Kerri-Anne dances across to Seven

Just weeks after hosting her final Kerri-Anne show on the Nine Network, Kerri-Anne Kennerley has now departed the network despite previous reports she was staying on board for “future projects”.

It ends a nine-year association with Nine as host of Kerri-Anne (previously Mornings With Kerri-Anne) although her history with the network goes back way further – as host of Midday and brief stint as co-host of What’s Cooking in the 1990s, and in the 1960s was a presenter on Everybody In at Brisbane channel QTQ9.  She was also a regular performer on Nine’s The Mike Walsh Show.

The future of the Kerri-Anne show was subject to a lot of speculation during 2011 as it was being soundly beaten in the ratings by Seven’s The Morning Show, and towards the end of the year she was on leave for several weeks while guest presenters filled in.  Kennerley later said in a radio interview that the first she knew of her axing from the show was from a newspaper article.

The irony in her departure from Nine is that she appears to be heading to Seven as a contestant in the upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars, the show whose co-host Sonia Kruger has just severed ties with Seven – after more than a decade – to take Kennerley’s place at Nine.

Kruger is set to co-host Nine’s revival of the Mornings brand (with singer David Campbell) as well as the network’s upcoming return of former reality giant Big Brother.

Apart from Dancing With The Stars it is not known if Seven might have other plans in mind for Kennerley but they have been known to use the show as a vehicle for cross-network promotion, and DWTS would provide a strong platform to promote any new Kennerley venture.

Source: news.com.au, news.com.au

1991: December 21-27

Two secret showbiz weddings
Secrecy was the key word surrounding two recent celebrity weddings.  Actor Cameron Daddo has married model Alison Brahe at the Garrison Church in Sydney’s historic Rocks area – while E Street star Marianne Howard married dancer Drew Anthony at the secluded Holy Trinity Anglican Church at Berrima, NSW.  Both weddings were shrouded in secrecy as the couples sought to escape mass media coverage.

Ray seizes the day again
Despite persistent rumours that he was headed to the Seven Network to front the new current affairs program, unofficially dubbed ‘Project X’, Midday host Ray Martin says he will be with Nine in the new year and insists it was never going to be any other way.  “I’ve never spoken to (producer) Gerald Stone about ‘Project X’,” Martin told TV Week.  “My understanding is that he has a real commitment not to poach people from Channel Nine.  The rumour regarding me isn’t, and wasn’t, true.”  Martin has also revealed that due to his wife giving birth to their second child he has pulled the pin on a planned night-time interview show that was set to screen on Friday nights that had been given the go-ahead by Nine.  “We were going to be on air for 90 minutes after Burke’s Backyard,” Martin said.  “So the bottom line is I will definitely do Midday next year and other specials.  I’ll also fill in for Jana Wendt (on A Current Affair), which I’m delighted to do as long as it’s for short stints.”  Martin is also looking forward to next year as it marks the 20th year for Midday – having started as The Mike Walsh Show on the 0-10 Network in 1973 before moving across to Nine in 1977.  Mike Walsh then made the controversial, and short-lived, move to prime-time while Martin took over the re-named Midday in 1985.  “We are looking to get a special show up, with me and Mike Walsh co-hosting,” Martin said.  “We have a lot of television under our belts.”

‘Let me out of here!’
Home And Away actress Dee Smart (pictured with co-star Bruce Roberts) has likened her two-year contract to the Seven Network series to a prison sentence as she is desperate for “release” after eight months.  “It feels like I’ve been here for years,” she told TV Week.  After studying acting for two-and-a-half years, the 25-year-old says the constant turnaround of episode production is what is most frustrating.  “There is no time to develop.  It is almost impossible to do a good job with the amount of time you have,” she told TV Week.  “I used to bag the soapies.  I used to say, ‘That actor is so bad.  How can they be on this show? It’s awful’.  Now I have nothing but admiration for these guys because of the amount of time they have.  I’m amazed they even get the words out, let alone try to act at all.  There is just no time to think about things.  And this Lucinda character goes on and on and on.  It is kind of abnormal for a character to last this long.”  But despite her frustration, Smart says Home And Away has been an invaluable learning experience.  “I’m learning and being stretched in my acting,” she says.  “If you can justify the ups and downs of soap, you can justify anything.  One thing is certain, I won’t go racing into another long-term contract.”

Briefly…
ABC’s The Afternoon Show host Michael Tunn (pictured) has scored a coup with an exclusive interview with US boy band New Kids On The Block when they tour Australia next month.  “We do requests on The Afternoon Show, and at least half are for New Kids On The Block,” 17-year-old Tunn told TV Week.  “We thought, as they’d be touring Australia – and because our audience loves them so much – we would look at the behind-the-scenes as well as out front.  The boys have agreed to an extensive interview with us backstage during the tour.”  The interview and behind-the-scenes special is expected to go to air in February.

Sale Of The Century host Glenn Ridge, whose career started in radio in the late 1970s, is set to present the breakfast shift on Melbourne radio station TTFM while its regular hosts Darren James and Jane Holmes are on holiday.

After two years studying acting in the US, former Double Dare host and Home And Away star Gerry Sont (pictured) is back in Australia and has signed a one-year contract with the Nine Network’s Chances.  Sont plays the role of Cal Lawrence, a bit of a loner who lets chance decide what he does and ends up having an affair with Barbara (Brenda Addie).  “Chances is a real challenge for me,” Sont told TV Week.  “It’s challenging people’s view of drama.  It doesn’t follow the simple formula of Neighbours or The Flying Doctors.  It’s new and it’s fun.”

