1979: June 23-29

Cover: Andrew McFarlane, Robert Coleby (Patrol Boat)

Timeless Land stars are cast
Michael Craig and Angela Punch will both return to Australia to star in ABC’s new big-budget series The Timeless Land, described as Australia’s own Forsythe Saga.  Production of the eight-part series, set in the 25 years following the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, is to commence in October.

The complete guide to Paul Hogan
Paul Hogan is known to viewers as the ocker Aussie, but on a recent appearance on Parkinson it was a more philosophical Hogan that appeared – giving his insight into Australian versus British class distinction, snobbery, politics and larrikin humour.  Michael Parkinson’s interviewing style impressed Hogan: “Parkinson’s an excellent interviewer.  He’s got a pretty laid-back style.  That helps.  But it’s the way he really listens to your answers and follows through on them.  To some journos you could answer a question about your wife’s health with ‘I killed her last week,’ and their next question would still be from their notes, ‘Yes, and how many children do you have?’.  Hogan also tells TV Times about his dining habits (“Where do we eat out as a family?  Simple.  The kids want to go wherever it costs a lot!”), wines (“I drink white wines mostly”), money (“It means the same thing to me as it’s always meant.  Freedom.  The right to say no.”), travelling (“At Rome airport I found myself surrounded by about 80 Australian Italians and they all introduced me to their mammas as Luigi.”) and the topic of canned laughter (“Nothing makes me angrier than shows like Donny And Marie.  A line that should get a giggle gets a belly laugh, a roar.  That’s not real.  We’ve been accused of using laugh machines.  We don’t, except for editing purposes to bridge or integrate something.  We’ve edited more laughs out than in.”)

Don Lane’s US debut a secret
Viewers of The Don Lane Show in the near future may notice a subtle change in the program as it prepares to be taped for a proposed US TV special.  Producer Peter Faiman said the upcoming special episode will not be significantly different to routine shows but it will be seen to be less parochial.

All grown up!
After more than 15 years playing the parts of schoolgirls and teenagers, former Bellbird and Alvin Purple star Anne Pendlebury has finally been cast as a middle-aged mother in ABC’s Twenty Good Years.   “I’ve been happy the way things have been, but this role is the highlight of my career so far and I’m happy to play an older woman.”

Briefly…
Stuart Wagstaff and Noeline Brown are to play the lead roles in a sitcom being made for the Seven Network by RS Productions (producers of The Naked Vicar Show).   The program has the working title of Two-Up and is expected to go into production next month.

Production of the Seven Network’s Young Ramsay is continuing despite its failure to gain approval for a ‘C’ classification for airing in the 4.00pm-5.00pm timeslot.

Former The Box actress Judy Nunn (pictured) is returning to the ATV0 studios to appear in an upcoming role in Prisoner.

Three years after joining Young Talent Time, team member Debbie Hancock has decided to leave the show to become a teacher after being offered a job with a modelling agency and school.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
”I wonder if any other viewers are as besotted as I am with Doctor Who’s helpmate K9?  I look out for him in every episode.” M. Bennett, NSW.

“I have recently noticed that no horror movies are being screened at all.  I do think many people would appreciate at least one horror movie a week, preferably on a Friday night.” M. McEachern, SA.

“I agree with J. Lewis (Viewpoint, 12 May 1979), and wonder if ATN7 Sydney knows how much CBN8 (Orange) and CWN6 (Dubbo) mutilates the Seven Big League program.  I am fortunate in that I am able to receive the League replay two nights later than Orange and it is 200 per cent better than CBN8’s version.  RVN2 (Wagga Wagga) gives League fans 60 minutes of football compared to CBN8’s 35 minutes.” J. Holland, NSW.  (TV Times responds: “A CBN8 spokesman said he had discussed the question with RVN2 and that both stations used the natural breaks already inserted by ATN7.  They both allot the same time to commercials, not adding to the breaks provided by Sydney.”)

What’s On (June 23-29):
On Saturday night and into early Sunday, ATV0 airs live coverage from the UK of the final of the Prudential Cup cricket.  Also late on Saturday and Sunday nights, GTV9 screens delayed highlights of the US Open golf championships that were shown live on ABC last weekend.

This Week Has Seven Days (HSV7, Saturday) visits DPTV10, a closed-circuit TV station broadcasting to 5000 viewers in the community of Debney Park.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at the portrayal and role of women in Australia’s history.

