1991: June 1-7

Hollywood comes down under!
It’s been three years in the making, but Hollywood comes to the Gold Coast this week with the opening of Warner Bros Movie World – and Nine Network programs Hey Hey It’s Saturday, Today and The Bugs Bunny Show will be presenting special episodes this week from the movie theme park.  Located 67 kilometres south of Brisbane Airport, Movie World has cost around $120 million to build and will employ around 400 staff.  Sophie Lee, Daryl Somers and Jo Bailey (pictured) visited the theme park to preview the opening for TV Week.

‘I was too nervous to read the script…’
Neighbours’ most controversial romance ever reaches crisis point this week.  With the rest of the Robinson family away for the weekend, daughter Lucy Robinson (Melissa Bell) and long-lost half-brother Glen Donnelly (Richard Huggett), who have long been fighting their feelings for each other, end up alone and a romantic dinner ends up in the bedroom.  “When I got the script I put it away and for weeks I didn’t touch it because I was just too nervous to look at it,” Bell told TV Week.  “I kept thinking, ‘I’ll have to be really careful with this’.” 

No news is good news
Seven’s Melbourne newsreader Jennifer Keyte (pictured) has been saying little to the media about her recently-ended romance with Sydney advertising identity Siimon Reynolds.  “Nice try,” she said to TV Week when questioned.  The newsreader is more enthusiastic at talking up the Melbourne-based Seven Nightly News which is enjoying ratings growth in the face of increased competition from Ten’s revamped one-hour bulletin with David Johnston and Jo Pearson.  “Our ratings are steadily improving as is our news service,” she said.  On suggestions that she may be leaving her post as newsreader on the late-night Tonight Live, Keyte says anything is possible.  “Sitting here now, I would probably say, ‘No, I won’t do a third year’, but who knows?”

Briefly…
A fifth series of popular comedy Mother And Son is scheduled to go into production in September for ABC.  Seven episodes will be made for the new series, which will again feature Ruth Cracknell, Garry McDonald, Henri Szeps and Judy Morris.  The new episodes are expected to go to air next year, while re-runs of earlier episodes are currently screening, to high ratings, on Network Ten.

John Waters and Jon English have been friends for 20 years, but this week the two are appearing together for the first time with Waters making a guest appearance in All Together Now, starring as Lochlan Burns, a member of Bobby Rivers’ (English) Seventies band Still Waters.

E Street star Malcolm Kennard has dropped a bombshell on the show’s producers by announcing he will be leaving the show.  His departure comes at a time when his character, Harley, is involved in an affair with the older Sheridan Sturgess (Kate Raison) and gets addicted to cocaine.  Kennard’s departure from the series comes just prior to the return of former series regular Marcus Graham, who will reprise his role as Wheels.

John Laws says…
”The rise and rise of Miss Sophie Lee (pictured) demonstrates that even in its present chronically-unsound economic condition, the TV industry still offers just about anyone the chance of being a “star”.  Miss Lee’s case is a classic example of what can happen if you’re in the right place at the right time – in her case landing the job of introducing Bugs Bunny cartoons on the Nine Network.  Now she not only continues to host The Bugs Bunny Show (whose bright idea was it to have a host, anyway!), she has become an actor, and is making her mark in the rock’n’roll music world.  She is satirised on Fast Forward.  She appears in The Flying Doctors, plays saxophone and does backing vocals for her band The Freaked Out Flower Children.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, June 1-7):
Saturday:  Hey Hey It’s Saturday (Nine) is presented live from Warner Bros Movie World on the Gold Coast.  Network Ten starts re-runs of a classic ABC drama, Patrol Boat, starring Andrew McFarlane and Robert Coleby.  ABC crosses to the Sydney Football Stadium for live coverage of The Big Match soccer match between the Socceroos and England.

Sunday:  Seven crosses to the Sydney Cricket Ground for live coverage of AFL, Sydney Swans versus Brisbane Bears, followed by highlights of the match between Footscray and Carlton.  Ten presents a half-hour special, Cry For Help: World Vision 40-Hour Famine, hosted by Greg Evans and Vince Sorrenti.  Sunday night movies are Hands Of A Murderer (Seven), Dead Ringers (Nine) and Dog Tags (Ten).

Monday:  Today (Nine) is presented live from Warner Bros Movie World to commemorate the official opening of the movie theme park.  In A Country Practice (Seven), Dr Harry Morrisson (Andrew Blackman) risks his life to operate on Lynda Shelley (Joy Miller), Terence Elliott’s (Shane Porteous) former lover.

Tuesday:  In Beyond 2000 (Seven), reporter Simon Reeve meets a French doctor using electricity to reduce the effects of cellulite, and Andrew Carroll reports on a Vegemite taste test in Tokyo.

Wednesday:  In Hey Dad! (Seven), Betty (Julie McGregor) decides to become a ventriloquist and enters the Lions Club talent quest.

Thursday:  Terry Serio (pictured), who portrayed Johnny O’Keefe in the mini-series Shout!, appears this week in ABC’s Embassy in a very different role – as a drug trafficker sentenced to death by firing squad in Ragaan.

