1992: February 8-14

‘Don’t call me Betty!’
While Hey Dad! star Julie McGregor (pictured, centre, with co-star Rachael Beck) loves playing the role of ditzy secretary Betty Wilson in the long-running sitcom (“I’m not sure that there is anything around that would be as rewarding to do,” she says) don’t ask her to “do a Betty” when she’s not working.  When McGregor leaves the studio after a taping, she leaves Betty behind in the prop cupboard.  “You just shut off, put the toys away, and you come home,” she told TV Week.  “Of course, every now and then you say something and you think, ‘Oh gosh, that sounded like Betty’.”  In the series’ return to air this week, Betty’s old boyfriend Stan (Bill Young) is looking for work, but his potential new employer sparks a brawl when he makes some less than polite remarks about Betty.  The punch-up is not shown on screen, but it’s the talk of the Hey Dad! household.

Gay murder rocks GP
ABC’s medical drama GP makes a controversial return to screens this week with scenes depicting graphic violence and a storyline surrounding a gay bashing and murder.  Simon Radley (Felix Nobis) joins the Ross Street practice as a locum and possible replacement for Dr Nicola Tanner (Judy McIntosh) – but after work hours he frequents gay bars looking for sex, while his partner David Robinson (Scott Burgess) is keeping the home fires burning.  A vicious assault on Dr Radley is witnessed by Dr William Sharp (Michael Craig), who identifies one of the culprits in a police line-up.  A second attack on Dr Radley leaves him beaten to death.  “It’s pretty heavy stuff,” Burgess told TV Week.  “Simon and David share a house, but while Simon is driven by his urges to seek clandestine sex, David is settled and stable.  The story is as much about their private dilemma as it is about the prejudice that gay people who live in the city have to face – being supposedly different from everybody else.” 

When will the killings stop?
Has E Street’s serial killer storyline gone too far?  While insiders at the Ten Network claims that the ongoing storyline has boosted ratings, what effect does having a sustained storyline based on murder and having a deranged killer as the focal point have on the viewer – and is it appropriate for a 7.30pm timeslot?  Although the actor who plays the character of serial killer Steven Richardson, Vince Martin (pictured), is concerned that “there was perhaps too much killing… and I still feel this is the case because there are more deaths to go to air”, the show’s producer Forrest Redlich defends the storyline as “just storytelling”.  “I’ve got the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal’s code on violence,” he says.  “We have to stick to the letter of the law and we are doing that.  When you look at how the story is presented, it isn’t a violent storyline.  You don’t see a lot of violence in it when the murders are taking place.  I just think it’s basically about storytelling and working within the tribunal guidelines.”   Pat Manser of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal has expressed concern over the material being depicted but stresses that viewers do not have to just accept what is presented to them.  “The best method of attack is to go straight to the station, because the stations are quite sensitive to public criticism,” she says.  “If they get more criticism than pats on the back, they will do something about it.”

Briefly…
Jacki MacDonald (pictured) has described her new Network Ten show Healthy Wealthy And Wise as “a show that’s not really like anything else” and, after a decade as the funny girl on Hey Hey It’s Saturday and a year as host of Australia’s Funniest Home Video Show, is excited at the prospect at doing “something serious” for a change.  “In this show I’m not zany, silly or crazy,” she said.  “We all enjoy ourselves, laugh and have a good time – but it’s not a format for outrageous antics.”  Healthy Wealthy And Wise, which also features Ronnie Burns as co-host, is produced by former Hey Hey It’s Saturday co-producer Gavan Disney.  Although the show has only just debuted on Network Ten, it has already been sold for screening in New Zealand, Singapore and Papua New Guinea.

After six years of reading the news for ABC in Victoria, Mary Delahunty (pictured) is returning to current affairs television as she takes over as host of the Victorian edition of The 7.30 Report – replacing John Jost who has left the ABC to join the Nine Network as host of its new Melbourne Extra current affairs program.  Ian Henderson, a former European correspondent for the ABC, has taken over as newsreader for the 7.00pm ABC News in Victoria.

Mike Hammond, the former host of Ten’s Star Search and now the sole host of Good Morning Australia, is enthusiastic about the breakfast show’s new format.  “It has a totally new look, and a new format which is a world first.  Breakfast television has never before recognised the fact that daily routines don’t allow you extended periods of time to sit in front of the box watching long interviews.  Our new program informs you while you get ready to start your day.  If you want to compare us to Today, we still offer more news and weather, more financial news, more politics and sport, and more relevant stories.  And in what is probably a television first, there is up-to-the-minute traffic information as well.”

Former Quantum reporter Andrew Waterworth (pictured) has moved to the Seven Network as a reporter for Beyond 2000.  “I was with Quantum for five years and I put a lot into the show,” he told TV Week.  “But you get to a point in your life where you feel you would like a change.”

John Laws says…
”Whether Seven’s Real Life is going to offer any serious long-term problems to Jana Wendt’s A Current Affair on Nine is yet to be assessed, though the early signs are that ACA will be the toughest of nuts to crack.  Real Life’s problem may be that it has hyped itself up as being completely different to the current affairs shows we have become accustomed to – and this, as any viewer will tell (producer) Gerald Stone, is a load of old cobblers.  Real Life is a mixture of everything – a sort of mini-version of 60 Minutes, with shades of ACA and The 7.30 Report thrown in for good measure.  It really can’t be anything else.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, February 8-14):
Saturday:  Nine presents a two-hour preview of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games, hosted by Ken Sutcliffe, taking a look at the behind-the-scenes preparations and focusing on the Games venues and competitions as well as the Australian team.  On Seven, AFL is back for the new year with its pre-season competition, the Foster’s Cup, live from AFL Park, Waverley.

Sunday:  The first day of ratings for 1992 – and Nine’s current affairs line-up of Business Sunday, Sunday and the evening 60 Minutes are back for another year.  Seven crosses to Darwin for live coverage of the afternoon match between Collingwood and the West Coast Eagles for the AFL Foster’s Cup.  Sunday night movies are Air America (Seven) and The ‘Burbs (Ten), while Nine presents live coverage of the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games from Albertville, France.

Monday:  Nine’s regular daytime line-up is back for the new year – with In Melbourne Today, What’s Cooking and Midday With Ray Martin all returning.  At 5.00pm, Nine launches its new game show Supermarket Sweep, hosted by Ian Turpie, followed by the debut of Melbourne Extra, with John Jost (pictured) presenting local current affairs as the lead-in to National Nine News.  Sale Of The Century (Nine) returns for another year at 7.00pm, while ABC launches a new series of comedy Mother And Son at 8.00pm.  Stuart Littlemore’s Media Watch is also back for the new year, at 9.15pm on ABC.  Nine starts its routine coverage of the Winter Olympic Games, hosted by Ken Sutcliffe, with over four hours of coverage each night from 8.30pm.

