1992: June 7-13

Cover: Tom Cruise

Shirl crashes out
When she decided to leave A Country Practice after more than ten years, Gold Logie winner Lorrae Desmond conceded that her character Shirley Gilroy had to be killed off but insisted that the death not be depicted on screen.  “You don’t get divorced in Wandin Valley,” she told TV Week.  “So for me to leave the series, Shirl had to die.  I didn’t want to do a Molly (Anne Tenney) – the long, lingering leukaemia bit, because I hate to upset children.  I like children.  The last thing I wanted them to see was Shirley laughing.”  The last viewers will see of Shirley will be farewelling her husband Frank (Brian Wenzel) from a taxi as she departs for the airport for a light aircraft flight to Brisbane.  Viewers will not see the plane crash that follows, killing all on board. 

Ian keeps an eye out for clues
With his new murder mystery show Cluedo about to debut, and with a second series already given the green light, as well as three sitcom projects in production or development – Let The Blood Run Free, Newlyweds and Bingles – Ian McFadyen is one of the busiest people in television. “Cluedo is not a quiz show,” he told TV Week. “It’s a game show, but a different kind of game show. It’s not based on how loud you can scream or how much jelly you can tip on each other.” It’s also a busy time for Andrew Daddo, who plays the role of Professor Plum in Cluedo, as he’s also scored a major role in the upcoming $3.7 million children’s series Round The Twist. “It’s been a bit tough to work the production schedules out because there will be some overlap,” Daddo said. “When Round The Twist came up, I jumped at it. But I’m also rapt that Cluedo is going again.”

Return engagement!
Neighbours stars Tom Oliver and Anne Charleston are engaged to be married in the long-running series – and it’s not the first time the pair have played a married couple on screen.  Back in 1968 they played husband and wife (pictured) in an ABC drama, The Shifting Heart.  “It was a TV adaptation of a play on the ABC,” Oliver told TV Week.  “It was a marvellous play and it was the first time Anne and I worked together.”  However, the on-screen union in Neighbours could be short lived, as Charleston contemplates the possibility of a life away from Ramsay Street when her contract expires later in the year.  “Seven and a half years is a long time.  But you just never know,” she told TV Week.  “It depends how you’re feeling at the time.”

Briefly…
There could be changes afoot for Network Ten dramas Neighbours and E Street, with network managing director Gary Rice putting the pressure on Neighbours’ producers Grundy Television to improve the show’s falling ratings, and expressing concern about E Street whose future is currently up for negotiation.  TV Week suspects an upheaval for both shows, with Neighbours to be shifted to 7.30pm and E Street re-worked into a half-hour format at 8.00pm, five nights a week.

The cast of Nine’s steamy drama Chances have partied to celebrate the completion of 100 episodes.  Meanwhile, the series has welcomed a new cast member as Steven Whittaker (pictured) plays the part of Sean Becker, a friend of Alex’s (Jeremy Sims) who is set to threaten his corporate position.  Whittaker, who recently starred in mini-series Good Vibrations, contemplated having to tackle Chances’ steamy sex scenes.  “I gave it a great deal of thought but in the end it was some of those elements which were actually attractive,” he told TV Week.  “Would I prefer it to be mundane, dealing with slices of suburban life, or slightly off the wall, verging towards the bizarre?  In the end, that’s what made my mind up.  That’s where I’d rather be.  The potential is there for quite a bit of bed wandering, but at the moment there is more appetite than action!”

The life of controversial radio and television personality Mary Hardy (pictured) is being portrayed in a stage production, Mary Lives!, written by her brother, Frank Hardy.  Starring Maryanne Fahey in the lead role, the play also features Bartholomew John and Ron Challinor, both of whom were close friends and former colleagues of Hardy, who died in 1985.  “She was tremendously influential at the time, creating an awareness of me not only on the Penthouse Club, but on her radio program as well,” John told TV Week.  “Mary wasn’t just a female comic,” said Challinor, who was a writer for Penthouse Club in the 1970s.  “She sang, she danced, she told gags and she had great timing.  If she had done in the US what she did here she would have been a huge star.”

SBS is set to mark the 40th anniversary of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with a controversial British documentary, Queen Or Country?  The special, originally screened on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, raises the question of whether the royals abuse their public position for personal gain – looking at 10 cases where the line may have been blurred.

