1992: April 12-18

Hello, baby… and goodbye to Wandin Valley!
The birth of James Gardner Tyler in A Country Practice will mark the end of an era as his parents Matt (John Tarrant) and Lucy (Georgie Parker, pictured) depart Wandin Valley with their newborn to start a new life in Vietnam.  For Parker, there are no regrets about moving on from A Country Practice.  “I need to move on,” she said.  “If I stayed, it would wane.  I would rather finish on a high.  ACP has been a very positive experience.  It was wonderful to have a regular job and to work with people who had a healthy attitude to the business and weren’t seduced by it.  ACP helped me develop a good attitude towards TV.”  Parker’s next career venture is the title role in the stage musical Gypsy, starring beside Tony Barber and Geraldine Turner. 

Stefan and Gayle pack their bags
Stefan Dennis, one of Neighbours’ original cast members, is leaving the long-running series.  Dennis is expected not to renew his contract when it expires in July although producers insist that negotiations are still under way.  “If he does leave, we’ll have him on air until September,” a Network Ten spokesperson said.  If Dennis does leave, the only remaining original cast members in the series will be Anne Haddy and Alan Dale.  Meanwhile, Gayle Blakeney, who plays Dennis’ on-screen wife Christina, is also set to leave the show when her contract expires in July.

Cops out!
ABC drama Phoenix is set to lose two of its high-profile stars when a second series goes into production later this year.  Paul Sonkkila, who plays Inspector Jock Brennan, is leaving for personal reasons, and Nell Feeney, who plays Detective Senior Constable Megan Edwards, will not be returning.  “Nell’s character was brought into Phoenix for the bombing storyline, which ends with the first series,” an ABC spokesperson told TV Week.

Briefly…
Former Prisoner stars Betty Bobbitt, Lois Collinder and Marilyn Rodgers are now on the hunt for “criminals” in the Comedy Festival production Peroxide, a send-up of the old Australian TV cop shows. “We are three police officers looking for a despicable character who has been spreading blonde jokes,” Bobbitt (pictured) told TV Week.  “We become the Peroxide squad!”  Bobbitt is no stranger to the early TV cop shows.  When she first arrived in Australia in the 1960s, she played various roles in shows including Matlock Police, Homicide and Division 4.  “I played anything from madams in whorehouses to housewives with children.  I have very happy memories of my cop show days.”

Viewers will see a different side to Steve Vizard when he presents the upcoming World Vision special The Forgotten World.  The program features Jennifer Keyte (pictured) and actor Tom Burlinson, who travelled to Latin America and Africa for the special.  “With something like this, you only have to get people to pay attention,” Vizard told TV Week.  “Once you see the work World Vision is doing, you’d have to be a halfwit not to sit up and take notice.”

Production has stalled on the Nine Network series Snowy.  The 26-part drama focusing on the Snowy Mountain Scheme has run into financial difficulties.

Lawrie Masterson: The View From Here
”You must have noticed television’s obsession with putting on trial anything remotely controversial.  No doubt this most recent spate of TV trials was kicked off when the late but unlamented Fat Cat was convicted without much of a hearing, then executed come the dawn.  Jana Wendt and A Current Affair kept the ball rolling by gathering a bunch of lawyers and witnesses and a retired supreme court judge and spending two futile nights pondering whether or not the Prime Minister, Paul Keating, has murdered the Australian economy.  Mr Keating’s day in court was followed by ABC’s Live And Sweaty putting the Nine Network in the dock for its treatment of the NSW Rugby League replays.  Nine apparently stands charged with not replaying games in their entirety.  After that, we had the real kangaroo court – Skippy, a marsupial native of the Australia bush, put himself on trial, probably because no-one else could be bothered doing it.  I haven’t caught up with the result of that laughable exercise yet.  If you have, do me a favour and keep it to yourself.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne: April 12-18):
Sunday:  Nine crosses to Eastern Creek, NSW, for live coverage of the Australian 500cc Motorcycling Grand Prix.  Seven’s afternoon of AFL coverage includes Sydney versus Footscray and West Coast Eagles versus Geelong.  Sunday night movies are Advance To Ground Zero (Seven), A Chorus Line (Nine) and Meet The Applegates (Ten).

Monday:  In A Country Practice (Seven), Matt (John Tarrant) is suspicious when his father, Gil (George Whaley), arrives unannounced.

Tuesday:  In Beyond 2000 (Seven), Bryan Smith discovers the paper that’s made of corn, and Amanda Keller tells how super computers are helping the British to predict the weather.  In Chances (Nine), Alex (Jeremy Sims) signs Faith Matthews, a 17-year-old Olympic swimming golden girl, but gets more than he bargained for.  In A Country Practice (Seven), Gil (George Whaley) offers Matt (John Tarrant) and Lucy (Georgie Parker) an opportunity to leave Wandin Valley.

Wednesday:  ABC presents Australia’s first Aboriginal musical, Bran Nue Dae, telling the story of an Aboriginal boy’s flight from Perth to his homeland at Djaridin.

Thursday:  In Phoenix (ABC), the police force are questioning the resources spent on the Phoenix investigation.  In Neighbours (Ten), Dorothy (Maggie Dence) and Lucy (Melissa Bell) believe they may have killed Faye’s (Lorraine Bayly) best friend.

Good Friday:  Seven’s traditional Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal dominates its day’s programming – starting at 9.00am and, apart from News, Real Life and Home And Away, continues through to midnight.  The evening telecast features Tony Barber, John Burgess, Robert Brough, Eric Walters, Jennifer Keyte, Rachael Beck, David Straussman, Darryl Cotton, Alyce Platt, Victoria Nicolls, Russell Morris, Mike Brady and the Australian Girls Choir.

Saturday:  Nine’s Wide World Of Sports includes live coverage of the Stawell Gift, the Doncaster Handicap and the AJC Derby.  Seven’s evening includes AFL Today, highlights of the day’s AFL matches, followed by live coverage of the Brisbane Bears versus West Coast Eagles from Carrara, Queensland.  Ruth Cracknell and Gordon Chater star in Sydney’s Theatre Royal production of The Importance Of Being Earnest, broadcast on ABC.

Source: TV Week (Melbourne edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  11 April 1992.  Southdown Press.

Obituary: Carl Bleazby

Actor Carl Bleazby, best known from the long-running ABC series Bellbird, died late last month at the age of 95.

Born in Melbourne in 1916, Bleazby was a radio announcer and actor at Melbourne station 3XY when he enlisted at the break out of World War II in 1939.  He served with the AIF in the Middle East for two-and-a-half years and rose to the rank of captain, but when his radio background was discovered he was transferred to broadcasting duties for the AIF at Radio Jerusalem.