Friday:  Rex Mossop, Debbie Spillane, Karen Tighe and Elle McFeast (Libbi Gorr) join Andrew Denton on ABC’s late-night sports-comedy show Andrew Denton: Live And Sweaty.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  1 June 1991.  Southdown Press

1979: September 22-28

Cover: Kermit The Frog, Miss Piggy

The Sullivans prepare for peace
As the Nine Network’s The Sullivans moves into its fourth year of production, fans needn’t worry that the end of World War II will mean the end of the show.  “Yes, The Sullivans definitely will go on after the war,” says Crawford Productions chairman Hector Crawford.  “It is a reflection of Australia of that period.  The war has been a vital part of it to date, but the stormy period after will be just as interesting a background when the time comes.  The years just after the war were stormy ones for the economy, politics and everyday life of the country.”  But when asked whether Grace Sullivan (Lorraine Bayly) will return to the series, Crawford could say only that “options remain open.”  Bayly has been travelling overseas for several months but her future plans remain a mystery, even for the cast of the show.  As the show passes its third birthday, two of the key characters from the recent spin-off telemovie Jovan: The John Sullivan Story will be joining the series, secret service agent Captain Meg Fulton (Olivia Hamnett) and John Sullivan’s lover Nadia (Vera Plevnik).

Top film role to Sullivans regular
Sydney actor David Cameron has won a key role in the upcoming 0-10 Network mini-series Water Under The Bridge.  The 27-year-old, who graduated from NIDA in 1968, has appeared in Bellbird, Certain Women, Dynasty, Against The Wind, The Truckies and Power Without Glory.  Cameron’s most recent role has been as Russell Hardwicke in The Sullivans.  In Water Under The Bridge, Cameron plays Neil Atkins, an aspiring actor in love with a newspaper columnist.  Cameron’s appointment to Water Under The Bridge follows the recent announcement that Robyn Nevin will play the lead female role of Shasta.

Graham Kennedy: The man and the myth – Part Two
More has been written (true and false) about Graham Kennedy (pictured) than any other Australian celebrity, including sports stars and prime ministers.  So what is the truth about some of the Kennedy myths and idiosyncrasies?  MYTH:  He was jealous of other IMT hosts.  Fact:  There are stories to the contrary.  When Father Michael King guest hosted IMT in 1969, he received a telegram from Kennedy:  “Be good but we don’t want any miracles.”  Then when he retired from IMT he personally recommended Ugly Dave Gray as his successor.  MYTH: Kennedy is disinterested in his huge collection of awards and uses them as door stops.  Fact:  He’s said this as a gag.  He keeps every award he has ever won on a silver tray.  MYTH: Kennedy doesn’t like and doesn’t relate to children.  Fact: He’s been a godfather six times, including to the daughter of his friend and manager, Harry M Miller and also to the daughter of former colleague Joy Westmore.  He also sponsored a Vietnamese war orphan through World Vision.  MYTH: Kennedy is colour blind and cannot tell red from green.  Fact: Kennedy said, “it’s true I do have trouble telling the difference between some greys, greens, blues.  I have to watched about the clothes I wear, or I might turn up in a red shirt with a green jacket which I think is blue.”  MYTH: His nickname is Gra-Gra.  Fact:  It’s Gay-Gay, which dates from when Kennedy was about 11 when a neighbour’s small daughter couldn’t say the word Graham.  “My aunt Nancy still calls me Gay-Gay when she calls,” Kennedy said.  Among Kennedy’s idiosyncrasies:  He is a night person that rarely goes to bed before midnight and has been known to leave messages on Harry M Miller’s phone at 2.30am;  During the IMT era everyone on the show noticed he never worked quite as well on the nights he wore a white suit – he became less extroverted; He’s nervous about every performance, whether it’s his own show or guest appearances;  He has a phenomenal memory.  He can recall a tag of a sketch he did 15 years ago and even whether or not someone fluffed up a line.  Producer Peter Faiman recalls that Kennedy will accept that problems will come up and be rectified.  But if that same mistake is made 12 years later, he’ll remind you that you made that same error 12 years before; Kennedy has a fear of crowds and had declined many offers to be the King of Melbourne’s Moomba festival, but finally relented in the year of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee year.  As to commentary on his private life and relationships with women, Kennedy said in a 1976 interview, “I lead a fairly private life.  It’s my business what I do or don’t do when I close my bedroom door.”  Although he did once admit that he’d seriously considered marriage twice in his life, and there was his engagement to singer Lana Cantrell.

Why Tina’s head is in the clouds
Despite working as an actress on TV, stage and film for over ten years, Tina Bursill still finds that people can’t recall her name when they meet her:  “Then I have to patiently explain that I am not Tina Grenville nor a relative of film-maker Tim Burstall.”  The confusion was not helped when Bursill was cast alongside Grenville in the short-lived series The People Next Door, the sequel to The Godfathers.  The 28-year-old actress hopes that the public will have an easier time of recognising her now that she is starring in the new Seven Network series Skyways as ambitious assistant airport manager Louise Carter. “She is developing nicely now, and I hope the public like her as much as I do.”

Briefly…
Garry Meadows (pictured) was disappointed when his children’s TV show, Meet The Giants, was refused a C classification.  But now the Family Feud producer is re-submitting the show for approval following some modifications to the format.  The pilot, produced earlier this year for the Reg Grundy Organisation, features four schoolchildren aged between 10 and 14 in a panel interview with Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.

