1979: October 13-19

TV’s Big Night Out
TV Times presents a list of all the nominations for this week’s Australian Film and Television Awards – the Sammys – to be held at Sydney’s Seymour Centre and televised through the Seven Network.

Among the television categories:

Best Variety Program: The Don Lane Show, Hollywood (TV Follies), Julie Anthony’s Gold Coast Special, Marcia’s Music, Miss Universe, Peter Couchman Tonight, The Saturday Night Show, It’s A Long Way There (Little River Band)

Best Light Entertainment: Family Feud, The Mike Walsh Show, Sound Unlimited, Nightmoves, Parkinson In Australia, Tasmanian New Faces, This Is Your Life.

Best Drama: Against The Wind, Cop Shop, The Oracle, Prisoner, Run From The Morning, The Restless Years, The Sullivans, The Young Doctors.

Best Current Affairs: A Day In The Life (TVW7 Perth), Eleven AM, Four Corners, Glenn Taylor’s Today Tonight (QTQ9 Brisbane), Haydn Sargent’s Brisbane (BTQ7 Brisbane), 60 Minutes, Terry Willesee’s Perth (STW9 Perth).

Best News Coverage: Bellevue Hotel Demolotion (ABQ2 Brisbane), Cadoux Earthquake (ABW2 Perth), Don Dunstan Resignation (NWS9 Adelaide), Heathcote Bushfires (TCN9 Sydney), Mackay-Townsville Cyclone (BTQ7 Brisbane), Mundy/Cribb Recapture (TEN10 Sydney), Strike after Unionist Arrests (TVW7 Perth), The O’Meally Interview (HSV7 Melbourne), Pentridge Riot (GTV9 Melbourne), Policeman’s Protest (QTQ9 Brisbane), Recapture of John Cribb (ATN7 Sydney), Skylab Report (STW9 Perth), Truro Murders Arrest (SAS10 Adelaide).

Best Children’s Series: Carrots, The Curiosity Show, Fat Cat And Friends, Flapper’s Factory, Here’s Humphrey, Kids Only, Nine Will Fix It, Play School, Romper Room, Rupert’s Roundabout, Shirl’s Neighbourhood, Stinger, Top Mates, Wombat.

Best Comedy Program: Neutral Ground (Tickled Pink), The Norman Gunston Show, Rugby League New Faces.

Best Variety Performer: Julie Anthony, Marcia Hines, Don Lane, Garry McDonald, Mike Walsh.

Best Actor in a TV Series: Peter Adams (Cop Shop), Michael Aitkens (Run From The Morning), Michael Caton (The Sullivans), Paul Cronin (The Sullivans), John Gregg (The Oracle, pictured), John Hamblin (The Restless Years), Gerard Kennedy (Against The Wind), Peter Lochran (The Young Doctors), Terry Norris (Cop Shop).

Best Actress in a TV Series: Liz Alexander (Golden Soak), Lorraine Bayly (The Sullivans, pictured), Carol Burns (Prisoner), Liddy Clark (Ride On Stranger), Sheila Florance (Prisoner), Vivean Gray (The Sullivans), Vikki Hammond (The Sullivans), Mary Larkin (Against The Wind), Joanna Lockwood (Cop Shop), Kerry McGuire (Against The Wind).

Best Writer (TV Series): Bronwyn Binns/Ian Jones (Against The Wind), Morris Gleitzmann (The Norman Gunston Show), Peter Kinloch (Against The Wind), Peter Luck/David Salter (This Fabulous Century), Tony Morphett (Against The Wind), Terry Stapleton (Cop Shop), David Stevens (The Sullivans), Reg Watson (Prisoner), Peter Yeldham (Run From The Morning).

Other TV categories: Chips Rafferty Memorial Award, Best New Talent, Best Sports Coverage, Best Documentary Program, Best TV Play, Best Actor in a Single TV Performance, Best Actress in a Single TV Performance, Best Writer (TV Play), Best Art Direction, Best Editing.

Gold Sammy (female): Julie Anthony, Lorraine Bayly, Zoe Bertram, Carol Burns, Michelle Fawdon, Vivean Gray, Vikki Hammond, Marcia Hines (pictured), Caroline Jones, Joanna Lockwood, Kerry McGuire, Diana McLean, Judy Morris, Julieanne Newbould, Joanne Samuel.

