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

1979: September 8-14

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1979: June 30-July 6

Countdown – 200 not out!
In less than five years, Countdown has progressed from a hesitant, experimental program to a powerful force in the pop industry.  The program claims a weekly audience of over four million and superstars are scrambling for an invitation to appear.  And, even though the show’s host and talent co-ordinator Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum (pictured) is often mumbling on camera, he is an industry legend.  The ‘Molly’ nickname originated from a regular column that Meldrum wrote for Go-Set magazine that was referred to by Melbourne radio identity Stan Rofe as “Molly’s Piece,” as it could be a bit bitchy.  The ‘Molly’ reference was back again when pop star John Paul Young introduced the host as “boring Molly Meldrum” in the third episode of the show.  The name has stuck ever since.  Producer Michael Shrimpton recalls the development of the show: “When we started we had just five film clips from overseas and we just used them over and over, just to add overseas acts to the show.  Now we get offers from all over the world for first-release material, and whenever stars visit they want to appear on Countdown.  There is no doubt about the respect the show has.”  Shrimpton also credits Countdown as breaking Eurovision Song Contest winners ABBA into the Australian market: “ABBA were nothing in this country, but Countdown picked them up and look what happened.  An album track, Mamma Mia, was released as a single just for Australia.”  Local bands such as AC/DC, Skyhooks, Hush, Sherbet, Dragon and The Angels can also credit Countdown for their big breaks which have led to Australian and international success.  But despite the countless acts that have appeared on the show over its first 200 episodes, its biggest guest star was one Prince Charles – to which Molly casually recalled a recent trip to London: “I saw your Mum in an open carriage in the Mall.”  The Prince frostily replied, “do you mean Her Majesty The Queen?”

Gunston in union row
Norman Gunston is in trouble with Australian journalists following a press conference in Sydney for visiting American evangelist Dr Billy Graham.  In a letter to Actors’ Equity from Barry Porter, president of the NSW branch of the Australian Journalists Association, complaints were made of interference of '”non-AJA members” at the press conference.  Although Gunston is not specifically mentioned in the letter, it is known by Actors’ Equity that he is a target of complaints from the AJA.  John Eastway, producer of The Norman Gunston Show, said that Gunston (played by Garry McDonald) never sought to dominate press conferences: “He usually waits until there is a gap in the questions.  At the Billy Graham press conference, he put his questions 20 minutes after the conference had begun – and when he had finished, the proceedings continued on as before.  I think the whole thing is a joke.” 

So you want to be a …
The Young Doctors star Joe Hasham (pictured) has been trying out a number of jobs in different fields, but it’s not because he is down on his luck as an actor.  Instead, the job-hopping is all in the name of entertainment as Hasham introduces viewers to a different occupation each month in a segment on The Steve Raymond Show.  As well as introducing the segment he also demonstrates what the job entails.  Previous segments have seen Hasham as a policeman, garbage collector, barman, brewery worker and a shearer.  Apart from his acting interests Hasham would like to move into the area of producing programs such as telemovies: “But, after my family, acting still comes first at the moment.”

Briefly…
ABC presenter Peter Wherrett and newsreader James Dibble are two of the guests to appear on Mr Squiggle’s Birthday Party special to air this week.  The two-hour special commemorates Mr Squiggle’s 20th year on television.

Phones ran hot at ABC recently following a newspaper report that Countdown was expanding to a daily two-hour format as well as the usual Sunday episode.  The truth is that Countdown will continue in its present format.

A documentary which claims to reveal the identity and whereabouts of some of the world’s most wanted war criminals will probably be screened by the Seven Network in August.  The documentary, The Hunter And The Hunted, was made by Sydney film-makers John Oakley and Bill Bemister and was partially financed by Seven.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
”I appreciate the efficiency with which Mastermind is organised but I find it too rigid and unfriendly.  Could we have the occasional laugh or just a smile?”" P. Bartok, NSW.

“It was with pleasure and relief I read in TV Times (5 May 1979) of the extended help coming from the Australian Centre for Visual Television (ACVT) to help and benefit the deaf in understanding and enjoying TV.  It will certainly help the deaf feel TV is for them too.” M. King, NSW.

“It amazes me why, on commercial stations, some advertisements aim at degrading children who live in the city.  We all know that hens lay eggs and cows give milk.  Why do some advertising agencies persist in making city children look stupid by saying milk comes from a bottle and eggs come from cartons?” J. Levi, SA.

What’s On (June 30-July 6):
Barry Crocker presents ABC’s first Saturday Special program with a comedy and variety show featuring Denise Drysdale, Peter Russell-Clarke, Peter Brock and Allison Durbin.