With the future of The Flying Doctors in limbo, actor Paul Kelman is excited to have picked up a role in another Crawfords Australia production, the upcoming children’s series Halfway Across The Galaxy And Turn Left.  “I’m rapt because this is so different to anything I’ve done before,” he told TV Week.  “I’m playing a character from another planet so it’s a big challenge to make something like this believable to the audience.”  Halfway Around The Galaxy And Turn Left co-stars Kerry Armstrong, Bruce Spence, Colleen Hewett, Sandy Gore, Jan Freidl and Lauren Hewett and is expected to screen on the Seven Network in 1992.

Lawrie Masterson‘s Sound Off
It was under wraps longer than the identity of Who Shot JR (does anyone remember?), but the Seven Network finally has loosened up on some of the details of Gerald Stone’s so-called ‘Project X’.  In about four weeks, Seven will unveil a new 6.30pm program which, considering it’s television, has been given the unreal title of Real Life.  Consequently – and as has been expected for ages – the soap Home And Away will be thrust into head-to-head combat with Network Ten’s Neighbours at 7.00pm.  The intrigue continues about how some names and faces out of left-field – notably the program’s host, former ABC man Stan Grant – will fare at taking on the almost death-defying challenge of trying to topple Jana Wendt’s A Current Affair on the Nine Network.  And will Grant sign off with the line: “That’s real life?”  Questions also continue about the effects of the two soaps having to battle each other.  Could it be that the biggest beneficiaries of that little scrap will be Nine’s Sale Of The Century or ABC News?

Program Highlights (Melbourne, December 21-27):
Saturday:  Nine presents a one-hour special, Spirit Of Australia, documenting Australia’s entrant in the Americas Cup and their challenge to bring the cup back to Australia.  Barry Crocker and Jackie Love host Seven’s Carols In The Domain, featuring performances by Judith Durham, David Hobson, Suzanne Clachair and The Australian Girls Choir.

Sunday:  Seven’s afternoon is dominated by Christmas movies and specials, while Ten crosses to New Zealand for the Ironman Super Series.  Sunday night movies are Ernest Saves Christmas (Seven), Going In Style (Nine) and Prancer (Ten).

Tuesday:  The highlight of Christmas Eve is the traditional Carols By Candlelight, live from the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, hosted by Ray Martin and featuring performances by John Farnham, Marina Prior (pictured with Martin), James Blundell, Julie Anthony, Denis Walter, John Bowles, Anthony Warlow, Debbie Byrne and Tommy Emmanuel.  Seven screens the movie Scrooge, while ABC presents the 1956 musical comedy High Society.  Later in the evening, Ten presents the traditional Midnight Mass For You At Home.

Wednesday (Christmas Day):  ABC’s broadcast day begins with Christmas Mass, celebrated by Pope John Paul II at St Peter’s Basilica, Rome.  Christmas morning on Seven is predominantly cartoons followed by delayed broadcast of Adelaide’s John Martin’s Christmas Pageant and the 1983 movie Bush Christmas, starring John Ewart, John Howard and Nicole Kidman.  Nine presents a replay of last night’s Carols By Candlelight, and Ten presents Christmas specials and movies throughout the day.  SBS screens a one-hour Christmas Carols concert, recorded by the SBS Youth Orchestra.  ABC, Seven and Ten include the Queen’s Christmas Message in their evening news bulletins, while Nine broadcasts it later in the evening.  Seven presents a one-hour special Darling Harbour Christmas Parade, hosted by Kathryn Greiner and Rev Dr Gordon Moyes – while ABC’s That’s Dancin’ presents a special Christmas edition featuring guest stars Marina Prior, Rhonda Burchmore, Tony Fenelon and The Barbara Lynch Dance Group.

Thursday: From midday Ten presents 90 minutes of live coverage of the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race, with updates through the afternoon.  With the cricket Second Test being played at the MCG, Nine in Melbourne picks up coverage only from 3.40pm until close of play at 6.00pm, with half an hour of highlights from 11.40pm.  At 5.30pm, Ten crosses to Perth for live coverage of the Australian Derby horse racing.  In The Flying Doctors (Nine), Rowie’s (Sarah Chadwick) seriously ill father is admitted to hospital and pleads with Guy (David Reyne) not to tell Rowie of the severity of his illness.

Friday:  ABC presents a new series of Aboriginal affairs program Blackout.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  21 December 1991.  Southdown Press

Magazine covers from Christmases past

Television.AU wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas and takes a trip down memory lane to some of the TV magazine covers that have marked this very special day…

George Mallaby and Rowena Wallace (Cop Shop), pictured with Mallaby’s son Guy and co-star Greg Ross’ son, Simon.  TV Week, 1978

Humphrey B. Bear (Here’s Humphrey).  TV Times, 1978.

(Clockwise from bottom left) Marcia Hines (Marcia’s Music), Mike Walsh (The Mike Walsh Show), Susan Hannaford (The Sullivans), John Orcsik (Cop Shop), June Salter (The Restless Years), Peter Lochran (The Young Doctors).  TV Times, 1979

Tony Barber and Alyce Platt (Sale Of The Century).  TV Week, 1986.

Kylie Minogue (Neighbours).  TV Week, 1987.

Kerrie Friend and Cameron Daddo (Perfect Match). 
Scene On TV (The Sunday Mail, Brisbane), 1987.

(Clockwise from top left) Graeme Goodings, Jane Doyle, Max Stevens and Anne Wills (Seven Nightly News, Adelaide).
Sunday Mail TV Plus (Adelaide), 1993.

None Hazlehurst and John Jarratt (Better Homes And Gardens) with Bree Desborough, Kristy Wright and Lynne McGranger (Home And Away). 
TV Week, 1998.

Carla Bonner, Madeleine West, Kym Valentine (Neighbours). 
TV Week, 2000.