Gold Sammy (male): Harry Butler, Roger Climpson, Robert Coleby, Paul Cronin, Clive Hale, John Hamblin, John Hargreaves, Sir Robert Helpmann, Gerard Kennedy, Don Lane, Peter Lochran, Peter Luck, Garry McDonald, Richard Moir, Bert Newton, Michael Pate, Mike Walsh, Peter Wherrett.

Movie bombing was real thing!
The telemovie The John Sullivan Story created an exclusive world first when it was shown on Australian TV recently.  The telemovie’s sequences of the London bomb blitz was not special effects but was footage of the actual event.  It is believed to be the only colour footage of the era in existence and the only time it has been shown publicly was in The John Sullivan Story.  Associate Producer Allan Hardy said it was “pure luck” that the film was uncovered:  “Producer John Barrington rang a contact in London and asked if there was any colour film of London during the blitz.  I don’t think either he or the contact expected that there was so you can imagine how thrilled we were when a reel turned up.  Apparently an English woman had a habit of filming bomb salvage scenes at night.  She used to store the camera under her bed… where it remained until recently.  We now have the exclusive rights to what could be the only known colour film taken during the way.  It was a real stroke of luck and it hardly cost us anything.”

Will the real Pantyhose Murderer please stand up!
Producing a long-running TV series is not without its hazards and there isn’t a series that hasn’t given its writers challenges when things might go wrong or even when there are circumstances beyond the producers’ control.  Bill Harmon and Johnny Whyte, two of the names behind the phenomenally successful Number 96, cheerfully admit that mistakes were made during the show’s six years in production.  When the mystery “knicker snipper” was taunting the residents of Number 96 in 1972, three RSL clubs, noticing a downturn in attendances, chose to disclose the name of the attacker before it was known publicly.  Problem was, the scriptwriters didn’t even know it at that stage either.  Whyte recalls, “we had no idea who it was.  We had implied it was someone in the block of flats, but we were halfway through the story before we sat down and decided who it would be.”  Knowing that the series could not lose its two male sex symbols, Tom Oliver or Joe Hasham (pictured), they had little choice but to choose character Alan Cotterell (Mark Hashfield) as the culprit.  Sometimes scriptwriters just plainly make mistakes.  Both Harmon and Whyte recall one of their greatest regrets was allowing gay Dudley Butterfield (Chard Hayward) to turn bi-sexual, in the hope that giving him a female love interest would broaden his appeal with viewers.  The change did not work and Hayward left the show six months later.  Some of TV’s other dramas have also had their scriptwriting downfalls.  Hugh Stuckey, script editor for The Restless Years, admitted they were left with a dilemma when Julieanne Newbould decided to leave the series, leaving her on-screen husband, played by Malcolm Thompson, in limbo while Newbould’s character was said to be away on what must be the world’s longest cruise, while producers hope to coax Newbould back into the series.  It is a dilemma that is still yet to be resolved.  James Davern, producer of the former ABC series Bellbird, says that sometimes dilemmas are brought on when actors or actresses sometimes put a higher price on themselves which can conflict with production budgets:  “That’s always the problem of a producer of a long-running serial.  If they insist, then you have to write them out.  The easiest way to do that is to kill the character.”  Prisoner producer Ian Bradley has regretted writing out the character of prison counsellor Bill Jackson (Don Barker) by having him killed in an early episode of the series:  “I wrote him out in the interests of a dramatic storyline and, after the initial impact, I have wishing I could bring him back ever since.”  Sometimes when a favourite cast member leaves a show, scriptwriters do resort to bringing them back as another character.  After Number 96 killed off Les Whittaker (Gordon McDougall) in the famous bomb-blast episode, producers later brought him back as Whittaker’s twin brother, Andrew. 

Prisoner captures Jeanie the Cop Shop escapee
Actress Jeanie Drynan could have had an ongoing role in the popular series Cop Shop, but instead put love before career as she recently married writer/director Tony Bowman and as they are based in Sydney she decided she did not want to leave Sydney for an indefinite period for Cop Shop, based in Melbourne.  Instead, she has opted for a short-term role in another Melbourne-based series, Prisoner, which will see her away from Sydney for only a matter of weeks.

Briefly…
Prisoner co-stars and real-life newlyweds Peita Toppano and Barry Quin (pictured) are said to be leaving the top-rating 0-10 Network series.  Quin is to take the lead role in an upcoming ABC mini-series, Lucinda Brayford, while Toppano is negotiating for a role in the upcoming 0-10 Network mini-series Water Under The Bridge.