Tuesday:  The return of ABC’s medical drama GP focuses on the gay bashing of the new doctor at the Ross Street surgery.

Wednesday:  Seven presents live coverage of the AFL Foster’s Cup match between Geelong and St Kilda from AFL Park, Waverley.  In E Street (Ten), Alice (Marianne Howard) and Penny (Josephine Mitchell) try to cope with their new business venture – meanwhile someone else in the neighbourhood receives a surprise visit from Steven Richardson (Vince Martin).

Thursday:  Seven begins four days of coverage of the Australian Masters golf, live from Huntingdale, Melbourne.  In the evening, sitcom Acropolis Now (Seven) returns, while ABC presents a movie-length debut of its new police drama Phoenix, starring Paul Sonkkila, Simon Westaway, Nell Feeney, Sean Scully and Andy Anderson.

Friday:  Burke’s Backyard (Nine) is back for another year, hosted by Don Burke with presenters Peter Harris, Dr Harry Cooper and Densey Clyne.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  8 February 1992.  Southdown Press

1991: November 23-29

Melissa’s shock exit!
E Street star Melissa Tkautz has made a sudden exit from the Network Ten soap, halfway through a three-year contract, after an apparent rift developed between herself and the show’s producers.  It is not known exactly what problems have arisen although it is suspected that Tkautz’s pop star commitments – such as preparing to tour with C&C Music Factory next month – have conflicted with her filming commitments to the series.  Producer Forrest Redlich told TV Week that “the official line is, ‘She’s leaving to pursue musical interests’.”  He also said that Tkautz’s pop career almost came about by accident as the pop songs were intended to promote the show and Tkautz was chosen from the show’s cast as the best match for the proposed first single, Read My Lips (“I thought it was too raunchy for Toni Pearen and too teeny-bopper for Alyssa-Jane Cook.”)  The debut single hit the top of the charts as did the follow up single, Sexy (Is The Word), and suddenly Tkautz has become a big pop star.  “She was a successful marketing exercise for us,” Redlich said.  “I don’t know if this will hurt the show.  She had fans.”  Tkautz’s sudden departure will see her character Nikki sent off to New Zealand.

New series woos John
John Waters is tipped for the lead role in a new weekly drama series to be filmed in Brisbane next year.  The new series, Darling And Partners, is to be set in a law firm and according to producer Phillip Bowman is hoped to demystify the process of law.  “It is not an expose of the Australian legal system,” Bowman told TV Week.  “Lawyers I have spoken to see this series as having positive potential.”  The pilot for Darling And Partners will begin filming early in 1992.

‘The worst year of my life…’
For Wheel Of Fortune’s Adriana Xenides it has been a traumatic year, with an increase in work commitments, being plagued by illness for months, and the breakdown of her two-year marriage.  She also became the target of a hate-mail campaign where an anonymous writer had contacted many media outlets, including TV Week, with some very personal details and her personal telephone number.  “Initially it hurt, but that didn’t last very long,” she told TV Week.  “When I thought about it, I felt very sorry for whoever took the time to write a note like that to the press.  I feel whoever did that must be a lonely person or terribly bored.”  Apart from the marriage breakdown, she was hit by a “mystery” illness which turned out to be a combination of glandular fever and viral pneumonia.  “I’ve had the worst year of my life with sickness,” she said.  “I usually have the odd cold or whatever, but I’ve never been this sick.”  The year has ended on a highlight, however, with her visit to Disney World as part of the international 20th anniversary celebration of Wheel Of Fortune. 

Briefly…
Live And Sweaty host Andrew Denton is to start work soon on a pilot for a proposed interview series for ABC.  With the working title One On One, it will feature Denton interviewing a single guest.  “(One On One) will either be one of the greatest moments in modern television or a complete failure,” he told TV Week.  Production is due to start next month.

Home And Away is set to end the year where the sudden return of Frank (Alex Papps) after the collapse of his marriage to Roo (Justine Clarke) sees him make a beeline for former wife Bobby (Nicolle Dickson), claiming that he is sorry that he divorced her and is still in love with her.

Fast Forward stars Glenn Robbins and Michael Veitch have been criticised for glamorising alcohol use with their “yuppie drunk” characters that appear in the sketch comedy show.  ABC’s Media Watch and the spokesman for the Drug Offensive campaign have slammed the sketches as trivialising alcohol abuse.  But Robbins has defended the sketches.  ”The drink gives them the confidence to say the things they want to say.  They are ‘blokes’ and they find it hard to do this otherwise.  It’s tragic that they need alcohol to be able to say these things,” he said.  “So we don’t believe it’s glamorising alcohol use at all… it’s showing the reality of a bad situation.”  Veitch also notes that it is significant that their characters fail in their romantic pursuits as a result of drinking.  “It’s obvious they are not attractive people,” he said.  “They talk to girls but they never get any.  They lead pretty sad lives.”

Alison Brahe, the host of Nine’s upcoming children’s quiz show Guess What?, has no intention of using her married name after she marries actor Cameron Daddo next month.  “We will have Seven, Nine and Ten covered by the Daddos so I’m just going to stick to Brahe,” she told TV Week.  “I don’t think television is ready for another Daddo just yet.”  Production on Guess What?, which will also feature Hey Hey It’s Saturday cartoonist Andrew Fyfe, will commence at the studios of NWS9 in Adelaide in January.

John Laws says…
”After the coarse humour of Married… With Children, the bitchery of The Golden Girls and the cloying cuteness of The Cosby Show, the consistent freshness and vitality of Australia’s Hey Dad! comes as a welcome relief.  So it’s nice to know that as the TV year grinds to a conclusion – leaving behind the usual clutch of falling stars and ratings bombs – Hey Dad! is comfortably maintaining its bright and appealing honest approach.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, November 23-29):
Saturday:  That’s Dancin’ (ABC) presents its series semi-final.  This week’s contestants on Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune (Seven) are Stuart Wagstaff, Rachael Beck and Maynard F. Sharp Crabbes.  The main event of the night is the first annual presentation of the Australian Music Awards (Ten), from Melbourne’s World Congress Centre, a three-hour celebration of Australian music with awards in 20 categories. The AMAs feature guests including John Farnham, Jimmy Barnes, Kate Ceberano, Grace Knight, Craig McLachlan, Jo Beth Taylor, Jack Jones, James Blundell, Melissa Tkautz, Johnny Diesel, Boom Crash Opera, Ratcat, David Reyne, Juno, Roxus, Indecent Obsession and Glenn Shorrock.

Sunday:  The beginning of the final week of official ratings surveys for the year sees the final editions of Wide World Of Sports (Nine), Sports Sunday (Nine) and 60 Minutes (Nine) for 1991.  Sunday night movies are The Presidio (Seven), National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Nine) and Out Of Africa (Ten) – while ABC presents the Australian Opera production of Puccini’s last opera, Turandot.