Kate Ritchie (Home And Away).  TV Week, 2006.

Some other TV memories of Christmases past as presented on this blog:

Merry Christmas, ‘76 style
Merry Christmas from QTQ9 (1967)
TV Week’s Strictly Christmas (1992)
Christmas cheer from SBS (1983)
’Twas the night before Christmas…

TV’s golden girls signing off

It was a morning of farewells as two of TV’s golden girls signed off from their respective shows today.

Over at Ten’s The Circle, Denise Drysdale (pictured) announced her retirement – marking the end of a showbusiness career that has spanned more than fifty years.

Starting as a performer in early children’s shows including The Happy Show and The Tarax Show, Drysdale worked her way up to pop music shows such as Uptight, Kommotion and Dig We Must.

Then in the 1970s she became Ernie Sigley’s ‘barrel girl’ on The Ernie Sigley Show, forming an enduring partnership that saw both of them win Gold Logies in 1975, with Drysdale winning a second Gold in 1976.

One of TV’s more versatile performers, she has appeared in dramas such as Division 4, Homicide and Cop Shop, comedies like The Bluestone Boys and The Norman Gunston Show and countless music and variety shows including Countdown, The Penthouse Club, The Daryl Somers Show, The Mike Walsh Show right through to Spicks And Specks. 

Living on a farm in Gippsland, in the 1980s she hosted a morning show for local channel GLV8, and later took over from Jacki MacDonald on Nine’s Hey Hey It’s Saturday before being re-united with Sigley to host morning shows In Melbourne Today and In Sydney Today (both shows later merged into Ernie And Denise).

In the ‘90s, Drysdale teamed up with Frankie J. Holden on the revived In Melbourne Tonight before moving to the Seven Network to host her own daytime show, Denise.

Early last year Network Ten announced that Drysdale was joining the presenting team on its new morning show The Circle.  Later in the year she was again re-united with Sigley in a segment on the show.

Although the show faces tough competition, particularly from The Morning Show on Seven, The Circle this year won a Logie for Most Popular Light Entertainment Program.

Drysdale now looks forward to taking a well-earned break and spending time with her new grandson.

Meanwhile, over at the Nine Network, there was a farewell for Kerri-Anne Kennerley whose morning show comes to an end after nine years on air. 

Kennerley was a teenager when she appeared on children’s programs on Queensland television in the 1960s and 1970s.  After working overseas for several years she returned to Australia, appearing on the soapie The Restless Years before taking over as co-host on Network Ten’s Good Morning Australia in 1981.  It was a role that she made her own for 11 years, outlasting a number of her male on-air colleagues.  She later hosted an afternoon show, Monday To Friday, and worked in Sydney radio.

In the mid-1990s, Kennerley took over as host of Nine’s Midday – giving the show a new lease on life after some years of instability.  The show wound up in 1998 and after a stint back at the Ten Network on ill-fated shows like Moment Of Truth and Greed she returned to Nine in 2002 to host Mornings With Kerri-Anne, later re-named Kerri-Anne.

The show achieved global fame in 2007 when an interview with a “jet-lagged” John Stamos went viral.

The demise of Kerri-Anne comes after recent speculation about the show’s future, sparked by Kennerley taking leave from the program and with the show featuring a number of guest hosts. 

Although the Kerri-Anne program has ended – the ‘summer series’ of best-of segments starts on Monday – Kennerley remains with the Nine Network for future projects.

Nine will replace Kerri-Anne next year with a new show to be hosted by Sonia Kruger, who is coming across after more than a decade with the Seven Network and is best known as the co-host for eleven seasons of  Dancing With The Stars.

YouTube: aussiebeachut0, Michael Shephard

TelevisionAU Update 17-Jun-10

http://www.televisionau.com

NEW FLASHBACK #55: 
For over thirty years Peter Hitchener has been a trusted face of news at GTV9, Melbourne.  Starting his career in Brisbane in the 1960s, Hitchener then moved to Sydney's TCN9.  But then when he went further south to Melbourne in 1974, Hitchener was hosting a game show, Gambit, based on the card game Blackjack.  Here he is, with Gambit hostess Ros Wood, making a guest appearance on GTV9's Cartoon Corner, with host Daryl Somers.  Picture: TV Week, 16 March 1974

CLASSIC TV GUIDES
Melbourne:
1959 (First Sydney-Melbourne telecast)
1962 (Station affiliations change for GTV9 and HSV7)
1973 (The Mike Walsh Show begins)
1974 (Class Of ‘74 begins)
1974 (First colour test patterns)
1974 (Countdown begins)
1975 (Number 96’s ‘bomb-blast’ episode)
1983

Sydney:
1959

New South Wales:
1962

Brisbane:
1972 (Number 96 debuts.  BTQ7’s The Big News extends to one hour)

Perth:
1986 (SBS expands to Perth)

TELEVISIONAU - THE HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN TELEVISION
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http://blog.televisionau.com
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/televisionau
http://au.youtube.com/user/TelevisionAU

Ding Dong Denise back on daytime TV

Denise Drysdale is set to make her return to TV as a panellist on the upcoming Ten Network program, The Circle.

One of Australia’s true TV veterans, Drysdale was a performer in children’s television in the 1960s, later featuring in pop music shows Kommotion, Uptight and Dig We Must and on Graham Kennedy’s In Melbourne Tonight. 

A number of guest appearances in Crawford dramas Division Four and Homicide later led to her becoming Ernie Sigley’s sidekick on the Nine Network’s The Ernie Sigley Show.  Their popularity led to them, in 1975, winning TV Week Gold Logies for most popular male and female on Australian TV.  Drysdale then won a second Gold Logie the following year.