HSV7 on Monday night presents a one-hour special, Parlour Games, providing an insight into operation of Melbourne’s massage parlours.

In The Wild With Harry Butler (ABC, Wednesday) goes to Tasmania as Butler shows the impact of man on the Tasmanian wilderness and the animals that inhabit its wild, wet terrain.

ABC presents the debut of drama series Patrol Boat, starring Andrew McFarlane, Robert Coleby, Danny Adcock and Margo Lee. 

Maurie Fields, Val Jellay and Smacka Fitzgibbon are some of the guests featured this week on Peter Couchman Tonight (ATV0, weeknights).

Sunday night movies: The Wind And The Lion (HSV7), Ten Rillington Place (GTV9), The Eiger Sanction (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 23 June 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: May 19-25

Wedding bells for Prisoner stars
TV’s love story of the year culminated in a wedding on Sunday 29 April – and there wasn’t a TV camera in sight.  Prisoner stars Barry Quin and Peita Toppano (pictured) got married in a garden wedding at the property of Toppano’s parents (Enzo and Peggy Toppano) in Pymble, NSW.  The bridesmaid at the ceremony was Prisoner co-star Carol Burns and the best man was The Young Doctors star John Dommett.  The newlywed couple had a week’s break from production to honeymoon on the NSW coast.

Bill looks at a peach of a city!
Bill Peach’s new ABC series, Peach’s Cities, is half-way through production.  In the series, Peach explores each of Australia’s eight capital cities.  The first four episodes have already been filmed.  The new series takes a similar format to Peach’s previous series, Peach’s Australia, though will put less emphasis on the historical background and more on the cities’ future and what problems they may face.  Peach’s Cities is expected to air on ABC later in 1979 and will be followed by a book.

My worst moment…
Being a TV interviewer can bring many challenges, whether talking to Mr and Mrs Average or the rich and famous, and sometimes things don’t always go to plan.  Countdown’s Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum recalled an interview with US singer Billy Joel: “I started by asking him a very involved question that took about 75 seconds to ask.  Then I found Billy was in one of those quiet moods.  All he said was ‘yes’.  So I asked Billy if he had anything else to say on the subject and he said ‘no’.  So I did all I could do and asked him long questions to which he gave his short answers.  It was a nightmare.”  Mike Walsh (pictured) didn’t recall his worst but, rather, his most embarrassing interview, featuring magazine columnist, veterinarian Dr Paul: “He came on the show to tell us how to tell the sex of a rabbit.  A local Catholic school and a Church of England school donated rabbits.  The rabbits soon made it clear which sex was which when, undeterred by their public appearance, they got on with the business.  I poured a glass of water over them but they just kept at it.”  TVW7 Today hostess Stephanie Quinlan never forget the day Warren Mitchell walked out on an interview: “Mitchell came for the interview when rebuilding work was going on at the studio.  The sounds of the work were clearly heard and Mitchell walked off the set at least three times.  He eventually agreed to the interview and so, with a prayer for quiet builders, I started the questions.  By that time, Mitchell’s mood was similar to a large black thundercloud so his answers were somewhat loud and rude.  I was surprised that such an educated man could vent his feelings so uncontrollably and show such a lack of professionalism.  I must say he didn’t act like a gentleman.”

Briefly…
The Grundy Organisation is making a pilot for a “topical light entertainment” show for the 7.00pm timeslot for the 0-10 Network.  The project, titled Graffiti, will feature a large cast from both Sydney and Melbourne.

Pete Smith, the long-time booth announcer for GTV9, is now hosting Adelaide Tonight for NWS9 following the departure of Ernie Sigley, now focusing on Saturday Night Live for HSV7 Melbourne.

The second series of Young Ramsay has commenced production in Melbourne.  The 13-part series will again feature John Hargreaves as vet Peter Ramsay and Serge Lazareff as wildlife ranger Ray Turner.

