The arrival of new cast members Gavin Harrison and Kym Wilson (both pictured) in A Country Practice signals a new era for the series which has in the last few months lost many of its established and popular cast – including Syd Heylen, Gordon Piper, Georgie Parker, John Tarrant, Matt Day, and soon to join them will be Lorrae Desmond. But Wilson says that despite the cast upheaval there is a positive feeling around the set. “There are good vibes going around the Seven Network,” she told TV Week. “It was a bit of a shock – not so much for Gavin and me – for people who have been in the show for a long time; fixtures like Gordon and Syd. And now with Georgie, John, Matt and Lorrae, of course it’s a bit sad. But everyone said when Molly (Anne Tenney) and Brendan (Shane Withington) left – then Vicki (Penny Cook) and Simon (Grant Dodwell) – that the show was over.”
Former Australian actor John Bluthal has returned from the UK to play the part of a Jewish father in the black comedy Death Duties, the fourth feature in the SBS drama series Six Pack. For Bluthal, the character is almost a mirror image of himself. “He’s probably the nearest person to myself I’ve ever had to play, as far as I’m concerned,” he told TV Week. “Like me, he’s a Pole, he’s Jewish and he grew up in Melbourne.” Death Duties, which tells a story spanned over several years during which a father and son’s stormy relationship mellows into something more agreeable, also stars Anna Volska, Nancye Hayes and Lloyd Morris.
The Nine Network this week launches a weekly series spin-off from the recent documentary Sex. The new series, screening on Thursday nights, sees host Sophie Lee joined by a team ready to cover every aspect of sex and sexuality – Dr Kerryn Phelps, family therapist Brian Cade and reporters Darren McDonald, Sallianne Deckert and Patrick Lindsay. Although the series will tackle the topic of sex in a serious manner, Lee says the show will maintain a sense of humour. “In the Nineties it is important that people are educated about sexual matters, but it’s important not to take yourself so seriously that you alienate humour from anything,” she said.
Briefly…
Former Prisoner star Maggie Kirkpatrick makes a guest appearance as a nun in this week’s episode of Hey Dad! It is Kirkpatrick’s first TV role since returning from two months in the United Kingdom where she is still a popular figure due to her role as prison officer Joan “The Freak” Ferguson in the former prison drama. “It might look as if I’m hanging on to a relic from the past (but) Joan Ferguson is certainly not a relic of the past for viewers in England,” Kirkpatrick told TV Week. In Hey Dad!, Kirkpatrick plays the part of Sister Maureen, a former teacher of Betty’s (Julie McGregor) back in Walgett who comes to the city to see how Betty is getting on in life.
The Nine Network has given the green light to a second series of murder-themed game show Cluedo before the first series has even debuted. The thirteen episodes of the first series are to begin screening next month. Cluedo will feature the show’s producer Ian McFadyen as host, joined by the characters of the popular board game of the same name, played by Andrew Daddo, Joy Westmore, Nicola Paull, Jane Badler, George Mallaby, Peter Sumner and Frank Gallacher.
Seven Network drama Home And Away has celebrated its 1000th episode with past and present cast members gathered for a party at a Bondi Beach restaurant.
The team from the D-Generation are set to return to the ABC, where they launched their television career in 1985, for a weekly series of one-hour programs to commence in July.
Lawrie Masterson: The View From Here
”Television producers don’t get heaps of kudos for their efforts at being socially responsible, but here are a few words of praise for those at the helm of the ABC’s pleasant little sitcom Dearest Enemy. A scene in a recent episode showed a Liberal politician whose arrogance obviously did not exceed his ignorance – he actually pulled over to the side of the road to make a call on his car phone. If it gets the message through to at least one of that increasing bunch of morons on the motorways – you’ve seen them… left hand on the receiver, right hand on the steering wheel, mind on who knows what – then we should all have cause to be thankful.”
Program Highlights (Melbourne, May 17-23):
Sunday: Seven’s Sunday afternoon and early evening is dominated by AFL, with live coverage of the Brisbane Bears versus Footscray match from Carrara, Queensland, followed by live coverage of the Adelaide Crows versus Collingwood from Football Park, Adelaide. New Zealand actor Jay Laga’aia guest stars as a physical education teacher in the comedy series Late For School (Ten). Sunday night movies are The January Man (Seven), Sarah, Plain And Tall (Nine) and Field Of Dreams (Ten).
Monday: In Home And Away (Seven), Sophie’s (Rebekah Elmaloglou) unborn baby is in serious danger as Sophie starts haemorrhaging after her accident on the beach.