She also starred in the sitcom The Bluestone Boys and musical special The 20s And All That Jazz (pictured) and appeared on Young Talent Time, Cop Shop, Countdown, The Penthouse Club, The Truckies, The Don Lane Show, The Mike Walsh Show, The Daryl Somers Show and co-hosted Hey Hey It’s Saturday after the departure of Jacki MacDonald from the show.  Living on a farm since the late-‘70s, she also hosted her own weekly program in the 1980s on local channel GLV8, based in Gippsland, Victoria.

The new Ten Network show marks Drysdale’s return to daytime TV after previous success when re-united with Sigley for In Melbourne Today in the late ‘80s, the program later titled Ernie And Denise when the show went national.  Then after two years as co-host on the revived In Melbourne Tonight with Frankie J Holden, Drysdale had her own daytime show, Denise, on the Seven Network in the late 1990s.

Recently, she has appeared as a guest on ABC’s Spicks And Specks and in the Hey Hey It’s Saturday reunion.

The Circle, due to start on Tuesday 9 February, is the replacement for Ten’s 9AM With David And Kim which wound up in December after four years on-air.  (The last two months have seen a “best of” collection of segments from the show airing as 9AM Summertime in the two-hour morning timeslot)

Also appearing as regulars on The Circle will be Foxtel presenter Yumi Stynes, performer and TV presenter Gorgi Coghlan and former Big Brother contestant and Vega FM breakfast presenter Chrissie Swan.

Scheduled to air weekdays from 10.00am, the new two-hour show promises topical chat with audience interaction.  The existing one-hour Ten News bulletin at 11.00am will move to 9.00am.

From the outset, it appears that The Circle looks like a daytime twist on Ten’s early evening The 7PM Project, a program that also features regular and guest panellists discussing issues of the day with some audience interaction.  The Circle’s all-female panel format also appears to bear a resemblance to the popular US show The View (shown in Australia on Foxtel and Nine), and its less-successful Australian adaptation, The Catch-Up, which aired on Nine in 2007.  It will be interesting to see if The Circle can overcome these perceptions and offer a viable alternative to The Morning Show and Mornings With Kerri-Anne on rival networks Seven and Nine.

1979: October 27-November 2

TV’s reluctant Romeo
Since John Waters first hit screens as Sgt McKellar in ABC’s Rush in 1974, he has carried the reputation of being the handsome romantic, though his roles following Rush have been very different.  “I’ve got nothing against those leading man roles, but I certainly don’t want to spend the rest of my life playing them.  I prefer character acting and I try not to let my own personality dominate a role.  To me that leads to typecasting, which in my view is fatal for an actor.”  Waters has joined the cast of The Sullivans as Christopher Merchant, a soldier who meets up with some of the Sullivan family in Changi and later adds a touch of romance to the life of Kate (Ilona Rodgers).  As well as The Sullivans, Waters is continuing his recurring role as a presenter on ABC’s Play School.  “I love doing it.  It’s one of the few shows that give children something of quality and I find that tremendously satisfying.  I get letters from people of all ages throughout the year and the mail that comes in from the children is very satisfying.  They rarely ask for anything, not even an autograph, although we always send out an autographed photo.  They want to share things.  They send in pictures they’ve painted, things they’ve made, always something of theirs to share.  I find that sort of thing so rewarding.”

Belinda Giblin joins Skyways
Belinda Giblin (pictured), former star of Crawford dramas The Box and The Sullivans, is joining another Crawford production, Skyways, for seven weeks.  Giblin plays the part of Christine Burroughs, acting manager of Trans Asia, the fictional airline depicted in the series.  Although she began work on the series in Melbourne this week, she won’t be on screen for some months.

Upstairs Downstairs star for Aussie series
Nicola Pagett, star of the British series Upstairs Downstairs, has been signed for the romantic lead in the upcoming ABC mini-series The Timeless Land.  ABC head of drama Geoff Daniels said that Pagett’s profile in the United Kingdom and also in the United States, where Upstairs Downstairs has gained a following, should guarantee overseas sales for The Timeless Land.  The eight-part series, which also stars Michael Craig, Ray Barrett, Angela Punch and Earthwatch host Peter Cousens, begins production in November.

Briefly…
Recently-married couple Rod Kirkham, a former Young Talent Time member, and actress Barbara Llewellyn have left Australia to settle in England.  Gavan Disney, formerly Kirkham’s manager and now an executive at BTV6 Ballarat said: “They decided to live overseas.  That is all there is to it.  They have no particular plans other than getting to England.  Neither Rod nor Barbara have been exactly over-worked in Australia for the past 12 months, and both felt they had nothing to lose by giving England a go.”

Hollywood star Debbie Reynolds, whose new show opens for a two-week run in Sydney at the end of the month, will be appearing on The Mike Walsh Show over four days from 30 October.  Reynolds will also be appearing on The Don Lane Show on 1 November.  During her last tour, in 1975, Reynolds’s appearance on The Don Lane Show, including an impromptu song and dance routine, triggered a massive response by delighted viewers who jammed the channel’s switchboard.

Kerry Ford, one-time hostess of quiz show Casino 10, has left her job as publicity director for Lyle McCabe Productions to become a Qantas air hostess.

