1992: June 7-13

Cover: Tom Cruise

Shirl crashes out
When she decided to leave A Country Practice after more than ten years, Gold Logie winner Lorrae Desmond conceded that her character Shirley Gilroy had to be killed off but insisted that the death not be depicted on screen.  “You don’t get divorced in Wandin Valley,” she told TV Week.  “So for me to leave the series, Shirl had to die.  I didn’t want to do a Molly (Anne Tenney) – the long, lingering leukaemia bit, because I hate to upset children.  I like children.  The last thing I wanted them to see was Shirley laughing.”  The last viewers will see of Shirley will be farewelling her husband Frank (Brian Wenzel) from a taxi as she departs for the airport for a light aircraft flight to Brisbane.  Viewers will not see the plane crash that follows, killing all on board. 

Ian keeps an eye out for clues
With his new murder mystery show Cluedo about to debut, and with a second series already given the green light, as well as three sitcom projects in production or development – Let The Blood Run Free, Newlyweds and Bingles – Ian McFadyen is one of the busiest people in television. “Cluedo is not a quiz show,” he told TV Week. “It’s a game show, but a different kind of game show. It’s not based on how loud you can scream or how much jelly you can tip on each other.” It’s also a busy time for Andrew Daddo, who plays the role of Professor Plum in Cluedo, as he’s also scored a major role in the upcoming $3.7 million children’s series Round The Twist. “It’s been a bit tough to work the production schedules out because there will be some overlap,” Daddo said. “When Round The Twist came up, I jumped at it. But I’m also rapt that Cluedo is going again.”

Return engagement!
Neighbours stars Tom Oliver and Anne Charleston are engaged to be married in the long-running series – and it’s not the first time the pair have played a married couple on screen.  Back in 1968 they played husband and wife (pictured) in an ABC drama, The Shifting Heart.  “It was a TV adaptation of a play on the ABC,” Oliver told TV Week.  “It was a marvellous play and it was the first time Anne and I worked together.”  However, the on-screen union in Neighbours could be short lived, as Charleston contemplates the possibility of a life away from Ramsay Street when her contract expires later in the year.  “Seven and a half years is a long time.  But you just never know,” she told TV Week.  “It depends how you’re feeling at the time.”

Briefly…
There could be changes afoot for Network Ten dramas Neighbours and E Street, with network managing director Gary Rice putting the pressure on Neighbours’ producers Grundy Television to improve the show’s falling ratings, and expressing concern about E Street whose future is currently up for negotiation.  TV Week suspects an upheaval for both shows, with Neighbours to be shifted to 7.30pm and E Street re-worked into a half-hour format at 8.00pm, five nights a week.

The cast of Nine’s steamy drama Chances have partied to celebrate the completion of 100 episodes.  Meanwhile, the series has welcomed a new cast member as Steven Whittaker (pictured) plays the part of Sean Becker, a friend of Alex’s (Jeremy Sims) who is set to threaten his corporate position.  Whittaker, who recently starred in mini-series Good Vibrations, contemplated having to tackle Chances’ steamy sex scenes.  “I gave it a great deal of thought but in the end it was some of those elements which were actually attractive,” he told TV Week.  “Would I prefer it to be mundane, dealing with slices of suburban life, or slightly off the wall, verging towards the bizarre?  In the end, that’s what made my mind up.  That’s where I’d rather be.  The potential is there for quite a bit of bed wandering, but at the moment there is more appetite than action!”

The life of controversial radio and television personality Mary Hardy (pictured) is being portrayed in a stage production, Mary Lives!, written by her brother, Frank Hardy.  Starring Maryanne Fahey in the lead role, the play also features Bartholomew John and Ron Challinor, both of whom were close friends and former colleagues of Hardy, who died in 1985.  “She was tremendously influential at the time, creating an awareness of me not only on the Penthouse Club, but on her radio program as well,” John told TV Week.  “Mary wasn’t just a female comic,” said Challinor, who was a writer for Penthouse Club in the 1970s.  “She sang, she danced, she told gags and she had great timing.  If she had done in the US what she did here she would have been a huge star.”

SBS is set to mark the 40th anniversary of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with a controversial British documentary, Queen Or Country?  The special, originally screened on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, raises the question of whether the royals abuse their public position for personal gain – looking at 10 cases where the line may have been blurred.

Lawrie Masterson: The View From Here
”Taking an old, tried and true board game such as Cluedo and adapting it to television sounds easy.  But obviously it wasn’t that easy at all, even for Crawford Action Time, a partnership between this country’s most prolific drama producer, Crawfords Australia, and British-based game show producers Action Time.  From initial impressions, the television version of Cluedo is a touch unsatisfying, right down to the fact that the smartest guy in the audience isn’t even asked how he reached his conclusion, and nor are we told how long it took him.  And perhaps it’s the “how long” factor that is most important here – not for solving the whodunit, but for the television program itself.  Versions of Cluedo produced by Action Time for other countries run only half an hour, not the full hour (less commercial breaks, of course) the show has been given here.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, June 7-13):
Sunday:  Sunday night movies are Betsy’s Wedding (Seven), Robocop 2 (Nine) and Born On The Fourth Of July (Ten).  After the movie, Nine crosses to Paris for the final of the French Open.

Monday:  ABC launches a new afternoon game show, Vidiot, hosted by Eden Gaha.  In A Country Practice (Seven), Wandin Valley residents react when AIDS sufferer Max Blair (Felix Williamson) returns to be with his sister Trish (Linden Wilkinson) before he dies.  Healthy Wealthy And Wise (Ten) takes a tour of scenic Byron Bay.

Tuesday:  In A Country Practice (Seven), Frank Gilroy (Brian Wenzel) receives news that his wife Shirley (Lorrae Desmond) has died in a plane crash.  In GP (ABC), William (Michael Craig) is shocked to find that his old friend Geraldine (Jennifer Claire), for whom he has developed a romantic interest, is passively committing suicide.  Beyond 2000 (Seven) presents a special edition from the International Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Wednesday:  The Nine Network presents the first episode of murder mystery game show Cluedo, featuring host Ian McFadyen and guest star Rod Mullinar as the show’s first ‘victim’.  Seven presents a rerun of the British documentary Elizabeth R (originally shown on ABC), documenting a year in the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession to the British throne.

Thursday:  SBS presents early morning (3.00am) coverage of the opening ceremony of the Euro 92 soccer championships, live from Sweden, followed by the first match – Sweden versus France.  SBS’ coverage of Euro 92 continues over 17 days, with live coverage overnight and highlights packages shown the following evening. 

Friday:  Seven crosses to Sydney for live coverage of the Rugby League First Test – Australia versus Great Britain – with commentators Graham Hughes, Pat Welsh, Wally Lewis and Michael O’Connor.