Wednesday: Nine presents live coverage from Brisbane of the second game in the rugby league State Of Origin series, followed by overnight coverage of One Day International cricket, England versus Pakistan, from England.
Thursday: In the series return of Embassy (ABC), the new Australian Ambassador to Ragaan, Katherine Jensen (played by Catherine Wilkin) arrives to find the Embassy in upheaval. The Nine Network debuts its new magazine-style series Sex, hosted by Sophie Lee.
Friday: Seven crosses to the WACA, Perth, for live coverage of the AFL match between West Coast Eagles and Adelaide Crows. Nine has live coverage of One Day International cricket from London, and Ten has late-night delayed coverage of the NBL Mitsubishi Challenge basketball.
Saturday: SBS debuts a new documentary series Across The Red Unknown, featuring George Negus and his crew setting out in August and September last year on a 13,000 kilometre trek through parts of eastern Russia from the Sea of Japan, through the wilds of eastern Siberia, across the steppes of southern Russia and the Ural Mountains. Meanwhile, viewers can also see Negus as host of ABC’s Foreign Correspondent.
Source: TV Week (Melbourne edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide. 16 May 1992. Southdown Press.
What an awesome foursome! 
Gold Logie: Ray Martin, Georgie Parker, Steve Vizard, Jana Wendt. (
Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy Program: All Together Now (pictured), Fast Forward, Hey Dad! (1991 winner: Fast Forward)
Most Popular New Talent: Matthew Krok (pictured), Jeremy Sims, Melissa Tkautz, Kym Wilson
Ramsay Street rush hour 
Paradise is… 
The Nine Network has spared no expense in trying to convince TV legend Graham Kennedy (pictured) to host a special to coincide with his upcoming 60th birthday. Kennedy, last seen on TV on Nine’s recent 35 Years Of Television special, was flown by helicopter from his country property in southern NSW to Nine’s Sydney headquarters for a lavish lunch to celebrate his 58th birthday and Nine presented him with a rare book on horse breeding. 
Hey Hey It’s Saturday duo John Blackman and Wilbur Wilde have been staging their own radio comeback since being dumped by Melbourne station 3UZ. The pair have been taking their radio act to regional and remote parts of the country as short-term fill-ins on local radio stations. So far they’ve been heard on local stations in Townsville and Launceston and places in between, and are already booked for future engagements in regional Victoria, NSW and Tasmania in coming months. Although some of the shows are based at the radio stations’ local studios, most of their radio appearances have been via landline from studios in Melbourne.
Lawrie Masterson: The View From Here 
Friday: The Seven Network presents the 34th annual TV Week Logie Awards, live from the Radisson President Hotel, Melbourne. Special international guests include John Stamos, Dennis Waterman and Diana Ross joining local stars including Steve Vizard, Jana Wendt, Ray Martin, Daryl Somers, Jo Bailey, Mary Coustas, Nicolle Dickson, Nick Giannopoulos, Rebecca Gibney, Elizabeth Hayes, Sophie Lee, Gina Riley, Bruce Samazan, Jennifer Keyte, Magda Szubanski and Kym Wilson. The night culminates with the announcement of the winner of the TV Week Gold Logie for the Most Popular Personality on Australian Television. The awards presentation is followed by a special post-Logies edition of Tonight Live, hosted by Richard Stubbs.
The Great End of Year Exit! 
Vizard’s hunch about Hinch 
Chances (Nine) will finally resolve the mystery surrounding Alex Taylor’s (Jeremy Sims, pictured) missing 12 months – though not before he goes on the run after finding himself waking up next to two dead women, a knife close by and no memory of what happened. This leads to a chain of events that see him end up in a straitjacket and locked up in a detoxification centre. Meanwhile, his parents Barbara and Dan (played by Brenda Addie and John Sheerin) are having marital issues which may lead to Barbara having an affair with a much younger man. 
In A Country Practice (Seven), Wandin Valley farewells Lucy (Georgie Parker) and Matt (John Tarrant) who leave the town after finally becoming parents. Luke (Matt Day) is also leaving to pursue a flying career, and Wandin Valley bids farewell to larrikins Cookie and Bob (Syd Heylen and Gordon Piper, pictured) – but will they be gone for good? Series stalwarts Lorrae Desmond, Shane Porteous, Brian Wenzel and Joyce Jacobs will be joined by newcomer Gavin Harrison. Meanwhile, on-again-off-again lovers Harry (Andrew Blackman) and Kate (Michelle Pettigrove) will continue their game of cat and mouse, and there will be a new love for Dr Terence Elliott (Shane Porteous). 