British sex symbol of the ‘50s, Diana Dors, is coming to Australia to promote her book Behind Closed Dors and will be making guest appearances on both The Mike Walsh Show and The Don Lane Show.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”I congratulate the staff of ATN7 and TEN10 Sydney who do such a wonderful job of program planning.  It was a stroke of genius to put The Muppet Show and Hans Christian Andersen on at the same time as the Star Wars Holiday Spectacular.  I hope these individuals of such superior intellect could inform a mother, with only one TV set, how she can explain to her two disappointed children that they could watch only one program.  I hope both Channels 7 and 10 take satisfaction in the fact that they upset a lot of children.” B. Hawk, NSW.  (TV Times responds: “All commercial TV channels are in competition to gain the biggest audiences, and “counter-programming” to reduce the anticipated ratings of an opposition channel’s programming is part of their business.  We get many letters on the subject.”)

“I’d like to take a shot at The Young Doctors – how the nurses carry on with the young doctors!  One would think that just about every nurse would have her going-on with the doctors.  The nurses on TV soapies are an insult to the honourable nursing profession.” I. Craig, NSW.

“Australian comedies are never usually worth watching, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that Doctors Down Under is not only distinctly worth watching, but it is nearly as good as the original.”  D. Dowell, NSW.

What’s On (May 19-25):
Philip Adams, Harry Butler and Lloyd Rees are the guests on the final Parkinson In Australia (ABC, Saturday).

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at fads and fashion – remembering the pogo-stick, mini-golf and yoyo crazes and the many changes in women’s fashions.

In Cop Shop (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), a dangerous epidemic threatens Riverside as police search desperately for a typhoid carrier.  Guest stars include Barbara Llewellyn and John Ley.

On Wednesday night HSV7 presents the Miss Teenage 1979 contest from the Camberwell Civic Centre, hosted by Ray Chapman.

ABC presents the first of a six-part series, Journey Into Japan, narrated by Keith Adams.  The program looks at various aspects of Japanese life including leisure, tourism, culture and tradition.

Sunday night movies: Irma La Douce (HSV7), The Rare Breed (GTV9), Summer Of ‘42 (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 19 May 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: May 12-18

TV’s reluctant sex symbol
Former Queenslander Shane Porteous has performed in Shakespearean plays, has appeared on stage in London’s West End and has been “arrested” in Cop Shop.  His first leading TV role, in the children’s series Catch Kandy, was a “disappointment” and his nude scenes with Belinda Giblin in The Box attracted controversy.  And he had a long-running role in the ABC series Certain Women.  But it was his appearance in a series of commercials for a laundry detergent that has made him a familiar face with the public:  “No matter what role I play on TV, no matter what critics might say of a stage play I’ve been happy about, I get the feeling sometimes I’m best known as the ‘Drive’ man.  People in the street and on the train often say ‘got the wine stain out yet?’ or ‘how’s your clever little secretary?’.”   But despite the fame of laundry detergent commercials, Porteous (pictured, with Nick Hedstrom and Zoe Bertram) has made a return to TV series drama as businessman Andrew Nelson in The Restless Years in what is tipped to be “the love story of the year”.

YTT takes the cake!
It was a reunion of past and present members of Young Talent Time when the popular 0-10 Network program recently celebrated its eighth birthday with a party at the ATV0 studios.  Joining Johnny Young and the current Young Talent Team were original cast members from 1971 including Rod Kirkham, Vikki Broughton, Jane Scali, Jamie Redfern and Debbie Byrne.

ABC opens showcase for top talent
Some of Australia’s best-known performers will be featured in a variety series now in production for ABC.  The first of the series of seven programs, to air next month, will feature Jill Perryman.  Other programs in the series will feature Barry Crocker, Peter Regan, Rolf Harris, Johnny Farnham and The Four Kinsmen.  Music for the series is being recorded by the Brian May ABC Melbourne Show Band.

Carleton’s Canberra
Former This Day Tonight reporter Richard Carleton (pictured) is back at ABC, after a three-year absence, as the Canberra correspondent for Nationwide.  His day starts at 6.30am with the arrival of the Sydney newspapers as well as The Canberra Times.  By 8.30 he is on the steps of Parliament House with prime minister Malcolm Fraser and during the day crosses paths with Minister for Foreign Affairs Andrew Peacock, shadow minister Paul Keating and Minister for Post and Telecommunications Bruce Goodluck among others.  But after three years out of the country he realises that there are many of the 188 members of Parliament that he does not know – though he hopes to know all about them by the time the next election occurs.

Briefly…
The Paul Hogan Show’s Delvene Delaney and husband John Cornell have welcomed the arrival of their first daughter, Allira.