The Young Doctors star Karen Petersen doesn’t usually believe in “living” a role.  That is, until her character Erica Shaw was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.  “After reading the research notes and meeting people with MS, I knew the only way I could do the part was to live it – and I was always one actress who didn’t believe in doing that.”  The episodes of Erica’s diagnosis were produced in association with the Multiple Sclerosis Society of NSW and Petersen is now closely involved with the society and hoped to do voluntary work for the organisation.

The 0-10 Network has announced it has bought Film Australia’s five-part documentary series, The Human Face Of China.  Pat Cleary, programming director at TEN10 Sydney, said the series could be screened by the end of the year.

Peter Whitford, John Howard and Judy Davis have signed up for roles in upcoming mini-series Water Under The Bridge.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”The standard of TV commercials has fallen disastrously in the past couple of years.  I almost wish the battle against cigarette ads had been lost.” R. Milton, NSW.

“It amazes me that a TV channel with the number of viewers that NBN3 Newcastle has never seems to worry about public opinion.  Yet another enjoyable series which is only half finished is to be axed.  The series, Dallas, is apparently very popular with viewers.  During the last Christmas holidays all midday movies on NBN3 were adults movies, but on the day school resumed the channel screened Tom Thumb.  NBN3 also seems to be one of the few channels in Australia that doesn’t screen The Sullivans.  They did screen it for a few weeks, then axed it, much to viewers’ disappointment.” V. Skinner, NSW.

“I would like to see Tony Bonner back in Cop Shop even though his character, McKenna, is supposed to be dead.  He was really fantastic and made the program fantastic.  Now it is not so interesting.  Also Danni (Paula Duncan) is great and it’s good that she still holds the show together.  It would have been good for McKenna and Danni to get married, because they would have made a good couple.” S. Hatfield, WA.

“We like the ABC program Whodunnit, but it is on at an awkward time.  We like to watch Eight Is Enough which finishes at 8.30pm on HSV7, but Whodunnit starts at 8.15pm.  So we either turn over three-quarters of the way through Eight Is Enough or turn to Whodunnit at 8.30pm, and then it’s not much use watching it because it’s quarter over.” T. Mein and C. Searle, VIC.

What’s On (October 6-12):
Weekend sport includes Garden State PGA Championships, live from Mordialloc, Melbourne (ABC) and the South Pacific Classic tennis, live from Milton courts, Brisbane (HSV7).  On Saturday night, HSV7 presents live coverage of the final of the tennis Super Challenge, from Festival Hall, Melbourne.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at the history of three popular sports in Australia – surfing, cricket and football – as well a look at the career of tennis champion Evonne Cawley and Hawaiian swimming champion Kahanomoku, who introduced Australia to the sport of surfriding in 1915.

A repeat of controversial Australian movie Wake In Fright, starring Chips Rafferty, Jack Thompson, John Meillon, Buster Fiddess and Dawn Lake, screens Monday night on ATV0.

On Wednesday night, HSV7 presents the fourth annual presentation of the Australian Film and TV Awards – the Sammys – live from Sydney’s Seymour Centre and hosted by Roger Climpson. 

Friday night presents a clash of movie epics, with 55 Days At Peking (HSV7), The Guns Of Navarone (GTV9) and The Nun’s Story (ATV0).  All three movies are three hours in length.

TV Times advises:  “As TV Times went to press, GTV9 had removed screenings of Family Feud, The Young Doctors and The Sullivans due to an industrial dispute.  The channel advises that if workers resume, all three shows will be screened as normal.”  As a result, GTV9 has advised replacement programs My Three Sons, Celebrity Charades and Angie in the respective timeslots.