Lawrie Masterson: The View From Here
”Taking an old, tried and true board game such as Cluedo and adapting it to television sounds easy.  But obviously it wasn’t that easy at all, even for Crawford Action Time, a partnership between this country’s most prolific drama producer, Crawfords Australia, and British-based game show producers Action Time.  From initial impressions, the television version of Cluedo is a touch unsatisfying, right down to the fact that the smartest guy in the audience isn’t even asked how he reached his conclusion, and nor are we told how long it took him.  And perhaps it’s the “how long” factor that is most important here – not for solving the whodunit, but for the television program itself.  Versions of Cluedo produced by Action Time for other countries run only half an hour, not the full hour (less commercial breaks, of course) the show has been given here.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, June 7-13):
Sunday:  Sunday night movies are Betsy’s Wedding (Seven), Robocop 2 (Nine) and Born On The Fourth Of July (Ten).  After the movie, Nine crosses to Paris for the final of the French Open.

Monday:  ABC launches a new afternoon game show, Vidiot, hosted by Eden Gaha.  In A Country Practice (Seven), Wandin Valley residents react when AIDS sufferer Max Blair (Felix Williamson) returns to be with his sister Trish (Linden Wilkinson) before he dies.  Healthy Wealthy And Wise (Ten) takes a tour of scenic Byron Bay.

Tuesday:  In A Country Practice (Seven), Frank Gilroy (Brian Wenzel) receives news that his wife Shirley (Lorrae Desmond) has died in a plane crash.  In GP (ABC), William (Michael Craig) is shocked to find that his old friend Geraldine (Jennifer Claire), for whom he has developed a romantic interest, is passively committing suicide.  Beyond 2000 (Seven) presents a special edition from the International Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Wednesday:  The Nine Network presents the first episode of murder mystery game show Cluedo, featuring host Ian McFadyen and guest star Rod Mullinar as the show’s first ‘victim’.  Seven presents a rerun of the British documentary Elizabeth R (originally shown on ABC), documenting a year in the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession to the British throne.

Thursday:  SBS presents early morning (3.00am) coverage of the opening ceremony of the Euro 92 soccer championships, live from Sweden, followed by the first match – Sweden versus France.  SBS’ coverage of Euro 92 continues over 17 days, with live coverage overnight and highlights packages shown the following evening. 

Friday:  Seven crosses to Sydney for live coverage of the Rugby League First Test – Australia versus Great Britain – with commentators Graham Hughes, Pat Welsh, Wally Lewis and Michael O’Connor.

Saturday:  Hey Hey It’s Saturday (Nine) presents a special edition from Warner Bros Movie World on the Gold Coast, as the theme park celebrates its first birthday.

Source: TV Week (Melbourne edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  6 June 1992.  Southdown Press.

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

1991: November 2-8

Hey, Ben’s a dad!
It might be a shock to some to realise that Ben Oxenbould, the newcomer to the cast of Hey Dad!, is himself a dad.  The 22-year-old, who got his big break at the age of seven in the film Fatty Finn, has a one-year-old son but is very protective of him and won’t have him photographed by the media.  “He keeps me very busy when he’s with me,” Oxenbould (pictured with co-star Rachael Beck) told TV Week.  “He’s a classic combination of his mother – with whom he lives – and myself.  And, thankfully, I think he got everything good from us.  So that’s something.”  The Hey Dad! role is Adelaide-born Oxenbould’s first comedy role, having previously appeared in E Street and GP and will star in the upcoming SBS series Six Pack.

No naked ambition!
Former The Flying Doctors star Liz Burch (pictured) is no stranger to nudity, having starred in the controversial stage production Steaming, but when speaking of her upcoming role in Nine’s Chances she says the producers wouldn’t dare.  “They wouldn’t dream of asking me to take my clothes off… the ratings would plummet!  I did Steaming, but that was very different.  We rehearsed that for four weeks, the show was well-written and there was justification for it.  With Chances, the issue of nudity never comes into it,” she said.  In Chances, Burch plays a chemist, Sally Kirk, who is involved in a relationship with Jack Taylor (Tim Robertson) – but Alex (Jeremy Sims) plots to steal her away from Jack after realising she has information that could earn him millions. 

