1990: July 7-13

Cover: Sharyn Hodgson, Julian McMahon (Home And Away)

Confrontation!
The Ten Network’s long-awaited return of The Comedy Company is about to hit screens as the ratings underdog up against Nine’s 60 Minutes.  “I don’t think it will be that hard to make up lost ground on 60 Minutes,” producer Ian McFadyen told TV Week.  The revamped comedy hour promises not to be “more of the same” according to McFadyen.  A number of new cast members have been added to the show – including Geoff Paine (Neighbours), Tracy Harvey (The Gillies Report), Melanie Salomon (E Street) and stage performers Alix Longman and Bernadette Robinson – alongside familiar names Maryanne Fahey, Peter Rowsthorn, Russell Gilbert and Mark Mitchell.  Meanwhile, Mitchell’s own comedy series, Larger Than Life, is to be replaced by a new series called The Big Time, featuring Mitchell and wife Di and sons Rhys and Lewis.

New doors open for ‘Ding Dong’
The Nine Network’s Hey Hey It’s Saturday celebrates its 20th anniversary next year but there is speculation that former co-host Jacki MacDonald, and not Denise Drysdale (pictured), will be there for the milestone.  “I heard a rumour that Jacki is coming back,” Drysdale told TV Week.  “If they asked me back, I’d be there, but that’s not up to me.  It’s in the laps of the gods.”  Meanwhile, Drysdale has hired Glenn Wheatley as her manager.  Wheatley has signed a two-year deal with Ronson Australia for Drysdale to promote its products in store appearances and television commercials.  She is also keen to pursue a dream role in a TV sitcom.  “I have a concept and I’m working with a scriptwriter now,” she says.  “We’ve written only bits and pieces so far but I’d like to see a pilot by the end of the year.”  Meanwhile, Drysdale has spoken out about the reported rift between her and Hey Hey It’s Saturday host Daryl Somers.  “Yes, it hurt and I think it’s detrimental to the show.  Even if it’s true, the viewing audience don’t want to know if there’s a problem.  I won’t speak out about it.  What can I say?  People make up their own minds.  I am loud.  Jacki wasn’t a loud person, so I think it was hard for everyone else.  I been lucky to be here a year.  I was lucky Jacki wanted to have a baby.  I would still have had In Melbourne Today (with Ernie Sigley) but I wouldn’t have had all these doors that have opened now.”

Jennifer Keyte’s a working girl!
The Seven Network’s Melbourne-based newsreader Jennifer Keyte (pictured) has admitted that reading the channel’s main 6.00pm news bulletin and appearing on the late-night show Tonight Live With Steve Vizard has taken its toll on her personal life.  “My only social time is on weekends,” she told TV Week.  “It’s the only opportunity I have to catch up with my friends.  By the time I get home after Tonight Live, take the make-up off and have a cup of Milo, I hit the sack very easily.”  But Keyte is not complaining about the long hours that both TV roles are demanding.  “I’m very happy with the way things are going.  When I started on Tonight Live, I made sure everyone was aware of my priority – the 6.00pm news.  With any news, credibility must be maintained and if that didn’t happen I’d have to reassess my involvement with the show.  But I think the two shows enhance each other.”

Briefly…
Actress Sarah Chadwick has made a sudden decision to leave the popular ABC drama GP.  “GP is my first big role since leaving NIDA,” she told TV Week.  “Consequently I’ve had little chance to do anything else.  I just feel that now, after a year, it’s time to move on.”  Chadwick’s character, Dr Catherine Mitchell, will be written out of the show but does leave the door open for her to return.  Meanwhile, Cameron Daddo has signed up for a brief ongoing role in the show.

Home And Away star Nana Coburn (the daughter of co-star Norman Coburn) has taped her last scenes for the show and is about to head off to Fiji to begin filming on a new international project, the sequel to the hit movie The Blue Lagoon.

Two of Australia’s best known actors, Neighbours’ Anne Charleston and The Flying Doctors’ Andrew McFarlane, are among the stars to appear on stage in the Victorian Arts Centre’s production of Love Letters.  Also starring in the production are Terry Norris and wife Julia Blake, Lewis Fiander and Peta Toppano.

