Melbourne moves up from Channel 0 to 10

It is now 30 years since Melbourne’s ATV0 made history and changed its broadcast frequency to Channel 10.

When Reg Ansett was awarded the licence to operate Melbourne’s third commercial channel in 1963, he was given the frequency of Channel 0 – down the low end of the dial, and, being a ‘new’ frequency, most older TV sets did not have a Channel 0 position on the dial.  The conversion of older sets and antennas to include access to Channel 0 was a short term financial boon for TV repairers and installers as viewers moved to ensured that they were ready to ‘Go for 0’ when it eventually went to air on 1 August 1964, although test transmissions for the new channel had started as early as May.

The challenges inherent in the low broadcast frequency, such as deficiencies in reception across large portions of Melbourne, coupled with fierce competition from older rivals HSV7 and GTV9, made life tough for Ansett’s new channel – resulting in it often struggling in third place in the ratings.  Even though Ansett had budgeted that his new channel, ATV0, would be making a profit after three years with a lineup heavy in Australian content, it would be many more years before it would end up paying dividends.

By 1969, still faced with the challenges of the low-end frequency and trying to break the dominance of its two older rivals, Ansett ended up underwriting a boxing match between Australian title holder Lionel Rose and British champion Alan Rudkin.  The match was a huge ratings hit, scoring 72 per cent of the viewing audience, setting a ratings record that would not be broken until the Sydney Olympic Games more than thirty years later. 

But despite the massive audience boost from the Rose-Rudkin title fight, it would be 1973 before ATV0 would post its first weekly ratings win – heralded with full-page newspaper ads (pictured) – largely due to the controversial, top-rating soapie Number 96, which had dominated ratings around the country. 

By the late-‘70s, ATV0 was in ratings decline.  By this stage it had bid farewell to Number 96 and other major ratings drawcards The Box and Blankety Blanks.  The landmark US mini-series, Roots, had delivered massive ratings but the boost to the station was short lived.  By the end of 1978 the Federal Government had received an application from ATV0 for permission to change its broadcast frequency to Channel 10 – giving it a stronger broadcast signal at the top of the dial which would hopefully eliminate any gaps in the old channel’s coverage and would also provide an opportunity to re-launch the struggling ATV0 as a “new” channel and would also match up the station with the same frequency as its Sydney network partner, TEN10.  The Government approved the changeover early in 1979.

The hitch in changing to Channel 10 was that it would conflict with neighbouring Gippsland channel GLV10, causing interference by sharing the same frequency.  ATV0 then agreed to pay the costs incurred by GLV to have it moved to an alternative frequency, Channel 8.  It was not a cheap exercise, as ATV paid around $800,000 to fund GLV’s conversion costs and also to fund the distribution of filters to attach to viewers’ sets – as it was apparent that GLV on Channel 8 would interfere in areas where viewers could also receive Melbourne channels HSV7 and GTV9 and the filters would rectify that.

In preparing the changeover to Channel 10, ATV managed to sign up one of its former leading stars, Graham Kennedy (pictured), to front the new channel’s advertising campaign – including radio and television commercials.  It was no mean feat, as only 18 months earlier Kennedy was less than subtle in his criticism of ATV0 due to the channel’s poor performance impacting on his Blankety Blanks game show.  Kennedy told The Age that money was certainly a factor in accepting the position of being the channel’s spokesman during the conversion period: “They did offer me a very attractive deal.  And it immediately appealed to me because it will be an historic occasion.  A television station changing its frequency will probably never happen again in our lifetimes.”

There was also talk that Kennedy would also have the opportunity to present a new tonight show on the revamped channel, though was not to be.

By January 1980, the channel was ready to flick the switch.  Thousands of brochures had been distributed to households around Melbourne to advise of the changeover, while a telephone hotline had been set up to enable viewers to get assistance in retuning their sets from Channel 0 to 10.  And without much time to spare, GLV10 made the switch to GLV8 on 17 January.

Then the big day – 20 January – had arrived.  ATV0 had signed off for the last time at around 3.00am that morning – the last program to air on the channel was the 1948 movie, Angel In Exile.  Then, just prior to 2.00pm on the Sunday afternoon, Kennedy, standing atop of the channel’s studio building in Nunawading, welcomed viewers to Channel 10:  “Come on up to Ten, you’ll enjoy the view!”  Then the new ATV10 broadcast its launch promotion ‘You’re On Top With 10’, with catchy lyrics sung by Mike Brady.