‘I was moved to tears…’
Maryanne Fahey, best known from The Comedy Company, is about to tackle one of the most demanding roles in her career – portraying the life of one of Australia’s most controversial and amusing personalities, Mary Hardy (pictured), in the upcoming play Mary Lives.  Hardy, who committed suicide in 1985, was well-known to Melbourne radio and television audiences in the 1960s and 1970s, in particular as presenter on the long-running variety show The Penthouse Club and on radio 3AW.  She also won a number of TV Week Logies for her popularity with Victorian audiences.  “I was moved to tears when I first read the play,” Fahey told TV Week.  “It was something I really wanted to do.  Mary was one of the real forerunners of women’s comedy in this country.  Hopefully, I will do her justice.  She was outrageous and prepared to cop the flak because she was an idealist, and I admire that more than someone who just goes out there to be funny.”

Briefly…
Hard Copy reporter Jane Hansen (pictured) has confirmed reports that she has been approached by former 60 Minutes producer Gerald Stone to join his new current affairs venture for the Seven Network, though stresses that nothing has been signed or agreed to as yet.  The new program, yet to be named, may potentially be slotted against Nine’s ratings giant 60 Minutes.

Joan McInnes, the host of Network Ten’s morning program ‘Til Ten, has announced her engagement to winemaker and yachtsman James Hardy.  The pair have known each other for more than five years but began seeing each other seriously two years ago and are expected to wed in December.

New Zealand actress Catherine Wilkin (Cop Shop, Rafferty’s Rules) is set to return to Australia after three years, starring as an ambassador in the next series of ABC’s Embassy.  “I’ve played a lot of strong-minded career women but never an ambassador,” she said.  “I’ll have to pay the Australian ambassador a visit here and do a crash course in diplomacy before I leave New Zealand!”

John Laws says…
”Who was it, I wonder, who allowed the Beyond 2000 format to slip from the clutches of the ABC and into the hands of the Seven Network all those years ago?  Those responsible must still be suffering recurring bouts of programmers’ guilt – as must be those misguided Seven executives who elected to give up on Neighbours and meekly hand it to Ten, where it was transformed into a long-running international smash-hit worth millions.  Watching Beyond 2000 the other night – and admiring its bright, informative segments on everything from eatable potato-chip containers to sonar fences to stop whales beaching themselves – only reinforced my long-held belief that it is one of Australia’s best programs.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, November 2-8):
Saturday:  Network Ten’s coverage of the Melbourne Cup Carnival kicks off with all-day coverage of Derby Day, live from Flemington Racecourse, presented by Tim Webster with racecaller Dan Mielicki.  This week’s contestants on Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune (Seven) are Rod Marsh, Lynda Stoner and Larry Pickering.  ABC presents live coverage overnight of the Rugby World Cup final from Twickenham, United Kingdom.

Sunday:  Nine’s crosses to Adelaide for its all-day coverage of the Australian Grand Prix, hosted by Ken Sutcliffe with commentators Alan Jones, Jackie Stewart, Murray Walker, Darrell Eastlake and Barry Sheene.  Author Colleen McCullough is this week’s guest on ABC’s Sunday Afternoon With Peter Ross.  Sunday night movies are Sex, Lies And Videotape (Nine) and The Great Outdoors (Ten), up against the debut of two-part mini-series Love And Hate (Seven).

Monday:  In A Country Practice (Seven), Matt (John Tarrant) admits he has had enough of marriage to Lucy (Georgie Parker).  Ben Mendelsohn guest stars in Col’n Carpenter (Ten).

Tuesday:  Melbourne Cup Day, and Network Ten presents live coverage of the highlight of the Australian racing calendar, starting at 9.30am and continuing through to 5.30pm, hosted by Tim Webster.  In GP (ABC), the sudden return of Dr Nicola Tanner’s (Judy McIntosh, pictured) wild brother Danny (Brett Climo) leads to the uncovering of a dark secret in the Tanner family.  In Beyond 2000 (Seven), Simon Reeve reports from the UK on the Weatherall racetrack, made up of granulated rubber from old car tyres. 

Wednesday:  In E Street (Ten), Lisa (Alyssa-Jane Cook) tries to find the answer to Michael’s (Graham Harvey) death.  In Hey Dad! (Seven), Simon (Chris Mayer) is panic stricken with the fear of incipient baldness while Betty (Julie McGregor) solves the problems of the ozone layer.