John Laws says…
”Well, advertising has arrived on SBS, thanks to the World Cup.  And, no, the earth didn’t move.  The nation’s morals were not placed in peril.  Television standards were not lowered.  Of course not.  SBS’ initial foray into “corporate advertising” was very nicely done.  Nothing over the top and nothing that interfered with the station’s excellent coverage of the international soccerfest.”

Program Highlights (July 7-13):
Sunday:  The final stages of the World Cup starting at 3.30am with the playoff for third and fourth place, live on SBS and ABC regionals.  HSV7’s Sunday afternoon AFL features Sydney Swans versus Carlton, and ATV10 crosses to Sydney for rugby league with the State Bank Big Game.  Gary Sweet, Bruno Lawrence and Penne Hackforth-Jones star in Boy Soldiers, the second in the More Winners series of children’s dramas on ABC.  Sunday night movies are Under Siege (HSV7), Vibes (GTV9) and Back To The Future (ATV10).

Monday:  The final of the World Cup is telecast from 3.30am on SBS and ABC regionals, with SBS repeating the match at 7.00pm.  At 2.30pm, ATV10 starts a re-run of its popular 1980s drama Carson’s Law, set in Melbourne in the 1920s and starring Lorraine Bayly.  That night, ATV10 begins a re-run of the four-part mini-series, The Dirtwater Dynasty, starring Hugo Weaving.

Tuesday:  In A Country Practice (HSV7), Terence (Shane Porteous) operates on Lucy (Georgie Parker) and confirms her worst fears.  In GP (ABC), Dr Catherine Mitchell (Sarah Chadwick) faces the tragedy of losing her baby.

Thursday:  A bushfire breaks out in The Flying Doctors (GTV9), and Coopers Crossing is threatened.  Dr Ratcliffe (Brett Climo) and Dr Standish (Robert Grubb) find themselves battling the fire.

Friday:  Dennis Cometti, Sandy Roberts and Ross Glendinning head HSV7’s coverage of AFL, West Coast Eagles versus St Kilda, live from Subiaco.

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

1990: June 2-8

Cover: Sharyn Hodgson, Julian McMahon (Home And Away)

Meet the new Pippa
The producers of Seven’s Home And Away have found a new actress for the key role of Pippa Fletcher.  Debra Lawrence, previously seen in ABC’s The Fast Lane, will take over the role of Pippa from Vanessa Downing who has decided to leave the series to pursue other ventures.  Producers had previously hoped to sign up Carol Willesee, who had played Pippa Fletcher in the show’s pilot episode, to continue the role but negotiations were unsuccessful.

Elaine and Marcus team up!
Popular actors Marcus Graham (formerly of E Street) and Elaine Smith (formerly of Neighbours) have signed up to star in a new Seven Network mini-series, Ratbag Hero.  The four-hour series is set in Victoria in the post-depression era of 1937 and is expected to screen on Seven in 1991.

On the ball!
Australia’s multicultural broadcaster SBS is about to embark on its most ambitious challenge ever with its coverage of the World Cup from Italy.  Joining host Les Murray (pictured) on the coverage will be former Socceroo captain Johnny Warren and sports journalists Kyle Patterson and Andy Paschalidis.  “What I’m excited about most is that the SBS team are all ‘missionaries’ of the game of soccer and this gives us an opportunity to transmit to all Australians the game’s sheer greatness,” Murray told TV Week.  Apart from a few occasions when two games are played at the same time at different venues, SBS will broadcast all matches of the World Cup live to Australia.  The network has also come to an arrangement with ABC to relay SBS’ World Cup coverage to areas that don’t receive SBS.  ABC will also present a highlights package each night of the competition.

Feud? ‘What feud?’
The Comedy Company producer and co-star Ian McFadyen has responded to rumours about a feud between himself and colleague Mark Mitchell.  “This was mentioned to me after the Logies during a radio interview,” McFadyen told TV Week.  “We’ve never had a ‘falling out’ … it’s just nonsense.  There’s never been any unpleasantness between us.”  Meanwhile, plans continue for the return of The Comedy Company and it is unclear if Mitchell will be part of the revamped show, but that is only because he is busy with his own show, Larger Than Life, to which Network Ten is committed until the end of the year.

Briefly…
Rebecca Smart might be only 14 years old but she is already a showbiz veteran with a list of movies and mini-series to her credit, though her most famous role was in The Shiralee with Bryan Brown.  Now the teen star is starring in a new Nine Network children’s drama, Elly And Jools, and is set to appear in a pilot for a new sitcom.