The first program to follow on ATV10 was 10’s Summer Sunday, a three-hour outside broadcast from Torquay Beach, south of Melbourne, hosted by former ATV0 newsreaders Bruce Mansfield and Annette Allison. 

Jana Wendt presented ATV10’s first Eyewitness News bulletin at 6.00pm – and barely a few months later Ms Wendt would be promoted to co-anchoring the main weeknight bulletin on the channel.  Kennedy was back on air at 6.30pm, presenting a one-hour special, You’re On Top With Ten, previewing some of the upcoming shows on the new channel, including the documentary series The Human Face Of China, mini-series Water Under The Bridge and an Australian adaptation of the British comedy Are You Being Served?, as well as the return of familiar titles including Prisoner, The Restless Years, Peter Couchman Tonight and Young Talent Time.

At 7.30pm, ATV10 presented the movie-length debut of the network’s new highly-anticipated, big-budget soap opera, Arcade, from the producers behind the former Number 96.  Despite ambitions for the series to be the flagship of the network’s lineup heading into the new decade, the series failed to grab even a modest share of the audience and was taken off the air six weeks later.

Following Arcade was the Sunday night movie, Summerfield, starring John Waters, Nick Tate and Elizabeth Alexander.

Viewers that had still yet to make the change to their sets from Channel 0 to 10 were given a slight reprieve, as ATV would simulcast on both channels for an interim period to enable viewers some extra time to make the necessary adjustments and to get used to the new channel position.

Industry magazine B&T reported at the time that the changeover of ATV from 0 to 10 would be the first time that a TV station in a major metropolitan market had changed frequencies – outside of the United States.

The changeover from Channel 0 to 10 in Melbourne led to the network changing its name from the 0-10 Network to Network Ten, with its Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide stations all broadcasting on the Channel 10 frequency.  Although Brisbane’s network partner, TVQ0, would continue to broadcast on the Channel 0 frequency until the late ‘80s.

Source: The Age, 12 October 1978.  The Age, 10 January 1980.  The Age, 17 January 1980.  TV Week, 19 January 1980.

1979: August 11-17

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1979: 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: 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: June 2-8

Cover: Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy (George And Mildred)

Script competition strikes gold
Sydney’s TEN10 has received a mammoth response to its scriptwriting competition offering a grand prize of $10,000. Tom Miller, production co-ordinator at TEN, has been working through the applications: “We’re recording every entry and to date I’m up to 1450. I’ve read about two thirds of them and I’ve seen at least seven good ideas which could possibly go into a TV series.” The panel of judges to determine the best 25 entries received includes Bruce Gyngell of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal, television personality Stuart Wagstaff, producer Pat Lovell and chief executive of the Victorian Film Corporation, Jill Robb. The top 25 entries will receive $200 and will be invited to write a script based on their concept. The best script wins $10,000, second $2000 and third $1000. The competition is estimated to cost TEN10 around $30,000. “But if we come up with three series ideas it’ll be worthwhile. That’s cheap, and it’s giving us an idea of what the public wants. I think the ideas could be worth a fortune.”

TV Follies of ‘79
A new ABC series, TV Follies, revives the Hollywood era of musicals and dance sequences. The four-part series features many familiar actors and actresses in less than familiar roles as they perform in the mini-musicals inspired by the classic era. Some of the stars to feature include Noni Hazlehurst (pictured), Debbie Byrne, Normie Rowe, Julie McGregor, Ian Turpie, Geraldine Turner, Gus Mercurio, Kathy Lloyd, Delilah and Max Cullen.

Hot on a cold role!
Actor John Meillon hopes his portrayal of a NSW Premier in a forthcoming ABC series will give him “an entirely different change of image.” Meillon will star in Timelapse, a thirteen-part series which is due to go into production next month. The plot involves the deep freezing the body of a murdered man and bringing him back to life 20 years later. The series is set in the year 1989 against a background of political intrigue involving a fictional NSW Premier. Timelapse will also feature Robert Coleby (Chopper Squad) and Kate Sheil (Birds In The Bush). Executive producer is Eric Tayler who has worked with Meillon on ABC dramas Bit Part and The Fourth Wish.