Foreign Affairs Minister Andrew Peacock will be one of the presenters at this year’s Sammy awards presentation to be held on 17 October.  The awards, a joint venture between the Seven Network, TV Times and the Variety Club of Australia, will be hosted by Roger Climpson.

The success of Australian programs Prisoner and Against The Wind in Los Angeles is helping efforts to get The Don Lane Show sold to US television.  Meanwhile, Against The Wind has scored a front cover story on the Los Angeles Times’ TV magazine.

Former ABC newsreader Margaret Throsby, who resigned from the broadcaster to have a baby, is returning on a part-time basis.  Throsby’s first appearance following her comeback is co-hosting the presentation of the Prince Philip Prize for Australian Design to be held in Perth.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”Congratulations to the Nine Network for showing The John Sullivan Story.  I’m sure a lot of families who don’t watch The Sullivans enjoyed this movie, which was a pleasant change to the usually violent Sunday night movies.”  M. Lewis, NSW.

“Tony Barber (Family Feud, pictured) never fails to irritate me with his idiotic antics and endless drivel, but he really disgusted me when he remarked to a contestant that she was in quite an advanced stage of pregnancy.  It was true, but only a very arrogant man would have deliberately drawn attention to the fact.”  N. Wilson, NSW.

“Why, in an area like the goldfields of Kalgoorlie with its early workers, does VEW8 have Poldark on so late at night – 9.45pm, sometimes later?  Surely it could be put on earlier.”  J. Ware, WA.

What’s On (September 22-28):
On Sunday afternoon, ABC presents the Grand Final of the NSW Rugby League, live from the Sydney Cricket Ground.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at the history of running in Australia, from the Stawell Gift to Sydney’s City to Surf run. 

On Monday night Peter Landy hosts HSV7’s telecast of The Brownlow Medal for 1979, live from the Southern Cross Ballroom in Melbourne.  Then on Wednesday night, HSV7 presents Sensational Seventies, a tribute to the decade in VFL including players Ted Whitten, Kevin Murray, Darryl Baldock and the emergence of Michael Roach, Kevin Templeton and Paul Van Der Haar.

In Skyways (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), MacFarlane (Tony Bonner) and Elaine (Carmen Duncan) examine their rapidly disintegrating family.  Mandy (Gaynor Martin), unable to cope with the sophisticated crowd at Anne’s (Kathryn Dagher) party, creates an unwanted scene.  Meanwhile, in Cop Shop (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), the West Riverside Bank is robbed and Amanda (Lynda Stoner) goes undercover to solve the case.

In the series final of Patrol Boat (ABC, Thursday), an attractive and tough woman journalist is assigned to HMAS Ambush for a day.  Starring Andrew McFarlane, Robert Coleby, Danny Adcock, Rob Baxter and Jacki Weaver.

The final lead-up to HSV7’s coverage of the VFL Grand Final starts on Friday afternoon with the lunchtime Football Procession through Bourke Street in Melbourne’s CBD, featuring the teams that will be playing in the Grand Final.  Then on Friday night, HSV7’s coverage of the The Commodore Cup Grand Final, live from the St Kilda Football Ground.  Leading the coverage are Peter Landy, Lou Richards, Bob Skilton, Doug Wade and Jack Elliott.  Then after a late news bulletin, HSV7 enters another all-night Football Marathon, with Stephen Phillips presenting highlights of past Grand Finals and interviews with team coaches and football personalities.

Also on Friday night, GTV9 presents the Australian Film Industry Awards, live from the Hoyts Entertainment Centre, Sydney.  Nominations for Best Film are Cathy’s Child, In Search Of Anna, Mad Max and My Brilliant Career.  And on the same night, ABC has the Prince Philip Prize For Australian Design, hosted by Stuart Wagstaff and Margaret Throsby in a direct telecast from the Sheraton Hotel, Perth.

Sunday night movies: High Rolling (HSV7), Bite The Bullet (GTV9), White Lightning (ATV0).  ABC presents Man Of Mateship, the fourth instalment of A Place In The World, starring Kerry Francis and Ian Gilmour.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 22 September 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: September 8-14

Emergency edition: Due to an industrial dispute at TV Times’ printers, this issue of the magazine has required a change in its usual format.  All regular features have been maintained as well as our complete program coverage.  We apologise for any inconvenience to your usual reading habits.

High-flying mates
Friendships are rare among actors, who often have to fight for themselves and seldom work long together.  An exception is the friendship of over 13 years between Ken James and Tony Bonner, both stars of Skippy The Bush Kangaroo, The Box and now Skyways.  Bonner recalls that it was in 1966 when he first met James, then 13 or 14 years old and auditioning for a role in Skippy.  Despite their nine year age difference, and a stint overseas by Bonner, the pair often found their paths crossing professionally and personally and their families meet quite frequently.  James recalls Bonner’s enthusiasm for motorbikes and some of the his antics caused producers some anxiety.  He also recalls how the pair also went on strike against the canteen at ATV0 while taping The Box: “We didn’t like the food so we used to bring in our own prawns and avocados and set up the white wine and dine in style.”