Thursday:  Former Prisoner star Betty Bobbitt guest stars in The Flying Doctors (Nine).  ABC’s documentary series Wildscreen looks at the camel as a wild animal, detailing its fascinating and complex social behaviour.

Friday:  Talent quest series Star Search (Ten) presents its series semi-final, hosted by Mike Hammond.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  2 November 1991.  Southdown Press

1991: September 28-October 4

Hey, look who’s in love!
While Chris Mayer and Rachael Beck (pictured) are constantly bickering as their Hey Dad! alter egos Simon and Sam, off-screen the two have been secretly dating.  “Yes, I am in love,” Mayer told TV Week.  “It feels great.  I’m really enjoying it.”  During an upcoming production break for the series, he intends to head to Italy, staying in the town of Perugia and studying Italian – and it looks like Beck will be joining him.

It’s goodbye Bob and Cookie!
As the Seven Network’s A Country Practice approaches its tenth anniversary, some drastic cast changes are set to shock fans of the popular drama.  Actors Gordon Piper and Syd Heylen, who play characters Bob Hatfield and Cookie, are not having their contracts renewed at the end of the year, both having worked on the show for much of its ten year run.  Producer James Davern has said that the actors have other commitments – Piper is producing corporate videos and Heylen also runs a marketing company and is keen to spend time in Queensland with his wife who isn’t well – and that the characters will not be written out in any “Wandin Valley massacre” storyline and will be able to return at a later stage.  However, TV Week reports that neither actor had any option to stay on the show.  Also leaving the series is Matt Day, who will tape his final scenes in December, and Georgie Parker and John Tarrant, who will finish up early in the new year.  All three have decided it is time to move on.  To fill the void left by losing five characters some new additions will be signed on.  Former Brides Of Christ star Kym Wilson has joined the series and will make her on screen debut in November, and three other new characters will be written in over the coming months but have yet to be cast. 

Stig cops right out!
Col’n Carpenter star Stig Wemyss has left the Network Ten series after a falling out with the show’s producers.  Wemyss, who has played the role of Colin’s flatmate Michael Preeble since the show started 18 months ago, has told TV Week that he is “extremely disappointed” that an agreement with producers could not be reached.  “I wanted the storylines to explore a bit more of Michael.  I didn’t think that was too much to ask because the character had been there so long.  I’m not saying I wanted it to be the Michael Preeble show or to be any less about Colin (Kim Gyngell), but if you don’t expand a character, he just becomes nothing.  For me, the strength of the show was having an ensemble cast.  It was obvious Michael wasn’t going to be playing a major part in the way the show was going, so I didn’t want to continue.”

Briefly…
Just months after the bomb-blast storyline that killed off three characters, the neighbourhood of Network Ten’s E Street is about to be stalked by a psychopathic serial killer.  Architect Steven Richardson, played by Vince Martin, is set to reveal a darker side as he takes on the identity of ‘Mr Bad’ (pictured) whose first victim is Dr Virginia Travers (Julieanne Newbould).  Producer Forrest Redlich has defended the frightening storyline (“Where A Country Practice and GP do things on alcoholism, venereal diseases and such social subjects, we chose the serial killer.  Unfortunately they do exist.”) and a spokesperson for Ten has said that the network is mindful of the show’s 7.30pm timeslot and all episodes in question have to be approved at multiple levels within the network before being submitted for final approval by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal.

Ernie Sigley, co-host of the Nine Network’s In Melbourne Today and In Sydney Today programs, talks to TV Week about his upcoming 40th anniversary in showbusiness.  Starting in radio as a teenager, at Melbourne station 3DB, Sigley made the move to television as a performer on HSV7’s Teenage Mailbox (pictured) and went on to a successful television career including several years as host of Adelaide Tonight and later The Ernie Sigley Show, The Penthouse Club (later Saturday Night Live), Pot Luck and Wheel Of Fortune.  The one-time Gold Logie winner also mentions the reported altercation with Don Lane at the after party for the 1988 TV Week Logie Awards.  “I didn’t say anything to him to upset him.  The relationship had been strained for a few years,” he said.