Saturday:  Hey Hey It’s Saturday (Nine) presents a special edition from Warner Bros Movie World on the Gold Coast, as the theme park celebrates its first birthday.

Source: TV Week (Melbourne edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  6 June 1992.  Southdown Press.

1991: November 2-8

Hey, Ben’s a dad!
It might be a shock to some to realise that Ben Oxenbould, the newcomer to the cast of Hey Dad!, is himself a dad.  The 22-year-old, who got his big break at the age of seven in the film Fatty Finn, has a one-year-old son but is very protective of him and won’t have him photographed by the media.  “He keeps me very busy when he’s with me,” Oxenbould (pictured with co-star Rachael Beck) told TV Week.  “He’s a classic combination of his mother – with whom he lives – and myself.  And, thankfully, I think he got everything good from us.  So that’s something.”  The Hey Dad! role is Adelaide-born Oxenbould’s first comedy role, having previously appeared in E Street and GP and will star in the upcoming SBS series Six Pack.

No naked ambition!
Former The Flying Doctors star Liz Burch (pictured) is no stranger to nudity, having starred in the controversial stage production Steaming, but when speaking of her upcoming role in Nine’s Chances she says the producers wouldn’t dare.  “They wouldn’t dream of asking me to take my clothes off… the ratings would plummet!  I did Steaming, but that was very different.  We rehearsed that for four weeks, the show was well-written and there was justification for it.  With Chances, the issue of nudity never comes into it,” she said.  In Chances, Burch plays a chemist, Sally Kirk, who is involved in a relationship with Jack Taylor (Tim Robertson) – but Alex (Jeremy Sims) plots to steal her away from Jack after realising she has information that could earn him millions. 

‘I was moved to tears…’
Maryanne Fahey, best known from The Comedy Company, is about to tackle one of the most demanding roles in her career – portraying the life of one of Australia’s most controversial and amusing personalities, Mary Hardy (pictured), in the upcoming play Mary Lives.  Hardy, who committed suicide in 1985, was well-known to Melbourne radio and television audiences in the 1960s and 1970s, in particular as presenter on the long-running variety show The Penthouse Club and on radio 3AW.  She also won a number of TV Week Logies for her popularity with Victorian audiences.  “I was moved to tears when I first read the play,” Fahey told TV Week.  “It was something I really wanted to do.  Mary was one of the real forerunners of women’s comedy in this country.  Hopefully, I will do her justice.  She was outrageous and prepared to cop the flak because she was an idealist, and I admire that more than someone who just goes out there to be funny.”

Briefly…
Hard Copy reporter Jane Hansen (pictured) has confirmed reports that she has been approached by former 60 Minutes producer Gerald Stone to join his new current affairs venture for the Seven Network, though stresses that nothing has been signed or agreed to as yet.  The new program, yet to be named, may potentially be slotted against Nine’s ratings giant 60 Minutes.

Joan McInnes, the host of Network Ten’s morning program ‘Til Ten, has announced her engagement to winemaker and yachtsman James Hardy.  The pair have known each other for more than five years but began seeing each other seriously two years ago and are expected to wed in December.

New Zealand actress Catherine Wilkin (Cop Shop, Rafferty’s Rules) is set to return to Australia after three years, starring as an ambassador in the next series of ABC’s Embassy.  “I’ve played a lot of strong-minded career women but never an ambassador,” she said.  “I’ll have to pay the Australian ambassador a visit here and do a crash course in diplomacy before I leave New Zealand!”

John Laws says…
”Who was it, I wonder, who allowed the Beyond 2000 format to slip from the clutches of the ABC and into the hands of the Seven Network all those years ago?  Those responsible must still be suffering recurring bouts of programmers’ guilt – as must be those misguided Seven executives who elected to give up on Neighbours and meekly hand it to Ten, where it was transformed into a long-running international smash-hit worth millions.  Watching Beyond 2000 the other night – and admiring its bright, informative segments on everything from eatable potato-chip containers to sonar fences to stop whales beaching themselves – only reinforced my long-held belief that it is one of Australia’s best programs.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, November 2-8):
Saturday:  Network Ten’s coverage of the Melbourne Cup Carnival kicks off with all-day coverage of Derby Day, live from Flemington Racecourse, presented by Tim Webster with racecaller Dan Mielicki.  This week’s contestants on Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune (Seven) are Rod Marsh, Lynda Stoner and Larry Pickering.  ABC presents live coverage overnight of the Rugby World Cup final from Twickenham, United Kingdom.

Sunday:  Nine’s crosses to Adelaide for its all-day coverage of the Australian Grand Prix, hosted by Ken Sutcliffe with commentators Alan Jones, Jackie Stewart, Murray Walker, Darrell Eastlake and Barry Sheene.  Author Colleen McCullough is this week’s guest on ABC’s Sunday Afternoon With Peter Ross.  Sunday night movies are Sex, Lies And Videotape (Nine) and The Great Outdoors (Ten), up against the debut of two-part mini-series Love And Hate (Seven).

Monday:  In A Country Practice (Seven), Matt (John Tarrant) admits he has had enough of marriage to Lucy (Georgie Parker).  Ben Mendelsohn guest stars in Col’n Carpenter (Ten).

Tuesday:  Melbourne Cup Day, and Network Ten presents live coverage of the highlight of the Australian racing calendar, starting at 9.30am and continuing through to 5.30pm, hosted by Tim Webster.  In GP (ABC), the sudden return of Dr Nicola Tanner’s (Judy McIntosh, pictured) wild brother Danny (Brett Climo) leads to the uncovering of a dark secret in the Tanner family.  In Beyond 2000 (Seven), Simon Reeve reports from the UK on the Weatherall racetrack, made up of granulated rubber from old car tyres. 

Wednesday:  In E Street (Ten), Lisa (Alyssa-Jane Cook) tries to find the answer to Michael’s (Graham Harvey) death.  In Hey Dad! (Seven), Simon (Chris Mayer) is panic stricken with the fear of incipient baldness while Betty (Julie McGregor) solves the problems of the ozone layer.

Thursday:  Former Prisoner star Betty Bobbitt guest stars in The Flying Doctors (Nine).  ABC’s documentary series Wildscreen looks at the camel as a wild animal, detailing its fascinating and complex social behaviour.

Friday:  Talent quest series Star Search (Ten) presents its series semi-final, hosted by Mike Hammond.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  2 November 1991.  Southdown Press

1979: 21st TV Week Logie Awards

After more than twenty years in television it had been a long time coming – but the 21st anniversary TV Week Logie Awards finally saw Bert Newton win his first Gold Logie.

Newton, a veteran Logies host as well as host of New Faces and sidekick on The Don Lane Show, had been nominated several times over the years for the Gold Logie and had seen colleagues Graham Kennedy and Don Lane already take home gold statuettes in previous years.  In accepting his Gold Logie, Newton mentioned his mother, Gladys: “I want her to experience what I am experiencing now.  We lost her daughter, my sister Alice – she was my greatest fan – a couple of years ago.  Mum, this is for your daughter and my sister.”  Newton then phoned his mother from his Hilton Hotel suite immediately after the show.