Footballer John lining up the goals
John Cootes (pictured) left the priesthood five years ago and ended up pursuing a TV career, but says his religious training has helped him a great deal as a TV personality. “As a priest I listened to the problems of hundreds of people and learned to be a good listener. In my training I aimed to be tolerant and understanding and I like to believe I am both of these.” After leaving the priesthood, the former rugby league player became a commentator for NBN3 Newcastle and later joined TEN10’s Eyewitness News and from there went on to lead TEN10’s sports department as well as hosting the channel’s Saturday Night Live, a program previously hosted by John Singleton and, for one night only, Graham Kennedy. "It was a daunting prospect because people were naturally comparing me to Singleton and Kennedy. But I’m not either of them and I couldn’t do what they did. To me, Saturday Night Live is a variety sporting show with a touch of elegance.”

Briefly…
The first three of the Nine Network’s commissioned package of six telemovies, about the position of women in Australian society, are about to go to air. Say You Want Me, starring Belinda Giblin (The Box), Serge Lazareff (Young Ramsay) and Hugh Keays-Byrne, looks at the rape of a young wife by a businessman who has just signed her radio personality husband to a lucrative product endorsement contract. A Good Thing Going, featuring Veronica Lang and John Hargreaves, and The Plumber, starring Judy Morris, Robert Coleby and Ivar Kants, are also set to go to air.

HSV7’s Saturday Night Live booth announcer Peter Byrne has landed a role in the upcoming series Skyways.

Actress Angela Punch has signed up to appear in a new historical drama for ABC. The eight-part series, The Timeless Land, is a rare TV appearance for the actress who has normally focused on theatre and film work. Production commences in October.

On The Inside, the signature tune of the 0-10 Network’s Prisoner, has stormed up the Australian charts and is about to go gold (50,000 sales).

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”Lack of realism and attention to detail in Cop Shop turned me off the series a long time ago.” D. Price, VIC.

“I have written to Viewpoint many times before but not once have I had my views published. I don’t really have much to say except that I think it is a shame that Carol Burns (as Franky Doyle, pictured) decided to leave Prisoner.” A. Murphy, SA.

“I have been a dog breeder and exhibitor for nearly 20 years and would really enjoy seeing a full coverage of the famous Crufts Dog Show, even though I doubt if any of the breed I am interested in would be exhibited, as there are very few of them overseas. I am referring to the Australian cattle dog. However, dog showing has a huge following, there’s an ever-increasing interest in this fascinating hobby.” B. Bearup, NSW.

What’s On (June 2-8):
On Saturday night, ABC presents Chicago, the first episode of TV Follies, featuring Max Cullen, Gus Mercurio, Noni Hazlehurst, Robyn Moase, David Atkins and Ron Blanchard.

A one-hour special, The Barry Humphries Show, screens on ATV0 featuring some of Humphries’ famous characters including Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at some of the scandals that have rocked Australia – including the Oz magazine obscenity trial, the Bodyline cricket furore and the Braund Cancer Cure Scandal.

Guest stars in Peter Couchman Tonight (ATV0, weeknights) include Chelsea Brown, Normie Rowe, Fred Parsons and Peter Russell-Clarke.

HSV7 screens the premiere of documentary series This Rugged Coast, featuring Ben Cropp and his team as they circumnavigate the Australian coastline.

US mini-series Roots The Next Generations continues in two-hour episodes on Monday and Thursday nights on ATV0.

Sunday night movies: Catlow (HSV7), Say You Want Me (GTV9), The Life And Times Of Judge Roy Bean (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 2 June 1979. ABC/ACP
YouTube: Aussiebeachut

1979: March 24-30

Cover: Tom Baker (Doctor Who) 

Who will play Dame Nellie?
Several Australian actresses are hoping for the lead role in the Grundy Organisation’s proposed eight-part mini-series on the life of Australia’s first great opera singer, Dame Nellie Melba.  The mini-series, to be made on location in Australia, United States, United Kingdom and Europe, will be directed by Bruce Beresford.  With a budget of $2 million for eight episodes, it is set to become Australia’s most expensive TV drama to date.