In 1945 he returned to 3XY and furthered his acting career, leading to roles in early TV drama productions including Seagulls Over Sorrento, Consider Your Verdict and Homicide.  In 1967 he was cast as Col. Jim Emerson in ABC’s Bellbird.  It was his first ongoing TV role, but it was a series that he didn’t give much of a chance.  “I gave it about three months,” he told TV Times in 1974.  “It was surprising to me at the time that it took off the way it did but it has developed a lot since then.  I think the very ordinariness of the people helped viewers identify with them and helped its early success.”

Despite the ongoing commitment to Bellbird, production breaks allowed him to make guest appearances in other dramas such as Ryan, Hunter, Matlock Police, The Long Arm, Division 4 and Power Without Glory.

After Bellbird wound up in 1977, he made guest appearances in Skyways, Sons And Daughters, Prisoner, The Flying Doctors and Home And Away.  He also starred in films Country Town (the movie spin-off from Bellbird) and Annie’s Coming Out.

Carl Bleazby died peacefully in a nursing home in Killara, NSW.

Source: TV Times, 18 March 1972.  TV Times, 23 February 1974.  IMDB.  Radio Heritage.  TV Tonight.

Obituary: Harold Hopkins

Australian acting veteran Harold Hopkins has died in a Sydney hospital from the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma.

The 67-year-old actor was diagnosed several months ago and is believed to have contracted the cancer from his first job after finishing high school, where he worked with asbestos sheeting as an apprentice carpenter in Queensland in the early 1960s.

Hopkins’ acting career began in the late 1960s on the Seven Network’s daytime drama Motel (a series that also starred a young Jack Thompson). 

Early TV roles also included Skippy The Bush Kangaroo, Riptide, Delta and Barrier Reef.  He had an ongoing role in the comedy-drama The Godfathers and its spin-off series The People Next Door.

Other TV credits included Certain Women, Silent Number, Matlock Police, Homicide, Division 4, Rush, The Lost Islands and the lead male role in the 1979 series Twenty Good Years (pictured with co-star Anne Pendlebury).

He went on to appear in mini-series including Sara Dane, The Dirtwater Dynasty, True Believers, The Last Bastion, Winners, Shadows Of The Heart and Brides Of Christ.

More recent appearances have included Grass Roots, State Coroner, Blue Heelers, White Collar Blue, The Secret Life Of Us, Wildside, The Strip, All Saints and Underbelly: A Tale Of Two Cities.

Film credits have included Don’s Party, The Club, The Picture Show Man, Buddies, Monkey Grip and The Year My Voice Broke.

Harold Hopkins is survived by his twin brother, John, and five other siblings, Naomi, Michael, Gregory, Margaret and Suzanne.

Source: News.com.au, IMDB, The Age, ABC, TV Eye

ABC boss in Queen’s Birthday honours

ABC Managing Director Mark Scott (pictured) has been named an named an officer of the Order of Australia in this year’s Queen’s Birthday honours list.

Mr Scott, head of the national broadcaster since 2006, was recognised “for distinguished service to media and communications, and to the community through advisory and governance roles with a range of social justice and educational bodies.”

Before becoming Managing Director of the ABC, Mr Scott had a background in the print media industry and has served as a board member for charities including Wesley Mission.

Other media identities to be recognised in this year’s list include sporting identity Max Walker, former test cricketer and commentator for ABC radio and the Seven and Nine networks; Peter FitzSimons, author, newspaper columnist and broadcaster; and Bob Horsfall (pictured), actor, scriptwriter and performer in radio, television and films – including eight years at HSV7, four years at GTV9, and appearances in programs including In Melbourne Tonight, Sunnyside Up, World Of Sport, Division 4, Matlock Police, Bellbird, Homicide, Prisoner, Neighbours and Blue Heelers.

A total of 376 Australians were honoured in this year’s list.

Source: Governor-General of Australia, Golden Days Radio

Obituary: Michele Fawdon

Michele Fawdon, actress in film, stage and television, has died today after a battle with cancer.

Born in London in 1947, Fawdon studied in the United Kingdom before coming to Australia early in her professional career.  Following guest roles in Homicide, The Spoiler and Spyforce, Fawdon was cast as Mabel in the pilot for comedy series Snake Gully With Dad And Dave, produced in 1971, but her big break came the following year when she was cast in the original Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

She went on to appear in many television productions in the years that followed, including Ryan, Matlock Police, The Unisexers, Flashez, Loss Of Innocence, Young Ramsay, Winners, The Flying Doctors, GP, A Country Practice, Marshall Law, All Saints, MDA, Fergus McPhail, Bastard Boys and City Homicide. 

Her last TV role was in the mini-series Killing Time which is yet to be screened in Australia.

Her role in the 1979 movie Cathy’s Child won her Best Actress awards at both the AFI Awards and the Australian Film And Television Awards (The Sammys).

Michele Fawdon is survived by partner Geoff Jenkins and daughter Lulu.

A memorial service is to be held next Monday.

Source: IF, TV Tonight, IMDB, TV Eye

Obituary: Bill Hunter

Bill Hunter, one of Australia’s most recognisable and prolific actors, has passed away in Melbourne at the age of 71.

The actor had been admitted to a Melbourne hospice early last week with inoperable cancer.

Born in Ballarat, Hunter went on to a career spanning 50 years with more than 100 roles in various film, stage and television productions. 

Early television roles included appearances in Hunter, Skippy The Bush Kangaroo, The Long Arm, Riptide, Dynasty, Catwalk, The Spoiler, Spyforce and King’s Men as well as appearing on multiple occasions in Division 4, Homicide and Matlock Police.

He later appeared in series including Prisoner, Golden Soak, Young Ramsay, 1915, Scales Of Justice, The Dismissal, Eureka Stockade, The Flying Doctors, A Fortunate Life, Stark, Seachange, All Saints, Pizza, Stingers and Two Twisted.

Hunter had an extensive film resume, including iconic Australian titles Stone, Newsfront, Gallipoli, Strictly Ballroom, Muriel’s Wedding, The Adventures Of Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert, Australia and Finding Nemo.  He also starred in films The Shiralee, Ned Kelly, Far East, Street Hero, Crackerjack and Bad Eggs.  He had recently played the role of racing legend Bart Cummings in the to-be-released film The Cup, recreating the 2002 Melbourne Cup.

He also featured in a number of commercial roles, including recent campaigns for ‘Grain Wave’ chips and the AFL.

Source: The Age, ABC, IMDB, Mark Morrissey

Obituary: Gus Mercurio

Gus Mercurio, actor and boxing identity, has died in Melbourne.