When boxing champion Lionel Rose was told of plans to make a mini-series about his life, he wasn’t enthusiastic.  He told producers nobody would want to see his life story.  “I told them I was unreliable and they couldn’t depend on me to help them out,” Rose told TV Week.  “But they kept at me until I agreed.  I told them I wanted the whole story to be told… warts and all.”  However, TV Week production editor Frank Quill, who also happens to be a member of the World Boxing Council’s executive and considered Australia’s most senior professional boxing official, says that despite Rose’s request that his portrayal be “warts and all”, viewers may be short-changed by viewing the final product.  “Certainly, some viewers, human enough to think everything in Odds actually happened, will be misled,” he wrote.  Rose Against The Odds, which stars newcomer Paul Williams as Rose and former The Flying Doctors star Vikki Blanche as his wife Jenny, screens this week on the Seven Network.  The two-part mini-series also stars Kris McQuade, Tony Barry and Hollywood actor Telly Savalas.

Former A Country Practice star Sophie Heathcote has won a role in Yahoo Serious’ upcoming movie project, a contemporary comedy about Ned Kelly.  “The character I play is really young and silly and very funny,” she told TV Week.  “She is in love with Ned and I am going to have a ball playing her.”

John Laws says…
”There can often be something ghoulish about screening the “final” TV interviews of prominent people, those unfortunate enough to die suddenly soon after such interviews are given.  We have had the “final interview” with Dr Victor Chang, the brilliant heart surgeon shot dead in a Sydney street in early July.  Happily, SBS’ King Of Hearts documentary managed to avoid any overt sense of ghoulishness in giving us a nicely balanced portrait of Dr Chang.  This was, it has to be admitted, the most emotionally-draining documentary you are likely to see in a long time – not because of any exploitative intention on the part of reporter Amanda Hickey, but because of the simple, profoundly moving tributes paid to Chang by his friends, patients and colleagues.  This was a wonderful piece of TV documentary work.  It probably would have turned out a completely different product had Dr Chang still been alive, because Hickey began working on it a few weeks before his death.  Dr Chang was slain only six weeks after talking to SBS.  I have a feeling that public response to the Dr Chang documentary will lead to a speedy re-screening.  It pointed up only too bleakly how the circumstances of his death resulted in such endless waste.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, September 28-October 4):
Saturday:  It’s Grand Final day for the AFL.  Seven’s coverage, started late last night with the Football Marathon, continues through the day – with the traditional North Melbourne Football Club Grand Final Breakfast at 8.00am, followed by live coverage of the Under 19s and Reserves grand finals.  Then at 2.00pm live coverage from AFL Park, Waverley, for the end of season clash between Hawthorn and the West Coast Eagles.  Daryl Braithwaite – the key performer at the pre-game entertainment at the Grand Final – will also appear on Nine’s Hey Hey It’s Saturday in the evening.

Sunday:  Seven presents the first instalment of the two-part mini-series Rose Against The Odds (pictured), telling the story of boxing champion Lionel Rose who captured the world’s attention when he defied the odds to become the World Bantamweight champion as a 19-year old in the 1960s.  Sunday night movies are The Karate Kid II (Nine) and The Abyss (Ten).

Monday:  The conclusion to Rose Against The Odds (Seven) sees Lionel Rose’s sporting career at an end and his entering the seedy world of small-time crime and drug abuse, and the battle to get his life back on track.

Tuesday:  In A Country Practice (Seven), Lucy (Georgie Parker) is shattered when the results of her IVF program come back.  In Chances (Nine), Alex (Jeremy Sims) stuns the family when he re-appears after they had believed he had perished in a plane crash, and Paris (Annie Jones) is devastated when she learns a close friend has AIDS.

Wednesday:  SBS newsreader Mary Kostakidis presents the Ethnic Small Business Awards, live from the Sheraton-Wentworth in Sydney.

Thursday:  Ernie Dingo guest starts in The Flying Doctors (Nine) as a university dropout who clashes violently with his brother (Luke Carroll) and Dr Guy Reid (David Reyne) over the pending death of his grandfather.  ABC’s coverage of the 1991 Rugby World Cup, being held in France and the United Kingdom, begins with late-night coverage of the opening ceremony and the first match between England and New Zealand. 