Gunston in the gun!
John Eastway, producer and director of The Norman Gunston Show, watched horrified as the giant sumo wrestler picked up the pint-sized Norman Gunston (Garry McDonald, pictured).  Despite Eastway carefully explaining through an interpreter what he wanted the wrestler to do, something was lost in translation.  So without so much as a ripple of a muscle, the wrestler threw Gunston a couple of metres and then pounded him onto the ground.  McDonald managed to get to his feet – and cracked a joke.  “Garry took a terrible beating that day.  It took him all afternoon to recover,” Eastway said.  The wrestler incident is just one of many unpredictable moments during four-and-a-half years of producing the show for ABC and now the Seven Network.  Another unplanned moment was when Gunston was interviewing Keith Moon, drummer with the Who rock group, in London in 1976 and Moon poured a bottle of vodka over him.  Although temporarily blinded by the vodka, McDonald carried on as Gunston and the cameras kept rolling.  Both McDonald and Eastway were angry from the incident and Moon’s entourage apologised profusely.  Despite the number of unscripted incidents, only once has Eastway decided against screening an interview – that with British film-maker Ken Russell who didn’t take too kindly to Gunston asking him if he wrote, produced and directed his owns films because he couldn’t afford staff.  Russell became extremely upset, even violent, threatening the crew.  Eastway ushered McDonald from the scene.

Judy takes the plunge
Actress Judy Morris likes playing many different characters – and it shows in her most recent parts.  Playing a lesbian air hostess in Skyways, Morris is also seen as a photographic model in the feature film In Search Of Anna and this week plays a marine biologist in ABC’s Patrol Boat.  Morris took on the role of air hostess Robyn Davies (pictured) in Skyways because she thought it presented an interesting approach to lesbianism:  “I did the part because I felt like working, the role was different and it only took a few weeks to do.”  At 32, Morris has been an entertainer for twenty years – starting in radio plays for ABC while still at school in Queensland.  But experience hasn’t made her work any easier:  “It’s harder to act now than when I was younger.  When you’re young you can think you can play any part, even an 80-year-old woman with a limp.  As you get older you realise how hard it is to play roles, and you ask much more of yourself.” 

Briefly…
Acclaimed stage actor John Gaden has joined the cast of The Young Doctors for a guest role as a hotel manager.  Also making a guest appearance, in a different storyline in the series, is Pamela Gibbons, who has worked on The Norman Gunston Show and appeared in Number 96 and The Oracle.

After a three-year battle, the controversial Australian film Petersen (pictured) is allowed by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal for release to television, on the condition that it is not shown before 9.30pm.  The movie, starring Jack Thompson, was originally scheduled and promoted for screening by HSV7 in 1976 but was withdrawn from the schedule at the last moment by the censors.  Ironically, the version that has been permitted to air on Australian TV is the edited version for American television.  A late programming change by HSV7 will now see Petersen aired this week.

Former The Box actress Monica Maughan returns to TV in an upcoming role in Prisoner as mother Pat O’Connell, a very family-minded inmate at Wentworth Detention Centre.

Although Peter Wherrett has publicly said that he wouldn’t produce another Torque series, the mail and phone calls received since the last series went to air indicates that there is public demand for another series.  The eighth series of the popular motoring program will go into production in December and will air on ABC next year.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”I watch Countdown often but when Ian Meldrum’s Humdrum comes on I feel like turning off the TV.  When great pop stars come to the show he wears shirts and jumpers with their names all over them, but as soon as they leave the country he criticises them.” T. Mitchell, QLD.

“When a friend told me that there would be a two-hour episode of Cop Shop, I settled down to enjoy it, but was so disappointed and disgusted that I switched to another channel.  Who except the morally sick would enjoy hearing about lesbians and homosexuals?  I know what the reaction of some readers will be to this letter, but I also happen to know a great number of people who think the same as I do.  Can’t we “make Australia beautiful” by cultivating clean minds.  TV can do so much in that line.” M. Caffery, QLD.

“I’d like to complain about the time Blue Fire Lady was shown on Sydney’s TCN9.  TV Times programs showed the screening time as 8.30pm to 10.30pm on Friday 27 July, but it was on from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.  Through the fault of TCN9 and TV Times, I missed the first hour of the movie.  I hope the same mistake won’t be made again, as there will be many unhappy viewers.” R. Courts, NSW.  (TV Times responds:  “This program change by TCN9 came too late to catch the publication of the Sydney edition of TV Times.”)

What’s On (September 8-14):
On Saturday afternoon, ATV0 presents the gospel outreach World Literature Crusade, a 5-hour special hosted by Dr Jack McAlistair, President of World Literature Crusade, featuring musical performances and dramatised historical conversations with pioneer missionaries.

Saturday Night Live (HSV7), hosted by Ernie Sigley with Trudy Jaworski, features a music hall theme with guest appearances by Bartholomew John, Ian Turpie, Terry O’Neill, Terry Norris and Vi Greenhalf.

With the VFL finals now in progress, ATV0 presents the Cazaly Awards on Monday night.  Hosted by Michael Williamson, Ted Whitten, Harry Beitzel and Jack Dyer, live from VFL Park.  The Gold Cazaly and $5000 will be awarded to the outstanding footballer of the year.  A further $20,000 in prize money will be awarded to the overall best players in all eighteen game positions.  The awards will also recognise the most popular footballer from each club.