As well as winning the Gold Logie, Newton also won the award for most popular male personality in Victoria.

The awards presentation was held on Friday 16 March 1979 at Melbourne’s Hilton Hotel and televised nationally through the Nine Network and relayed to thirty regional channels across Australia.

The night provided some famous moments – Robin Williams, from Mork And Mindy, was a comic hit on the night, and champion boxer Muhammad Ali provided a moment that would be recalled in Logies history for many years to come.  Host Newton had quipped, “I like the boy..!” to Ali – a comment that is largely innocent in Australia but the term “boy” has racist connotations in America.  Some rapid adlibbing from the normally unflappable Newton saved the moment from turning nasty.

But it was a moment that was close to not happening at all, as Ali had only agreed to appear at the awards night less than 24 hours before showtime and had only arrived at Melbourne airport minutes before the show started.  A police escort rushed him to the Hilton Hotel and through the crowds of onlookers waiting to catch a glimpse of him.

Other overseas guests at the awards included Lauren Tewes (The Love Boat), Cicely Tyson (Roots), British actor David Hemmings, American actor Henry Silva, Days Of Our Lives stars Susan Seaforth Hayes and Bill Hayes and George And Mildred stars Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy.

A total of 43 awards were presented on the night.  The Nine Network’s long-running drama series The Sullivans  (pictured) claimed four Logie awards – including Paul Cronin and Lorraine Bayly for most popular lead actor and actress awards and The Sullivans winning most popular Australian drama series.

The Don Lane Show won most popular variety or panel show as well as most popular program in Victoria.

The Seven Network’s landmark 1978 mini-series Against The Wind (pictured) won three awards – Jon English for best new talent, Kerry McGuire for best performance by an actress in a supporting role and Against The Wind won best new drama.

The 0-10 Network won a special Logie for Outstanding Contribution to Community Service with its Have A Go campaign.  The campaign, initiated by Sir Kenneth Humphreys, chairman of TEN10 Sydney, was a series of commercials to motivate Australians to take a greater sense of pride in their country.  The campaign was later endorsed by the prime minister, Malcolm Fraser, as well as state governments. 

The film documentary The Last Tasmanian, aired on the 0-10 Network, won the Logie for best single documentary.  The film, three years in the making, traced the life and death of the Tasmanian aborigines and had been a hit around the world with French and Welsh language versions also made.

Regional television also won two awards.  The annual award for Most Outstanding Contribution by Regional Television was won by Goin’ Down The Road, a 30-minute documentary by Central Tablelands station CBN8.  The documentary about a rodeo rider was selected from a final list of four nominations – the others being Six Tonight (BTV6, Ballarat), Voices Of The River (TNT9, Northern Tasmania) and Bravo Boston (NBN3, Newcastle).

The Logie for most outstanding contribution to children’s television is usually won by a capital city network, but in 1979 the award was taken out by Rainbow, a series of five programs produced by Northern Rivers station NRN11.  The series, produced by Godfrey Philipp, featured children from local schools with each episode covering a different theme.

ABC won two Logies for its single drama, Bit Part, featuring veteran actor John Meillon.  And 12-year-old Warwick Poulsen won the industry voted award for most popular performance by a juvenile for his role in the telemovie Because He’s My Friend where he played a retarded child.  Actor Michael Aitken won a Logie for his script for Neutral Ground, an episode of the Tickled Pink comedy series.

The full list of winners from the 21st annual TV Week Logie Awards:

Viewers’ Voted Awards

Gold Logie: Bert Newton (New Faces, The Don Lane Show)

Silver Logie – Most Popular Actor: Paul Cronin (The Sullivans, Nine)
Silver Logie – Most Populat Actress: Lorraine Bayly (The Sullivans, Nine)

Most Popular Teenage Personality: John Paul Young
Most Popular Variety or Panel Show: The Don Lane Show (Nine)
Most Popular Comedy Show: The Paul Hogan Show (Nine)
Most Popular Drama: The Sullivans (Nine)

Best New Talent: Jon English (Against The Wind, Seven)

Industry Panel Awards

Best Performance By An Actor In A Major Role: John Meillon (Bit Part, ABC)
Best Performance By An Actress In A Major Role: Kerry McGuire (pictured. Against The Wind, Seven)

Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role: Peter Adams (Cop Shop, Seven)
Best Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role: Chantal Contouri (The Sullivans, Nine)

Best Performance By A Juvenile: Warwick Poulsen (Because He’s My Friend, ABC)

Best Single Drama Production: Bit Part (ABC)

Best TV Script: Michael Aitken for Neutral Ground (ABC)

Best Single Documentary: The Last Tasmanian (0-10 Network)
Best Documentary Series: A Big Country (ABC)

Best News Report: Bank Siege (QTQ9 Brisbane)
TV Reporter Of The Year: Bill Bennett (Willesee At Seven, Seven)

Best Sports Report or Documentary: Surfabout (Nine)
Outstanding Coverage of a Sports Event: Bathurst Hardie-Ferodo (Seven)

Outstanding Contribution to Community Service: Have A Go campaign (TEN10 Sydney)

Outstanding Contribution to Children’s TV: Rainbow (NRN11 Coffs Harbour, RTN8 Lismore)

Outstanding Contribution by a Regional Station: Goin’ Down The Road (CBN8 Orange)

State Awards (Most Popular Male, Most Popular Female, Most Popular Locally-Produced Program):

VIC: Bert Newton (GTV9), Mary Hardy (pictured. HSV7), The Don Lane Show (GTV9)

NSW: Mike Walsh (TCN9), Noeline Brown (ATN7), The Mike Walsh Show (TCN9)

QLD: Paul Griffin (QTQ9), Jacki MacDonald (TVQ0), Country Homestead (QTQ9)

SA: Ernie Sigley (NWS9), Pam Tamblyn (ADS7), The Ernie Sigley Show (NWS9)

WA: Terry Willesee (STW9), Stephanie Quinlan (TVW7), Channel Nine News (STW9)

TAS: Jim Cox (TNT9), Kerry Smith, Saturday Night Show

Source: TV Week, 24 March 1979, 31 March 1979.

1979: March 31-April 6

TV’s Yorkshire terrier
British TV host Michael Parkinson (pictured) has conducted more than 500 interviews with some of the world’s most famous people and created many memorable moments – he once got stuck into Hollywood actor John Wayne over his political persuasions, almost got a thumping by an outraged Muhammed Ali, and had his belly-button tickled by Shirley MacLaine.  Now the famed TV interviewer is coming to Australia to host a series of seven shows for ABC.  Some of Parkinson’s guests set to appear over the coming weeks include Ita Buttrose, Mike Willesee, Don Lane, Bob Hawke, Mary Hardy, Phillip Adams and Kerry Packer. 