The 82-year-old died from complications arising from an operation for a chest aneurism at a Melbourne hospital.

Born in Wisconsin, USA, Mercurio came to Australia in the 1950s.  A professional boxer, he became deeply involved with the game in Australia as an administrator, referee and commentator.

In the 1970s he made a break into acting, appearing in TV series including The Long Arm, Division 4, Homicide and Matlock Police but became probably best known for his roles in historical dramas, including Cash And Company (pictured), Tandarra, Power Without Glory, All The Rivers Run and Five Mile Creek.

Mercurio also featured on the big screen in titles including Crocodile Dundee II, The Man From Snowy River and The Blue Lagoon.

Gus Mercurio is survived by his current partner Rita and six children, including TV presenter and performer Paul Mercurio.

Source: Herald Sun, ABC, IMDB.

WIN rediscovers Homicide

When it debuted in October 1964, Homicide marked a significant milestone in the development of Australian television drama.  There had been earlier attempts at drama series, soap operas, mini-series and televised plays but many struggled to gain a high profile in Australia’s early television landscape.  After all, it was so much cheaper to buy US shows than to invest in local production, but Homicide was the first high-profile drama series to be made by Australians for Australians and its ratings from the very beginning proved that local production could be a viable and popular alternative to imported programs.

The show’s producer, Hector Crawford, had been a successful producer of radio programs since the mid-1940s and television productions since the late 1950s and had modelled Homicide loosely on an earlier radio drama series, D24.

Homicide made its debut on Melbourne’s HSV7 on Tuesday 20 October 1964 at 7.30pm.  The series was soon sold across the network and also later sold overseas.  By 1966, Homicide was ranked as the third most popular show on Australian television, rising to first place the following year and would top the national ratings again for four consecutive years from 1969 to 1972.  In 1973 it was bumped to second place by Number 96. 

The success of Homicide led to Crawford receiving requests from rival networks to produce police dramas for them as well – and he responded with Division 4 (Nine Network) and Matlock Police (0-10 Network) which were also well received by the public.

Homicide continued for a record breaking 510 episodes with its final episode going to air on HSV7 in January 1977, although production had ceased as far back as 1975.   Homicide’s demise came soon after the axe had also been put to Division 4 and Matlock Police, triggering theories that the networks had colluded to bring down the Crawford empire in response to his high-profile battle to force the networks into an increase in the amount of Australian production on television.

Since its last episode in 1977, repeats of Homicide have been few and far between.  The Seven Network did pay tribute to Homicide on the occasion of the show’s 30th anniversary in 1994 with a one-hour special hosted by Blue Heelers stars John Wood and Lisa McCune, and the network screened a handful of Homicide episodes in an afternoon timeslot.

Seven also paid tribute to Homicide in November 2005 with the screening of the 1973 episode that farewelled long-time cast members Leonard Teale (pictured, far right, with the cast in 1967) and Alwyn Kurts to commemorate the start of HSV7’s fiftieth year of transmission.  And the Nine Network’s 50 Years 50 Shows special, produced in 2005, ranked Homicide as the 12th most significant program to have been made in 50 years of Australian television.

With Crawford Productions now owned by WIN Corporation, its regional television network, WIN, has in recent years been re-playing various series from the Crawford archives in late-night timeslots.  Some of the titles to have featured include Division 4, Matlock Police, Carson’s Law, Skyways and even the ill-fated Holiday Island.  With episodes of most of those titles now exhausted WIN earlier this month started replaying Homicide, starting from the show’s earliest episodes that first went to air in 1964.

WIN broadcasts through regional markets in Southern NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia as well as the Australian Capital Territory.

Homicide.  Monday night/Tuesday morning, 2.00am.  WIN Television (except South Australia)

Source: TV Eye – Classic Australian Television, TelevisionAU

Monica Maughan

Actress Monica Maughan, star of stage, film and television, has died in Melbourne.

One of Australia’s most recognisable actresses, Maughan made her professional debut back to 1957 with the Melbourne Theatre Company.  It is believed that in her career spanning half a century she had starred in more MTC productions than any other performer.

Television viewers will recognise Maughan from her roles in popular dramas The Box and Prisoner and in the ABC series The Damnation Of Harvey McHugh, which led to her winning an AFI award, for best lead actress, and a TV Week Logie award for most outstanding actress.

Other television roles included appearances in Homicide, Matlock Police, Glenview High, Cop Shop, Loss Of Innocence, Skyways, The Flying Doctors, The Gillies Republic, Come In Spinner, Col’n Carpenter, A Country Practice, The Genie From Down Under, Blue Heelers, MDA and, as Graham Kennedy’s grandmother in the biographical telemovie, The King.

In recent years she appeared in films Crackerjack, Strange Bedfellows and Blessed.

Her last credited TV appearance was in the ABC comedy The Librarians.

Source: ABC, IMDB, Australian Television Information Archive, Sydney Morning Herald

1979: November 10-16

ABC’s biggest golf coverage
Players from five continents – Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe and North America – will compete in this year’s Dunhill Australian Open, to be telecast on ABC this week in its largest golf coverage ever undertaken.  More than $8 million of outside broadcast equipment will be used at Melbourne’s Metropolitan Course.  ABC’s coverage will add up to 26 hours over four days, including live telecasts and evening highlights packages.  More than 50 technical personnel from interstate will join the 100-strong Melbourne ABC crew for the event.  ABC’s two Melbourne-based outside broadcast vans will be joined by outside broadcast vans brought in from Sydney, Adelaide and Hobart.  There will also be a team based at ABC’s Ripponlea studios in Melbourne responsible for editing the daily coverage into highlights packages for evening screenings.  ABC’s commentary team will be headed by Graham Dawson joined by Peter Thomson (pictured, a five-time winner of the British Open who will be competing in the Australian Open and joining the commentary team when he’s finished his round), Clive Clark and Peter Alliss.

Caroline scores Sullivans role
Stage actress Caroline Gillmer (pictured) has scored a TV break with a role in The Sullivans.  Gillmer, recently a star in John Dietrich and John O’May’s productions of Gershwin and The ‘20s And All That Jazz, will play a Dutch woman in a storyline based in Holland.  However, her scenes will all be taped in the studio in Australia despite series regulars Steven Tandy, Norman Yemm and Olivia Hamnett currently taping scenes on location in Holland.  Gillmer’s character will be first seen on screen in the new year.