In Cop Shop (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), a pedestrian is nearly killed as a car spins out of control, the driver of the car claims he was only a passenger.  O’Reilly (Terry Norris) waits for the birth of his grandson, and Vic Cameron (Terence Donovan) is gradually becoming accepted and liked at Riverside.  Constable Roy Baker (Gil Tucker, pictured) decides his love life is wearing a bit thin and joins a computer-dating service.

In Prisoner (ATV0, Tuesday and Wednesday), Vera Bennett (Fiona Spence) has hopes of a new interest in her personal life.  While in Skyways (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), Anne Williamson (Kathryn Dagher) is a new hostess at Pacific International, and David Rankin (Fred Parslow) arrives with news of a 15 per cent pay cut in Pacific’s personnel.

Special guests on The Norman Gunston Show (HSV7, Wednesday) include Elliot Gould, George Segal, Valerie Perrine, Ed Asner and Hal Linden.

Jim Waley presents a one-hour special, The Babymakers (GTV9, Thursday) which unveils some of the facts about infertility in Australia which will surprise many Australians and bring hope to couples who have been unable to conceive.  The special also discusses fertility clinics, artificial insemination centres and the possibility of Australia’s first test tube baby.

On Friday night, GTV9 presents a delayed telecast of the 31st annual Emmy Awards for 1978-79.  The awards presentation took place in California on the previous weekend.

Sunday night movies: A Magnificent Hustle (HSV7), Love’s Savage Fury (GTV9), The Prisoner Of Second Avenue (ATV0).  A Man Of Action is the third instalment of ABC’s A Place In The World, starring Nick Tate, Carmen Duncan and Max Osbiston.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 8 September 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: August 4-10

The Sullivans’ war secrets
Jovan, the Yugoslav name for John, is the name of the telemovie telling the story of the missing years of John Sullivan (Andrew McFarlane, pictured), the eldest son of The Sullivans.  McFarlane returned to reprise the role, describing it as “the most satisfying and stimulating role of my career.”  Jovan also features Frank Gallacher (Against The Wind), Olivia Hamnett (Rush), Carol Burns (Prisoner) and, in her first acting role, Vera Plevnik. The telemovie was written by Brian Wright, who wrote the Biggles and Hop Harrigan serials for radio and was a founding member of the management team of ATV0 in the mid-‘60s before becoming a scriptwriter for ABC and Crawford Productions.

96 team back in harness
The team behind the top-rating series Number 96 have re-united to make a new drama series for the 0-10 Network.  Producer Bill Harmon, script editor Johnny Whyte and writer-director David Sale are devising a new series, tentatively titled Arcade, to begin production later this year and to debut early in 1980.  Details of the new series are sketchy, though it is believed that it will be shown once or twice weekly.  Arcade will be produced at TEN10’s Sydney studios where The Steve Raymond Show was produced before it was axed last week.  Harmon said the new show will not be like Number 96:  “It’s not 96 set in a shopping centre.  At this stage, with only four scripts in hand, it’s too early to tell you what it will be like.  All we can say is what it will not be like.”  Casting for the new series is to commence in the next month.

Cop Shop shock: Paula’s ‘recaught’
Actress Paula Duncan (pictured) has decided not to drop out of the popular series Cop Shop.  Several weeks ago, Duncan informed producers that ill-health would force her to leave the show.  However, a successful operation, followed by a Queensland holiday, has given Duncan a clean bill of health. 

Nine plans new series for kids
The Nine Network has commissioned an action/drama pilot for a children’s TV series from the Reg Grundy Organisation.  The new series, proposed for the ‘C’-rated 4.00 to 5.00pm timeslot, will be produced by Roger Mirams, a veteran of many children’s productions including The Terrible Ten, The Magic Boomerang, Animal Doctor and The Lost Islands.

Busy time for Paradise people
Some of TV’s most familiar actors and actresses are taking part in what could be the first drama series to be based on the Gold Coast.  A pilot for a new series, Paradise Village, is being produced by McCabe-Paradine Productions and BTQ7 Brisbane, with financial assistance from the Queensland Film Corporation.  The pilot stars Gerard Kennedy (Division 4), Syd Heylen (Sunnyside Up), Lynette Curran (Bellbird), Joan Bruce (Certain Women), Dennis Grosvenor (Chopper Squad), Anne Haddy (Play School, Prisoner) and Bill Kerr.  Other names cast in the pilot include Suzy Gashler, Stephen O’Rourke, Paul Chubb, Olga Tamara and Christine Broadway.

How Bunney stays together going to bits
Barely three years ago, Bunney Brooke (pictured) was on TV screens several nights a week as the much-loved Flo Patterson in Number 96.  Since the show wound up late in 1977, Brooke has been keeping a much lower profile on screen, playing smaller bit parts in dramas including The Young Doctors, Kirby’s Company, children’s series Wayzgoose and telemovie Good Thing Going.  Her latest role is as Granny Jones in ABC’s Ride On Stranger.  “I love doing these character parts.  They’re a challenge and they pay the rent,” she says.  Brooke has also just finished the outline for a TV comedy series which, after a brief rundown, suggests that there could be parts for herself and former Number 96 colleague Pat McDonald.