On the afternoon before Countdown presents its 200th episode, ABC’s Sunday Spectrum takes a special look at a week in the life of Countdown’s production unit – with sequences shot in discos, record companies, studios and concerts, as well as glimpses of the producers at work and home.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) recalls the careers of Jack Davey and Bob Dyer (pictured), who both dominated Australia’s radio airwaves.  Their famous catchphrases such as ’Hi Ho Everybody!’ and ‘Happy Lathering Customers’ became the most familiar words on radio.

Starting 11.00pm Wednesday night, GTV9 presents live coverage of Wimbledon 1979.

HSV7’s Friday afternoon children’s program Stax looks at the Jewish religion and talks with 13-year-old Gerard, who has just celebrated his bar mitzvah and is learning Hebrew.

Sunday night movies: Twilight’s Last Gleaming (HSV7), Cabaret (GTV9), The Outlaw Josey Wales (ATV0).  ABC presents the BBC production of Shakespeare’s Richard II, the first of the British broadcaster’s series of 37 Shakespeare plays to be produced and screened over the next six years.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 30 June 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: June 9-15

Wishing on a star
TV Times asked six TV stars to nominate the secret role they’d most love to play.  Victoria Nicolls (The Restless Years) said she would love to do musical comedy roles.  “And if they were making The Ann Miller Story, I’d be desperate to play her.”  Michael Beecher (The Young Doctors) nominated the role of King Lear: “but unfortunately I don’t look old enough yet.”  Former Prisoner actress Carol Burns has a yearning to play Sally Bowles, the lead in Cabaret.  Bert Newton (pictured) sees Napoleon Bonaparte as his ideal fantasy role.  “Napoleon seems to me to have been a great personality and even today there is a great mystery about it.”  The Norman Gunston Show’s Pamela Gibbons would love to play a Marlene Dietrich-style role: “I’ve always admired Marlene Dietrich’s quality and charisma.  She was courageous in her era, introducing the trans-sexual look, which she virtually created in The Blue Angel.”  And Michael Caton, from The Sullivans, would like to play Fagin from the musical Oliver: “Fagin was an opportunist – a great character to play!”

Second century for Luck
The Seven Network has commissioned a further seven episodes of the documentary series This Fabulous Century.  This now brings the show’s tally to 37 episodes, starting with the 24 that were originally commissioned by Seven and six that were added later.  Producer David Salter said there will be no problem in filling the additional episodes on order: “There are some episodes we’d done some work on, then put aside in favour of other subjects.  We can move on to developing this material again.”  Also since the series had first gone to air, people had contacted the production company, Peter Luck Productions, offering more film footage from private collections.  Some of this ‘new’ footage has also been added to the national film archive.

Our China series big hit overseas
This week Australian TV networks will be vying to buy The Human Face Of China, the Film Australia documentary series acclaimed by buyers from 23 international territories at the MIPTV market in Cannes in April.  The series of five half-hour programs was researched and filmed in China over five months last year – the first time a non-socialist western film crew was allowed to film in China since 1949.  The program has already been picked up by US broadcaster WNET as well as broadcasters in Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan and Denmark.  There are still negotiations taking place with broadcasters in the United Kingdom, Finland, Israel, French Canada, Sweden, Norway, South Korea, Japan, Greece, Italy and France.

Variety’s the spice of Kathy’s life
I’m Looking At The World Through Rose-Coloured Glasses was the first song Kathy Lloyd (pictured) sang after her son was abducted.  She had to – it was already scheduled for her next Sound Of Music TV show.  After she was awarded custody of her son, Perry, her former husband took the boy to the US without her knowledge or consent.  That was eleven years ago and Lloyd hasn’t seen her son since.  Work offers for the singer dried up after news of the divorce and abduction was splashed across the media – though Lloyd is making a TV comeback with a role in the ABC series TV Follies, though it wasn’t without its own problems.  She was bruised when she fell two metres off the set of the show and landed on her back.  She “took five,” had a drink of water and went back to work.  The show must go on, she says, whether it’s after a fall or a personal tragedy.

Briefly…
Children will have the chance to become “earth watchers” when a new ABC series, Earthwatch, goes to air later this year.  The series of 26 half-hour episodes aims to educate on the natural and man-made environments and will incorporate a club which viewers will be able to join.

Debbie Hancock, a cast member of Young Talent Time, was runner-up in the recent Victorian Miss Teenage Quest for 1979 – raising more than $7000 for the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne.

The Survivors, a four-part children’s series telling the story of a group of teenagers who become lost while on a camping expedition, has been produced by ABC in Tasmania.  The series debuts this week in Tasmania and will air in other States later in the year.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”Why must SAS10 Adelaide insist on trying to shove Steve Raymond’s show down our throats?  They deliberately swapped their two very good “soaps,” The Young And The Restless and Another World with Raymond so that Another World, and NWS9’s Days Of Our Lives are in competition with each other.” L. McKenzie, SA.