BTQ7 Brisbane presenter Bob Janssen is preparing to set off on a unique voyage – a wet-bike ride from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast to Melbourne to raise funds for the Spastic Welfare League.  The wet-bikes, like a motorcycle on water, were first seen on a James Bond film and have been in Australia for about two years though only six are known to be in Queensland. Completing the journey to Melbourne could put him in the Guinness Book of Records.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”Well, Countdown’s Molly Meldrum (pictured) has finally pushed me to the limit.  I can’t stand it any longer, and must write to say what I think of him – which is not very much.  For a start, why does he have to put on one of his silly predictions instead of the Number 1 single of the week?  Isn’t it plain enough for him to see that the people buy the record to promote it to Number 1 spot, so they can hear and see their favourite group performing?  Secondly, he raves on and on throughout the show, so if he does play the Number 1 single you never see it all the way through because he wasted time talking about nothing.”  S. McLaughlan, NSW.

“There is a group of us who haven’t missed a Doctor Who episode for years.  But why have Tom Baker (the fourth and current Doctor Who) coming out here on a promotional tour and then screening old repeats three or four times in a row?  Come on, get some new shows going.  Doctor Who is too good to be messed around with.  The good shows get messed up and the trash they treat with respect.  I love Doctor Who too much to stand by while this is done.” C. Robertson, VIC.

“Will somebody answer this question: why can’t a nation that gave us classic movies like All Quiet On The Western Front, Gone With The Wind and Mutiny On The Bounty, produce good TV shows?  We are fed a steady diet of preposterous piffle such as The Flying Nun, The Six Million Dollar Man and Mork And Mindy.  They also give us ultra-violent shows, of which Streets Of San Francisco, Starsky And Hutch and Kojak are typical.  Furthermore, it would appear most Americans are hard of hearing, as the majority of characters in US shows scream and shout at each other like demented persons!  They haven’t yet mastered the excellent, natural, low-key type of acting that is the feature of most English TV productions.  I won’t say much about Australian TV – the least said the better.  I don’t think any Australian TV scriptwriters have had an original idea since the day they were born.” C. Rowbottom, SA.

What’s On (October 27-November 2):
Saturday afternoon sport includes horse racing with the WS Cox Plate, live from Moonee Valley and telecast on HSV7, hosted by Bill Collins.  ABC presents live coverage of the CBA Westlakes Classic golf from the Grange course in Adelaide.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at the political conflicts that have stirred Australia since the turn of the century, including the infamous Pig Iron Bob clash between Robert Menzies and the waterside workers.

GTV9 presents a two-and-a-half hour special, Goodbye ‘70s Goodbye, looking back at the news and events of the 1970s in Australia.

In Cop Shop (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), when a young apprentice is sacked from his job, a youth group decides to take matters in their own hands.  Baker (Gil Tucker, pictured) is knocked unconscious when he and Benjamin (Greg Ross) are called to investigate.

GTV9’s Friday night movie is Lassie: A New Beginning, featuring former Young Talent Time cast member Sally Boyden.

Sunday night movies: Scobie Malone (HSV7), Death Flight (GTV9), For Pete’s Sake (ATV0).  ABC’s series of Australian plays continues with Gail, the story of a 13 year old facing the problems of growing up, starring Sally Cooper, Terry Gill, Jackie Kerin and Nanette Wallace.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 27 October 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: August 25-31

Detective Donovan gets back on the beat
Four years after leaving cop show Division 4, Terry Donovan makes his debut in Cop Shop, taking over the role of officer-in-charge of Riverside police station from George Mallaby.  But, as writer Marie Trevor adds, there are surprises in store for the team at Riverside: “When Terry’s cop arrives they won’t know what has hit them.” Since leaving Division 4, Donovan (pictured, centre, with co-stars Peter Adams and Lynda Stoner) has proved his versatility as an actor – having starred in three movies, including The Money Movers, eight stage productions and guest starred in a number of TV series.  He had a key role in the ABC mini-series Power Without Glory and joins Cop Shop having just finished up work on the movie Breaker Morant. 

$4m budget for two series
Hanna-Barbera is working on two new multi-million dollar TV series aimed at the Australian and overseas market.  The two series, both of 13 one-hour episodes, will have a combined budget of $4 million.  Hal McElroy, director of TV development for H-B in Australia, said that production has gone ahead on both shows following strong interest by two networks.  One of the new series will be a contemporary drama, the other will be a period drama and production is set to start next year.  The international sales success of Australian dramas Prisoner and Against The Wind will mean that the two new shows will be aimed at the international market and one of the series could be a co-production with an English company.

The drama of a lifetime
Enid Lorimer, 91 years of age and an actress for over 70 years, has some simple advice for aspiring young actresses if they offered roles only on the condition they be ‘nice’ to the producer: “When you’re told you won’t get the job unless you do, take it as an insult and refuse the job.  Many years ago I was offered a role by a producer who said ‘if you get the role, you will be nice to me, won’t you?’  So I hit him.  Oddly enough, I didn’t get the job.”  An English-born former Shakespearean actress who also worked at London’s legendary Old Vic theatre, Lorimer has appeared in many Australian TV productions, including Motel, Spyforce, Homicide, Division 4 and Cop Shop, and nominates TV and film work as her favourite: “because I love variety.  I nearly died of boredom in Passage From India during its West End run.  I hated going on stage doing the same thing night after night for a perishing year.  It’s such a joy for me to see the TV and film industries booming here today.  Years ago I’d have to tell young actors ‘you’ll have to go overseas if you want to get anywhere.’  Now there’s an industry here to support them.”  Lorimer (not her real name) admits she is a compulsive TV viewer:  “I love watching the performances of all the wonderful young Australian talent – although to me anyone under 70 is just a chicken.  The Young Doctors is bags of fun.  Cop Shop is the right balance between crime and the natural gaiety of the characters in their private lives.”