Briefly…
Peter Couchman is suddenly going to be seen a lot more on Melbourne’s TV screens.  From this week, ATV0’s late-night program Peter Couchman Tonight extends to early evenings with Peter Couchman’s Melbourne.  The new program comes after some other ill-fated attempts to fill the 7.00pm timeslot since the demise of Blankety Blanks.

Denise Drysdale is about to wed actor Chris Milne, and for the former ‘60s go-go dancer and Ernie Sigley Show co-host, her new married life will be a lot quieter with the pair settling in a country property outside of Melbourne.  “From now on I will be working a lot less.  I don’t want to earn a fortune – just enough to pay the bills.”

TV Times’ Eric Scott recently spent a day on location at the mock version of Singapore’s Changi prison, constructed in Melbourne by Crawford Productions for an upcoming storyline in The Sullivans.  Freezing in the middle of a Melbourne winter, wearing nothing but a wet sarong and having brown make-up dabbed on with a cold, wet sponge, Scott wonders why anyone would want to be an actor.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”Surely the skipper of the warship in the series Patrol Boat should be wearing a naval cap, and not that awful American baseball cap?”  M. Tringham, NSW.

“As I once wrote a letter to you complaining about Cop Shop not being what it should be, I thought it only fair to express my new reaction to this series.  I am happy to say that it has improved beyond all I ever expected of it, and has now become one of our favourite programs.” D. Dickey, NSW.

“Congratulations to the complete staff and printers on a fine example of an Australia publication – TV Times on its 21st birthday (TV Times, 7 July 1979).  May the same standards apply to all future issues.  I find the features included most absorbing and palatable and the simplicity of program layout most rewarding.” N. Gray, NSW.

What’s On (August 4-10):
Just The Way We Are, featuring The Four Kinsmen, is this week’s Saturday Special on ABC.

On Sunday afternoon ABC presents live coverage of Round 6 of the Australian Sports Sedans Championship, from Calder Raceway.  Geelong and Collingwood are this week’s teams in the Sunday afternoon Commodore Cup on HSV7, live from St Kilda Football Ground, and ATV0 presents live coverage of VFA Football.

On Monday, ATV0 debuts Peter Couchman’s Melbourne, an extension of the late-night Peter Couchman Tonight.  The new 7.00pm program includes special reports and contributions from Derryn Hinch, Marie van Maaren, Tony Porter and Bob Maumill.

In Skyways (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), MacFarlane (Tony Bonner) leaves his assistant, Louise (Tina Bursill) in charge of the airport while he attends to a domestic problem.  Her dismissal of a drunken baggage handler sparks off a strike.

Sunday night movies: Westworld (HSV7), Jovan – The John Sullivan Story (GTV9), Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (ATV0).  ABC presents a two-hour BBC special, Einstein’s Universe, presented by Peter Ustinov.  The documentary coincides with the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s birth.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 4 August 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: July 28-August 3

Cover: Ronnie Barker, Ronnie Corbett (The Two Ronnies) 

For the love of Mike
For a group of 50 housewives, the daily chores will have to wait another day as they head into TCN9’s studios to be in the audience for The Mike Walsh Show.  The group, organised by a Padstow primary school as a fund-raiser, is one of many similar groups that flock to TCN9’s Willoughby studios, some from as far as Orange in the central west of NSW, for the 90-minute show.  For studio audience members, housewives Lyn Albrew and Bev Williams, watching the show at home is part of their daily routine and admit that without it many chores, such as ironing, would never get done.  Narabeen mother Judy Allen and her parents, Leslie and Peggy Searle, are also in the studio audience.  “It has a good variety of things and there are some interesting interviews.  It’s better than watching soap operas,” Mrs Allen told TV Times.  John Lynch, one of the few males in the Orange contingent, looks around for some other men in the audience.  “There aren’t many of us, are there?” 

The Australian Invasion!
Australian TV is making its presence felt in the US market – ending the usual one-way traffic of TV programming from the US.  The Seven Network’s hit mini-series Against The Wind was sold to the Taft Broadcasting Network for a six-figure sum and will go to air next month.  Paramount Pictures has bought the overseas distribution rights to the ABC series Patrol Boat while another ABC drama, Golden Soak, has been bought by the Interamerican Entertainment Company of USA.  The 0-10 Network’s hit series Prisoner (pictured) has also been sold to US and Canadian broadcasters.  Canada’s Global TV has purchased 26 episodes of the series, while a Los Angeles-based TV station has bought fourteen episodes.  Prisoner will launch in August on the LA station in a two-hour prime-time debut and will continue weekly thereafter.  American TV distributor Hal Golden has also approached the Nine Network with a view to packaging The Don Lane Show for US distribution, while singer Julie Anthony’s Gold Coast TV special has been syndicated to a network of 50 US TV stations.

Three firsts for restless Victoria
As well as playing the ditzy Raeleen in The Restless Years, Victoria Nicolls is embarking on a few career firsts.  Her first single, Midnight Rendezvous, has just been released.  She also wrote the flip-side song, Until Then, and is starring in a six-week season of Just Us And A Piano, co-starring David Collins and The Restless Years colleague Zoe Bertram, at a Sydney venue.  Nicolls has also signed a three-year contract as a lyricist for ATV-Northern Songs. 