Cop Shop star Paula Duncan has welcomed her sister, Carmen, to Melbourne for her role in Seven’s new drama series Skyways.

Walter Sullivan will host the new series of ABC’s Capriccio when it returns this week.  Guest stars for the show this year include Jacki Weaver, Ed Devereaux, Diane Cilento and June Bronhill.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
”I am sick of people knocking ABC.  The ABC has a lot of problems – lack of money, lack of equipment – so their programming may be a bit chaotic.  But consider their public responsibility to show sports events, children’s and educational programs, current affairs and heavy culture.  How they cram in a little light entertainment is a source of continual amazement.” S. Lindsay, QLD.

“I wonder if ATN7, Sydney, knows how much CBN8/CWN6 mutilates the Seven Big League program?  We all put up with genuine product advertisements because they are an accepted and necessary part of commercial TV, but it seems CBN8 saves up the community service announcements for the football replay.” J. Lewis, NSW.

“Congratulations to ABC for showing The Best Of Parkinson and now Parkinson In Australia.  I enjoyed the first show and enjoying the second the second until Frank Hardy appeared on the scene.  From the moment he appeared he turned the interview into a monologue of himself, his manners and language were so atrocious as to be an embarrassment to most viewers.  What was he trying to prove?” D. Spencely, SA.

What’s On (May 12-18):
Weekend sport includes live coverage of the last two quarters of the VFL Match Of The Day on ABC, Saturday afternoon.  Football replays follow with Saturday Night Football on ABC and Seven’s Big League on HSV7.  Late on Saturday night, ABC presents the FA Cup Final, direct from Wembley Stadium, London.

This week’s guests on Parkinson In Australia (ABC, Saturday) are Kate Fitzpatrick, Bob Hawke and Jack Fingleton.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at Australian music over the last century – including film of The Beatles’ visit to Australia and interviews with Col Joye, Little Pattie and footage of the last TV interview with Johnny O’Keefe who passed away in late-1978.

The final episode of Marque: 100 Years Of Motoring (ABC, Thursday) looks at the future of the car industry and host Peter Wherrett chooses his favourite car from the whole series.

James Smillie, Carmel Millhouse and Briony Behets are guest stars in this week’s episodes of Prisoner (ATV0, Tuesday and Wednesday).

Sunday night movies: The Legend Of Lylah Clare (HSV7), Born Free (GTV9), The Last Hurrah (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 12 May 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: May 5-11

Cover: Robin Williams, Pam Dawber (Mork And Mindy) 

Bid to help Australia’s deaf fully ‘receive’ TV
A new non-profit organisation, Australian Centre for Visual Television (ACVT), aims to provide television programming to the estimated five per cent of Australians suffering hearing loss.  ACVT’s producers, actor Adam Salzer and actress Alexandra Hynes, have been involved with Sydney’s Theatre for the Deaf for four years and will soon visit Europe and the US to learn what is being done there for deaf viewers.  The group hopes to have a program pilot developed, produced and sold to a network by 1981 – which, co-incidentally, is to be the International Year of the Disabled Person – and is encouraging Australian networks to follow the US in the captioning of television programs.  ACVT has, however, already scored one achievement by persuading a clothing store chain to include sign language in its commercials

Inside story
The stories, characters and scenarios depicted on the new series Prisoner, although they are fictional, are the result of painstaking research.  Peita Letchford, a former high school teacher and graduate of the Australian Film and TV School, was employed by the Reg Grundy Organisation, when it was developing the new series, to research the prison system and just what happens to the inmates from the time they first step off the paddy wagon.  Letchford interviewed several former inmates and prison officers and toured a women’s prison to get an insider’s perspective.  One vivid experience was when she was being guided through a prison hospital and saw, through an open door, in a small room was an inmate just sitting on a bed, with a dazed look on her face, just staring into space.  "And as we walked past the assistant superintendent said she had murdered someone last night and that when someone murders they’re put in these observation cells for three days.  It was just incredible that she had murdered the night before.  She was very young.”