Julie’s back with a song in her heart
Just weeks ago, singer Julie Anthony was yet to know if a recurring throat problem would end her singing career for good.  A trip to Germany to visit throat specialist Dr Oscar Kleinasser resulted in micro-surgery using lasers.  Although Anthony could speak after the operation, she was told not to sing for several weeks.  However when she and her husband and manager, Eddie Natt, were travelling in a cable car up the tallest mountain in Germany, with a misty view of the Alps, Anthony was so awestruck by the view that she spontaneously burst into singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  It was music to her husband’s ears as it was the first time she’d sung since the operation.  The performer is now back in Australia and taking voice exercises in preparation for a TV special to begin production in just over a month.

Flower power
TV Times asked five TV celebrities about their gardens and for their personal gardening tips.  Bernard King’s advice: “The secret of growing plants in pots is to have some empathy with the plants.  You need to think of the places in the world where the plants grow naturally and try to provide them with as near as possible to those conditions.”  Actress Gwen Plumb’s (pictured) garden is a semi-tropical retreat overlooking Sydney’s northern beaches and, she says, “I talk to my plants, apologise to them if I have to prune them, and encourage them to grow.”  Fellow The Young Doctors actor Michael Beecher says that plants take care of themselves: “Apart from watering, you shouldn’t have to spend more than an hour a week in a garden.  That’s plenty of time.”  ABC gardening expert, Sow What host Kevin Heinze, says that the most simple, cheapest and most effective way to add to your stock of plants is to grow from cuttings.  And Cop Shop actor George Mallaby, a keen vegetable grower, is in the process of renovating his new Melbourne home and is working on rejuvenating its very neglected backyard. 

Briefly…
The Sullivans’ actress Susan Hannaford has been busy working on plans for the launch of her new winter fashion collection.  Already a Melbourne boutique has expressed plans to stock her designs for the upcoming season.

Popular British poet Pam Ayres is about to begin her second Australian tour and ABC is expected to screen a new series What’s On Next?, which features Ayres, next month.

Muhammad Ali, in Australia for the TV Week Logie Awards, has recently spent a day reciting poems for a series of commercials for a new throat lozenge.  It is not known how much he was paid for the commercials though it is known that his minimum price for any job or appearance is $100,000.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
”I was watching Family Feud and one of the questions was ‘how many animals can be identified to have cloven feet?’  The answer ‘horse’ drew the highest score.  A horse has not got cloven feet – it is a foot or a hoof – not divided into two parts as ox, sheep, etc.  It’s rather hard on the contestants when the answers are wrong.” A. Hannon, NSW.

“I have just been watching The Mike Walsh Show and it has only increased my belief that there is no comparison between him and Steve Raymond.  Raymond may be a good interviewer, but that is where it stops – he asks only the questions to get the answers that he wants to hear, or thinks the viewers want to hear.” L. Skinner, QLD.

“I agree with G. Beaton (TV Times, 24 February 1979) on the lack of show-jumping coverage.  Show-jumping is a popular sport in Australia and it certainly is a difference after having to watch the same old cricket and tennis.” C. Erpel, NSW.

What’s On (March 31-April 6):
Weekend sport includes athletics from Olympic Park, Melbourne, live on ABC, followed by Sydney Rugby League’s Match Of The Day.

HSV7’s Saturday night football replays return for 1979 as the Victorian Football League makes a premature return with a game between Essendon and Carlton, originally scheduled for Round 3, played a week before Round 1 due to conflicts with regards to playing at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.  Meanwhile, Richmond and Geelong compete on Tuesday night’s Australian Football Championships, live from VFL Park.

The first episode of Parkinson In Australia (ABC, Saturday) features Ita Buttrose, Mike Willesee (pictured) and Sir Robert Helpmann.  Guest stars on HSV7’s Saturday Night Live include Ron Barassi, Shirley Strachan, Joan McInnes and Ronnie Burns.

Neil Inall hosts the premiere edition of ABC’s rural affairs program Countrywide, screening on Sunday afternoon, followed by a re-run of the previous week’s Sow What? with Kevin Heinze.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at crimes of the century, including the Pyjama Girl murder mystery and the kidnapping of Graeme Thorne, the son of a couple who had just won the Opera House Lottery.  The program also looks at the life of Melbourne’s 1920s gangster Squizzy Taylor.

HSV7’s afternoon children’s program Shirl’s Neighbourhood, hosted by Shirley Strachan, makes its debut.

In The Restless Years (ATV0, Tuesday and Wednesday), Tim (Jamie Gleeson) makes a shock announcement regarding his future.  While in Prisoner (ATV0, Tuesday and Wednesday), Franky (Carol Burns) talks Lizzie (Sheila Florance) and Doreen (Colette Mann, pictured) into attempting an escape.

Sunday night movies: Rogue Male (HSV7), The Glass House (GTV9) and Mame (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 31 March 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: January 13-19

Not just bunging on an act!
Cop Shop's Detective Danni Francis spends her time putting criminals behind bars, but her alter ego Paula Duncan (pictured) has also spent plenty of time behind bars of a different sort:  "When I was little my parents ran hotels for a living, so I was brought up behind bars.  Right behind them - they never let me anywhere near the licenced premises.  But the atmosphere was great and life was a lot of fun."  With ambitions of a showbusiness career dating back to childhood, she was successful in gaining entrance into the National Institute Of Dramatic Art (NIDA), but for reasons she still does not know, was not accepted for a second year.  Despite the setback, Duncan went on to appear in ABC's production of Pirates Of Penzance and made guest appearances as a singer on The Barry Crocker Hour before being cast in a regular role on the ABC series Certain Women in 1973.  Duncan then appeared on soap dramas Number 96 and The Young Doctors before auditioning for a role on The Sullivans.  "I missed out on the role because I was too young but Crawford Productions later offered me the role on Cop Shop." 

ABC will buy stunning Shakespeare showcase
ABC has announced it will purchase the 37 plays that comprise the complete dramatic works of William Shakespeare, to be produced over the next six years between BBC and Time Life Films in a project worth over $A12 million.  The task of presenting all 37 plays is a feat that has only been achieved in the theatre twice in the last 400 years and marks one of the most ambitious dramatic productions in the history of BBC.  No dates have been scheduled for the screening of the plays in Australia but ABC's acting controller of programs, Grahame Reynolds, said they will probably screen at the rate of one a month.  The first play, Romeo And Juliet, premiered on BBC last month and is to screen in the US later this month.