Looking for a winner
Judges on ABC’s The Inventors have had a tough time deciding on six finalists from the 64 entries featured on the show this year.  Executive producer Beverley Gledhill said that the standard for this year’s series has been the highest in the show’s ten-year run:  “Normally we are scratching around to get the sixth finalist.  But this year I’m afraid some people will miss out, whereas three years ago they would have definitely made the final.”  Governor-General Sir Zelman Cowen will present the Inventor of the Year award, including a cheque for $3500, in the show’s series final this week.  The winner will then go on to compete at the International Exhibition of Inventors in Geneva.

Being bad has been good for Vic Gordon
Many actors might be concerned at being cast as a “drunk” on successive occasions, but Vic Gordon (pictured) is very grateful for the work that it is bringing in.  The veteran actor has been cast twice in recent times as an amusing drunk in the Seven Network drama Cop Shop, but for Gordon it marks a turning point in his career as he tries to shake off the image of Sgt. Kennedy, the role he played for several years in Matlock Police.  “People don’t realise that before I became a TV copper I worked in every series under the sun, playing all sorts of different people.  Now at last some of them are starting to remember, and I’m getting some beautiful little cameo roles.”  On the home front, Gordon, 69, is about to celebrate five years’ marriage to artists’ agent Jean Lochhead.  The marriage, Gordon’s second after his first wife, Josie, died eight years ago, has also made Gordon the stepfather to rising star, Jean’s daughter Jacqui, who has won awards for her role in the ABC play Sally Go Round The Moon.

Briefly…
ABC’s rural affairs program, Countrywide, will present a special report on Japan’s booming farming industry and its influence on the Australian economy.  Host Neil Inall recent spent a month in Japan to research and put together the special report.

Anne Pendlebury, recently the lead actress in the ABC series Twenty Good Years, has been cast for the upcoming mini-series, Water Under The Bridge, being produced for the 0-10 Network.

Actor Ray Barrett has said he would be delighted to play a leading role in the upcoming ABC series Sporting Chance, being written by friend Peter Yeldham.  “I haven’t seen a script – or been made a firm offer – but from what Peter told me it sounds a wonderful idea.  He told me he had written something for me.  I would say yes right away on the strength of Peter’s writing it,” he told TV Times.   Barrett also has a role coming up in another ABC series, The Timeless Land, and presents a weekly documentary series in Brisbane on TVQ0.

ABC Show Band leader Brian May has just returned from Hollywood where he has been writing the music score for the movie The Blue Lagoon.  May is also to soon start work on a new series of The Saturday Show for ABC.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
”Congratulations to TVQ0, Brisbane, for showing some of the Kung Fu series, starring David Carradine.  At last a chance to see that kung fu is more mental mastery than an excuse for multiple mayhem.” R. Brown, QLD.

“I would be very interested to know why it is the exception – rather than the rule – in Queensland for a TV program to start on time.  As most networks have national affiliations, and it is rare for this fault to occur interstate, the reason for it is hard to understand.” L. Mackay, QLD.

“Congratulations to ABC for their coverage of the West End (Gawler) horse trials and also the coverage of the Australian evening championships earlier in the year.” V. Reynolds, VIC.]

“I’m fully aware of the furore about not knocking Australia, but let’s be realistic.  The Australian TV industry has gone backwards in the sense of fine quality.  Not many people know, unfortunately, how to distinguish rubbishy Australian shows from the good ones – which only ABC screens.  In the rubbish category are ostentatious programs such as Skyways, The Restless Years and Prisoner, which are pretty pathetic.  The plots are rhetorical, the stories lack realism, the acting, scripts and dialogue are poor.  What puzzles me is that these programs seem to be picking up good ratings – which is probably the only reason they were created.” P. Masci, QLD.

What’s On (November 10-16):
HSV7 crosses live to Adelaide on Saturday morning for the annual John Martin’s Christmas Pageant, with commentary by Adelaide personalities Pam Tamblyn and Sandy Roberts.

ATV0’s coverage of the Melbourne Cup Carnival concludes on Saturday with George Adams Day, live from Flemington, hosted by Phil Gibbs and Michael Schildberger.

Cricket has started on GTV9 for the summer with South Australia versus Western Australia in the McDonald’s Cup, with all-day coverage on Saturday and Sunday.  Richie Benaud, Fred Trueman and David Colley lead the coverage.

Sunday is Remembrance Day, and ABC and HSV7 both have 2 minutes’ silence scheduled for 11.00am.  ABC also features a one-hour documentary, Armistice And After, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the end of the Great War.

On Monday night, ATV0 presents a two-hour special, Thanks For The Memory, looking back at the news, people and events that have featured throughout the 1970s.  Hosted by Bruce Mansfield and Peter Hanrahan.

Comedy specials on GTV9 during the week include a repeat of The Paul Hogan Show, featuring the sketch This Is Your Strife with Roger Simpleton, and the second of a series of specials featuring Ronnie Corbett in Australia.

GTV9’s Family Feud (with Tony Barber, pictured), The Young Doctors and The Sullivans all come to a close for the year, with The Sullvans ending the year with a special one-hour episode on Friday night.  GTV9’s daytime US soaps All My Children, Days Of Our Lives, The Young And The Restless, Search For Tomorrow and General Hospital also come to a close for the year on Friday.

Queenslander Jodie Day is representing Australia in Miss World 1979, being telecast on GTV9 in a delayed telecast from Royal Albert Hall, London.

ABC’s telecast of the Dunhill Australian Open Golf Championship starts on Thursday afternoon, with five hours live from the Metropolitan Course, Melbourne, with an hour of highlights at 10.45pm.  Coverage continues on Friday with another five hours in the afternoon, and highlights from 10.50pm.

Sunday night movies: Shout At The Devil (HSV7), Shampoo (GTV9) and Mr Majestyk (ATV0).  ABC presents The Rock Pool, the next in the series of Australian plays, starring Ed Deveraux, Lyn James and Bunney Brooke.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 10 November 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: August 11-17

Cover: Jamie Gleeson, Peter Mochrie, Lenore Smith (The Restless Years)

La Stupenda on the move
This week’s ABC special Joan Sutherland: A Life On The Move is the culmination of 13 months of production.  The 80-minute documentary is a rare glimpse into the private life of opera singer Dame Joan Sutherland who, with husband Richard Bonynge, divides her time between two permanent homes – in Australia and Switzerland – and a busy calendar of opera performances, recitals, recording sessions and public appearances.  The documentary is a joint production between Brian Adams, ABC and Munich-based RM Productions.

Graffiti written off
US sitcom MASH is doing so well that Sydney’s TEN10 is in no rush to find another show for the 7.00pm timeslot.  Program director Pat Cleary said that the 0-10 Network had decided not to buy Graffiti, a topical light entertainment show from the Reg Grundy Organisation.  “The Graffiti pilot was presented by Grundy’s as a half-hour show to be screen weeknights at 7.00pm.  We looked at it a couple of months ago and decided it didn’t fit into that slot.  The problems that we have had with that particular timeslot have been solved by MASH, which is doing very, very well.”