“Sometimes I am horrified when I hear people say ABC is the worst channel on TV.  An informative, musical, scientific, action-packed, dramatic or professional line-up of night and pre-evening screening is shown every night.  Along with a comprehensive coverage of sport with no advertising, cheap publicity, false images or plastic imitations, it makes me shake my head in bewilderment at the automatic criticising of this down-to-earth station.” W. Stevens, SA.

“Are we so short of things to laugh at that we have to be fed Norman Gunston’s interview with Lee Marvin, prior to the latter entering a court of law.  He reminds me of the boy who passed wind in class and somebody laughed, thus realising an ambition to become a comedian.” L. Barton, QLD.

What’s On (June 9-15):
This Week Has Seven Days (HSV7, Saturday) looks at ten-pin bowling – how to do it and also to see how a bowling alley works.

This week’s TV Follies (ABC, Saturday) tells the passions and human drama of life behind the scenes in Hollywood in the remake of Death At Copacabana.  Starring Kathy Lloyd and Normie Rowe.

On Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday, ATV0 presents coverage of the 1979 Prudential Cup one-day cricket between Australia and England, live from Lords, England.   Richie Benaud heads the commentary team, with local commentary from Phil Gibbs, Bob Simpson and Tony Greig.  The Prudential Cup continues on Wednesday night with Australia versus Pakistan.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at the media with a collection of film clips and interviews with the stars of radio and television.

On The Paul Hogan Show (GTV9, Wednesday) the tax man pays Hoges a visit, with hilarious results when Hoges unveils his latest deduction.  Hoges also offers his views about dentists, and the job of a receptionist will never seem the same.

ABC presents the series debut of In The Wild With Harry Butler, this week looking at South Australia as Butler shows the many moods of the desert.

Sunday night movies: Love And Pain And The Whole Damn Thing (HSV7), A Good Thing Going (GTV9), You Only Live Twice (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 9 June 1979.  ABC/ACP

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

1978: June 10-16

Cover Story: Norman's Conquests
Prior to the new series of The Norman Gunston Show on the Seven Network, actor Garry McDonald tells TV Times about the perils of the celebrity interviews of his alter ego - but the actor says that only one interviewee became really annoyed: film director Ken Russell. As McDonald recalls, "I asked him why he produced, directed and wrote the films. 'Can't you afford staff?' I asked. He unhooked the mike, went over the other side of the studio and shouted 'bleep' off. So I 'bleeped' off." Other interviewees were more wised up on the Gunston gag, including Phil Silvers and Dean Jones, but while Terry Savalas' publicist had figured out the gag, the actor himself didn't catch on.

The end of the Affair
The cancellation of the long-running A Current Affair doesn't appear to have slowed down the show's former host Mike Schildberger who is still working 12-hour days with his own company Schil Productions. The TV veteran also recalled to TV Times his childhood, including his family fleeing Hitler's Germany to Australia when he was 16 months old, and his musical achievements - or confessed, his lack thereof - while a student at Melbourne Grammar School.

SWAT swatted!
A Melbourne-based lobby group has launched a campaign against violence on TV following the American police series SWAT screening on the Nine Network. The Australian Children's Television Action Committee had written to companies whose products were advertised during the program to point out their responsibility to viewers and suggesting a possible boycott of such programs. But advertising and television executives felt that the industry was acting responsibly and that parents should be more active in controlling what their children see on television rather than dictating to networks and advertisers.

Blankety Blanks under fire
The Australian Broadcasting Tribunal has written to TV stations after receiving complaints about the popular 0-10 Network game show Blankety Blanks (pictured). The Tribunal had expressed concern about the often-risque program screening on some stations in afternoon timeslots usually reserved for children's programming. Complaints about the program have seen it taken off the air by various regional stations including BTV6 Ballarat, CTC7 Canberra and CBN8 Orange, and the program being moved to late-night timeslots on Victorian stations BCV8 Bendigo, GLV10 Gippsland, STV8 Mildura and GMV6 Shepparton. A representative from producers Grundy Productions said that problems had only arisen where stations had slotted the program in before 6.00pm.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"I don't expect my letter will do much good, but I must say how disappointed I was that A Current Affair had been scrapped." E. Cole, QLD.

"What is ABC doing to Dr Who and his followers? In recent months we have picked up where Tom Baker left off, only to have "the robot" story thrown in, to have Jon Pertwee change to Tom Baker after we had seen Baker for some weeks. Why?" L. Jack, NSW.

"When a channel (ATN7 Sydney) promotes a special such as the 2 1/2 hour Nutcracker Suite, by the Bolshoi Ballet, surely it's reasonable to expect that commercials should be cut in with some thought? I have up watching Nutcracker after 30 minutes after several beautiful movements had been butchered to accommodate commercials." M. Bennett, NSW.