Monday:  Ten debuts a new children’s series, The Miraculous Mellops.  ABC presents a one-hour special, Sex, taking a comic approach to a serious topic in discussing questions and attitudes about sexual activity, safe sex and sexually-transmitted diseases amongst young adults.

Tuesday:  In the season final of A Country Practice (Seven), romance is in the air after Darcy (Kym Wilson) and Luke (Matt Day) get their HSC results.  And in the series final of All Together Now (Nine), while planning a traditional Christmas celebration the Rivers household is visited by a very pregnant woman and her husband (played by Maryanne Fahey and husband Ian McFadyen) on Christmas Eve who are stranded with no accommodation – a coincidence not lost on Bobby (Jon English).  The episode also features a guest appearance by Robert Grubb (The Flying Doctors).

Wednesday:  In the lead up to World AIDS Day, Ita Buttrose introduces the US special Common Threads – Stories From The Quilt (ABC), the story of five people who have died from AIDS.  Their names have been commemorated in five panels of an ever-growing quilt that now covers 14 acres.

Thursday:  Seven begins four days of coverage of the Australian Open golf, with commentators Sandy Roberts, Jack Newton and Pat Welsh.  Nine’s Midday With Ray Martin presents its final episode for 1991 with a two-hour special.  In The Flying Doctors (Nine), a bus load of Japanese tourists arrive in Coopers Crossing and the locals’ reaction varies from enthusiastic to racist.

Friday:  Nine’s daytime is dominated by the first day of the cricket First Test between Australia and India, live from the Gabba in Brisbane.  In the evening, Burke’s Backyard (Nine) presents its final edition for 1991.  Ten debuts US youth drama Beverly Hills 90210.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  23 November 1991.  Southdown Press

1991: November 16-22

‘It hurts…’
The Flying Doctors and The Bugs Bunny Show star Sophie Lee (pictured) has hit out at critics accusing her of being offered fame based on looks rather than intelligence or ability, likening their comments to schoolyard taunts.  “Of course plenty of it hurts,” she told TV Week.  “If the comments are witty or well done, then you have respect for what that particular person is doing.  But often it’s coming from an empty-headed DJ and you find yourself asking, ‘Where’s the wit?’.  There’s an unusual situation to contend with in Australia.  When you begin to succeed, you have to put up with jealousy and sexism.  And the more successful you become, the more negative things people say.”  The daughter of academics, Lee received outstanding results in her high school certificate but decided against a tertiary education and entered the entertainment industry, starting with the local repertory company in Newcastle and then taking on modelling assignments which took her overseas.  Her first major TV appearance was in the telemovie Raw Silk before gaining the hosting role for The Bugs Bunny Show and the part of Penny Wellings in The Flying Doctors.

Two celebrations of Oz TV’s historic anniversary 
To celebrate this year’s milestone of 35 years of television, the Nine Network this week pays tribute to the small screen in a three-hour special, produced in co-operation with all the networks.  The special will feature segments devoted to various program genres – including Bert Newton making a return to television to present the quiz and game show segment, Olivia Newton-John presenting the tribute to children’s shows, Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum looking at the history of rock music on TV, and Kylie Mole (Maryanne Fahey) presenting the look at Australian TV comedy.  “Like, some of the shows in this special are so good like Aunty Jack and Norman Gunston and they were on telly when Mum was a kid, so they must be, like, from the 18th century,” Mole told TV Week.  Graham Kennedy, not seen on TV since hosting Graham Kennedy’s Funniest Home Video Show a year ago, will be presenting the tribute to variety shows.  Meanwhile, Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art has launched its own tribute to Australian television with the exhibition TV Times: 35 Years Of Television In Australia.  The exhibition includes a ‘Hall of Fame’ of some of Australia’s most famous stars, and a unique game show wheel which spins not prizes but old clips of game show winners and losers.

Just horsin’ around
On the eve of his return to TV – as above – Graham Kennedy (pictured) allowed TV Week to visit his country property in the NSW southern highlands, but as per Kennedy tradition, the interview still had to be carried out by fax.  The multiple Gold Logie winner is now based full-time at his 124 acre property with Dave and Sarah, his beloved clydesdale horses.  Kennedy told TV Week that Nine had offered him the opportunity to present another series of his Funniest Home Video Show after a successful run last year but he declined.  “I’ve reached a time in my life when I’m captivated by something for only a short time,” he said.  He also mentioned that his upcoming TV appearance is likely to be his last for a while, as he now sees himself as “just an Australian who lives in the country with horses”.  When asked if he would consider writing an autobiography, he responded, “Well, who else could write my autobiography?”

Briefly…
Former A Country Practice star Josephine Mitchell has joined E Street, playing the part of fashion designer Penny O’Brien.  “Forrest Redlich, the producer, has a lot of ideas for the future of E Street, and it’s nice to be one of them,” she told TV Week.  Meanwhile, actress Tammy MacIntosh has signed up for the second series of ABC’s Police Rescue, marking her return to TV following a brief stint on the Nine Network’s Chances.

Australia’s Funniest Home Video Show is going global as host Jacki MacDonald (pictured) links up with hosts of overseas versions of the show for a special international edition to screen this week.  “I can’t even begin to think what’s going to happen on the night,” she told TV Week. “I don’t speak French, German or Spanish, so I hope the hosts all speak English.  But there is no language barrier where humour is concerned.  Regardless of nationality, people enjoy a good laugh.”

As the Nine Network’s Sunday program celebrates a decade on air, host Jim Waley doesn’t take the credit for the show’s longevity.  “The difference between Sunday and every other news program on TV is we don’t have any tall poppies.  Everyone pulls together and that is the only reason we have survived,” he told TV Week. 

John Laws says…
”SBS’ eminently watchable The Movie Show celebrated its fifth birthday recently.  Not many TV shows can claim that many birthdays.  David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz have got the formula worked out to a nicety.  They’ve had some 225 programs to air and reviewed close to 1000 movies.  Like many other programs that work well, The Movie Show succeeds because it keeps the action tight and flowing.  The hosts don’t preach and they never pull a punch when it comes to crunching a bad movie, and that’s exactly how it should be.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, November 16-22):
Saturday:  Hey Hey It’s Saturday (Nine) presents its second Hollywood-based special, with guest stars Madonna, Rita Rudner, Alison Porter, Christina Applegate and Richard Crenna.  This week’s contestants on Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune (Seven) are Brian Wenzel, Agro, Fat Cat and performer Maria Venuti.