Sunday night movies: Gold (HSV7), Murder By Natural Causes (GTV9), The Corn Is Green (ATV0).  ABC screens Burn The Butterflies, the first in the series of Australian Plays, starring Ray Barrett, Fred Parslow, Gerard Maguire, Monica Maughan, George Mallaby and Alan Hopgood.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 6 October 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: September 8-14

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1979: 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

1979: March 10-16

Instant stardom, and how they handle it
With TV soap operas turning young, unknown actors into national celebrities overnight, it is easy for these young stars to let their newfound fame get to their head.   But some of these young actors - including The Restless Years' Victoria Nicolls, Julieanne Newbould and Michael Smith (pictured) - do manage to get through the heady period of stardom to emerge as proven talents.  Nicolls acknowledged the support and guidance of experienced performers such as colleague June Salter: "If you ask her something, she's so helpful.  She made me aware of camera techniques.  Helped with scenes, comedy - she has such wonderful comic timing."  Even though she grew up in showbusiness, Newbould still found the sudden overnight fame to be a shock: "For five years I'd done things like Matlock Police and Division Four.  People would say 'Oh, I saw you on TV last night,' but nothing like this.  People come up and cuddle me.  Big Italian mamas pinch my cheeks.  Some want you to come home and marry their sons."  Smith said that family and friends helped keep him down to earth: "They'd say 'Aw, shut up, we don't want to hear about The Restless Years anymore!'  Smith has also had the discipline of learning music from his mother, a piano teacher, and studying acting at Sydney's Ensemble Theatre under Hayes Gordon.  Producer of The Restless Years, Don Battye, said with established actors on the series such as June Salter, John Hamblin and Noel Trevarthen, they do offer help to the younger stars but, "of course with some kids you can't give them advice.  The only way they're going to learn is to get into trouble and learn from experience."

On your Marque!
Peter Wherrett's documentary series, Marque: 100 Years Of Motoring, has taken over eighteen months and visits to eight countries to complete.  The new series, beginning this week on ABC, looks at the development of the motor car as well as the industry's future.  "I'm quite confident that cars as we know them will be around until well into the next century," Wherrett (pictured) told TV Times.  "The industry is already planning the cars we will be driving then." 

Nude pin-up star on Hogan show
Former Miss World finalist and magazine centrefold Karen Pini (pictured) is one of the girls chosen for the first Paul Hogan show for 1979.  Pini, who is also soon to appear in The Young Doctors, is a replacement for Delvene Delaney who has left the show as she and husband, producer John Cornell, are expecting their first baby. 

It doesn't 'ad' up for Johnny
Johnny Farnham isn't too happy that he keeps hearing what sounds like himself doing commercials that he doesn't remember doing.  Farnham's producer Danny Finley said: "The situation is very embarrassing.  We have done a commercial for a bank.  We tried to make it very selective by doing only one.  Now we start hearing other commercials which sound like John and I suppose they sound that way to other people."  When asked if he thought the situation might be deliberate, Finley replied: "It is some coincidence!"

Briefly...
Mike McCarthy, host of ATV0's Early Bird Show, and his wife Caroline have just welcomed the arrival of twins, Ryan and Bridie.  The couple already have three other children, twins Damien and Emily, 8, and Benjamin, 6.

Production has started on a new ABC drama series, based on Kylie Tennant's novel, Ride On Stranger.  The series features Liddy Clark, Warwick Sims (Against The Wind), Michael Aitkens (The Truckies) and Noni Hazelhurst (The Sullivans). 

British actor Harry Corbett is to star in the new ABC children's series Earth Patrol.  The new series, being produced as part of the International Year Of The Child, will also star actor Gus Mercurio.  Meanwhile, producers are on the hunt for a 16 to 18-year-old boy to feature in the series.  Already cast in the series are 11-year-old twins Gayle and Gillian Blakeney and Darren Ormsby, 12.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
"All you people harping on the recent preponderance of sport on our TV - has it ever occurred to you that you don't have to watch it?  Can't you make your own entertainment?  Go for a walk instead of sitting passively in front of a TV set and waiting to be entertained."  M. Ryan, NSW.

"Three cheers for TEN10 Sydney for the new mini-series they have just screened on Friday nights.  I am talking about Sugartime, produced in the US and starring Barbi Benton and Didi Carr.  It is a refreshing change from the glamour drivel of Charlie's Angels, where all the pretty faces can do is hurtle 16-stone gangsters across rooms and run down Lincoln Continentals with nothing but their tricycles."  D. Ehrlich, NSW.

"Come on all you sports lovers, get up on your hind legs and be counted, otherwise the vocal minority may succeed by catching TV channel policymakers' ears and curtailing some of our precious sports telecasts."  A. Hartwig, QLD.