500 not out: Tony’s still feuding
Quizmaster Tony Barber (pictured) has just recorded his 500th edition of afternoon game show Family Feud.  A production of the Reg Grundy Organisation, Family Feud started production in Perth two years ago and recently moved to the studios of Melbourne’s GTV9.  For Barber it rounds out almost a decade of hosting TV quiz shows, with five years as host of Great Temptation and the shorter-lived Name That Tune for the Seven Network before hosting Family Feud, but he does not miss the pressure of working in prime time: “I’m glad in fact it isn’t a big prime-time show.  I’ve done that, and life is much better now without the pressure.  These days I work to live – I don’t live to work, and to be honest I don’t miss the days of Great Temptation.  They were hectic days and I was always so busy I didn’t have time to turn around.  Today, I’m comfortable.  I’m working in show business and yet I can still enjoy my family life.”

Prisoner’s disc over the top
The single release of the theme song to the 0-10 Network series Prisoner has broken all local sales records.  The song, On The Inside, was recorded by Lynne Hamilton and is claimed to be the biggest-selling single from a female artist in the history of the Australian recording industry.  Hamilton recently appeared on Peter Couchman Tonight to receive a gold record to commemorate 50,000 sales and platinum could be not far away with sales now creeping closer to 100,000.  With Prisoner now about to go to air in the United States and Canada, the single may be released there and could make Hamilton an international star.

Briefly…
Olivia Hamnett, one of the lead actresses in the telemovie The John Sullivan Story, will extend her character Captain Meg Fulton, a British Secret Service agent, to an ongoing role in The Sullivans.

Actor-humourist David Kossof has recorded a half-hour special to celebrate the International Year of the Child (IYC).  The special, Kossof With Kids, was produced in association with ABC’s children’s program ARVO and will screen as part of ABC’s upcoming three-hour IYC telecast next month.

Following a recent TV Times story, The Young Doctors star Eric Oldfield (pictured) has received numerous letters from young readers thanking him for speaking up about ocean pollution.

Chin Yu Williams, the half-Chinese mother of The Sullivans’ Megan Williams, is likely to be offered a leading role in the upcoming 0-10 Network series Arcade.

Actress Colleen Clifford, who made her TV debut in the United Kingdom forty years ago, will soon appear in a guest role in Prisoner, playing a little old lady who “kicks over the traces” when she is evicted from her home and her life starts to fall apart around her and ultimately ends up at Wentworth Detention Centre.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”People who complain about The Sullivans (pictured) and Cop Shop should sit down one night and watch one of these shows through and try to understand what it’s about, and then, if you still don’t like it, watch something else.  Remember, these shows will last a long time, so complaining will get you nowhere.” S. Clark, QLD.

“Why do they ruin The Sullivans with that soppy, overgrown Jeff, with his short pants and his “aunties” and “uncles”?  If the part called for a boy of 16 or so, why don’t they get a boy that looks 16?” P. Johnson, VIC.

“My family and friends have been watching Cop Shop for a long time, then all of a sudden the timeslot changes to when we normally watch The Restless Years.” C. & N. Leoni, QLD.

What’s On (August 11-17):
This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at Australia’s moral attitudes over the course of the century, in particular to the subject of sex.  Peter Luck looks at the history of censorship as it was applied to films and other popular culture.

Marcia Hines and Daryl Braithwaite host the Australian Popular Song Festival, Sunday night on ATV0, including performances by Delilah, Ray Burgess, Tony Pantano, Mary Jane Boyd and Russell Hitchcock.  The winning song will go on to represent Australia at the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo later in the year.

The Curse Of The Bangerang Prince is this week’s episode of Matlock Police (ATV0, Monday).  A Melbourne lawyer goes missing in the Matlock bush.  Constable Gary Hogan (Paul Cronin, pictured) receives news of his future in the police force and the police station the plagued by astounding bad luck with the arrival of the Bangerang Prince. 

A new prisoner arrives at Wentworth Detention Centre in Prisoner (ATV0, Tuesday and Wednesday), but the authorities keep her identity a secret.

Sunday night movies: Sunday Too Far Away (HSV7), The Man Who Haunted Himself (GTV9), The Good The Bad And The Ugly (ATV0).  ABC presents an 80-minute special Joan Sutherland – A Life On The Move.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 11 August 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: July 21-27

TV’s bravest star
Being confined to a wheelchair has had little effect on the enthusiasm of actress Louise Philip.  Since her car accident, in late 1972 while on a break from the long-running series Bellbird, Philip has been paralysed from the waist down.  In a recent national magazine poll, Philip was ranked third as one of the most admired women in Australia.  As well as starring in TV series Cop Shop, Philip (pictured, with co-stars Terry Norris and Greg Ross) also runs a card shop in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Waverley.  But such is her popularity in the series that when it appeared likely that she would leave the program, the fan mail begging her to stay was so overwhelming that her contract was renewed for a longer period than anyone else in the series.

Kelly rides again for TV
Former Crawfords producer Ian Jones admits that he has no idea who will play Ned Kelly in his upcoming mini-series The Last Outlaw.  Jones and Bronwyn Binns are preparing the series for the Seven Network.  Writing and pre-production is under way but Jones doesn’t want to comment on when production will start. 

At last, Sheila steals the show
Sheila Florance has fought against the odds, suffering personal tragedy and plugging away in showbusiness for 45 years but was never a star.  But now, since appearing in the 0-10 Network’s Prisoner, she is constantly recognised by people in the street, but doesn’t give any complaint of her past misery.  “You can’t afford to let things get you down or you go under.  I’ve always thought that way.”  Working in London during the war, with two babies and another on the way, Florance learned that her English husband had been killed.  While living in the Yorkshire countryside, she met her second husband, a Polish fighter pilot, Jan.   Having suffered severe injuries during the war, Jan was on crutches when the pair married in the early-1950s.  His health has deteriorated to the point where he is now a permanent invalid, but the pair battle on.  Florance has also had two of her four children pass away, one son died in England and a daughter died later after the family had come to Australia.  But for now, Florance is enjoying her new role as ‘lovable old rascal’ Lizzie Birdsworth (pictured) in Prisoner: “I think Lizzie is a gorgeous character. The public seem to like her, too, and when I watch the show I find she makes me laugh as well.  I know that sounds peculiar as I play the part, but it’s true.  When I watch Lizzie, I see nothing of myself at all – just a funny old lady.  Lizzie and I are so completely different.”