Sunday:  The Nine Network televises the annual Rock Eisteddfod, featuring performances of secondary school students from around Australia, hosted by Steven Jacobs and Jane Hall.  Ten crosses to Bondi Beach for the Iron Man Super Series.  Sunday night movies are Nuns On The Run (Seven) and Legal Eagles (Ten), up against the Australian Opera production of Carmen (ABC) and the Nine Network’s three-hour special 35 Years Of Television, featuring Graham Kennedy, Bert Newton, Jana Wendt, Mike Willesee, Ray Martin, Craig McLachlan, John Waters, Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum, Brian Henderson, Olivia Newton-John, Kylie Mole (Maryanne Fahey), Max Walker and David Lyle.

Monday: In Col’n Carpenter (Ten), Colin (Kim Gyngell) discovers he has a copy of a very rare Phantom comic.  Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum presents a half-hour special on Nine, Michael Jackson – Dangerous, previewing the pop star’s new video Black And White.  ABC’s Four Corners and Media Watch present their final editions for 1991.

Tuesday:  In A Country Practice (Seven), Esme (Joyce Jacobs) gets her just rewards after she thinks she is being investigated by ASIO.  In Beyond 2000 (Seven), Amanda Keller presents a two-part report on stress – looking at its effects on elderly people and pregnant women.  Former The Flying Doctors star Liz Burch guest stars in Chances (Nine).

Wednesday:  Couchman Over Australia (ABC) presents its final show for 1991.

Thursday:  Hey Hey It’s Saturday’s Wilbur Wilde (pictured) guest stars in The Flying Doctors as a lovable, irresistible musician who lures the Coopers Crossing locals to an outback feast when a wedding is cancelled and the gourmet food is up for grabs.  In E Street (Ten), Joey Valentine (Lorry D’Ercole) is caught up in a rock’n’roll duel.  ABC debuts a new documentary series, The First Australians – the first episode looking at the Watson family of Mt Anderson Station in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Friday:  Rock star Jimmy Barnes is this week’s guest on Burke’s Backyard (Nine).  Seven crosses to the State Sports Centre, Homebush, for the World Amateur Boxing Championships final – with 54 countries competing in the competition, Australia is represented by five NSW boxers, five from Queensland and one from Tasmania.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  16 November 1991.  Southdown Press

1991: July 13-19

Hey, look who’s together now!
Christopher Truswell, who is leaving his role as Nudge in Hey Dad!, has signed up for a guest appearance in Nine’s All Together Now, playing an admirer of Anna (Jane Hall).  The special appearance, scheduled to screen later this month, is currently a one-off but Truswell (pictured, top right with All Together Now’s Rebecca Gibney) may be asked to return.

Chances star is out
The Nine Network’s struggling drama series Chances is set to trim its cast line-up as it aims to cut costs while boosting ratings.  Kimberley Davenport, who plays mother-to-be Charlie in the series, is the first victim from the cast shake-up.  Despite the show’s lack lustre ratings Nine is set to commit to a series renewal, though will be trimming the show’s weekly output from two hours a week to one.

All good things must come to an end…
Tonight Live host and producer Steve Vizard will be taking a three-week break to make a series of specials from Barcelona, the host city of the 1992 Olympic Games.  The specials, which are set to feature many of the Fast Forward cast, will go to air on Seven in the lead up to the Games.  Vizard is currently in negotiations with international names like Ben Elton and Bob Geldof to host Tonight Live in his absence.  Meanwhile with Artist Services, the company led by Vizard and Andrew Knight, working on as many as seven projects planned for 1992, Vizard has said it may be impossible for ratings hits Tonight Live and Fast Forward to continue next year in their existing formats.  “The network obviously wants both shows to continue, but we said from the outset that you can only do these things when you’re enjoying it and making them well,” he told TV Week.  In the case of Fast Forward, Vizard said it may be limited to a series of specials next year, while he is considering walking away from the hosting role on Tonight Live to allow him time to focus on the company’s other projects which include a variety show hosted by John Farnham and three sitcoms.

Briefly…
The Investigators host Helen Wellings tells TV Week of her early ambitions to be a comedian.  “I know it sounds strange,” she said.  “I know I’m not really a funny person.  I don’t even tell jokes very well, but I really wanted to be a comic.”

The Doug Anthony All Stars, famous regulars from The Big Gig, are returning to TV in a new sci-fi sitcom, DAAS Kapital.  The seven-part series, which debuts this week on ABC, promises to “stretch the boundaries of television”.

Production is about to start on a new 13-part drama series, Phoenix, for ABC.  The idea for the series came from the bombing of Melbourne’s Russell Street police headquarters in 1986.  “It’s not so much cops and robbers – in fact, there are very few villains – but more of a character piece centred on the members of the Major Crimes Squad and the pressure they are under,” producer Bill Hughes told TV Week.  Phoenix is set to star Simon Westaway (pictured), Nell Feeney, Sean Scully, Andy Anderson and Paul Sonkkila.

John Laws says: 
“What a spectacle SBS gave us with the live screening of the World Cup semi-final clash between Australia and Portugal, in front of a massive crowd of more than 112,000.  SBS’ coverage was, as usual, impeccable in its camerawork and especially in the controlled commentary of Les Murray and Johnny Warren, one of the finest sporting commentary teams of recent years.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, July 13-19):
Saturday:  Hey Hey It’s Saturday (Nine) includes a performance by guests Screaming Jets.

Sunday:  Ten presents daytime coverage of its annual Deafness Appeal Telethon, with live crosses during Video Hits and two-hour presentation in the afternoon, featuring personalities from Network Ten programs and Melbourne radio station 3AW.  Sunday night movies are Perry Mason: The Case Of The All Star Assassin (Seven), Coming To America (Nine) and Shy People (Ten).

Monday:  Seven launches a new afternoon quiz show, Blockbusters, hosted by Michael Pope.  Stuart Littlemore returns with a new series of Media Watch (ABC).  The Doug Anthony All Stars make their return to TV in a new comedy series, DAAS Kapital.  SBS debuts the landmark US documentary series The Civil War.

Tuesday:  Seven crosses to the WACA, Perth, for live coverage of the AFL State Of Origin: Western Australia versus Victoria, hosted by Sandy Roberts.  ABC presents the series final of The Big Gig.

Wednesday:  Aussie ex-pat and British TV presenter Clive James returns to Sydney after 30 years for a one-hour special Clive James – Postcard From Sydney (ABC).

Thursday:  In Embassy (ABC), Michael’s (Alan Fletcher) career is threatened by a scandal when a housegirl claims she is pregnant with his child.