Life wasn’t meant to be easy when your partner’s an ostrich
Daryl Somers’ professional partnership with Ossie Ostrich has taken on human proportions: “I could never think of Ossie being shoved into a suitcase or left lying around the studio like a prop.  He’s very much a character that lives.  When I work on Hey Hey It’s Saturday, I always talk to Ossie, I never think of anyone else.”  Ossie’s human alter-ego Ernie Carroll agrees: “It’s Daryl and Ossie that have that smart repartee.  I know for a fact that I could never compete.”  Carroll is fortunate, in that regard, that he can leave Ossie at work: “No one ever sees me on TV so I don’t get stopped in the streets by curious viewers.”  For Somers, even when working away from the show, he can’t leave Ossie behind: “I work interstate at a lot in the clubs and cabaret rooms.  Most of the people who go to the clubs have children who watch TV and those kids will ask me about Ossie.”

So you want to be in TV?
Television is often seen to be an exciting and lucrative industry to get involved in.  The problem is that available positions are rarely advertised and when they are there is an avalanche of applications.   For instance, BTQ7 Brisbane recently received 450 responses to a job advertisement for a camera operator.  But television does offer a range of jobs for those looking for a break in the industry.  A make-up artist, with qualifications in cosmetics and hairdressing, could earn anything from $170 a week.   A qualified graphic designer could expect around $250 a week, and trainee lighting technicians start at $81 a week, if under the age of 17.  Trainee sound technicians start at around $80 a week and trainee video technicians can expect a starting wage of $100 a week.  Wardrobe assistants, film editing assistants, researchers, set builders and designers and camera assistants are also positions that can give newcomers a break into the industry.

Briefly…
Michael Parkinson is rarely lost for words on screen, but a recent studio interview with wildlife expert Harry Butler, who had bought in a python for the segment, did leave Parky rather speechless.

Actors in upcoming episodes of The Sullivans are taking a three-week course in prisoner behaviour before joining the show.  They are being taught how genuine prisoners behaved in Singapore’s Changi Prison during World War II, and to talk a smattering of Malay.

Prisoner star Val Lehman is lobbying producers to write a Christmas-time pantomime into the series.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”I am terribly upset that TCN9 continually allows The Mike Walsh Show to run overtime and then cuts five or ten minutes of Days Of Our Lives to make up!  I can prove this because I live in the viewing area for Newcastle as well as Sydney.  I am always seeing parts of Days on NBN3 that have been cut out of TCN9.  I urge all Days fans to watch their clocks and when The Mike Walsh Show goes overtime get on your phones and jam the Nine switchboard.  Maybe then something will be done.” A. Brennan, NSW.  (TV Times responds:  “TCN9 denies Days Of Our Lives has ever been cut.  Nine sends Days Of Our Lives by cable to Newcastle.”)

“In Europe, show-jumping commands a large audience on TV.  Last year an Australian rider won the prestigious trophy at Wembley Stadium in London, the King George V Cup, yet nobody saw or heard of it here.” C. O’Brien, NSW.

“Despite the popularity and general acceptance of The Sullivans by a younger generation, I suggest some glaring examples of incorrect detail must be apparent to veterans of World War II.” C. Casten. VIC

What’s On (May 5-11):
The Victorian State Election is held on Saturday – with varying levels of results coverage across all four Melbourne channels.  ABC presents a one-hour coverage at 7.30pm with Ralphe Neill and Barrie Cassidy, then returns for another hour at 9.35pm.  HSV7 has election updates throughout the evening, hosted by Dan Webb, and a 30-minute wrap-up at 11.00pm.  GTV9’s Brian Naylor presents updates through the evening, and ATV0’s Michael Schildberger is joined by ACTU president Bob Hawke and former premier Sir Henry Bolte for a half-hour special report at 7.30pm.

Former TV Week Gold Logie winner Lorrae Desmond and athlete Raelene Boyle are among the guests, appearing between live crosses to harness racing at Moonee Valley and the Tattslotto draw, on HSV7’s Saturday Night Live.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at plague and pestilence in Australia’s recent history, such as rabbits, prickly pear, sharks and the blow-fly.

Sigrid Thornton, Michael Long and Mercia Deane-Johns are guest stars in Cop Shop (HSV7, Monday and Thursday).

ABC’s travel series Holiday visits Thevenard, a remote island off north-west Australia, Phillip Island and the Victorian coastal town of Mallacoota.