Sesame Street Australian-style
Children's TV programming could receive a boost with plans for a big-budget locally produced series this year.  Great Treasures Marketing, a book distribution house with global interests and headquarters in Melbourne, is said to be keen to invest in a TV production based loosely on the successful Sesame Street series.  Melbourne-based writer Stan Marks, one of the panel of judges for the Penguin Awards who criticised the standards of children's television production, was approached by Great Treasures Marketing to be involved in the TV series project.  The project has yet to be offered to a TV network.

News lures Annette south
After 15 years in Brisbane television, Annette Allison (pictured) has accepted a lucrative offer to move south to Melbourne channel ATV0.  Allison was approached last year by ATV0 manager Mike Lattin, who had previously appointed her to host Brisbane BTQ7's daytime show when he was program manager there in 1977.  The 33-year-old will present the channel's Eyewitness News alongside Bruce Mansfield and will also appear on the new daytime talk show Everyday.  "Everyday will go to air live and basically it's a similar format to my previous BTQ7 show, Annette.  I think they are aiming the program at being a Women's Weekly of Australian TV."  Allison left BTQ7 on 7 January, fifteen years to the day since she joined the channel, and starts at ATV0 on 15 January.   "I haven't taken this decision lightly.  I have to uproot everything and I consider it to be the major move of my life."

Briefly...
Tim Evans, a former co-writer for The Don Lane Show, will stay behind the scenes in his new role as producer of HSV7's The Penthouse Club.  The show will return soon for 1979, again with Ernie Sigley as host, but auditions are under way for a new female co-host to replace Mary Hardy who left the program last year.  The program is also being expanded this year to broadcast through Victorian regional stations as well as to Tasmania.

Chris Bartlett, voice-over man for Perth-based game show Family Feud, has left for Japan to work as assistant production manager on an American TV mini-series based on the best-selling book Shogun.

Actor Michael Caton is to reprise his role as Uncle Harry in The Sullivans, but as Caton said, "it'll be a somewhat different Harry.  He has, er, been changed by circumstances, but he still has plenty of schemes."

A one-hour documentary on Melbourne's massage parlours is being produced by former This Day Tonight producer John McIntosh for screening on the Seven Network.  McIntosh is the husband of Sue McIntosh, formerly of the children's series Adventure Island and a presenter on GTV9's children's program You Me And Education.

GTV9 newsreader Peter Hitchener (pictured) has settled his differences with the channel and has renewed his contract:  "I am delighted to be staying at Nine.  (Incoming newsreader) Brian Naylor and I get on well together and I look forward to an interesting and exciting year."

 

Viewpoint: Letters To The Editor:
"I am so annoyed with the amount of sport on TV!  We often see the commercials about Life Be In It, and how it's better not to be Norm - "warming the set and cooling the tinnies."  These ads are put on for people to realise that being part of a sporting team is better than sitting on one's backside with a cold can and watching it on TV." E. Fogarty, NSW.

"I am writing to complain about cricket taking over the time slots of regular programs, especially Countdown!  Consider those people who live in country areas, who have no choice of channels." R. Hurditch, NSW.

"I can no longer contain myself.  When I saw that The Quest was to be appear at 11.00pm on Monday 4 December, quite frankly, I saw red.  With weeks between episodes, altered nights and times, TCN9 should be ashamed.  Don't the powers-that-be recognise an above average program when they see it?" V. Longhurst, NSW.

What's On (January 13-19):
More cricket on our screens with the 2nd One-Day International on ABC on Saturday, live from the Sydney Cricket Ground, World Series Cricket on GTV9 on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Wednesday, the final of the Gillette Cup on ATV0 on Sunday, and the Sheffield Shield on ABC on Friday.

A re-run of the historic drama Cash And Company begins on HSV7 on Saturday night. 

Saturday's late night movie on ATV0 is the 1962 thriller The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed-Up Zombies.  The following night, HSV7's late night classic is the 1958 sci-fi horror The Blob.

Sunday night movies are The Little Hut (HSV7), The Horsemen (GTV9) and The Family Way (ATV0).  ABC screens the telemovie She'll Be Sweet, the fifth telemovie produced by the broadcaster in association with the US-based Transatlantic Enterprises.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 13 January 1979.  ABC/ACP

1978: May 6-12

Cover story: Their real restless years
TV Times spoke to some of the cast of the 0-10 Network soap The Restless Years to find out what their real-life restless years were like: Julieanne Newbould was a child performer, making her TV debut at the age of 12 on a TEN10 talent show and had also appeared in minor roles in a number of TV dramas. Nick Hedstrom helped compile the school magazine and also produced a play, prompting him to decide his future career in acting. Jon "Sonny" Blake (pictured) recalls the frustration in trying to find a job after finishing school, eventually getting a job at a cinema as an usher before scoring his big break as Alan Archer in The Restless Years. (On TV Times' cover: Julieanne Newbould, Nick Hedstrom, Deborah Coulls)

Bernard's golden chance when show goes to pot
Within 24 hours of the axe falling on the 0-10 Network talent show Pot Of Gold, panelist judge Bernard King had received three separate offers for new shows including a gardening show, a variety series and a Beauty And The Beast styled panel show. After 650 episodes over three years, the final episode of Pot Of Gold is to air on the 0-10 Network in early June.

Sigley moves into the Penthouse...
After a health scare earlier in the year, Ernie Sigley is back on screens as co-host of HSV7's Penthouse '78 - with the program now being relayed live to Tasmania's two commercial TV channels. Sigley will also host his own local variety show over in Adelaide for NWS9.

...and Mary gets a surprise
Sigley's opening night on Penthouse '78 suddenly switched direction when he introduced surprise "barrel girl" Roger Climpson, who told co-host Mary Hardy: "This Is Your Life". The special tribute program was then recorded after 12.30am, and the party that followed continued well into the morning. (Pictured above: Ernie Sigley, Roger Climpson, Mary Hardy)

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
"Marcia Hines, Australia's First Lady of Song? Oh, ABC, how could you? Whatever happened to music - and poor Joan Sutherland? What an insult to singers!" (name and address supplied)

"Well if Cop Shop and Glenview High aren't the most retrograde step in Australian TV, I don't know what is. Usually I enjoy Australian TV, but Cop Shop and Glenview High are the most puerile shows on air. The Sullivans and The Young Doctors to me are the best Australian productions." M. Hamilton, QLD.

"I do not often disagree with Mike Willesee (pictured), but it irked me when on several occasions (even after a year or so) he still talked about the ghouls at the Granville train disaster, who came running to watch. Well, I'd like to know the difference between them and the ones that ran with cameras and took notes of all that happened to tell us all on the news, in each gory detail, and show pictures of it." E. Plant, NSW.

What's On (May 6-12)
Late on Saturday night, HSV7 presents a direct telecast of the FA Cup Final, between Arsenal and Ipswich, live from Wembley Stadium in London. For those that missed the live telecast, HSV7 repeated it the next afternoon.