Newcastle: That’s Australia all over!
Mr and Mrs Typical Australia are alive and well and living in Newcastle, NSW.  The region, described once by former PM Sir Robert Menzies as “a microcosm of Australia,” is recognised by TV advertisers as the number one test market for new products and campaigns.  So what Newcastle buys today Australia may well be buying tomorrow.  As the only local commercial TV station in the region, NBN3 is the major outlet for advertisers wanting to reach this captive market of around 500,000 viewers throughout Newcastle and the Hunter Valley.  The channel is watched by approximately 60 per cent of viewing audience, many of who also have access to watching TV channels from Sydney, and in the 1977-78 financial year achieved a profit of $1.3 million.  General manager George Brown isn’t modest in discussing the success of the channel: “We are successful simply because we present 130 hours of good TV each week.  We buy the best possible programs from any place at any time.  We do things here before the rest of the Australian TV industry.”  NBN3 also produces about 20 hours of local content each week, including breakfast and children’s shows, including a local version of Romper Room, a local one-hour news bulletin each weeknight (believed to be the first one-hour news bulletin in Australia), a weekly performing arts program and a two-hour Sunday sports show.  The channel also produces the program Variety Italian Style which is shown nationally through the 0-10 Network.  Program manager John Kidd said that NBN also conducts regular surveys with a panel of 1000 local viewers to determine how a program is performing: “Our viewers are very interested in news and current affairs.  We were staggered, for instance, to see how well 60 Minutes did after only a short time on air.  By and large, successful Sydney programs are successful in Newcastle, but if a program is dying you will see it in Newcastle first.  We pulled out of Number 96 and The Box before Sydney because we thought those programs were dying.”  NBN3 is also proud of its commitment to the local community, with considerable amounts of airtime given to promoting local community causes and charities. 

Briefly…
While taping a drowning scene for the pilot episode of Paradise Village for the Seven Network, actress Suzy Gashler got caught in an undertow and had to be rescued by real lifesavers.  Once recovered, she re-did the scene – in shallower water.

Actress Deborah Coulls has spoken out about the circumstances surrounding her sudden exit from The Restless Years, last year: “So much was written about me that was distorted.  I came out of as a big-headed starlet who had been sacked for playing up.  Nothing was further from the truth.  The simple truth was that for one publicity call I overslept and was half an hour late.  The day after the incident I was carpeted.  In retrospect, though, it was obvious I was used as an object lesson for the rest of the cast.”  Coulls is now starring as a flight attendant in the new Seven Network series Skyways.

Prisoner actor Jim Smillie is providing the voices for the characters of Swag the Emu and Professor Wombat for a new indigenous children’s program, The Bush Bunch, currently being considered for purchase by the networks.  If it goes ahead the series is expected to cost around $40,000 an episode.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”How much longer do we have to have Tony Barber on Family Feud?  A few people I have spoken to feel the same way, finding him at times quite childish, bordering in being conceited.” A. Eveele, NSW.

“We are fans of Cop Shop and are hoping that when George Mallaby leaves, he will return soon.  We will miss him.” N & L Leoni, QLD.

“In my area we are unfortunate enough to only receive ABC and local CWN6.  During the week I must admit we do get some good programs, but this entails staying up late or missing them because we have to get up early for work.  But Friday, Saturday and Sunday when we like to have some entertainment and don’t mind staying up a little later we have very poor shows, particularly Saturdays and Sundays.” H. Slattery, NSW.

What’s On (July 21-27):
ABC’s Saturday Special is Rolf Harris In Concert, taped at the Perth Entertainment Centre and featuring Rolf Harris with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.

ABC presents the final instalment of multicultural television programs from the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) on Sunday morning.

On Sunday afternoon GTV9 presents a replay of last Friday night’s Miss Universe 1979 pageant, held in Perth.

ATV0 begins a Monday night screening of police drama Matlock Police (pictured), featuring episodes from towards the end of the show’s run which had never previously screened though they were made three years earlier.

Marcia Hines, Jon English and The Little River Band are guest performers on The Paul Hogan Show, screening Wednesday night on GTV9.  Later in the week, the final episode of Marcia Hines’ series, Marcia’s Music (ABC, Friday) features guest performer Doug Parkinson.

Sunday night movies: Monty Python And The Holy Grail (HSV7), The Alf Garnett Saga (GTV9), Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 21 July 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: April 7-13

The Prisoner Files
So who’s who on both sides of the bars at Wentworth Detention Centre?  TV Times presents a special guide to the prisoners and officers in the new 0-10 Network series.

Karen Travers (Peita Toppano): Deeply religious, Travers is convicted for the murder of her brutal husband.  Sentenced to life behind bars.  Peita Toppano, the daughter of showbusiness couple Enzo Toppano and Peggy Mortimer, was a singer in many stage productions before turning to acting.

Bea Smith (Val Lehman):  A former hairdresser, Smith was convicted for the murder of a co-worker.  Having served ten years behind bars, she is released on parole but returns to Wentworth after murdering her husband.  Val Lehman has had extensive acting experience in both Australia and the United Kingdom, including touring with Children’s Arena theatre and appearing in four movies.

Jeannie “Mum” Brooks (Mary Ward, pictured):  A well-spoken, gentle woman who befriends new inmates and is well regarded by both officers and inmates.  Brooks was convicted for murdering her husband but, while on parole, is caught shop-lifting.  Mary Ward has worked in Australia and the United Kingdom, and before Prisoner had appeared in Bellbird and performed for the Melbourne Theatre Company.

Doreen Anderson (Colette Mann): A victim of child abuse, Anderson becomes easily led into crime and is serving four years in prison for breaking and entering.  Colette Mann’s career began in the musical Godspell in 1971 and has since worked as a singer, dancer, actress and choreographer.

Marilyn Mason (Margaret Laurence):  Serving twelve months for soliciting, Mason has a history of soliciting and stealing, and is known to have worked in a pornographic movie.  Margaret Laurence did her early theatre training in the United Kingdom and later worked in the US in dramas including Days Of Our Lives and The Young And The Restless.  Since coming to Australia, Laurence has appeared in Number 96 and worked for the Melbourne Theatre Company.

Freida “Franky” Doyle (Carol Burns): A former shop assistant, convicted for armed robbery and murder, Doyle has a record of association with bikie gangs.  She is a lesbian with an unrequited passion for Karen Travers.  Carol Burns has worked extensively in the theatre since 1970 and has worked as a senior lecturer in drama at the Darling Downs College of Advanced Education (Queensland).  In recent times, Burns has appeared in a number of ABC plays.