Sunday night movies: Pete ‘n’ Tillie (HSV7), Gambit (GTV9), Women In Love (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 5 May 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: April 14-20

Handling success like a Sullivan
TV Times talked to The Sullivans stars Richard Morgan and Jamie Higgins (pictured, with co-star Paul Cronin) about their roles and success in one of Australia’s most popular TV dramas.  “I’m amazed at how many people cannot tell me from my character.  So many of them want to talk to Terry.  Off camera I’m not Terry,” Morgan told TV Times.  Born in Tasmania, Morgan was studying to be a schoolteacher when he auditioned for the role in The Sullivans:  “I thought it would run for 13 weeks and that would be it and I would go back to teaching.  But the show went on and I’m still here.”  For Jamie Higgins, playing someone considerably younger than himself, there is frustration that he tends to be regarded as a child.  Reporters tend to ask him kid-style questions and fans tend to believe that he is really only 14 years old.  But, for the former New Zealander with experience in amateur theatre and professional roles in two telemovies, starring in the top-rating series brought some tough lessons:  “When I arrived I thought I had done so much and that I was pretty good at it but it didn’t take me long with some of the experienced actors in the series to find out that really I had done very little.”

Julie Anthony and US stars team up for the kids
Singer Julie Anthony will join US stars including Helen Reddy, Bob Hope, Diahann Carroll, Peggy Lee and Miss Piggy in a TV special being produced for the International Year of the Child.  The program, I Am A Child, will include segments recorded in Australia, the US and Europe.

They’re off!
Some of Australia’s most familiar TV faces will appear in Born To Run, the second Walt Disney production to be made in Australia in three years.  The movie, set in the Hunter Valley in 1911, includes John Meillon, Julieanne Newbould, Andrew McFarlane and Mary Ward.

Elizabeth’s golden opportunity
Feeling typecast as a “period” actress after her roles in Seven Little Australians,  Ben Hall and the movie The Chant Of Jimmie Blacksmith, actress Elizabeth Alexander (pictured) was looking forward to her role in ABC’s new series Golden Soak and the chance to wear jeans and shirts for her role as outback girl Janet Garrety.  But now that production has finished it is back to period costume with a contract to appear in four plays for the Melbourne Theatre Company – and they’re all period pieces.

Briefly…
With Rowena Wallace and George Mallaby leaving the popular Seven Network series Cop Shop, their on-screen daughter, played by Jo-Anne Moore, is also to be written out.  The 20-year-old is hopeful of some stage work or other TV roles.

ABC’s rural affairs program Countrywide is to discuss the future of Australia’s railway network following predictions that the system will report a $1 billion loss in three years time.

There’s a surprising new recruit on Adelaide NWS9’s Sunday football show.  Model Francine Shearman, with a husband and son both involved in Aussie Rules, intends on shattering the myth that women should be seen and not heard when it comes to football analysis. 

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
”Why is it that a program such as Match Of The Day on ABC has to suffer from the ratings game, which is such an obvious game to the commercial channels?  This program is so tremendously popular with tens of thousands of fans, but is now placed in a timeslot which makes it very difficult for younger fans to see it.  It started off at the reasonable time of 9.10pm but has been gradually put back to the present timeslot of 10.20pm.”  J. Zeeman, NSW.

“”I’ve just seen Robin Williams on Mork And Mindy.  All you Mork fans out there might like to know that BBC’s original Goons made exactly the same noises 25 years ago.” T. Robinson, VIC.

What’s On (April 14-20):
Saturday afternoon sport includes 3 hours coverage of the heats of the Stawell Gift on ABC, leading up to the final race on Monday afternoon.

This weekend’s guests on ABC’s Parkinson In Australia are Kerry Packer, Jack Thompson, Don Burrows and George Golla.  Later in the evening, guests to appear on HSV7’s Saturday Night Live include Tony Pantano, Rosie Sturgess, Father Harry of the God Squad and Lou Richards.

HSV7 presents a direct telecast of the Easter Sunrise service at 7am Sunday morning.

Sunday afternoon football fans have the choice of The Commodore Cup on HSV7, live from South Melbourne, and VFA on ATV0.

ABC’s Holiday takes a look at the current popular destination for Australian tourists – the West Coast of America.

There must be an election looming – the Liberal Party has its half-hour policy speech telecast on Tuesday night simultaneously on ABC, HSV7, GTV9 and ATV0.  The Labor Party has its turn on Thursday night.

Sunday night movies: Story Of David (HSV7), Mr Quilp (GTV9), A Man Called Peter (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 14 April 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: March 31-April 6

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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