Two more stars to quit
Following the announcement that Lorraine Bayly is planning to leave The Sullivans, two more TV actresses have also quit their respective roles.  Cop Shop’s Rowena Wallace is due to finish up in the series in the next four months but will continue to be seen on screen until the end of the year.  Carol Burns, who plays lesbian bikie Franky Doyle in the new hit series Prisoner, will appear in the series until around August.  While Bayly is leaving her role to travel overseas, the other two are leaving to avoid typecasting.  “It’s up to the actress to extend her horizons,” Burns told TV Times.

Having a wonderful time
Before Young Talent Time returned to screens earlier this year, host Johnny Young and the team were busy taping an outdoor special for the 0-10 Network.  The one-off special features the Young Talent Team performing songs on location at various tourist spots around Melbourne including St Kilda Beach, Royal Melbourne Zoo, Captain Cook’s Cottage and the Yarra River.  Following the Melbourne-based special, the team hope to do similar programs based in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, Hobart and Perth.

Briefly…
The cast of the stage play Bedroom Farce – including Belinda Giblin, Pat McDonald, Willie Fennell and Barry Creyton – have agreed to appear on HSV7’s upcoming Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal.

Former Division Four actor Ted Hamilton is now a restaurateur with an establishment in Los Angeles that is becoming popular with the stars.

Singer Judy Jacques, a long-time favourite on TV in shows including In Melbourne Tonight, Dig We Must and Sounds Like Us, has returned to television after six years with a guest appearance on ATV0’s Peter Couchman Tonight, and more appearances are planned.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
“It’s great to see good entertainment back on TV with Hey Hey It’s Saturday. Daryl Somers and Ossie Ostrich (pictured) are a wonderful comedy team and they are funny with adults and children.  I wish they did not have what few cartoons they have on their three-hour show and have time filled with their beaut comedy.” G. Barnard, NSW

”Regarding ABC’s classic movies.  Cheers!  It’s high time we had something worth watching.  But not at the ridiculous time of 10pm and later – 8.30 or 9pm is quite late enough to start.” M Swan and G Slade, NSW.

“What a wonderful program The Curiosity Show is.   My friend and I (16 and 15 respectively) never fail to watch, as there is always at least one segment which appeals to all ages.  On the whole it’s far better, to my mind, than This Week Has Seven Days, What In The World or similar shows.” G. Coleman, TAS.

“TCN9 Sydney should bring back Bobby Limb’s Sound Of Music.  When Bobby had his Sound Of Music at St George League’s Club in Sydney it was the most successful season that club had had for a long time.  People are still talking about the show.” B. Denniss.  NSW.

What’s On (March 24-30):
Weekend sport includes Australia versus Pakistan in the cricket Second Test, live from Perth on ABC.  ATV0 has highlights of the Grand Master’s Tennis Championship from Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion.  And HSV7 on Sunday afternoon has Claremont versus Melbourne in the Australian Football Championships.

HSV7’s Penthouse is now Saturday Night Live with Ernie Sigley and new co-host Belinda Leigh.  This week’s guests include Betty Cuthbert, Bob Maumill and Sid Paterson.  Also direct coverage of harness racing from Moonee Valley and Tattslotto draw 340.

Maggie Millar and Peter Finlay are guest stars in Cop Shop (HSV7, Monday and Thursday) where a receptionist pleads confusion in an attempt to cover-up a $37,000 theft.  While Valerie (Joanna Lockwood) finds that getting a permanent job involves a lot more than she had expected.

The Paul Hogan Show (GTV9, Thursday) investigates the strange Australian ritual of BYO barbeques, while Paul Hogan takes a look at World Series Bowls.  Guest stars include the Little River Band, Karen Pini and Sue McIntosh.

Friday night sees GTV9 cross to Perth for live coverage of the 1979 Australian Pacing Derby, hosted by Garry Carvolth.

Sunday night movies: No Sex Please, We’re British (HSV7), The Legend Of Hell House (GTV9).  ATV0 presents the mini-series The Pirate on Sunday and Monday nights.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 24 March 1979.  ABC/ACP