Lynn Warner (Kerry Armstrong): A naive country girl, serving ten years for the kidnapping and attempted murder of a child of an employer, though maintains her innocence of any crime.  Kerry Armstrong began acting while still at school and later became a weather girl at GTV9 Melbourne.  She has recently appeared in Cop Shop, The Truckies and The Sullivans, but Prisoner is her first ongoing role.

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Birdsworth (Sheila Florance, pictured): A housewife and mother of four, Birdsworth is a kleptomaniac and an alcoholic with a long string of convictions for theft.  She is sentenced to life in prison for the “accidental” killing of four shearers when she laced their food with arsenic “to teach them a lesson.”  Sheila Florance has more than 45 years experience in showbusiness across both Australia and the United Kingdom, and has appeared in many Australian TV productions including Consider Your Verdict, Division Four, Matlock Police, Bellbird, Homicide and Bobby Dazzler.

Meg Jackson (Elspeth Ballantyne): Born inside prison, Jackson is a warder that is sympathetic to the inmates.  A happy marriage to prison psychologist Bill (Don Barker) ended abruptly when he is murdered during a prison riot.  Elspeth Ballantyne is an established television and film actress with roles in dramas including Bellbird, Power Without Glory and Cop Shop.

Vera Bennett (Fiona Spence):  A harsh prison warden who is ruthless with the prisoners.  Is hopeful that her strong rule with get her the prison governorship.  She is single and lives at home with her elderly mother.  Fiona Spence is a recent graduate from 680 Playhouse and has appeared in the drama series Glenview High and in several television commercials.

Erica Davidson (Patsy King): The prison governor whose academic approach sometimes keeps her remote from the inmates and fails to understand their passions and frustrations.  Is married but her private life is kept a mystery as it is known she does not see her husband, being either separated or divorced.  Patsy King has worked extensively in Australia and New Zealand, including roles in Matlock Police, Homicide and Division Four, as well as appearing as a presenter on ABC’s Play School.

Greg Miller (Barry Quin): The prison doctor who is re-united with a former romantic interest when Karen Travers enters the prison.  Barry Quin is an actor with over ten years experience in the United Kingdom.  He met co-star Peita Toppano when touring Australia with the Chichester Festival Theatre Company and the two are now engaged to be married later this month.

Eddie Cook (Richard Moir): The electrician who is often called to the prison and spends a lot more time there than he should after falling for prison inmate Marilyn Mason.  Richard Moir is a former film assistant from ABC’s Four Corners and later became a reporter for A Current Affair before moving into acting.  Moir has appeared in Chopper Squad and The Restless Years as well as the movie The Odd Angry Shot.

Certain Women stars return to TV soaps
Three former stars of ABC’s Certain Women are returning to TV with key roles in The Restless Years and The Young Doctors.  Shane Porteous joins The Restless Years as businessman Andrew Nelson who becomes involved in what is being described as “the love story of the year.”  Also joining The Restless Years is Ivar Kants as the rough-but-gentle Ken Garrett, a friend of Peter Beckett (Nick Hedstrom).  Actress Carmen Duncan, who has also starred in Number 96, joins The Young Doctors as a widow who checks into the hospital for a minor operation but ends up vying for the affection of Dr Rod Langley (Chris Orchard).

Bert hits the jackpot
Bert Newton (pictured) has hit the jackpot with the signing of a five-year contract with a Melbourne radio station for a reported $1 million.  But the Don Lane Show sidekick and New Faces host has also had reason to celebrate with wife Patti giving birth to their second child, Lauren Elise.  The Newtons already have a son, two-year-old Matthew.

New ABBA special
The 0-10 Network and British broadcaster BBC have just completed a one-hour TV special ABBA In Switzerland – despite two of the pop group’s performers, Agnetha and Bjorn, having recently divorced.  The special, which also features Kate Bush, Leo Sayer and Boney M, is expected to screen in Australia later in the year.

Briefly…
Easter is a time for telethons – as Melbourne’s HSV7, Brisbane’s BTQ7 and Adelaide’s ADS7 prepare for their annual children’s hospital appeals.  The Melbourne and Brisbane appeals will go to air on Good Friday, while Adelaide’s telethon is held on the Saturday before Easter.

The star of ABC’s Patrol Boat, HMAS Bombard, has been towed back to Sydney for repairs after a fire onboard caused extensive damage.  ABC is now rescheduling filming as the stand-in boat, HMAS Advance, is about to be recalled for official duty.

The Nine Network’s million-dollar documentary series, The Africans, has been sold to 18 countries ahead of its screening in Australia later this month.  The two-part series was filmed over four months in Algeria, Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Rhodesia and South Africa. 

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
”Once again I’ve missed the start of a program because channels won’t stick to their timetables.  I watched ABC’s The Onedin Line until 9.20pm and the news until 9.30, then crossed to WIN4 for The Sweeney only to find it well-started, although it was due to begin at 9.30 after Roving Eye.  Why do they do this?” E. James, NSW.

“Why is there not a TV channel which shows only sport? They could show Test matches, races and re-runs for seven days a week.  The rest of us could then be informed and entertained without constant interruptions by meaningless contests.” P. Casey, NSW.

“I would like to say how much I enjoy watching The Waltons during daytime viewing.  Grandma Walton passed a comment on putting strawberries and cinnamon on a rhubarb pie.  I cooked it this way and found it delicious, a nice change from apples.” D. Pratt, NSW.

What’s On (April 7-13):
On Saturday afternoon, GTV9 presents live coverage of the Golden Slipper Stakes from Sydney’s Rosehill Racecourse.  ABC has Sydney Rugby League’s Match Of The Day.

On This Week Has Seven Days (HSV7, Saturday afternoon), host Honor Walters, with studio guest furrier Stephen Dattner, studies how a fur coat is made.  Interior Designing is the subject of the careers segment, and this week’s medical topic is dermatology.

The Australian Beauty Quest ‘79, the selection of the Australian representative for the Miss Universe pageant, is telecast on GTV9 on Saturday night, live from Perth. 

On Tuesday night, GTV9 presents a delayed telecast of the 51st Academy Awards.  Best Picture nominations include Coming Home, The Deer Hunter, Heaven Can Wait, Midnight Express and An Unmarried Woman.  The awards presentation is hosted by Johnny Carson.

ABC’s motoring history series Marque, with Peter Wherrett (pictured), looks at the era of the 1930s featuring some of the industry’s great names such as Duesenberg, Packard Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Hispano-Suiza and Alfa-Romeo.