Friday:  In Home And Away (Seven), Sam (Ryan Clark) finds out who his father is.  ABC’s coverage of the Rugby World Cup continues with the match between Australia and Argentina.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  28 September 1991.  Southdown Press

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: 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: 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 7-13

Skyways taxis for take-off
The Seven Network’s long-awaited airport drama series, Skyways, debuts this week in Sydney and Melbourne. With on-location filming conducted at Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport, the series is based on a fictional airport, Pacific International, and features its own airlines, Federal Airlines and Trans Asia. Producer Hector Crawford has described it as “strong drama, with a humorous touch; not exaggerated, but with a very honest approach to life.” HSV7 general manager Ron Casey said the series has a higher risk factor than most other programs: “The logistics of the program caused major problems. Our technical people had to solve many unexpected hitches. For instance, our equipment was seriously affected by the airport radar, and our schedules were put back about six week until our technicians solved the problem.” Producer Jock Blair said the program portrays a balanced view of life at an airport: “We are aware of the public sense of fear associated with flying, but I think the way we show safety measures and the quite incredible safety training of the flight crews will mean audiences will get a balanced picture of the everyday workings of an airport.” Skyways’ cast includes Bruce Barry, Deborah Coulls and Bartholomew John (pictured).

And now… TV drama for Kennedy?
The guessing game over Graham Kennedy’s return to television continues, following recent reports that he was to appear in a new comedy series for the Seven Network, and there have also been rumours of hosting variety shows for the Nine and Seven networks or hosting a nightly current affairs show for ATN7 Sydney. Kennedy’s manager, Harry M Miller, responds to some of the rumours: There have been no discussions with Nine at all about a return to the network. Kennedy has had an approach from Mike Willesee about hosting the Sydney-based Willesee At Six, but nothing further has developed. Kennedy is not doing the comedy role, but may appear in a drama series. Kennedy is also considering offers for movie roles, including one based on David Williamson’s play The Club.

21 years of TV Times!
TV Times celebrates its 21st birthday this week. The magazine initially started as Sydney-based TV News in June 1958 and was re-launched as TV News-Times in August 1959. The title was shortened to TV Times in November 1959. The first issue (pictured) reported on Jack Davey’s move from ATN7 to TCN9 in Sydney and remarking that he was planning a series along the lines of I Love Lucy. Actress Gwen Plumb was the star of an ABC series What’s In The Picture? and Ross Higgins was compering ABC’s Children’s TV Club.

Saga of a show called Carrots
From 1 July new rules were in place for the broadcast of programming aimed specifically aimed at children between 4.00pm and 5.00pm weekdays. Programs have to be approved by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal to receive the new children’s ‘C’ classification in order to be shown in that timeslot. Networks are angry as some of them were already developing new children’s programs before the Tribunal, as late as May, had issued guidelines on what would be approved. The Seven Network had spent $250,000 on a new series, Carrots, that was to air weekdays at 4.30pm and has failed to obtain the ‘C’ classification at the last minute. Seven claims that its program was based on the recommendations in the Self-Regulation for Broadcasters report, which at the time was the only guideline available to broadcasters. Producer Julian Jovers defended the program: “It has a cast of good actors, it’s fully scripted, has a permanent set and budget. We’re spending an excess of $20,000 a week producing four episodes.” The program had been screened to groups of children from varying backgrounds to assess their responses and they had largely responded positively, though some changes were made based on feedback. Earlier this year, episodes had been submitted to the Tribunal for comment. The tribunal did not respond until 11 June when it advised ATN7 that Carrots, and eight other programs that had been submitted by networks, had been rejected.

Briefly…
Actress Kate Shiel has won the female lead role in the new ABC series Timelapse, starring opposite Robert Coleby and John Meillon.

Lorraine Bayly is enjoying the sights of Los Angeles and has not given any indication as to a return date to The Sullivans.

Reporter Ray Martin (pictured) says there is absolutely “no difference” between being a reporter for ABC’s Four Corners and the Nine Network’s new 60 Minutes – although he has noted that, since leaving ABC as its New York correspondent, the fan mail is now coming from much younger viewers rather than “old ladies.”

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”I am 15 years old, and for the first time in history I found a teenage show that didn’t star starry-eyed little goodie-goodies. I refer, of course, to James At 16.” M. Wolfshaar, QLD.

“I thoroughly enjoyed both Roots and Roots: The Next Generations. I cried. It was very moving. I hope they keep the family name going on and the story behind it. Good on you, Alex Haley.” G. Williams, NSW.

“I have been a fan of Doctor Who ever since I can remember, but lately Blake’s Seven became the highlight of my week’s viewing. Thanks again ABC for taking the brave step that at present the commercial stations are not taking – showing a sci-fi program in adult viewing time.” R. Sallis, VIC.