Briefly…
Former The Restless Years star Sonny Blake (pictured) appears in this week’s episode of ABC’s Patrol Boat, playing the part of a heavily-tattooed father-to-be among the crew of HMAS Ambush.

Sydney electronics retail whiz Dick Smith is preparing to make a TV pilot with the Tasmanian Film Corporation.  The pilot, and possible series, will feature Smith and his family tracing the voyage of Captain James Cook along the eastern seaboard of Australia.

Simon Townsend has reportedly been given $1.5 million to produce his new daily children’s show for the 0-10 Network – an amount that has done a lot to raise the status of children’s TV production.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”Regarding TV advertisements for insecticides (or anything in that group): must they be shown at meal times?  I don’t know how other viewers feel but I certainly object to an ad for the elimination of cockroaches to be shown right at 6.00pm.” H. Jones, QLD.

“Does anyone have this sort of trouble with their local commercial channel?  You’ll get used to watching your favourite show on a certain night, and then without warning it is presented on another night.  ABC has never failed to let us know when a new show is starting and what it replaces, and they never swap programs around.” P. Criddle, WA.

The following letters were part of a group received from a class of nine-to-ten year olds from Bass Hill public school in NSW, after they had completed a class on the mass media – particularly TV:

"Children’s TV isn’t very good.  I think Channels Ten, Nine and Seven should put on less advertisements.  If Channel Nine did, they would be the most watched channel in Sydney.”  J. Power.  (TV Times responds:  Nine would maintain it is the most-watched channel in Sydney, notwithstanding the ads.)

“I think you should take off Search For Tomorrow, Days Of Our Lives, Superman and The Young Doctors and put more shows on like Scooby Doo.”  J. Coleman

“In the holidays and on weekends, there are too many adult shows.  Most cartoons are put on in the morning when everyone sleeps in.  On Tuesdays, The Love Boat is on when children go to bed and we don’t get to watch it.” P. Barker

“The worst thing about TV is the advertisements.  For example, if you watch a show for an hour, nearly a quarter of it is advertisements.” L. Kayrooz

What’s On (July 28-August 3):
John Farnham, Julie McKenna and Jimmy Hannan present ABC’s Saturday Special – The Magic Of Col Porter.

Sunday Spectrum (ABC, Sunday afternoon) includes a special on Greek-born singer Demis Roussos in Australia.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at one of Australia’s most famous symbols, the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  Host Peter Luck looks at the bridge’s origins, construction and controversial opening in 1932.

In Skyways (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), flight attendant Robyn’s (Judy Morris) attraction to her flatmate, Jacki (Deborah Coulls) leads to awkward results when she tries to seduce her.  Meanwhile, Peter Fanelli (Bill Stalker, pictured) becomes suspicious of a teenage girl in transit at Pacific International Airport.

One-Day Miller, the comedy spin-off from the Tickled Pink series, debuts on ABC on Friday night.  Starring Tony Llewellyn-Jones, Penne Hackforth-Jones, Lucky Grills and Willie Fennell.

Sunday night movies: Cat Ballou (HSV7), Five Days From Home (GTV9), The Offence (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 28 July 1979.  ABC/ACP

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: April 7-13

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1978: December 2-8

The Sullivans' amazing Grace...
Actress Lorraine Bayly is made to look considerably older than her 36 years when playing the motherly Grace Sullivan in The Sullivans - with make-up applied to add wrinkles and darken her cheeks, having her hair tied back and wearing loose-fitting dresses.  In fact, when she is not in Grace Sullivan mode, she is barely recognised in public.  But when asked how long we can expect to see Grace on screen: "Well, we are negotiating at the moment and I've signed to continue to next year.  There's a strong possibility that Grace will be there when the war ends in 1945."

...is also TV's golden girl
The Sullivans' Lorraine Bayly (pictured, with co-stars Richard Morgan and Steven Tandy) has become the highest-paid series actress in the history of Australian TV.  The actress, who recently won Best TV Actress at the 1978 Sammy Awards, is not saying exactly what she is being paid but it is reported to be more than $1000 a week.  Meanwhile, the cast of The Sullivans are about to take a four-week break over Christmas and Bayly will also be taking an extended break during  1979 for a trip to Brazil. 

American TV accents ousting the ocker!
A survey of Australian TV commercials has found that almost one in three are using American-accented dialogue.  This compares to around ten per cent of commercials shown on British television.  The study, carried out by the University of Melbourne, showed that the ocker Aussie accent was rarely used in prestige commercials and that, except for big names like Paul Hogan, it was used more in program content rather than commercials.

Buddha's golden ransom
The telemovie Puzzle, one of a series of telemovies made between Australia's ABC and international Trans-Atlantic Enterprises, was originally to feature American actress Tina Louise.  A last minute withdrawal by Louise saw the role of glamorous Claudine Cunningham played by Australian actress Wendy Hughes.   To screen on ABC this week, Puzzle also features Robert Helpmann, Kerry McGuire (pictured) and US actor James Franciscus.

Briefly:
Colleen Hewett and Michael Aitken played husband and wife in ABC's The Truckies, and now have again been cast as partners for an upcoming guest appearance in Seven's Cop Shop.