Nicholas Bell (pictured), one of the few males stars in the Seven Network police drama Skirts, admits he does not want to become TV’s most hated man but admits that the role of Sergeant Gary Block has presented very few redeeming features.  “He’s fairly brutal about certain things and appears chauvinistic… hopefully it will become clear why that is so.  His main motivation is to be a good cop and he feels this is the best way to go about it,” Bell told TV Week.

Sioban Tuke, one of the co-stars of The Comedy Company, is taking on a serious role in an upcoming guest appearance on A Country Practice.  Tuke will playing the role of Pam Duncan, an overweight housewife whose marriage is on the brink of failure and takes desperate measures to try to lose weight.

John Laws says…
”It’s my belief that the ABC has nothing to lose by introducing corporate sponsorship of programs.  In fact, there is much to be gained.  At the very least, there should be a 12-month trial.  This should enable everyone to have a good look at how it operates, and to see whether it has the “terrible” effect on the ABC that its vocal opponents predict.”

Program Highlights (June 2-8):
Saturday:  Mark Mitchell and his comic alter-ego, Con The Fruiterer, are comperes of ATV10’s half-hour special We Can Do It, to promote World Vision’s 40 Hour Famine.  Also featuring on the program is singer Neil Finn and Mental As Anything’s Martin Plaza.
Sunday:  Sunday night movies are The Fourth Protocol (HSV7), Like Father Like Son (GTV9) and The Money Pit (ATV10).  GTV9 later presents the three-hour global TV special, Earth ‘90.
Monday:  GTV9 crosses to Roland Stadium, Paris, for the French Open tennis.
Tuesday:  In Beyond 2000 (HSV7), Andrew Carroll searches for a male contraceptive pill.  Simon Reeve takes a walk over the French Guyana rainforests on an inflatable canopy walk. Maxine Gray investigates cooking with magnets.  GTV9 presents another late night of tennis with the French Open.
Thursday: On the eve of the start of the 1990 World Cup, SBS presents the final Viva World Cup program with Les Murray and Andy Paschalidis.
Friday:  SBS’ coverage of the World Cup in Italy begins with the opening ceremony followed by the first match, Argentina versus Cameroon.

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

1990: May 26-June 1

All in the family!
Some new arrivals are set to appear in Neighbours.  The first will be a baby for Kerry  Mangel (Linda Hartley, pictured) and husband Joe (Mark Little).  Neighbours’ other new arrivals will be a new family – the Willises – headed by Doug Willis, played by veteran actor Terry Donovan, whose son Jason got his big career break in the series several years earlier.  But with these new arrivals into the neighbourhood some existing characters have had to be written out – Des Clarke (Paul Keane) and Beverly Robinson (Shauna O’Grady) will leave the series in coming months and more are expected to go in the future.  The cast shake-up is a bid by producers to reignite viewer interest in the show.  While ratings are still strong in Melbourne, where the show wins its 7.00pm timeslot, Neighbours has dipped to low figures in Sydney, where it is now being beaten by Sale Of The Century and Hinch in the same timeslot.

20-20 Vision!
The Seven Network’s Beyond 2000 is going to take a look at what Australia as a nation could be like in thirty years’ time.  Could Sydney have a crime problem with the same magnitude as New York?  Could one of Prime Minister Bob Hawke’s successors be getting a $2.5 million salary to run a country with a population of up to 200 million?  But Australia 2020 is not necessarily about painting a picture of gloom and doom, but rather recognise the challenges that this country could face if change is not made now.  The show will talk to high-profile Australians in different fields to discuss what the future could hold, but not one politician will be seen.  “Politicians do not look 30 years ahead.  There are no votes in being 30 years ahead,” says producer Peter Abbott.

Comedy Company comeback!
It is official!  Network Ten’s hit show The Comedy Company is about to make a comeback after more than six months off-air.  The deal between Ten and producer Ian McFadyen’s (pictured) Media Arts company was agreed two weeks ago and will see sixteen episodes screened later this year, most likely in the show’s traditional Sunday 7.30pm timeslot, up against 60 Minutes and Skirts.  Ten’s current Sunday night comedy hour, Larger Than Life and Col’n Carpenter, are expected to be moved to a weeknight timeslot.  In another announcement, Ten has announced it has picked up the rights to Media Arts’ new hospital-based comedy, Let The Blood Run Free.  The new series, starring Brian Nankervis, Lynda Gibson, Peter Rowsthorn and Jean Kittson, will go into production later this year and will debut on Ten either late this year or early in 1991.