Five men at crisis point
The stories of five middle-aged men, worried about their future and each facing a life in crisis, are depicted in a series of ABC plays titled A Place In The World.   The first five self-contained plays will each depict one of the central characters.  The final play will see the culmination of all five characters’ dilemmas as their gather for a school reunion.  A Place In The World is written by Michael Cove and stars John Gregg (The Oracle), John Gaden, Nick Tate, Paul Mason and Kerry Francis as the main characters.

Briefly…
ABC’s Earthwatch host, 23-year-old Peter Cousens has landed a key role in the upcoming mini-series The Timeless Land.  Cousens will play Patrick, the son of ruthless landowner Stephen Manion (Michael Craig).  The series also stars Rod Mullinar, Chris Haywood and Angela Punch.

Theatrical producer Peter Williams is planning to make a TV soap opera, based on a setting ‘that’s never been exploited before’, for the 6-7pm timeslot.   The idea hasn’t been presented to any of the networks as yet.

John Ewart is returning to The Young Doctors in his role of Horrie Jamison, father of medical orderly Dennis (Chris King).

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
”Does ABC have a horse lover in its programming department?  How otherwise can anyone account for the network putting to air Ride On Stranger right after the excellent A Horseman Riding By?” G. Morris, NSW.

“John Michael Howson’s cruel, offensive and downright stupid remarks on The Mike Walsh Show about so many fine and accomplished actors and actresses, some who happen to be dead, are a disgrace.” E. Melville, NSW.

“I have recently read a book, The Plug-In Drug, by Marie Winn.  She believes that TV is an addictive, sedative drug which reduces children’s ability to think and talk.  A child’s mind, I have heard, is virtually inactive when watching TV.  It is also said to reduce a child’s perception and creativity.  Since reading the book I have found it difficult to give up TV, which seems to support the description ‘addictive.’  TV could be a marvellous educational aid if the viewing time of children was properly monitored.” E. Hutson, NSW.

What’s On (August 25-31):
Sound Unlimited (HSV7, Saturday morning) with Donnie Sutherland (pictured) pays tribute to the super hits of the last five years.

In Chopper Squad (ATV0, Sunday), a rock climber is almost hung by the neck.  Starring Dennis Grosvenor, Eric Oldfield, Robert Coleby, John Clayton, Tony Hughes, Kerri Eichhorn and Lannie Dalziel.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at eighty years of Australian politics – including Australia’s first Prime Minister, Edmund Barton, and the battle between Gough Whitlam and Sir John Kerr.

Vic Cameron (Terry Donovan), the new head of CI at Cop Shop (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), is not the efficient, disciplinarian everyone was expecting and the atmosphere is very tense, with Johnson (Peter Adams) caught in the middle, acting as a buffer to the others’ anger.

Country singer Reg Lindsay and British comedians The Two Ronnies, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, are among the guests this week on The Don Lane Show (GTV9, Monday and Thursday).

ATV0 presents its annual telethon for the Deafness Foundation of Victoria.  Newsreader Bruce Mansfield introduces the telethon at 7.30pm Friday, with Annette Allison in the phone room.  The telethon continues overnight, with movies Road To Hong Kong, Help! and Keep On Rockin’ filling the hours between 2.00am and 8.00am Saturday morning.  The telethon continues through until midnight Saturday night.  The telephone number for donations is (03) 234 0011.

Sunday night movies: The Summer Of My German Soldier (HSV7), Living Free (GTV9), Night Chase (ATV0).  ABC presents A Man Of Ideas, the first play in the series A Place In The World, starring John Gregg.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 25 August 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: August 18-24

Young Doctor in love
Dr Peter Holland (Peter Lochran, pictured) has often been seen as the heartless playboy out for a good time in The Young Doctors.  But the arrival of Maria Pazios (Sigrid Thornton) is set to change all that.  It is love at first sight for the pair but it is set to be a rocky road to romance, as Maria’s parents have arranged a marriage for her in Malaysia.  She was born in Greece but raised in Malaysia.

Jackie Collins’ plans for Don Lane
Best-selling author Jackie Collins is determined that she will direct as well as write the next movie adaptation of one of her books – and Don Lane may have a key role in it.  In Australia to promote her book and movie The World Is Full Of Married Men, Jackie and her husband Oscar Lerman spoke at length with Lane and told him he would be the right fit for a key character in their next film.  Lane, admitting he had been “bitten” by movie offers, has adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

Not just a pretty voice!
Top-rating Melbourne radio announcer Greg Evans (pictured) has made the big break into television.  The popular night-time announcer on 3XY, voted Victoria’s most popular radio DJ four times, now presents a weekly segment on The Mike Walsh Show.  The 26-year-old is out on the streets interviewing adults on various topical subjects for the weekly segment.  “With my radio shift being an evening one, it means that I can utilise my daytime hours to fir in nicely with The Mike Walsh Show,” he told TV Times. 

Agreement over jail recess row
The dispute between the cast of Prisoner and Melbourne channel ATV0 has been resolved amicably.  The cast had protested when it was rumoured that production would stop with ten weeks over summer because of the channel’s commitment to racing – in particular the Melbourne Cup Carnival in November.  This would have meant a ten-week break without pay.  Producer Ian Bradley said a six-week break was now decided: “Facilities have been found for the remaining weeks of production.  Really, the dispute has been a non-event.  We have been having continuous discussion with the cast and Actors’ Equity and have reached an amicable solution without any trouble.”  Despite the shorter production break, two of the show’s cast, recently-married Barry Quin and Peita Toppano (pictured), will be taking a two-month holiday to the UK over the Christmas period.

