She might be only 18 years old, but Kym Wilson (pictured) has emerged from an acting novice to a talented professional, with acclaim for her performances in the film Flirting, stage production The Crucible and mini-series Brides Of Christ. And she is optimistic that her decision to join A Country Practice is a positive career move. “You have to choose roles that are going to fulfil you,” she told TV Week. “That is why I chose A Country Practice as the soap I wanted to do. It has been going for 10 years, the people I work with are fantastic actors and it has that extra dimension by dealing with issues in society, which perhaps the other soaps do not do.” The young star has also taken on an additional on-air role as co-host of Seven’s Saturday morning Video Smash Hits, although is wary of becoming over-exposed or being pigeonholed as a “personality” rather than an actress. “That was my concern when I chose to do Video Smash Hits – that I wouldn’t, without degrading Sophie, become another Sophie Lee, who is seen more as a TV personality than an actress because she did The Bugs Bunny Show before she did The Flying Doctors.”
It may be a ratings winner for the Ten Network, but its weekly “tabloid” current affairs show Hard Copy (hosted by Gordon Elliott, pictured) could soon be axed due to a falling out between the network and Paramount, the owners of the concept. Paramount is believed to have notified Ten that it wants out of the deal when the current batch of 13 episodes is completed, due to Ten failing to comply with certain changes that had been requested of the Australian franchise. The termination of the agreement would mean that the show’s title can not be used in Australia, or that any reports from the US version can be broadcast here. But Network Ten boss Gary Rice has denied any rift with Paramount and insists that production of Hard Copy is business as usual.
E Street star Alyssa-Jane Cook (pictured) always insisted that she wanted her exit from the show to be dramatic, but admits that her final scenes with the series have been her most challenging. Her character, Lisa Bennett, finds herself at the mercy of E Street’s serial killer Mr Bad (Vince Martin) who has kidnapped her and locked her in a freezer in a bid to lure his targets Sheridan (Kate Raison) and Wheels (Marcus Graham) to their deaths. Cook is not about to give away the outcome of the storyline, but says the scenes were amongst her most difficult. “By the end of the 14-hour shoot, I was emotionally and physically exhausted,” she said.
TV Week has announced a new era as it embarks on changes to production techniques and its format. This week’s edition includes a special eight-day program guide – Saturday to Saturday – as from next week the magazine will feature program listings from Sunday to Saturday, while the magazine’s on-sale day will change from Monday to Thursday. This change, incorporated with tighter production deadlines, will see the magazine report more up-to-date stories and offer a more accurate program listing. Despite the changes, the cover price of TV Week will remain at $1.70.
All Together Now star Rebecca Gibney has broken her silence on her private life by denying reports that while on a three-week holiday to the United States that she and her fiance, singer Jack Jones, had been secretly married in a Las Vegas chapel. “Marriage crossed our minds at some point, but we decided against it,” she told TV Week. “But we haven’t run off to Las Vegas to have a quickie wedding.”
John Laws says…
”Perhaps, as a nation, we should all have been watching the documentary about the Snowy Mountain hydro-electric project, aptly screened over the Australia Day weekend on the ABC. By any standards the Snowy project was a heroic undertaking, in both engineering and human terms. It took 25 years to complete and it ranks as one of this nation’s greatest achievements. Here was a mammoth engineering feat brought to life by Australians and “new” Australians from Europe, most of them displaced persons from World War II. The ABC documentary team interviewed a handful of the thousands of people who worked on the Snowy project, but their stories seemed to embrace all its spirit and courage. Interestingly, the general feeling among them was that a scheme like the Snowy could never be built today. Way back in 1949, when Ben Chifley’s government got it off the ground, there was no conservation movement!”
Program Highlights (Melbourne, February 15-22):
Saturday: Saturday afternoon sport includes golf on both ABC (West Australian Ladies’ Classic) and Seven (Australian Masters), while Nine presents a highlights package of the Winter Olympic Games. Nine’s evening is dominated by the return of Hey Hey It’s Saturday, followed by more live coverage of the Winter Olympic Games from Albertville, France.
Sunday: More golf on ABC and Seven, while Nine presents highlights of the Reebok Blacktop Basketball, from Adelaide’s Clipsal Powerhouse Stadium. Evening programs include the return of multi-lingual current affairs program Vox Populi (SBS) and Brian Naylor’s documentary Australia From The Outside Looking In (Nine). Sunday night movies are Good Morning Vietnam (Seven) and K-9 (Ten), up against the Winter Olympics (Nine).