Briefly…
The Seven Network has announced that it has renewed comedy series Acropolis Now for a third series. 

Former The Flying Doctors star Liz Burch (pictured) has taken on a new challenge – working for World Vision to help carry on the work of her sister, Rosemary, who died of a rare skin disease.  “When they rang me to ask me if I’d like to do something, I guess I thought I could carry on where she left off.  So that is why I went,” Burch tells TV Week.  The actress has visited some of the most impoverished places in the world and has made a number of documentaries for the aid agency.  “It’s the best thing I ever did.  It’s changed me and also made me realise how lucky I am.”

60 Minutes reporter Jeff McMullen have just returned from Los Angeles where he had been following some of the city’s most notorious gangs – including the all-female gangs that have taken to the streets alongside their male counterparts.  “The girls are constantly looking for trouble.  They are like werewolves.  When the sun sets, they climb into old Fifties cars to invade the neighbourhoods of rival gangs,” McMullen told TV Week.  “They are out to impress their home boys and see how many notches they can get on their guns.”

John Laws says…
”My favourable comments recently about the premiere two-hour episode of Seven’s police drama Skirts (starring Tracy Mann, pictured) prompted a rush of mail from TV Week readers.  And they all disagreed with me.  It seems that Skirts – loosely based on British series The Bill – is seen as corny, contrived and lacking tension and credibility.  I must admit that the first few one-hour episodes failed to live up to my expectations – but I didn’t think they were all that bad.”

Program Highlights (May 26-June 1):
Saturday:  ABC presents Australian soccer’s premier awards night, The NSL Awards, held at the Hyatt International Hotel in Adelaide.  HSV7 crosses to Carrara, Brisbane, for the AFL match between Brisbane Bears and Footscray.
Sunday:  Sunday night movies are Roxanne (GTV9) and Out Of Africa (ATV10).  Both are repeats.  HSV7 presents the first part of mini-series Cross Of Fire.  GTV9 then presents an overnight line-up of sport – the West German 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix from Nurburgring, the Monaco Grand Prix from Monaco and the Indianapolis 500 from the US.
Monday:  Maurice Murphy, producer of classic comedies The Aunty Jack Show and The Norman Gunston Show, presents a new ABC series, Let’s Do Lunch… And Save The World.  Murphy’s first lunch guest is comedienne Pamela Stephenson.
Wednesday:  ATV10 presents a re-run of movie Fragments Of War – The Damien Parer Story, starring Nicholas Eadie and Anne Tenney, followed by a delayed telecast of the Rugby League State Of Origin – New South Wales versus Queensland – from Melbourne’s Olympic Park.
Thursday: In E Street (ATV10), Chris’ (Paul Kelman) eviction of a tenant has surprising consequences.  David (Noel Hodda) returns to his TV career, and can Abby (Chelsea Brown) and Ernie (Vic Rooney) sort out their problems or will Vi (Bunney Brooke) win?

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

1990: February 10-16

‘I’m anchored to the chair!’
Despite her recent working trip to Czechoslovakia, A Current Affair host Jana Wendt (pictured) says it’s likely to be a long time before she goes anywhere else for an extended break.  “I am anchored to this chair,” she told TV Week.  “I wish I had a chain to prove it to you.”  But combining the job of current affairs host and mother to two-year-old Daniel she says is never easy, and, if she ever does move on from ACA in the distant future, considers doing something a bit more laid back in television.  “Peter Ross is on a lovely wicket at the ABC doing nice things where you can sit back and relax and enjoy it… Something where you can take a deep breath, be a bit more reflective and work consistently for a while without having to keep up with this kind of momentum.”  TV Week also reveals one of TV’s best kept secrets – the day that the Nine Network almost lost Wendt to Network Ten.  While it was widely reported that Wendt was headed to the American Fox network, at the invitation of former boss Gerald Stone, in reality she was involved in negotiations for an even bigger deal with Ten.  Wendt said she only consider moving to Ten if most of her A Current Affair team could come over as well – so Ten managed to verbally tie up most of the ACA crew.  Then news of the deal leaked out, and Nine chief Sam Chisholm reacted quickly and signed up Wendt and her team with generous contracts – leaving Wendt with a contract worth $2 million over three years.