Robert Coleby, one of the cast of ABC's new series Patrol Boat, will be joined in one episode by seven-year-old daughter Anja.  The young actress also appeared in an episode of Coleby's previous series Chopper Squad.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
"I would very much like to congratulate anyone who had anything to do with Against The Wind.  It is a great pity that there aren't more shows like it." N Webster, QLD.

"I would like to add my voice to the many praising The Truckies.  With a bit of luck we may have another series.  Our family always enjoys the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas which ABC has occasionally shown, and hope for more." J Williams, VIC.

"As Countdown is primarily for teens and pre-teens, it should be more selective with the film clips chosen to be featured.  One in particular is Deadlock Holiday by 10cc, which in my opinion was very suggestive.  Film clips of this nature should only be shown to mature audiences.  Countdown viewers are at a very impressionable age and could be influenced in the wrong way."  B Baker, SA.

"I would like to congratulate Neil Inall and his excellent team of reporters on Horizon 5.  It is a pleasure to be able, daily, to view this program which is very interesting and informative." H Kerns, QLD.

What's On (December 2-8):
HSV7's summer tennis coverage continues with all-day coverage, from 11.00am to 6.00pm each day, of the women's Federation Cup from Melbourne and the Toyota Women's Classic from Sydney.

ABC has live coverage from Brisbane of the cricket First Test on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 11.55am to 7.00pm.

Wednesday night includes the series final of The Inventors on ABC, with the announcement of the winner of The Inventors Award selected from the 72 who have featured on the show during the year.  Presenting the award will be David Port, son of panelist Leo Port who passed away earlier in the year. Later in the evening, a Holiday special, Bill Peach In China, takes a rare look at life and tourism in China.

The Mike Walsh Show finishes up for 1978, ending its second year at the Nine Network after moving across from the 0-10 Network.

Sunday night movies are Dirty Weekend (HSV7), Goodbye Columbus (GTV9) and The Hornet's Nest (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 2 December 1978.  ABC/ACP

1978: May 20-26

Cover: Leif Garrett

Radio sparks network war
TV Times reports that an unusual battle may soon emerge with the development of two dramas based around talk-back radio hosts. A pilot for Sydney-based The Oracle, starring John Gregg, is already in production for ABC. Meanwhile, a Melbourne-based production based on a talk-back radio star has been commissioned by Homestead Films, producers of historical dramas Tandarra and Cash And Co, for the 0-10 Network. ATV0, acting on behalf of the network, is reportedly considering two titles for ongoing production - the talk-back radio drama and a proposal from the Reg Grundy Organisation tentatively titled The Prisoner.

Ding Dong on a high note
Denise Drysdale is enjoying a renewed presence on TV screens after a relatively quiet period, with fortnightly appearances on Nine's The Don Lane Show and a specially-written guest role in the ABC series The Truckies where she will play a tough and uncompromising "truckie girl" called Linda, who has run away from getting married. This follows a recent appearance in the musical production The 20s And All That Jazz (pictured) for the 0-10 Network.

Sullivans actor at the helm
Andrew McFarlane is going from World War II soldier in The Sullivans to captain of a Royal Australian Navy patrol boat in the new ABC series Patrol Boat. The 13-episode series, set around the Great Barrier Reef, will commence production in August.

Cop Shop's best legwork
Joanna Lockwood admits to being confused in playing the character of a stripper in the police drama Cop Shop. The 28-year-old (pictured with her father, former Number 96 star Johnny Lockwood) admits that in her show business life she has met many strippers - but says that none of them bear much resemblance to the lovely Valerie she portrays in the series: "I have never known a stripper who is so unaffected about taking her clothes off as Valerie is."

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
"Surely ABC hasn't paid good money for the American trash called Soap, and then have the nerve to try and pass it off to viewers as comedy." T. Lewis, NSW.

"I am aware that the commercial stations rely on sponsors' advertising for the existence. I do, however, draw the line at the idiotic antics and the shouting perpetrated by the latest Graham Kennedy and Bert Newton ad. The advertising firm who devised this ad seems to consider that the viewing public are a lot of morons." N. Webster, QLD.

"Who do some advertisers think they are kidding? The young woman still in her bath when hubby comes home has made enough suds to use up a cake of soap but the one she's using clearly shows the brand name untouched.. And are we to believe any little boy who manages to get a big beetroot stain on the front of his shirt could keep it from seeping through to his new white singlet?" G. Sheen, NSW.

What's On (May 20-26)
ABC presents a live telecast of the Rugby League Match Of The Day at the Sydney Cricket Ground between City and NSW Country.

ABC's A Big Country examines the history and potential use of the Nomad aircraft. The controversial development project began in 1965 but it was not until the early '70s that government approval was granted for the building of a prototype. Despite some fatalities during test flights, the project has since seen the Nomad being sold to numerous countries.

The 100th episode of The Restless Years screens on ATV0 on Thursday night.

This week's guests on The Peter Couchman Show include Peta Toppano, Allison Durban and Denis Walter.

Sunday night's movies are Slaughterhouse Five (HSV7), Hard Contract (GTV9) and Cotton Comes To Harlem (ATV0). David Frost's documentary series Crossroads Of Civilisation premieres on ABC.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 20 May 1978. ABC/ACP