Friday:  In Home And Away (Seven), Pippa (Debra Lawrence) and Michael (Dennis Coard) have a rebellious Sally (Kate Ritchie) to deal with.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  13 July 1991.  Southdown Press

1991: April 6-12

‘My smile gives it away!’
All Together Now star Rebecca Gibney (pictured) was hesitant to talk to TV Week about her relationship with boyfriend, Southern Sons vocalist Jack Jones but has conceded, “I think my smile gives it away.” But the Logie Award-winning actress is guarded about revealing too much about her private life.  “I believe people are entitled to their privacy so I’m just going to say I’m very happy and let the relationship run its course and develop,” she told TV Week.  Gibney is more enthusiastic about discussing the success of All Together Now.  The new Nine Network series received some less than flattering reviews in the press when it debuted but it has gone on to become one of the year’s successes.  “In some ways it was good we had some negative reviews, so people weren’t disappointed with the show,” she said.  “But some writers were unfair to slam the show before it had a chance.  It’s upsetting when you’re trying to get a good Australian product off the ground, which is better than most of the American sitcoms, and you get negative press.  It has proved a lot of them wrong and it’s going to get better.”

A new Guy hits Summer Bay
Another former Neighbours star is about to join the cast of the Seven Network’s Home And Away.  Guy Pearce has signed on for a seven-week guest role in the series, playing the character of David Croft, the nephew of Donald Fisher (Norman Coburn).  “It’s certainly an interesting character, very different from anything I’ve done in the past – especially Mike Young (his Neighbours character),” Pearce told TV Week. 

‘When Cathy brought the script home I nearly died…’
A late-night rendezvous between teenager Nicki Taylor (Cathy Godbold) and boyfriend Adam (Brenden Carter) on Chances is set to see their relationship consummated, but the actress involved has distanced herself from her character’s behaviour.  “I don’t believe in sex before you establish a long-lasting relationship and definitely not at my age,” Godbold told TV Week.  “Mum has complete trust in me.  She knows I don’t let my standards slip and go back on what I believe in.”  Godbold’s mother is television veteran Rosemary Margan, who despite trusting her daughter’s judgement was daunted by the proposed storyline.  “When Cathy brought the script home I nearly died,” she told TV Week.  “I trust Cathy very much but as your only daughter you do tend to worry and I’m a bit of a worrier.”

Briefly…
It was a double celebration for showbusiness veteran Vic Gordon – his 80th birthday and 60th year in showbusiness – and there were plenty of friends to help him celebrate, including Val Jellay, Rosie Sturgess and Vikki Hammond.

The arrival of Jim Robinson’s (Alan Dale) illegitimate son Glen Donnelly (Richard Huggett) in Neighbours is set to raise a controversial romance with an immediate attraction to half-sister Lucy Robinson (Melissa Bell) who makes a return to the series this week.  “The attraction is there straight away,” Huggett told TV Week.  “As soon as they meet they are attracted to each other.  They try to talk it through, but they can’t come to any solutions on how to resolve it.  They know they’d like to have something, but society says you’re not allowed that.  That’s their dilemma.”

Meanwhile, Neighbours is set to lose a number of cast members as many of them have contract renewals coming up.  Ian Williams, who plays medical student Adam Willis, is confirmed to be leaving, while co-stars Lucinda Cowden and Beth Buchanan are also believed to be quitting when their contracts expire.  Producers are also in discussions with long-serving cast members Ian Smith and Anne Charleston about their future in the series.

John Laws says…
”Stuart Littlemore draws a long bow when he takes the high ground to offer barbed criticisms of the media in his ABC program Media Watch.  Now the problem associated with such a program is that in bringing down decision after decision against fellow media operators, it leaves itself wide open to similar criticism.  In other words, people in glass houses should be most careful when throwing stones.  Take, for instance, a recent program in which Littlemore tut-tutted about the screening of violence during news programs.  While telling viewers how terrible this was, Littlemore – to prove his point – then proceeded to screen the offending scenes.  He reasoned that he had to do this because the subject could not be discussed adequately in any other way.  Littlemore could have put it another way – he was a victim of the TV medium.  He knew he couldn’t simply talk about the TV violence.  The medium itself demanded he join everyone else in screening it.  He had no option but to re-screen everything he was complaining about.  Why didn’t he admit it as such?”

Program Highlights (April 6-12):
Saturday:  ABC launches it new late-night music program Racket, hosted by James Valentine with Stephanie Lewis, Toby Creswell, Joanne Corrigan and Tim Ritchie.

Sunday:  Nine crosses to Eastern Creek, Sydney for six hours of the Australian 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix with commentators Darrell Eastlake and Barry Sheene.  In the evening, Seven launches its new game show The Main Event, hosted by Larry Emdur.  Sunday night movies are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Seven), Her Alibi (Nine) and Throw Momma From The Train (Ten).

Monday:  Actor Lewis Fitzgerald guest stars in A Country Practice (Seven) as a city slicker who succumbs to a heart attack when he takes charge of his brother’s farm while he is being treated for a rare hydatids infection.

Tuesday:  In Chances (Nine), Rebecca’s (Natalie McCurry) nude modelling assignment is set to turn heads.

Wednesday:  ABC’s science and technology series Quantum returns for a new series.

Thursday:  The Seven Network’s popular sketch comedy show Fast Forward returns for a new series.

Friday:  Lady Mary Fairfax, the matriarch of the Fairfax media empire, is featured on Nine’s Burke’s Backyard as host Don Burke explores the gardens of her historic Sydney property, Fairwater.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  6 April 1991.  Southdown Press.

1991: February 9-15

‘It felt like a real wedding to me’
The upcoming wedding of Neighbours characters Paul Robinson and Christina Alessi (pictured) could well serve as a dress rehearsal for real-life couple Stefan Dennis and Gayle Blakeney.  “It’s a very beautiful wedding.  We were both very happy with the way it was done.  It was amazing how everyone got into the atmosphere,” Dennis told TV Week.  “It felt like a real wedding to me,” Blakeney added.  “Saying those words to each other, particularly when the person is your lover… it felt really nice.  I’ve never enjoyed working on the show as much as I have in the month between the engagement and the wedding.” 

E Street goes for a new doctor
Despite some media speculation, actress Julieanne Newbould (pictured) is not taking over the role of Dr Elly Fielding from Penny Cook in Network Ten’s E Street.  She is, however, joining the series portraying a new character, Dr Virginia Travers.  Both Cook and Newbould will work together in the series before Cook departs the series next month.  “Virginia Travers turns out to be an old friend of Elly,” a spokesperson for E Street told TV Week.  “Elly is not being killed off and she’ll be seen on air until May.”  Newbould is a former star of The Restless Years, Prisoner, Kingswood Country and Kindred Spirits.