What's On (June 10-16):
ABC presents the first in the interview series Woman In Question which aims to examine the philosophies, beliefs and ethics of influential women. This week's episode features magazine editor Ita Buttrose.

ATV0 presents a one-hour special Roots: One Year Later, a tribute to the US mini-series that received record viewing figures - including interviews with cast members and producers of the mini-series.

Enzo Pantano and Trevor White are among the guests on ATV0's Peter Couchman Tonight this week, while Bartholomew John and Cop Shop's Joanna Lockwood are two of this week's guests on HSV7's Penthouse '78.

Sunday night movies are I Will, I Will For Now (HSV7), On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (GTV9) and The Mackintosh Man (ATV0). ABC presents an Australian-US co-produced telemovie Because He's My Friend, filmed in Sydney and featuring Jack Thompson, Tom Oliver (Number 96, Bellbird), June Salter (The Restless Years) and American actress Karen Black.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 10 June 1978 ABC/ACP

1978: April 15-21

Holiday's new Bill of fare:TV Times previews the new series of ABC's Holiday, hosted by Bill Peach (pictured) with reporters Jan Kingsbury and Jeff Watson. The new series covers destinations across Australia, New Zealand, France, Greece and the Pacific region.
No blankety rift with channel, says Harry M:Harry M Miller, manager for Graham Kennedy, denies rumours that he will be seeking to move Kennedy's Blankety Blanks to another Melbourne channel following public criticism of Melbourne's ATV0 by Kennedy. "That's ridiculous," Miller told TV Times, "after all, we do have a contract with them and we're in no position to be talking about going somewhere else." Now in its second year, Blankety Blanks continues to win the important 7.00pm timeslot in Sydney but struggles in Melbourne. Both Miller and an ATV0 spokesman confirmed that there had been criticism over the channel's lead-in program to Blankety Blanks, the lower-rating game show $30,000 Treasure Hunt, but this situation had been rectified with the recent expansion of the local Eyewitness News to a one-hour format.
Gunston in harness with Ben Hur! Norman Gunston (Garry McDonald) interviewed Hollywood great Charlton Heston for his Hollywood special to air on the Seven Network: "Did you ever run across my Aunt Naomi, Ben.. sorry Mr Heston. She and Uncle Remo live in Malta, which can't be that far from your old stomping ground." (A rather timely interview, given that Heston passed away this same week, thirty years later.)
Mary takes a risky trip:
Ernie Sigley, who recently filled in for Mary Hardy (pictured) on HSV7's Penthouse '78 while she was covering the Academy Awards for radio 3AW, could be a regular co-host with Hardy on the Saturday night variety show. However, this week's co-host for Penthouse '78 is Willesee At Seven reporter Paul Makin which could be interesting as after the last time Makin appeared on the program, Hardy was quoted that he would be back "over my dead body."
Philip Brady's wild party:It was a reunion of many of Melbourne's radio and TV personalities when Philip Brady (pictured) celebrated his 20th year in the business. Among the celebrities gathered at the party were Joff Ellen, Happy Hammond, Jack Little, Evie Hayes, Tommy Hanlon Jnr, interstate guests Mike Walsh and Jimmy Hannan, and GTV9 personalities Eric Pearce, Vi Greenhalf and Pete Smith.
Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:"Thank goodness Graham Kennedy lost his voice on Blankety Blanks! The show, such as it is, was much better without him acting the ass. The gentleman who took his place was a great improvement." E. Allen, NSW.
"I thought Marcia Hines' Music was great. It was really good to see our queen of pop doing a show such as that. She is a fantastic singer and feeds good publicity. I hope she will be coming to Brisbane soon." C. Close, QLD.
"There's this commercial for a well-known brand of fly spray: a father and son come inside for lunch. The father spots a fly, which is quickly dispatched with the aid of the fly spray. Then follows a homily, from the father, about dirty disease-carrying flies, following which both father and son sit down to eat without washing their hands!" A. Dickens, NSW.
What's On (April 15-21):ABC presents the final episode of Marcia Hines' Music, featuring guest stars Johnny Farnham and Linda George.
Weekend sport includes Saturday night VFL replays on ABC and HSV7, Sunday afternoon VFA Football on ATV0, and Australian Sports Sedans on ABC.
GTV9 presents the British Film And TV Awards to be hosted by Susannah York and Andrew Gardner with an appearance by the president of the British Academy of Film and TV Arts, Princess Anne.
Sunday night movies are Street People (HSV7), Once Upon A Time In The West (GTV9) and The Last Summer (ATV0) up against another episode of I Claudius on ABC, followed by The Tinder Box, a ballet based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen.
Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 15 April 1978. ABC/ACP