley.

On Wednesday night HSV7 presents the Miss Teenage 1979 contest from the Camberwell Civic Centre, hosted by Ray Chapman.

ABC presents the first of a six-part series, Journey Into Japan, narrated by Keith Adams.  The program looks at various aspects of Japanese life including leisure, tourism, culture and tradition.

Sunday night movies: Irma La Douce (HSV7), The Rare Breed (GTV9), Summer Of ‘42 (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 19 May 1979.  ABC/ACP