Now a cartoon brat takes on 60 Minutes
The all-important Sunday 7.30pm timeslot is about to come a heated battle as the networks fire up for the new ratings year.  Coming up against Nine stalwart 60 Minutes is the new US cartoon series The Simpsons (pictured), which has been earning big ratings for the American FOX network up against ratings giant NBC’s The Cosby Show.  Meanwhile, ABC is about to launch new episodes of the British series Rumpole Of The Bailey and Seven has expanded The Magical World Of Disney to a two-hour timeslot starting at 6.30pm.  But 60 Minutes producer Warren McStoker isn’t worried.  “Over the past 12 years, we’ve had all sorts of programs up against us, from furry aliens (ALF) to Greek fruiterers (Mark Mitchell’s Comedy Company character Con the Fruiterer) and even cops and robbers shows,” he told TV Week.  “But we’re still here, we’re stronger than ever, and that’s the way we intend to stay.”

Briefly… 
Jason Donovan is “devastated” by revealing stories about him being sold to the British media by his stepmother Marlene, following her recent amicable separation from his father, actor Terry Donovan.  Marlene has appeared on British TV and featured in newspapers with a number of “tell all” claims about the famous star, accusing him of being “mean and selfish” with his money, ignoring his family and still being desperately in love with Kylie Minogue.  “Her reasons were financial but I can’t believe that someone that I love and trust did something like that,” Jason told TV Week.

Gary Sweet (pictured) has had a hard time convincing the producer and stunt co-ordinator for ABC’s new action drama Police Rescue that he is able to doing all his own stunts.  “I keep trying to impress on John (Edwards, the show’s producer) that it is relatively safe,” Sweet told TV Week.  “I’ve broken plenty of bones playing sport, so you could say that my normal lifestyle is far more dangerous than jumping off cliffs.  I come to work to relax.”

Actor Garry McDonald is back on TV – but this time, instead of battling with his geriatric mother, as he did on Mother And Son, he is the parent coping with two very alert children.  The new series, Eggshells, debuts this week on ABC with McDonald playing the part of a divorcee whose life is constantly interrupted by his ex-wife (played by Judy Morris), his two current girlfriends, his handyman brother-in-law and his two children.  Eggshells comes from writer Geoffrey Atherden, who also created Mother And Son.

Bush Tucker Man Les Hiddens, who returns this week with a new series of the popular ABC program, has admitted that he received a generous offer to join the Nine Network but turned it down, opting to stay loyal to ABC.  “There’s more to life than money, mate,” he told TV Week.

John Laws says…
”Television made a real shish-kebab of the first week of the Gulf war and, gloomy as it was, it did contain all the elements of compulsive viewing.  Thanks to the cable network CNN, Network Ten was able to come out the winner with its coverage of the initial 48 hours of the conflict, even though its professional success wasn’t mirrored by the ratings, which saw Nine gather the most viewers.  It was, perhaps, troubled Ten’s finest hour as the war began.  And yet what did CNN (and therefore Ten) really have over the opposition – just three reporters holed up on the ninth floor of a luxury hotel in Baghdad.  There were no pictures at first; all we heard were the voices of the trio as the described what was going on, and poked their microphones out of the window to pick up the sounds of falling bombs and artillery.  For the viewer, it was a case of look at a map of Baghdad and listen – and yet it worked.  It was gruesome, fascinating, gripping television.”

Program Highlights (February 9-15):
Saturday:  Nine’s flagship sports program Wide World Of Sports returns for another year for four hours of Saturday afternoon coverage.

Sunday:  It’s the first day of the official ratings year.  Nine’s Sunday regulars Business Sunday, Wide World Of Sports: Sunday Edition and the afternoon Sports Sunday are all back for the new year.  Seven crosses to the Gabba in Brisbane for the AFL pre-season Foster’s Cup, featuring Brisbane Bears versus Collingwood.  At 7.30pm, Network Ten presents the Australian debut of The Simpsons, featuring two episodes – ‘Bart The Genius’ and ‘Homer’s Odyssey’.  Sunday night movies, the first major premieres for the year, are Young Einstein (Seven) and Alien Nation (Ten) – the latter leading into an ongoing series that debuts later in the week.  Nine presents the first instalment of mini-series The Confessional.  Meanwhile, SBS presents a half-hour documentary, What’s Funny About Melbourne?, and ABC presents the first of two documentaries on the issue of global warming.  After The Warming, a co-production between Film Australia and American and British interests, takes viewers to the year 2050 as Earth has survived global warming.

Monday:  Ernie Sigley and Denise Drysdale (pictured) are back for another year of Nine’s mid-morning program In Melbourne Today – and Ray Martin is back for another year of Midday With Ray Martin.  Tony Barber and Alyce Platt are back for the new year on Sale Of The Century.  ABC debuts new comedy series Eggshells, while 4 Corners and Media Watch return for 1991.  The Nine Network starts following its late night news program, The World Tonight With Clive Robertson, with two hours of coverage dedicated to the Gulf war – while Ten’s overnight broadcast of CNN continues every night.

Tuesday:  ABC’s consumer affairs program The Investigators returns for 1991. 

Wednesday:  David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz return for another year of The Movie Show on SBS. 

Thursday:  Seven crosses to Huntingdale Golf Club, Melbourne, for live coverage of the first day of the Australian Masters.  Gary Sweet heads the cast in the debut of ABC’s new action drama Police Rescue.

Friday:  Seven presents coverage of Day Two of the Australian Masters.  Burke’s Backyard (Nine) and Gardening Australia (ABC) begin another year, while Les Hiddens begins a new series of Bush Tucker Man.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide. 9 February 1991. Southdown Press.

TV Week Logie Awards voting opens

It’s a new era for the TV Week Logie Awards as TV Week has today opened the voting for the 2011 awards presentation.

Traditionally, voting for the popularity-based categories starts in the new year and is conducted through both the TV Week website and in the printed publication. 

This year the public voting is being conducted entirely online via the TV Week website.

But despite obvious efforts to improve the online voting process compared to previous years – at least now we can see who we are being asked to choose from – there still appears to be some discrepancy or omissions from the nominations list.

A glance at the nominees list noted a few missing names, though this a far from being an extensive list:

Most Popular Actress: Janet Andrewartha (pictured. Neighbours) – who was also missing from last year’s list, Heidi Arena (The Librarians), Jane Badler (Neighbours), Rachael Blake (Hawke), Kate Box (Offspring), Danielle Cormack (Rake), Victoria Eagger (The Librarians), Kaarin Fairfax (Bed Of Roses), Alicia Gardiner (Offspring), Caroline Gillmer (Bed Of Roses), Rachel Griffiths (Rake), Jane Harber (Offspring), Sasha Horler (Rake, Hawke, Offspring), Kaiya Jones (Neighbours), Jordy Lucas (Neighbours), Heather Mitchell (Rake), Eve Morey (Neighbours), Nicole Nabout (The Librarians), Valentina Novakovic (Neighbours), Adrienne Pickering (Rake).