ABC’s widely-acclaimed medical drama GP enters the new year with guest appearances by veteran actors Willie Fennell and Queenie Ashton (pictured), and joining them will be Normie Rowe, Jeff Truman and Scott Burgess. Now entering its fourth year, GP will start the year with the murder of one of Ross Street surgery’s medical staff. Jackaroo star David McCubbin joins the series as the son of Robert Sharp (John McTernan), and Dr William Sharp (Michael Craig) will finish his career as a general practitioner. 
Neighbours (Ten) enters the new year with confidence, despite the recent departure of eight cast members and with rival Home And Away set to move into its long-held 7.00pm timeslot. Following the recent arrival of new cast members Melissa Bell, Scott Michaelson, Rachel Blakely and Andrew Williams, the series will soon be joined by newcomers Natalie Imbruglia and Simon Stokes. Recently-widowed Madge Bishop (Anne Charleston) returns to Ramsay Street and finds herself being chased by old flame Lou Carpenter (Tom Oliver). Veteran actress Lorraine Bayly (pictured) joins the series as Faye Hudson, a fun character far removed from her previous more serious roles in The Sullivans and Carson’s Law. Meanwhile, Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) faces financial ruin with the collapse of his business. 
The Flying Doctors (Nine) continues over the Christmas/New Year period – with one storyline featuring a controversial bedroom encounter between Guy (David Reyne) and Penny (Sophie Lee), spurred by her unfaithful boyfriend Steve (Paul Kelman), and a pregnancy that forces the evaluation of many relationships. Meanwhile, Jackie Crane (Nikki Coghill) faces a grim future when she’s accused of negligence following a patient’s allergic reaction to penicillin. Guest stars to appear in upcoming episodes include 
Former 60 Minutes reporter George Negus (pictured) has been a vocal critic of the state of current affairs on TV – and now he has a chance to address the situation as the front man of Foreign Correspondent, a new program to start soon on ABC. “It’s because this program is different that I’ve agreed to do it,” Negus told TV Week. “If the ABC had said, ‘We want you to be involved in a new current affairs program which is a variation on a theme,’ I probably wouldn’t have said yes.”
Thursday: ABC presents live coverage of the Colonial Mutual Classic tennis, live from Kooyong, Melbourne. In The Flying Doctors (Nine), Penny (Sophie Lee, pictured) is locked in a tough administration battle with the hospital laundry staff, headed by Trisha (Colette Mann). ABC debuts four-part series The Cricket Archives, documenting a history of Australian cricket based on film archive material, presented by Jack Egan.
For many years Network Ten’s news offering has been dismissed as a poorer cousin to the brash, high-profile Seven and Nine news portfolios. While Seven and Nine throw money into resources and promotion, each of them keen to get an edge over the other while almost mimicking each other, Ten has kept a somewhat more modest profile – largely due to staying out of the traditional 6-7pm news hour, keeping a lower profile in the competitive breakfast timeslot, and reducing its weekend news output largely to ‘national’ Sydney-based bulletins. And, when a major news story would be breaking or there is an election to cover, chances are it would be Seven, Nine or ABC that would pull all stops to cover it live, while Ten maintained its long-held mantra of providing an alternative option for viewers.
Then, last year, Ten 
In implementing this expanded news profile, Ten – a network not often known for lavish spending – was investing big money, reported to be $20 million, in infrastructure and hiring new staff, most notably the signing up of veteran journalist and presenter 
The Adelaide 5.00pm bulletin is now being fronted by Belinda Heggen, replacing George Donikian and Rebecca Morse, while the Perth bulletin is now read by former ABC journalist Craig Smart, replacing Narelda Jacobs. Donikian now replaces 
Former Late News presenter 
But Ten and Negus (pictured with Melbourne newsreader Walden) have no illusions that the new line-up will be an instant hit with viewers. News viewing habits are well-entrenched and rarely turnaround to a new competitor in an instant. But the network has shown with The 7PM Project that it has the ability to be patient and to persevere with a new venture even if it doesn’t pay immediate dividends.
The initial program schedule for ABC’s news channel, ABC News 24, has been unveiled just a few days before the channel’s 
Mornings will include ABC News Breakfast (simulcast with ABC2 in EST states) and overnights will include news and current affairs programming from BBC.