What's On (March 10-16):
Saturday afternoon sport includes Australia versus Pakistan in First Test cricket on ABC, live from Melbourne.  HSV7 has the Moomba Masters International Waterski Tournament from the Yarra River.  ATV0 goes to the races at Flemington with Newmarket Stakes Day, hosted by Michael Schildberger and racecaller Clem Dimsey.

Sunday afternoon on HSV7 includes a one-hour live telecast of Music For The People from the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne.  Hosted by Dan Webb, the telecast includes the Australian Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hector Crawford.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at Australian humour from the early days of Dad and Dave, Roy Rene and George Wallace through to current-day performers Paul Hogan, Barry Humphries, Garry McDonald and Ron Shand.

ABC starts its new 7.30pm line-up this week with new series of Are You Being Served? and George And Mildred, magazine program Holiday With Bill Peach, documentary series Marque: 100 Years Of Motoring, and on Friday night, The Two Ronnies.  ABC also launches new drama at 8.30pm with The Oracle on Monday night, starring John Gregg (pictured), Pamela Gibbons, Julie Hamilton and Danny Adcock, and Golden Soak on Tuesday, with Ray Barrett, Ruth Cracknell and Bill Hunter.

Friday night is highlighted by GTV9's presentation of the 1979 TV Week Logie Awards, hosted by Bert Newton and telecast live from the Hilton Hotel in Melbourne.  Special overseas guests include Robin Williams (Mork And Mindy), Susan Seaforth and Bill Hayes (Days Of Our Lives), Lauren Tewes (The Love Boat), Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy (George And Mildred) and championship boxer Muhammad Ali.  Meanwhile, HSV7 has St Kilda versus Fremantle in the Australian Football Championships.

Sunday night movies are Mad Dog Morgan (HSV7), The Users (GTV9) and Funny Lady (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 10 March 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: February 24-March 2

Cover: Peter Lochran, Diana McLean, Chris Orchard (The Young Doctors) 

Stars of '79
TV Times has approached TV producers to nominate the actors and actresses who they believe will make a big impact in 1979.  Don Battye, producer of The Restless Years, sees a big future for new recruits Jamie Gleeson and Lenore Smith:  "The rapport between Jamie and Lenore was instant, it was as if they'd known each other for ages."  ABC producer Alan Burke believes that John Gregg, to appear in the new series The Oracle, will be the actor of the year in 1979:  "He's a wonderful actor and will be very dominant in our drama output this year."  Alan Coleman, producer for The Young Doctors, believes that newcomer Peter Lochran will be the show's next heart-throb and predicts a big future for Linda Stoner, who has recently left The Young Doctors for a new role in Cop Shop.  Eileen O'Shea, publicist for the Seven Network, said to look out for Bill Stalker, a New Zealand actor who will appear in the upcoming series Skyways, and a greater profile for Joanna Lockwood, one of the founding cast members of Cop Shop.  A spokesman for Melbourne's ATV0 is also predicting big things for English actor Barry Quin, one of the cast members of the new series Prisoner.  ABC light entertainment producer Ric Birch has listed Ric Herbert and David Atkins, two of the stars of the upcoming TV Follies series, as potential big names of the future.

Warder, warder everywhere!
The studios of Melbourne channel ATV0 have been transformed into a prison, both inside and out.  The transformation is part of the production for the 0-10 Network's long-awaited new drama Prisoner.  Not only have 12 permanent sets - more than usual for a locally-produced series - been constructed within the ATV0 studios in Nunawading, but the exterior of the studio complex has also been adapted to serve as the exterior for the fictional Wentworth Detention Centre.  Fake prison windows adorn the side of the brick building and a prison garden, complete with vegetable patch and BBQ area, have been set up on the lawns beside the building.  Nearby is a large brick wall and security gate and, beside it, a daunting signboard that reads 'Wentworth Detention Centre for Women'.  Pre-production research for the series has been meticulous, including the assistance of real-life prisoners, prison wardens and government agencies.  So impressed is the network that the show's initial run of thirteen episodes has already been extended to 42.  ATV0 public relations director George Wilson told TV Times: "It is a human interest drama which will not only follow the lives of prisoners and staff in the detention centre, but will delve into their lives outside.  Prisoner will not use explicit sex or nudity to give shock or drama."  Produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, Prisoner premieres this week on TEN10 Sydney and ATV0 Melbourne and later in other states.