Most Popular Actor: Lliam Amor (Hawke), Stephen Ballantyne (The Librarians), Morgan Baker (Neighbours), Keith Brockett (The Librarians), Vince Colosimo (pictured. Wicked Love), Richard Davies (Offspring), Firass Dirani (Underbelly 3: The Golden Mile), Bob Franklin (The Librarians), Kim Gyngell (The Librarians), Kevin Hofbauer (Rush), Lachy Hulme (Offspring, The Librarians), Josh Lawson (Hawke), Geoff Morrell (Rake),  Erin Mullally (Neighbours), Eddie Perfect (Offspring), Jordan Smith (Neighbours), Matthew Werkmeister (Neighbours), Sandy Winton (Neighbours), Felix Williamson (Hawke).

Most Popular Presenter: Paul Barry (Media Watch), Peter Evans (My Kitchen Rules), Peter Everett (Ready Steady Cook), Manu Feildel (My Kitchen Rules), Julie Goodwin (Home Cooked), Andrew Hansen (Strictly Speaking). Peter Helliar (The Bounce), Jonathan Holmes (Media Watch), Amanda Keller (Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation), James O’Loghlin (The New Inventors), Sandra Sully (pictured. Ten News), Peter Thompson (Talking Heads), Josh Thomas (Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation), Bill Woods (Thursday Night Live).

Some of the names listed above do appear, however, in the Most Popular New Talent category – seemingly implying that any new talent nominee is ineligible for any of the above categories.  A curious, and possibly new, condition given some have been in very prominent roles or have given exceptional performances.

Some inconsistencies also appear – Poh Ling Yeow (Poh’s Kitchen)qualifies for the Most Popular Presenter vote as well as Most Popular New Talent, although Julie Goodwin (Home Cooked) only qualifies for the latter.  Spicks And Specks team captains Adam Brough and Myf Warhurst qualify for Most Popular Presenter votes, but their equivalents at Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, Josh Thomas and Amanda Keller, do not.  Generation’s Charlie Pickering qualifies for a vote based on his role as co-host on The 7PM Project.  The X Factor judges Guy Sebastian, Ronan Keating, Natalie Imbruglia and Kyle Sandilands all qualify for a vote, but their So You Think You Can Dance counterparts – Jason Coleman, Matt Lee and Bonnie Lythgoe – miss out.

While TV Week is possibly only listing names provided by the publicity agents of the networks (and looking at the lists above, it seems that ABC and Network Ten are being the most remiss), it is unfortunate that such omissions do occur or that some quality control over the list of names doesn’t seem to happen, even after such inconsistencies with the nominees list have been occurring for some years.  And while column space might have been limiting in the print edition, causing some names to not be included, now with online voting there is more space allowed to include a more comprehensive list of names.

On a more positive note, the award nominations this year do take into account community television for the first time.  While it is unlikely that these programs or presenters will walk away with a popular-voted award, the acknowledgement that they even exist is a positive one.

An industry-based panel will again judge contenders for the Most Outstanding award categories – including the Hall of Fame and the Graham Kennedy Award for Most Outstanding New Talent.

Online voting for the popularity-based categories closes 20 February 2011 and the 53rd annual TV Week Logie Awards will take place on 1 May 2011.

1990: November 10-16

Missing at sea… to rest a knee!
E Street character Lisa Bennett has disappeared, presumed dead by many of her Westside neighbours, after being shipwrecked with wealthy boyfriend Michael Sturges (Graham Harvey) – but the character’s absence from TV screens is for good cause, as actress Alyssa-Jane Cook (pictured) has had to take time off from the series to recover from knee surgery.  Cook told TV Week that the surgery was needed to fix an old skiing injury that could have wider implications if left unattended.  “If I’d left it until I was older, it would have taken longer to repair and I could have suffered severe arthritis,” she said.

 

Publish and be damned?
Graham Kennedy (pictured) tells TV Week he has refused repeated requests by publishers to pen his autobiography.  “Publishers have asked me about once a month for 30 years for an autobiography, which is flattering – flattering because they obviously think it would sell well,” he said.  “I would want to write it myself and I’m too lazy to face such a daunting task at the moment.”  The closest that the King of Australian television has come to book publishing has been to write the foreword for former colleague Toni Lamond’s recently-launched autobiography, First Half.  Kennedy, who this year gained strong ratings for Nine’s Graham Kennedy’s Funniest Home Video Show, accepts the fact that should he not get around to writing his memoirs before turning up his toes that someone may choose to write a less-friendly version of his life.  “Sadly, I have no control over that,” he says.

Agro-phobia!
The Seven Network is screening a one-hour special to celebrate the 10th birthday of its puppet megastar Agro, star of the early morning Agro’s Cartoon Connection and the former children’s program Wombat.  The special will feature many of Agro’s Seven Network colleagues including Derryn Hinch, Julie McGregor, Fast Forward’s Pixie-Anne Wheatley (Magda Szubanski, pictured with Agro) and the Dodgey Brothers (Steve Blackburn and Geoff Brooks) and Tonight Live’s Steve Vizard and Jennifer Keyte.    

Briefly…
Former Family And Friends star Rachael Beck has just completed a guest spot on Home And Away, playing the drug-addicted sister of Grant Mitchell (Craig McLachlan).  Beck is now moving to the stage to co-star in A Little Night Music with Geraldine Turner and John Waters.

Actor Kim Gyngell, whose Col’n Carpenter series is likely to be back in 1991, is keen to start work on a film project dedicated to the long-running drama series Homicide.  The film, to be titled Homicide: The Legend Continues, will have an emphasis on the lasting impact that the drama series has had on Australian popular culture.  Gyngell made his acting debut in the original series in the 1970s and has had discussions with director Pino Amenta and actors Ben Mendelsohn, Nadine Garner and Mary Coustas, who have all expressed interest in being involved in the project.

Former Prisoner star Jane Clifton has swapped her prison uniform for a straightjacket in the play Laughing Wild, now playing in Melbourne.  The play, set in New York, takes a farcical look at the community alienation some mentally ill people experience when they move out and try to live “normal” lives.  For Clifton, the play comes just after a 13 week tour of the United Kingdom in the stage production Prisoner Cell Block H, based on the long-running series in which she starred in.

The prospect of an airline career could see Luke Ross make his exit from A Country Practice – but actor Matt Day is not giving anything away.  “You will have to wait and see,” he teases.  “Who knows what the future holds?”  Ross departs Wandin Valley in episodes to air this week as the season finale but his struggles in adapting to city life and the rigorous airline training will feature in episodes to go to air in the new year.