Monday: In Mother And Son (ABC), Arthur (Garry McDonald) brings a pet budgie home for Maggie (Ruth Cracknell) after she is upset by her son Robert (Henri Szeps) – but how this leads to 10 naked dentists dancing on a golf course has to be seen to be believed!
Tuesday: ABC’s consumer affairs program The Investigators is back for another year, followed by drama series GP where a new locum (played by Christopher Bailey) arrives at the practice, only to have his wife turn up and reveal that he is not who he says he is. In SBS’ current affairs program Dateline, reporter Maeve O’Meara profiles influential Irish writer Colm Tóibín.
Wednesday: Astrophysicist Graham Phillips and journalist Cathy Johnson join ABC’s science program Quantum as it returns for its eighth year. This year is the International Year of Space and, to mark the occasion, Quantum will begin a series of reports on everything from space junk to space technology. The 40th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne is documented in a two-hour BBC special, Elizabeth R (ABC), following the Queen on her many official duties over 12 months and giving a rare glimpse of her more informal moments.
Friday: Dateline (SBS) features a report on Simone Harvari, France’s top TV producer, who heads a company where the majority of employees are female. In Neighbours (Ten), a reunion with old mates has devastating implications for Doug (Terence Donovan).
Saturday: Nine debuts its new Saturday morning show, Saturday At Rick’s, hosted by Steven Jacobs with Tania Lacy, featuring cartoons, video clips and interviews. Nine then crosses to New Zealand for the Benson And Hedges World Cup cricket – Australia versus New Zealand. ABC also has cricket with live coverage from the North Sydney Oval of the Ladies’ International Super Test: Australia versus England.
Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide. 15 February 1992. Southdown Press
Hey, look who’s together now! 
All good things must come to an end… 
Briefly… 
Production is about to start on a new 13-part drama series, Phoenix, for ABC. The idea for the series came from the bombing of Melbourne’s Russell Street police headquarters in 1986. “It’s not so much cops and robbers – in fact, there are very few villains – but more of a character piece centred on the members of the Major Crimes Squad and the pressure they are under,” producer Bill Hughes told TV Week. Phoenix is set to star Simon Westaway (pictured), Nell Feeney, Sean Scully, Andy Anderson and Paul Sonkkila.
‘It felt like a real wedding to me’ 
E Street goes for a new doctor 
Now a cartoon brat takes on 60 Minutes 
Gary Sweet (pictured) has had a hard time convincing the producer and stunt co-ordinator for ABC’s new action drama Police Rescue that he is able to doing all his own stunts. “I keep trying to impress on John (Edwards, the show’s producer) that it is relatively safe,” Sweet told TV Week. “I’ve broken plenty of bones playing sport, so you could say that my normal lifestyle is far more dangerous than jumping off cliffs. I come to work to relax.”
John Laws says… 
Monday: Ernie Sigley and Denise Drysdale (pictured) are back for another year of Nine’s mid-morning program In Melbourne Today – and Ray Martin is back for another year of Midday With Ray Martin. Tony Barber and Alyce Platt are back for the new year on Sale Of The Century. ABC debuts new comedy series Eggshells, while 4 Corners and Media Watch return for 1991. The Nine Network starts following its late night news program, The World Tonight With Clive Robertson, with two hours of coverage dedicated to the Gulf war – while Ten’s overnight broadcast of CNN continues every night.
Former journalist and television presenter Sonia Humphrey has died at the age of 63.
Last night’s Federal Election might not have returned a clear result but there were some familiar faces along the way.
Former ABC journalist and presenter Maxine McKew (pictured), who famously snatched the Sydney seat of Bennelong for the ALP from former prime minister John Howard in 2007, lost out last night against the Liberal Party’s John Alexander, former tennis star and commentator for the Seven Network. McKew has since lashed out at the ALP, saying the ALP’s campaign lacked clarity and that the recent dismissal of prime minister Kevin Rudd has had to have had an impact on the public vote.
Steve Titmus (pictured), a former newsreader for Southern Cross Television in Tasmania and representing the Liberal Party, was unsuccessful last night in his bid for the northern Tasmanian seat of Bass.
Cover:
How Col’n became Randy 
Program Highlights (June 9-15):