Friday is Good Friday, and HSV7 presents its annual Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal.  The telecast starts at 8.30am and, apart from news updates at 8.45am and midday and Seven National News at 6.30pm, continues through to midnight.  The all-day appeal features celebrities from across the Seven Network (including Shirley Strachan, pictured with hospital patient Narelle McKenzie) and guest artists including Johnny Farnham, Colleen Hewett, the Australian Children’s Choir, Christie Allen, Russell Morris and TMG.  Players from all VFL teams also appear during the day.  The telephone numbers for donations are (03) 630 291 in Melbourne and (052) 21 3333 in Geelong.

Sunday night movies: The Salzburg Connection (HSV7), Catch 22 (GTV9), The Arrangement (ATV0). 

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 7 April 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: March 10-16

Instant stardom, and how they handle it
With TV soap operas turning young, unknown actors into national celebrities overnight, it is easy for these young stars to let their newfound fame get to their head.   But some of these young actors - including The Restless Years' Victoria Nicolls, Julieanne Newbould and Michael Smith (pictured) - do manage to get through the heady period of stardom to emerge as proven talents.  Nicolls acknowledged the support and guidance of experienced performers such as colleague June Salter: "If you ask her something, she's so helpful.  She made me aware of camera techniques.  Helped with scenes, comedy - she has such wonderful comic timing."  Even though she grew up in showbusiness, Newbould still found the sudden overnight fame to be a shock: "For five years I'd done things like Matlock Police and Division Four.  People would say 'Oh, I saw you on TV last night,' but nothing like this.  People come up and cuddle me.  Big Italian mamas pinch my cheeks.  Some want you to come home and marry their sons."  Smith said that family and friends helped keep him down to earth: "They'd say 'Aw, shut up, we don't want to hear about The Restless Years anymore!'  Smith has also had the discipline of learning music from his mother, a piano teacher, and studying acting at Sydney's Ensemble Theatre under Hayes Gordon.  Producer of The Restless Years, Don Battye, said with established actors on the series such as June Salter, John Hamblin and Noel Trevarthen, they do offer help to the younger stars but, "of course with some kids you can't give them advice.  The only way they're going to learn is to get into trouble and learn from experience."

On your Marque!
Peter Wherrett's documentary series, Marque: 100 Years Of Motoring, has taken over eighteen months and visits to eight countries to complete.  The new series, beginning this week on ABC, looks at the development of the motor car as well as the industry's future.  "I'm quite confident that cars as we know them will be around until well into the next century," Wherrett (pictured) told TV Times.  "The industry is already planning the cars we will be driving then." 

Nude pin-up star on Hogan show
Former Miss World finalist and magazine centrefold Karen Pini (pictured) is one of the girls chosen for the first Paul Hogan show for 1979.  Pini, who is also soon to appear in The Young Doctors, is a replacement for Delvene Delaney who has left the show as she and husband, producer John Cornell, are expecting their first baby. 

It doesn't 'ad' up for Johnny
Johnny Farnham isn't too happy that he keeps hearing what sounds like himself doing commercials that he doesn't remember doing.  Farnham's producer Danny Finley said: "The situation is very embarrassing.  We have done a commercial for a bank.  We tried to make it very selective by doing only one.  Now we start hearing other commercials which sound like John and I suppose they sound that way to other people."  When asked if he thought the situation might be deliberate, Finley replied: "It is some coincidence!"

Briefly...
Mike McCarthy, host of ATV0's Early Bird Show, and his wife Caroline have just welcomed the arrival of twins, Ryan and Bridie.  The couple already have three other children, twins Damien and Emily, 8, and Benjamin, 6.

Production has started on a new ABC drama series, based on Kylie Tennant's novel, Ride On Stranger.  The series features Liddy Clark, Warwick Sims (Against The Wind), Michael Aitkens (The Truckies) and Noni Hazelhurst (The Sullivans). 

British actor Harry Corbett is to star in the new ABC children's series Earth Patrol.  The new series, being produced as part of the International Year Of The Child, will also star actor Gus Mercurio.  Meanwhile, producers are on the hunt for a 16 to 18-year-old boy to feature in the series.  Already cast in the series are 11-year-old twins Gayle and Gillian Blakeney and Darren Ormsby, 12.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
"All you people harping on the recent preponderance of sport on our TV - has it ever occurred to you that you don't have to watch it?  Can't you make your own entertainment?  Go for a walk instead of sitting passively in front of a TV set and waiting to be entertained."  M. Ryan, NSW.

"Three cheers for TEN10 Sydney for the new mini-series they have just screened on Friday nights.  I am talking about Sugartime, produced in the US and starring Barbi Benton and Didi Carr.  It is a refreshing change from the glamour drivel of Charlie's Angels, where all the pretty faces can do is hurtle 16-stone gangsters across rooms and run down Lincoln Continentals with nothing but their tricycles."  D. Ehrlich, NSW.

"Come on all you sports lovers, get up on your hind legs and be counted, otherwise the vocal minority may succeed by catching TV channel policymakers' ears and curtailing some of our precious sports telecasts."  A. Hartwig, QLD.

What's On (March 10-16):
Saturday afternoon sport includes Australia versus Pakistan in First Test cricket on ABC, live from Melbourne.  HSV7 has the Moomba Masters International Waterski Tournament from the Yarra River.  ATV0 goes to the races at Flemington with Newmarket Stakes Day, hosted by Michael Schildberger and racecaller Clem Dimsey.

Sunday afternoon on HSV7 includes a one-hour live telecast of Music For The People from the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne.  Hosted by Dan Webb, the telecast includes the Australian Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hector Crawford.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at Australian humour from the early days of Dad and Dave, Roy Rene and George Wallace through to current-day performers Paul Hogan, Barry Humphries, Garry McDonald and Ron Shand.

ABC starts its new 7.30pm line-up this week with new series of Are You Being Served? and George And Mildred, magazine program Holiday With Bill Peach, documentary series Marque: 100 Years Of Motoring, and on Friday night, The Two Ronnies.  ABC also launches new drama at 8.30pm with The Oracle on Monday night, starring John Gregg (pictured), Pamela Gibbons, Julie Hamilton and Danny Adcock, and Golden Soak on Tuesday, with Ray Barrett, Ruth Cracknell and Bill Hunter.

Friday night is highlighted by GTV9's presentation of the 1979 TV Week Logie Awards, hosted by Bert Newton and telecast live from the Hilton Hotel in Melbourne.  Special overseas guests include Robin Williams (Mork And Mindy), Susan Seaforth and Bill Hayes (Days Of Our Lives), Lauren Tewes (The Love Boat), Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy (George And Mildred) and championship boxer Muhammad Ali.  Meanwhile, HSV7 has St Kilda versus Fremantle in the Australian Football Championships.

Sunday night movies are Mad Dog Morgan (HSV7), The Users (GTV9) and Funny Lady (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 10 March 1979.  ABC/ACP