John Laws says…
”SBS’ recent orgy of self-congratulation for having survived – and prospered – for ten years in the TV jungle was, for the most part, well deserved.  For a network that really didn’t have a clue what it was supposed to be doing when it began broadcasting in late 1980, it has commendably earned the label of “true survivor” in the torrid years since.  Importantly, too, it manages to provide a mostly excellent service even though restricted by what can only be described as a tight budget.  It is positively Scrooge-like in its costings when compared to ABC and other TV stations.  SBS has also led the way in freeing up the screening of sexual activity on television.  Was it through coincidence, or design, that on the very night the station screened an hour-long 10th anniversary tribute to itself that it also screened, for the second time, the English movie Sammy And Rosie Get Laid, one of the most sexually explicit to have shown on Australian TV?  But if there is one things SBS does lack it’s a sense of humour.  If it had one or two top-flight comedy programs it would round off its service admirably.”

Program Highlights (November 10-16):
Saturday:  ATV10’s coverage of the Melbourne Cup Carnival concludes with five hours of the Honda Stakes Day, live from Flemington Racecourse.  GTV9’s afternoon of sport includes the Nissan Sydney 500 Touring Car Race, while ABC presents American basketball, English soccer and American NFL.

Sunday:  The final week of ratings for 1990 will see many programs wind up this week – starting with ATV10’s This Land Australia and The Comedy Company and GTV9’s 60 Minutes.  Sunday night movies are Moonstruck (HSV7), Caddyshack II (GTV9) and Heartburn (ATV10).

Monday:  Sale Of The Century (GTV9) finishes up its 1990 season with the week-long Sports Celebrity Challenge, featuring stars of cricket, athletics, swimming and motor racing.  ABC’s Media Watch and Four Corners present their final editions for 1990, and ATV10’s comedy series Let The Blood Run Free (pictured) also finishes up for the year.  GTV9’s failed soap opera Family And Friends makes a late-night return, playing out the remaining episodes that were not shown following its abrupt cancellation earlier this year.

Tuesday:  A Country Practice, Beyond 2000, GP, The Investigators, The Big Gig and Candid Camera On Australia all present their final episodes for 1990.

Wednesday:  ABC presents a 75-minute special, Bradman, featuring the cricket legend’s first television interview to respected cricket writer Jack Egan.  The special is followed by the final 1990 edition of forum-based discussion program Couchman.

Thursday:  More TV finales with The Home Show (ABC), Graham Kennedy’s Funniest Home Video Show (GTV9), E Street (ATV10) and Lateline (ABC) presenting their last episodes for 1990.  GTV9’s children’s mini-series The Girl From Tomorrow also comes to a conclusion.

Friday:  Midday With Ray Martin (GTV9) presents its 1990 finale with a special two-hour episode.  Also winding up tonight is Tonight Live With Steve Vizard (HSV7), Burke’s Backyard (GTV9), Sale Of The Century (GTV9), Countrywide (ABC) and Neighbours (ATV10).

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

1990: April 28-May 4

Cover: Linda Hartley and ‘Bouncer’ (Neighbours)

‘It started as an innocent relationship…’
Former Neighbours star Rachel Friend has spoken publicly for the first time about her relationship with former co-star Craig McLachlan.  The TV Week Logie award-winning actress said the relationship started very innocently.  “Going to the pictures, that sort of thing.  People picked up on that, but there was nothing to pick up on.  Since then, I can’t deny there is more to it.  We are very happy together.”  Since leaving Neighbours, Friend has been in the UK to film Mission: Top Secret for Grundy Productions and has now moved to Sydney to be with McLachlan, who is now starring in Home And Away.

It’s a deal… no joke!
Media Arts, the production company run by Ian McFadyen and Maryanne Fahey, has signed a lucrative deal with Crawfords Australia.  Terry Ohlsson, chief executive of Crawfords, has said that a new comedy project is being devised by the partnership and is under consideration from one of the networks.  Meanwhile, Media Arts – producers of The Comedy Company – are set to go ahead with another series, Let The Blood Run Free, a sitcom set in a hospital, starring Jean Kittson, Peter Rowsthorn, Lynda Gibson and Brian Nankervis.  There is also speculation that The Comedy Company, that went into extended hiatus at the close of 1989, could be back on air soon in a new series.

Doctors warn Maurie: ‘Take it easy!’
Hey Hey It’s Saturday and The Flying Doctors star Maurie Fields has been told by doctors to take it easy after a recent health scare.  Fields, who suffered a mild heart attack last year, took ill following a working holiday in Hawaii with wife Val Jellay.  “Maurie was having a bit of trouble breathing but he thought it was the humidity and jetlag,” Jellay told TV Week.  “But it was because he was a bit overweight and there was fluid on his lungs.  He has since taken off 9 and a half kilograms and he’s on a very strict diet, but he’s fine.”  The couple (pictured), who performed their famous vaudeville routine while in Hawaii, also used the trip to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary.

Briefly…
Home And Away star Rebekah Elmaloglou has spoken of some of the unwanted attention gained from starring in a popular soapie.  “In the early days it was easy for people to get my phone number with a name like Elmaloglou!  We had people ringing all the time.  I didn’t mind saying hello and having a bit of a chat, but then older boys – men – started ringing.  We had one really bad, sexually abusive call.”

E Street’s new bad boy, Sonny Bennet (Richard Huggett, pictured) is moving into the neighbourhood after five years in prison – but the character does bear something of a resemblance to E Street’s former bad boy, Wheels (Marcus Graham).  Despite the similarities, Hugget is not worried that the producers may be using his character to resurrect Wheels.  “There is no need.  Sonny is a good character,” he tells TV Week.

Steve Vizard (pictured) reflects on the first few months of his new late-night show, Tonight Live.  “It’s actually like having a big toy,” he says.  “Someone lets you into a studio and says, ‘Well, here it is.  Here’s all the cameramen and all the facilities, now you make a show.’  And we can do anything we like.  We have to con them into giving us OB (outside broadcast) vans occasionally.  But, if we want, we can do the show from a pizza shop or a submarine or even from my place.”  Tonight Live has given Seven some pleasing late-night ratings, helping the network win its first ratings survey in two years.

John Laws says…
”One program that has had a significant impact in the past year is ABC’s Media Watch – The Last Word.  It’s an impressive 15 minutes of television because it pulls no punches in making a point.  Presenter Stuart Littlemore adopts a slightly supercilious and a schoolmastery approach, but perhaps this is exactly what’s required when you are skinning alive your mates in the media.”

Program Highlights (April 28-May 4):
Saturday:  HSV7 crosses live to Carrara, Queensland, for Brisbane Bears versus Melbourne in AFL.  Later in the evening, ABC crosses to Wembley to a live telecast of the Silk Cut Challenge Cup Final.
Sunday:  Sunday night movies are Challenger (HSV7), Police Academy V: Assignment Miami Beach (GTV9) and House On Carroll Street (ATV10).
Tuesday:  SBS presents the 1977 UK special, Twenty-One, the third chapter in the 7 Up documentary series which has interviewed its subjects every seven years from the time they are 7 years old.  SBS follows this up on Wednesday night with the latest instalment in the series, 28 Up.

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

1990: February 10-16

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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