C'mon Ossie C'mon!
Daryl Somers and Ossie Ostrich (pictured) have returned to the Nine Network after a year which saw them move to the 0-10 Network for the ill-fated The Daryl And Ossie Show.  The pair have already made their on-screen return to Nine with Hey Hey It's Saturday returning after its one-year hiatus.  Bob Phillips, manager for Somers and Ernie Carroll (Ossie's human alter-ego), has announced that their return to Nine will also include plans for a weekly big-budget pop music series later in the year, and possibly even a movie featuring the two. 

Top stars set for telethon
GTV9's annual telethon for the Yooralla Society of Victoria is on this weekend has set a target to raise $1 million.  As well as the all-day telethon, the appeal will also include a three-day carnival, near the GTV9 studios, for the children who collect for the appeal.  Telethon manager John Hart has said that this year's telethon will also feature personalities from all Melbourne radio stations that have been raising funds for the appeal over the last two weeks.  And the telecast will feature a technological first - a computer-operated light display which will flash lights indicating phone room calls.  Guest stars appearing on the telethon will include stars from Nine Network programs The Sullivans, The Don Lane Show, The Young Doctors, plus other local and overseas celebrities.  The telethon will also be relayed through regional stations across Victoria.

Briefly...
ABC journalist Richard Carleton has found that Norman Gunston's fame has quite possibly spread to South Africa!  While touring Africa over the past few months, Carleton found the "Gunston" brand of cigarette was very popular with the South Africans.

The Young Doctors' Chris Orchard says that his main motivation for migrating from England to Australia eight years ago as a 19-year-old was "Sun, surf and sex.  Well, what else do you think about at 19?"

Actress Carol Burns will be rejoining her jazz ballet classes with some trepidation.  She is wondering what will her classmates will think of her when they see her portrayal of a vicious lesbian in the new series Prisoner.

Viewpoint:  Letters to the Editor
"Of all the commercial TV channels in Australia, I think Canberra's CTC7, which calls itself "Super 7," is the most impolite, rude and arrogant.  Whenever a program runs late the station never tells its viewers about it, or apologises."  E. Behr, ACT.

"I am most concerned at the lack of interest by TV stations in the show-jumping potential in this country.  A couple of weeks go the largest show-jumping event was held at Wentworth Park, Sydney - but what TV coverage did it receive?  It was a news item, and TEN10 gave a one-hour program - and that was all.  So how about TV stations waking up and giving the public a chance to watch this most exciting sport?" G. Beaton, NSW.

"We movie buffs applaud ABC for screening old movie classics but, as the viewing audience for them will probably be mainly over the age of 45, the starting time of 10.00pm is usually the time old movie buffs are about to go to bed." C. Wilson, NSW.

What's On (February 24-March 2):
GTV9's annual telethon for the Yooralla Society of Victoria starts on Saturday at 7.00am and continues through 5.00pm, before resuming at 8.30pm and closing at midnight.  The phone number for donations is (03) 42-0221.

On Sunday night, HSV7 presents the premiere of the million dollar documentary series This Fabulous Century hosted by Peter Luck (pictured).  The new series, including footage from Cinesound, Movietone and the National Film and Sound Archive to illustrate the history of Australia from Federation to the present day, debuts with a one-hour episode up against GTV9's new 60 Minutes.

Tuesday night marks the two-hour debut of the 0-10 Network's new drama Prisoner (pictured) with the series continuing on Wednesday.  In the opening episode, Karen Travers (Peita Toppano) is sent to prison after refusing to give evidence when charged with the murder of her husband.  Country girl Lynn Warner (Kerry Armstrong) is admitted to Wentworth for kidnapping and burying alive a young child, though she maintains her innocence.  And inmate Franky Doyle (Carol Burns) tells prison warden Vera Bennett (Fiona Spence) that the inmates have given her a new nickname, "Vinegar Tits".

On Wednesday night, HSV7 screens a delayed telecast of the 1979 Grammy Awards from Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium, hosted by John Denver.

The Australian Football Championship Night Series begins on HSV7 on Friday night, promising "the richest football competition Australia has ever seen.  Total prize money will be approximately $370,000."

Special guests appearing during the week on ATV0's Peter Couchman Tonight include Simon Townsend, John Waters, Alison Durbin, Stuart Wagstaff and Derryn Hinch.

Sunday night movies are Survive! (HSV7), Moonshine County Express (GTV9) and Camelot (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 17 February 1979.  ABC/ACP