Dannii’s set to quit Summer Bay
Home And Away star Dannii Minogue is set to leave the series when her contract expires in June.  “(The producers) want me to stay, but I’ve got other commitments,” she told TV Week.  Her first single, Love And Kisses, will be released later this month and she plans to finish recording her debut album while on a two-week break from Home And Away in March.  Minogue plans to promote the new album’s release in London after she finishes up on Home And Away.  “I may go back to Home And Away but it’s too hard to do that and promote the record too.”

Family first for Carol
The recent premiere of Nine’s Family And Friends also marked another long-awaited TV debut – the TV acting debut of Carol Willesee (pictured), former wife of current affairs host Mike Willesee.  The mother of three made headlines in 1987 when she walked off the set of new series Home And Away after only two days of production, citing fears that the role of Pippa Fletcher would take too much time away from her family.  But producers of Family And Friends are happy with Willesee’s performance in her guest role and have already indicated that an ongoing role is ready for her, but appreciate that her family commitments are still a priority.  “That’s quite understandable,” says producer John Holmes.  “It’s up to Carol.”

Briefly…
Former The Comedy Company stars Mark Mitchell and Kim Gyngell make their debut in their own new shows on Network Ten this week.  Mitchell stars in a sketch comedy series, Larger Than Life, and Gyngell reprises his popular character Col’n Carpenter in a new half-hour sitcom also starring Vicki Blanche, Monica Maughan and Stig Wemyss.

60 Minutes reporter Jeff McMullen spent four weeks of his Christmas break in blizzard conditions in Antarctica, filming a story for the current affairs show.  “People are outraged that I was allowed to take this risk… but I was the one who wanted to do it,” he told TV Week.  The 6400 kilometre trek, reported to be the longest polar journey ever made,  was led by six scientists and three dozen huskies.

US actor Telly Savalas, best known for his role as New York cop Kojak, is in Melbourne for a major role in the Seven Network mini-series Rose Against The Odds, based on the life of boxer Lionel Rose.  Savalas plays boxing promoter George Parnassus, who promoted many of Rose’s professional fights in Los Angeles in the 1960s and ‘70s.

John Laws says…
”Little did I know when I heartily praised ABC’s Inside Running drama series that it had already fallen victim to the axe.  Inside Running was a compelling and wonderfully scripted and acted series about barristers in Melbourne.  I regard it as one of the best drama productions made in Australia.”

Program Highlights (February 10-16):
Saturday:  HSV7 crosses to Port Douglas, Queensland, for the Super Skins Golf, then in the evening covers the Fosters Cup, Essendon versus West Coast Eagles, live from VFL Park, Melbourne.  GTV9 crosses to the Gabba, Brisbane, for the Benson and Hedges World Series: Pakistan versus Sri Lanka.
Sunday:  The 1990 ratings season kicks off in earnest.  GTV9’s Sunday morning news programs Business Sunday and Sunday are back for another year.  Super Skins Golf (HSV7) and World Series Cricket (GTV9) dominate the afternoon, and the evening is highlighted by ATV10’s new comedy double, Larger Than Life and Col’n Carpenter.  GTV9’s Our World presents Part 1 of G’day Comrade, featuring George Negus on location in Russia, followed by the return of 60 Minutes.  Sunday night movies are Three Men And A Baby (HSV7), The Last Emperor (GTV9) and The Golden Child (ATV10).
Monday:  Midday With Ray Martin (GTV9) returns for another year, and ABC’s The Afternoon Show and Countdown Revolution return in the late afternoon and early evening.  Four Corners and Media Watch both return to ABC in the mid-evening.
Tuesday:  Returning shows for 1990 include The Investigators (ABC) and Candid Camera In Australia (ATV10).  Kerry O’Brien presents the debut of a new late night current affairs program, Lateline, on ABC.
Thursday:  HSV7 crosses to Huntingdale Golf Course, Melbourne, for the annual Australian Masters.
Friday:  ABC’s rural affairs program Countrywide returns for a new year, as does Burke’s Backyard (GTV9).

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