Born to be wild
A former New Zealand bikie with a tough public image in his home country, actor Bill Stalker (pictured) is cautious about his portrayal of gruff airport security officer Ken Peterson in Skyways as he is not keen to sustain the same reputation in Australia.  “I started an acting career in 1969 and won a role in an episode of a series called Pukemianu as a character called Sammy, a bikie.  The casting people suggested me – then described as ‘that bikie who does a bit of acting.’  It was a fair description too.  As a teenager I did ride a big motorcycle in a gang and got up to the crazy stunts bikie gangs are known for.  We drank a lot, had wild parties and enjoyed the girls that go with them.  I wasn’t really surprised when I became an actor with the reputation of being a hell-raising tough guy.”  But now 31-years-old, Stalker is no longer the rebellious teenager and is hoping that he can break out of the tough image of his earlier years.  Before coming to Australia for Skyways, he had been in Shakespeare plays, a children’s film and a Spike Milligan comedy.  In 1976 he was nominated for actor of the year for his role in New Zealand drama Close To Home. 

Briefly…
Prisoner star Val Lehman has been allowed a two-week break from the series to star in an upcoming ABC play, The Dole Bludger, with former Prisoner co-star Carol Burns.

Sydney actor Robert Hughes, who has been appearing in underwear commercials warning about getting caught with your pants down, is currently working on Graham Kennedy’s ABC radio comedy show and is to be appear in upcoming pilots to be made by RS Productions for the Seven Network.

Actress Liddy Clark, fresh from her role in ABC’s Ride On Stranger, is now being seen on the 0-10 Network’s Prisoner.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
”I would like to congratulate ABC for their long-awaited Sunday morning ethnic programs.  It is about time the large ethnic community in Sydney was given a fair go on TV.” J. Gailis, NSW.

“It is with great disappointment that we will no longer be able to view the great Australian show, Cop Shop, due to BTQ7 Brisbane removing from its normal time of 8.30pm.  If it stays at 7.30pm we will sadly not be able to see it, as The Restless Years on TVQ0 is a more more suitable show for children aged nine to 13.  We will not be bothered to turn the dial back to Seven to watch Skyways, as the previews of it seem to consist of nothing but smut.  Good for our children to see, isn’t it?” M. Gundry, QLD.

“Congratulations to ABC for yet another fine Australian series, Twenty Good Years.  The acting must be about the best on TV.  Just look at the brilliant case.  Harold Hoplins, Peter Cummins, Anne Pendlebury, Michael Carmen, all those wonderful people from the Melbourne Theatre Company… Sandy Gore, Gary Down, Jonathan Hardy, Julia Blake and that wonderful pair Leila Hayes and John Murphy!  The sets, scripts and everything else are always at that perfect ABC standard.” J. Kelly, VIC.

What’s On (August 18-24):
Joining Ernie Sigley and Belinda Leigh on HSV7’s Saturday Night Live are guests Michelle Fawdon, Normie Rowe, Julie McKenna, Shirlene Clancey, Russell Morris and Neil Williams.

ABC’s Sunday afternoon movie the the US drama Barnaby And Me, featuring Young Talent Time cast member Sally Boyden.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at the development of Australia’s motion picture and theatre industry – including footage from the world’s first feature film The Story Of The Kelly Gang.

Marc Hunter, Renee Geyer and Air Supply are guest performers in the latest Paul Hogan Show special screening on GTV9 on Tuesday night.  Later in the evening, ATV0 presents an adults-only special So You Want To Be A Centrefold – a ‘special investigation’ showing Australia’s centrefold girls at home, at work and in the studio.

The Federal Budget is handed down in Canberra on Tuesday.  ABC presents five and ten minute summaries at 8.25pm and 9.20pm before follow-up coverage in Nationwide at 9.30pm.  HSV7 presents a half-hour report at 10.30pm with Laurie Wilson in Canberra.  GTV9 has a one-hour Budget report at 10.30pm and ATV0 has five-minute reports at 9.30pm and 10.35pm.

ABC presents the first of a six-part series, Hospital.  The first episode, titled Casualty,  depicts the hectic day and night of the casualty section of St Vincent’s Hospital with cases ranging from small cuts to heroin doses, and coping with the drama faced by people entering hospital.

Sunday night movies: Maneaters Are Loose (HSV7), Harold And Maude (GTV9), Magnum Force (ATV0).  ABC presents Romeo And Juliet, the second in the series of all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays to be adapted for television by BBC.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 18 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

TV names in Queen’s Birthday Honours

John Michael Howson (pictured) and actor Joe Hasham are two of the over 550 Australians to be acknowledged in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Howson started his career as a newspaper cadet journalist before becoming a writer for Melbourne’s ATV0 in 1964, contributing to The Ray Taylor Show and co-writer and performer (as Clown) for The Magic Circle Club, and followed the latter when it moved to ABC and became Adventure Island.

He later became a regular presenter on The Mike Walsh Show, Midday With Ray Martin and Good Morning Australia – including 17 years as Hollywood correspondent.  Howson has since returned to writing where he co-wrote stage hits Shout! and Dusty and is a presenter on radio station 3AW.

Lebanese-born Joe Hasham (pictured) rose to fame in Australia in the early 1970s as gay lawyer Don Finlayson in the controversial soap drama Number 96.  The character of Finlayson was seen as ground-breaking for being the first openly gay character in a TV series, and was one of only three characters to survive the show’s entire six-year run. 

Following the end of Number 96 in 1977, Hasham went on to appear in The Young Doctors and in the early 1980s hosted the variety series Cabaret on Channel 0/28 (now SBS).  Hasham is now based in Malaysia.

This year’s honours list included a posthumous recognition for surgeon and cancer campaigner Prof Chris O’Brien who died only last week.  Prof O’Brien was known to viewers through his appearances on the Nine Network medical series RPA.