ATV0 presents a 90-minute musical special The 20s And All That Jazz, based on the Australian stage show. Appearing in the special, produced at the Nunawading studios of ATV0, are John Diedrich, John O'May, Caroline Gillmer and Denise Drysdale (pictured)

ABC's new series of A Big Country featured a documentary on the making of the film The Chant Of Jimmie Blacksmith - adapted from Thomas Kenneally's book of the same name.

ABC's legendary children's program Mr Squiggle returns for a new series of ten episodes with host Miss Jane (Jane Fennell) and joining the pencil-nosed Mr Squiggle are friends Gus and Bill Steamshovel.

Sunday night movies are Carry On Henry (HSV7), the movie-length pilot of The Love Boat (GTV9) and the 'modified TV version' of High Plains Drifter (ATV0). The Duchess Of Duke Street and I Claudius are still going on ABC after twelve weeks.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 6 May 1978. ABC/ACP

1978: TV Week Logie Awards

As part of this blog's ongoing theme of all things TV in 1978 - to coincide with tonight's presentation of the 50th annual TV Week Logie Awards, let's have a look at what they were doing at the 20th TV Week Logie Awards presentation, thirty years ago.

The 1978 TV Week Logie Awards were held at the Southern Cross Hotel, Melbourne, on Friday 3 March. The presentation was hosted by Bert Newton and telecast through the Nine Network. The telecast was sponsored by the national telecommunications carrier Telecom (now Telstra).

The winner of the Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Australian TV was Graham Kennedy, host of the popular late-'70s game show Blankety Blanks. Kennedy had stiff opposition for the award, fending off other nominees Don Lane, Bert Newton, Mike Walsh and Lorraine Bayly. This was Kennedy's fifth Gold Logie which was a new record - but it would be twenty years before he would win another one, when he was inducted into the TV Week Logie Awards' Hall of Fame in 1998.

Kennedy had also won another Logie earlier in the night in '78 when Blankety Blanks was awarded Best Australia Variety/Panel/Comedy Show.

But while Kennedy was the winner of the night's top award, he was upstaged by six-year-old Beau Cox who had won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Juvenile for his performance in an episode of the Seven Network's Young Ramsay.

It was also a big night for the popular Nine Network series The Sullivans, picking up five Logies, including Most Popular Drama, Most Popular Actor (Paul Cronin) and Most Popular Actress (Lorraine Bayly).

Overseas celebrities to feature at the 1978 TV Week Logies were Florence Henderson (then starring in The Brady Bunch Variety Hour), Mike Farrell (MASH), Richard Anderson (The Bionic Woman), Pattie Weaver (Days Of Our Lives), British TV host David Frost, and legendary performer Sammy Davis Jnr. The presentation also featured a link-up to Sydney to feature an interview with Bob Hope who had been touring Australia and was about to head back to the US to host the Academy Awards.

MASH star Mike Farrell had made an on-air appeal for a gentleman who had taken a fall earlier in the week in the Melbourne CBD following an altercation with Farrell's daughter Erin. In the confusion that followed the incident, the man did not give Farrell his name, hence the Logies night call for the man so that Farrell could "buy him a drink". Then, within an hour, Melbourne man Don Sinclair arrived at the Southern Cross Hotel. "One day you are an avowed fan of MASH and the next day you're having an accident with BJ Hunnicut's daughter," said Sinclair after arriving at the hotel. And yes, he got his drink.

Mark Holden was awarded Most Popular Teenage Personality, but was curiously not present to collect his award. It was later revealed that the pop singer and former The Young Doctors star had made a quick dash outside the ballroom but failed to return in time to accept his award.

Melbourne's Mary Hardy (pictured with host Bert Newton), in accepting her Logie for Most Popular Female Personality in Victoria, jokingly acknowledged: "I really have to thank Graham Kennedy for this. If he hadn't got me the sack at GTV9 all those years ago, I would not have gone to Seven!" After her acceptance speech, Hardy then felt a tug at her skirt on her way back to her seat. She turned and found it had come from Florence Henderson who smiled and threw her arms around Hardy, saying "I thought you were marvellous." For one of the few times in her life, Hardy was lost for words. The two had never met before and Henderson's compliment was based solely on Hardy's on-stage acceptance speech.

Now these days there is just as must emphasis placed on the red carpet arrivals and the fashions as there is on the actual awards themselves. But in 1978, TV Week's only coverage of some of the fashions of the night was a two-page spread featuring Cop Shop's Lynda Stoner (pictured), The Sullivans' Susan Hannaford (shown to be arriving with Mark Holden, triggering stories of a possible romance between the two), and sisters Carmen and Paula Duncan - but the biggest shock frock of the night came from A Current Affair host Sue Smith, who wore a revealing black gown split to the hip. The strapless top half of the gown was more revealing. For a presenter who was better known for her serious approach to current affairs, it took many in the crowd by surprise.

In total, 43 awards were handed out on the night. The Nine Network claimed twenty awards, the Seven Network claimed eight Logies, while the 0-10 Network picked up four, and ABC picked up five. Hobart's TVT6 picked up the three Tasmanian state awards, and Newcastle's NBN3 won the regional TV category.

Finally, a list of all 43 winners of the 1978 TV Week Logie Awards:

Viewers' voted awards:

Gold Logie: Graham Kennedy, Blankety Blanks (0-10 Network)

Silver Logie - Most Popular Actor: Paul Cronin, The Sullivans (Nine Network)

Silver Logie - Most Popular Actress: Lorraine Bayly, The Sullivans (Nine)

Most Popular Teenage Personality: Mark Holden

Most Popular Variety/Panel/Comedy Show: Blankety Blanks (0-10)

Most Popular Drama Series: The Sullivans (Nine)

Most Popular Commercial: Export Cola

Best New Talent: Brandon Burke (Glenview High, Seven Network)

Industry panel awards:

Best Individual Performance by an Actor: Neil Fitzpatrick, Pig In A Poke (ABC)

Best Individual Performance by an Actress: Jacki Weaver, Do I Have To Kill My Child? (ABC)

Best New Drama: Cop Shop (Seven)

Best Sustained Performance by a Supporting Actor: Michael Caton, The Sullivans (Nine)

Best Sustained Performance by a Supporting Actress: Vivean Gray, The Sullivans (Nine)

Outstanding Performance by a Juvenile: Beau Cox, Young Ramsay (Seven)

Best Single Drama: The Alternative (Seven)

Best Dramatic Script: Margaret Kelly and John Dingwall, Pig In A Poke (ABC)

Best Documentary Series: In The Wild (ABC)

Best News Documentary: Utah report, Four Corners (ABC)

Outstanding Contribution to TV Journalism: The Werribee Accident, A Current Affair (Nine)

Best Public Affairs Series: Willesee At Seven (Seven)

Best News Report: Blue Mountains bushfires, Eyewitness News (TEN10 Sydney)

Outstanding Contribution to Community Service: The National Survival Test (0-10)

Outstanding Coverage of a Sporting Event: Australian Open Golf Championship (Nine)

Best Comedy Performer: Paul Hogan, The Paul Hogan Show (Nine)

Outstanding Contribution by a Regional Station: Ian (NBN3 Newcastle)

State winners (Most Popular Male Personality, Female Personality, Program):

NSW: Mike Walsh (TCN9), Sue Smith (TCN9), The Mike Walsh Show (TCN9)

VIC: Bert Newton (GTV9), Mary Hardy (HSV7), The Don Lane Show (GTV9)

QLD: Paul Sharrat (QTQ9), Jacki MacDonald (BTQ7), Country Homestead (QTQ9)

SA: Roger Cardwell (NWS9), Helen Woods (NWS9), Super Fun Show (ADS7)

WA: Terry Willesee (STW9), Jenny Clemesha (STW9), Channel Nine News (STW9)

TAS: Tom Payne (TVT6), Robyn Jackman (TVT6), This Week (TVT6)

Source: TV Week, 11 March 1978 & 18 March 1978.

The 50th Annual TV Week Logie Awards. Tonight (Sunday) 4 May, from 7.30pm. Nine*

* GTV9 Melbourne. Other stations/affiliates check local guides.

1978: April 29-May 5

Chopper Squad star's secret fear!
Dennis Grosvenor, one of the lead actors in the new 0-10 Network series Chopper Squad, reveals one of the occupational hazards in filming the action drama - motion sickness! "I generally manage to control it fairly well by making sure I haven't eaten too much before a flying or boating scene," he told TV Times. The series, produced by Reg Grundy Productions, has been sold to Paramount Pictures Television for overseas distribution. (Pictured on the TV Times cover are Grosvenor (centre) with co-stars Eric Oldfield (left) and Robert Coleby.)

Big guns in 7pm battle
A re-shuffle by the Nine Network will now see a revived battle in the 7.00pm weeknight timeslot, with the network's moving of popular drama The Sullivans up against Seven's current affairs program Willesee At Seven and the 0-10 Network's Blankety Blanks. The removal of Nine's former ratings flagship A Current Affair from 7.00pm marks a victory for Seven, but host Mike Willesee (pictured) is not about to be complacent as The Sullivans is a big-budget series and has had considerable success in its previous slot of 7.30pm. The challenge for The Sullivans, though, is to maintain viewers' interest as it moves from a twice-weekly one-hour format to nightly half-hour episodes.

She's a blooming Hardy perennial
Melbourne's Mary Hardy concedes that life in television isn't as easy when you're a woman. While Graham Kennedy has his 'palace' wherever he goes, and Bert Newton and Don Lane at least have private caravans - Hardy (pictured with overseas guest Dan Rowan on a recent Penthouse '78), even after seven years as host of The Penthouse Club, still has no office, no secretary or even a changing room to herself: "I couldn't give a ---- about the trappings, but it also involves consideration and how you are regarded. If a man asks loudly for a chair, someone will race off and get it. If I ask someone to run a broom around the set I'm being a difficult bitch." But apart from her public persona on TV and radio, Hardy credits herself as being 'Australia's most fanatical fan', jetting around the world to places like London, New York and Los Angeles to see stage productions whenever her schedule allows it.

Versatility is the name of Donovan's game
Despite his lowered profile in the long-running TV - Make It Australia campaign, aimed at increasing local content on Australian TV, actor Terry Donovan is still just as concerned at the state of the local industry, "I don't think Australian TV has progressed much in the last few years, and it's a great shame. We've just got more soap operas instead of good dramas, and although the TV stations maintain they've tried, they've improved the quantity of shows - not the quality." Probably not surprisingly, Donovan's latest roles have been in the theatre and movies such as the South Australian production The Money Movers.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"For some time I have watched and enjoyed $30,000 Treasure Hunt (0-10 Network) but I feel there is cause for complaint against the pronunciations used by the quizmasters. I shudder each time Mike Minehan (pictured) says "twenny" and that he is unable to say simple words like grown, shown, etc., without adding another letter and making them "growan" and "showan". Surely it is possible to find the correct pronunciation before going to air." E. Fitzpatrick, VIC.

"After all the complaints about sport on TV you would think something would be done. But we still get sport all day Saturday and Sunday. In North Queensland we only have two channels. On the weekend, the commercial station doesn't start until 4.00pm and ABC has sport all afternoon, so we have no choice." S. Alby, QLD.

"Every week I spend 40 cents buying a TV magazine just to know the programs beforehand. However, last Saturday, TEN10 changed the program and instead of showing The Egyptian, they showed City Beneath The Sea, without any regard to the viewer. I took a day off work to see the movie and I ended up like a fool seeing what I had no interest in at all!" Name and address supplied. (TV Times' response: "Bad luck. By the way we've taken your name off your letter just incase you're not self-employed and your boss isn't a movie fan!")

What's On (April 29-May 5):
HSV7 presents a 90-minute special Bob Hope In Australia, a variety special taped before an audience of 8000 at Perth's Entertainment Centre on his recent Australian tour. Also featured in the program are Barbara Eden, Florence Henderson, Kamahl and The Four Kinsmen. The program, produced by Perth's TVW7, is screened around Australia on the Seven Network and in the United States through NBC.

After Bob Hope, HSV7 screens an Australian mystery movie The Death Train, starring Hugh Keays-Byrne, Max Meldrum and Ingrid Mason.

ABV2 screens a BBC documentary The Dawn Of A Solar Age, which examines the potential developments in the use of solar energy and the feasibility of its widespread use.

The Young Doctors promises a cliff-hanger: "Dennis (Chris King) has trouble getting some money he is owed. Somebody else is in bigger trouble stepping into lifts that aren't there," hints Friday's TV listings, to what became a famous incident where Sister Grace Scott (Cornelia Frances), distracted after delivering a stern warning to one of her nurses, walks into an opened lift shaft.