Jonathon Welch, creator of the Choir of Hard Knocks which featured on ABC, journalist and former 60 Minutes reporter Ian Leslie and SBS chairwoman Carla Zampatti were also recognised in this year’s honours.

1979: May 26-June 1

The girl who leads Norman a merry dance
Pamela Gibbons has emerged as one of Australia’s most versatile performers, whether it be acting, singing, dancing or choreographing.  A former member of Ronne Arnold’s contemporary dance theatre with stage acting roles to her credit and a six-month stint in Number 96, Gibbons has recently had the female lead in the ABC drama The Oracle and has been dancer and choreographer for The Norman Gunston Show since it started on ABC in 1975 and has followed the show to the Seven Network.   Gibbons and Gunston (both pictured) will appear in this week’s The Norman Gunston Show in a Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers-style song and dance routine.  Working with Garry McDonald (Gunston) has given Gibbons a new confidence in aspiring to a higher standard, such as taking on the role in The Oracle, starring opposite John Gregg, and is now keen to tackle some of the classics of the stage: “That would be a step forward in confidence.  I’d particularly love to play Chekov’s The Three Sisters.  The words are so beautiful.”

Kennedy’s comeback in TV comedy?
Graham Kennedy may return to TV in a comedy series being developed for the Seven Network by RS Productions, producers of The Naked Vicar Show.  Kennedy has already featured in a series of radio plays produced by RS and aired on ABC.  The new TV series, Comedy Playhouse, will be made up of seven half-hour situation comedies, though producers Tony Sattler and Gary Reilly declined to comment on reports that Kennedy would feature in the series.  Since Blankety Blanks wound up production late last year, Kennedy has made a movie – The Odd Angry Shot – and hosted one edition of Sydney TEN10’s Saturday night variety show.

Tanya: Why I came back to TV
Twenty years after becoming one of ABC’s first female TV presenters and after a six-year absence from TV, Tanya Halesworth has returned to host a new ABC series, Sunday Spectrum.  So what prompted Halesworth’s departure from TV, as host (pictured) of Nine’s all-female current affairs program No Man’s Land?  “My youngest son was two, and, well, I’m just the sort of person who hates to miss something I’ll never experience again, and I had a fear of missing out on my boys’ childhood.  I’m not unique.  It’s the sort of situation most women who work find themselves in.”  Halesworth agreed to host Sunday Spectrum as it was “the first suitable, meaning part-time, offer I’ve had since deciding I could come back to work.  And I think the program is something that is needed on TV at the moment.”  Sunday Spectrum is a two-and-a-half-hour program of local and overseas content on general subjects and the arts.

Briefly…
Pop singer Frank Howson and former Early Bird Show co-host Mike McCarthy are working on two children’s series for the Grundy Organisation.  Howson’s project, The Magic Trucking Company, has a strong rock music element and is aimed at eight to 12 year olds.  McCarthy is developing a new format that producer Godfrey Philipp is not ready to give any details on at this stage.  Grundy’s are also planning a children’s drama aimed at breaking down barriers between children of different nationalities.

Cornelia Frances is set to make a return to TV after her departure from the role of Sister Scott (pictured) in The Young Doctors last year.  The actress has had talks with Crawford Productions and is to appear in Cop Shop and Skyways for the Seven Network.

ABC producer Brian Adams has just completed an 80-minute special, in conjunction with Munich’s RM Productions, following the life of Dame Joan Sutherland from her home in Switzerland to touring across the US, Europe, United Kingdom, Japan, Korea and Australia.  The special, Joan Sutherland – Life On The Move, airs on ABC nationally in August.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”I read that black and white shows will not come back.  It’s a shame.  What difference does it make to watch a black and white movie or serial once a week?  Give us repeats of Rawhide, 77 Sunset Strip, Wanted Dead Or Alive and Surfside Six.  Can’t one channel give it a try and watch the ratings?” T. Thompson, NSW.

“Having seen for myself the idiotic antics of Ron Blanchard introducing young viewers to his ARVO program and making them wait for Play School and Sesame Street while he converses with a puppet called Alexander the Bunyip, I have decided that ABC is no better than the commercials in providing suitable children’s TV.” K. Lochin, NSW.

“I would just like to say something to the people who think Ian Meldrum is a hopeless compere.  Who was it who put the drug specials on TV to help teenagers in these sorts of jams?  Who was it who spent all his time and effort in these specials?  That’s right – Ian Meldrum.  Also, who is it who is now involved in the ‘Save the Whale’ campaign and who is getting all your kids into it as well so that the whales won’t become extinct.  Right again – Ian Meldrum.” D. Lane, VIC.

What’s On (May 26-June 1)
ATV0 launches a new 7.00pm game show, $10,000 Winner’s Circle, hosted by Sandy Scott.

Overseas stars Jack Lemmon, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Chevy Chase, Leif Garrett and Glen Campbell are some of the guests to appear in this week’s The Norman Gunston Show on HSV7.  Also appearing are Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum, Johnny Farnham and Pamela Gibbons.

ATV0 screens the highly-anticipated first two parts of the US mini-series Roots: The Next Generations, the sequel to the mini-series Roots that earned top ratings around the world two years earlier.  The mini-series airs in two-hour episodes this Monday and Thursday evening and continues in the same timeslot over the coming weeks.

The final episode of drama series The Oracle screens on ABC.

On Wednesday night, GTV9 presents a one-hour special on the Billy Graham Sydney Crusade.

Actress Jacki Weaver is the guest star in this week’s Capriccio on ABC, also featuring the Claire Poole Singers, the Carlson Chorale, Daniel Barenboim and George Golla.

Sunday night movies: Eleven Harrowhouse (HSV7), Hustling (GTV9), Dirty Harry (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 26 May 1979.  ABC/ACP