Sunday nights movies are Soylent Green (HSV7), Charley Varrick (GTV9) and an Australian movie Journey Out Of Darkness (ATV0) starring Ed Devereaux and singer Kamahl.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 29 April 1978. ABC/ACP

1978: April 15-21

Holiday's new Bill of fare:TV Times previews the new series of ABC's Holiday, hosted by Bill Peach (pictured) with reporters Jan Kingsbury and Jeff Watson. The new series covers destinations across Australia, New Zealand, France, Greece and the Pacific region.
No blankety rift with channel, says Harry M:Harry M Miller, manager for Graham Kennedy, denies rumours that he will be seeking to move Kennedy's Blankety Blanks to another Melbourne channel following public criticism of Melbourne's ATV0 by Kennedy. "That's ridiculous," Miller told TV Times, "after all, we do have a contract with them and we're in no position to be talking about going somewhere else." Now in its second year, Blankety Blanks continues to win the important 7.00pm timeslot in Sydney but struggles in Melbourne. Both Miller and an ATV0 spokesman confirmed that there had been criticism over the channel's lead-in program to Blankety Blanks, the lower-rating game show $30,000 Treasure Hunt, but this situation had been rectified with the recent expansion of the local Eyewitness News to a one-hour format.
Gunston in harness with Ben Hur! Norman Gunston (Garry McDonald) interviewed Hollywood great Charlton Heston for his Hollywood special to air on the Seven Network: "Did you ever run across my Aunt Naomi, Ben.. sorry Mr Heston. She and Uncle Remo live in Malta, which can't be that far from your old stomping ground." (A rather timely interview, given that Heston passed away this same week, thirty years later.)
Mary takes a risky trip:
Ernie Sigley, who recently filled in for Mary Hardy (pictured) on HSV7's Penthouse '78 while she was covering the Academy Awards for radio 3AW, could be a regular co-host with Hardy on the Saturday night variety show. However, this week's co-host for Penthouse '78 is Willesee At Seven reporter Paul Makin which could be interesting as after the last time Makin appeared on the program, Hardy was quoted that he would be back "over my dead body."
Philip Brady's wild party:It was a reunion of many of Melbourne's radio and TV personalities when Philip Brady (pictured) celebrated his 20th year in the business. Among the celebrities gathered at the party were Joff Ellen, Happy Hammond, Jack Little, Evie Hayes, Tommy Hanlon Jnr, interstate guests Mike Walsh and Jimmy Hannan, and GTV9 personalities Eric Pearce, Vi Greenhalf and Pete Smith.
Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:"Thank goodness Graham Kennedy lost his voice on Blankety Blanks! The show, such as it is, was much better without him acting the ass. The gentleman who took his place was a great improvement." E. Allen, NSW.
"I thought Marcia Hines' Music was great. It was really good to see our queen of pop doing a show such as that. She is a fantastic singer and feeds good publicity. I hope she will be coming to Brisbane soon." C. Close, QLD.
"There's this commercial for a well-known brand of fly spray: a father and son come inside for lunch. The father spots a fly, which is quickly dispatched with the aid of the fly spray. Then follows a homily, from the father, about dirty disease-carrying flies, following which both father and son sit down to eat without washing their hands!" A. Dickens, NSW.
What's On (April 15-21):ABC presents the final episode of Marcia Hines' Music, featuring guest stars Johnny Farnham and Linda George.
Weekend sport includes Saturday night VFL replays on ABC and HSV7, Sunday afternoon VFA Football on ATV0, and Australian Sports Sedans on ABC.
GTV9 presents the British Film And TV Awards to be hosted by Susannah York and Andrew Gardner with an appearance by the president of the British Academy of Film and TV Arts, Princess Anne.
Sunday night movies are Street People (HSV7), Once Upon A Time In The West (GTV9) and The Last Summer (ATV0) up against another episode of I Claudius on ABC, followed by The Tinder Box, a ballet based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen.
Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 15 April 1978. ABC/ACP

Saturday night highlights

Saturday nights are usually regarded as the graveyard of prime-time TV. The assumption of commercial network programmers is that the type of viewers that advertisers most likely want to attract are out of the house on Saturday night, so there is no point in trying to appeal to them.

As a result, Saturday night TV has usually been a tired mix of re-runs, shows that never worked on a weeknight timeslot, documentaries with little appeal, or straight-to-TV movies. There is some joy for football fans in the winter months, but for others there is little to get excited about.

Though there have been some exceptions in recent times. ABC has served loyal fans of British shows like The Bill, Parkinson and Doctor Who, and the SBS double of Iron Chef and Melbourne-based Rockwiz with Julia Zemiro and Brian Nankervis, pictured) helped make Saturday one of their most popular nights of the week. But despite the stigma of being TV's equivalent of a nursing home, Saturday nights have provided a few stand-out, or at least well-remembered shows:

Sydney's ATN7 presented one of the first popular comedy revue shows in the mid-'60s with the irreverent Mavis Bramston Show, featuring Gordon Chater, Carol Raye, Barry Creyton and later names like June Salter, Noeline Brown, Ron Frazer and Barbara Angell. There was no such person as Mavis Bramston (pictured) - rather the name was taken from a derogatory showbiz term, something like 'Oh, what a bunch of Mavis Bramstons!'. Such was the popularity of The Mavis Bramston Show, and the fondness in which it is remembered, a recent stage production, Mavis Bramston: Reloaded brought the old revue back to life.

Young Talent Time (pictured) was a gamble by the 0-10 Network in 1971 when pop star Johnny Young assembled a group of child performers to form a variety show for children and families as an alternative to football replays on the other channels. The program was an immediate success and continued for eighteen years, and turned child performers such as Debra Byrne, Tina Arena and Dannii Minogue into household names.

At around the same time as Young Talent Time, Melbourne's HSV7 had acquired the rights to the Saturday night harness racing but needed something to hold viewers' interest in the gaps between races. Hence, The Penthouse Club, a variety show with Mike Williamson (later replaced by Ernie Sigley) and comedian Mary Hardy (pictured) that ran for almost ten years. A similar sports-themed variety show, The Club Show, also ran on Saturday nights in Sydney with Rex Mossop, and Adelaide's ADS7 also produced its own Penthouse Club with local personalities Bob Francis and Anne Wills.

The Nine Network's popular Saturday morning children's show Hey Hey It's Saturday had outgrown its morning timeslot after twelve years, and made the move to Saturday night in February 1984. The show's popular line-up of Daryl Somers, Ossie Ostrich, Jacki MacDonald and John Blackman (pictured) continued into the evening format, as did some of the show's studio segments including Red Faces, a mock talent quest modelled on the network's popular New Faces. The mix of variety, comedy and celebrity interviews made Hey Hey It's Saturday a weekly tradition until it was cancelled at the end of 1999. The timeslot was then filled by Australia's Funniest Home Video Show, a show that unashamedly relies on cringe-worthy slapstick, usually at the expense of children and animals, but appears to have maintained some level of popularity on Saturday evenings.

Comedy team The D-Generation had made their TV debut with a sketch comedy series on ABC in the 1980s, and later the Seven Network. The team had also conquered breakfast radio in Melbourne, and in 1992 made a return to TV with ABC's The Late Show - a mix of live and pre-recorded comedy sketches. The program also made a cult hero out of former TV cop Bluey (Lucky Grills, pictured) when they comically re-voiced scenes of the 1976 police drama, and also applied the same treatment to ABC's historical series Rush. The success of The Late Show led to the group producing Frontline, Funky Squad, The Panel, Thank God You're Here and movies The Castle and The Dish.

There are obviously other shows that I've missed - particularly outside of Melbourne. What do you remember about Saturday night TV? What have been your highlights, or lowlights, of Saturday night in front of the TV?