What’s On (July 7-13):
This Week Has Seven Days (HSV7, Saturday) looks at the recycling of plastic wastes being used in school art classes. Other topics covered today include kidney disease, a visit to Japan by two Australian students and looking at the career of a religious leader.

ABC’s Saturday Special is Peter Regan’s Musical World, featuring Brian May and the Melbourne ABC Showband.

Guest stars on HSV7’s Saturday Night Live include Little Pattie, Delilah, Bartholomew John, Angela Ayers and Dita Cobb.

In the debut episode of Skyways (HSV7, Monday) there is a commotion at Pacific International Airport when an attractive East German girl defects. Then, in sinister circumstances she disappears from the airport. Acting airport manager Paul MacFarlane (Tony Bonner) loses his promotion because of the trouble.

ATV0’s game show $10,000 Winner’s Circle, hosted by Sandy Scott, is bumped from its 7.00pm weekday timeslot to the less-appealing 3.30pm timeslot.

Sunday night movies: Sleuth (HSV7), The Partisan (GTV9), The Front Page (ATV0). ABC screens the landmark British mini-series Edward And Mrs Simpson, tracing the controversial love story between King Edward VIII and an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson, which ultimately led to the King abdicating the throne. The mini-series starts on Sunday night and continues through to Thursday.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 7 July 1979. ABC/ACP

1979: June 2-8

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1979: May 19-25

Wedding bells for Prisoner stars
TV’s love story of the year culminated in a wedding on Sunday 29 April – and there wasn’t a TV camera in sight.  Prisoner stars Barry Quin and Peita Toppano (pictured) got married in a garden wedding at the property of Toppano’s parents (Enzo and Peggy Toppano) in Pymble, NSW.  The bridesmaid at the ceremony was Prisoner co-star Carol Burns and the best man was The Young Doctors star John Dommett.  The newlywed couple had a week’s break from production to honeymoon on the NSW coast.

Bill looks at a peach of a city!
Bill Peach’s new ABC series, Peach’s Cities, is half-way through production.  In the series, Peach explores each of Australia’s eight capital cities.  The first four episodes have already been filmed.  The new series takes a similar format to Peach’s previous series, Peach’s Australia, though will put less emphasis on the historical background and more on the cities’ future and what problems they may face.  Peach’s Cities is expected to air on ABC later in 1979 and will be followed by a book.

My worst moment…
Being a TV interviewer can bring many challenges, whether talking to Mr and Mrs Average or the rich and famous, and sometimes things don’t always go to plan.  Countdown’s Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum recalled an interview with US singer Billy Joel: “I started by asking him a very involved question that took about 75 seconds to ask.  Then I found Billy was in one of those quiet moods.  All he said was ‘yes’.  So I asked Billy if he had anything else to say on the subject and he said ‘no’.  So I did all I could do and asked him long questions to which he gave his short answers.  It was a nightmare.”  Mike Walsh (pictured) didn’t recall his worst but, rather, his most embarrassing interview, featuring magazine columnist, veterinarian Dr Paul: “He came on the show to tell us how to tell the sex of a rabbit.  A local Catholic school and a Church of England school donated rabbits.  The rabbits soon made it clear which sex was which when, undeterred by their public appearance, they got on with the business.  I poured a glass of water over them but they just kept at it.”  TVW7 Today hostess Stephanie Quinlan never forget the day Warren Mitchell walked out on an interview: “Mitchell came for the interview when rebuilding work was going on at the studio.  The sounds of the work were clearly heard and Mitchell walked off the set at least three times.  He eventually agreed to the interview and so, with a prayer for quiet builders, I started the questions.  By that time, Mitchell’s mood was similar to a large black thundercloud so his answers were somewhat loud and rude.  I was surprised that such an educated man could vent his feelings so uncontrollably and show such a lack of professionalism.  I must say he didn’t act like a gentleman.”

Briefly…
The Grundy Organisation is making a pilot for a “topical light entertainment” show for the 7.00pm timeslot for the 0-10 Network.  The project, titled Graffiti, will feature a large cast from both Sydney and Melbourne.

Pete Smith, the long-time booth announcer for GTV9, is now hosting Adelaide Tonight for NWS9 following the departure of Ernie Sigley, now focusing on Saturday Night Live for HSV7 Melbourne.

The second series of Young Ramsay has commenced production in Melbourne.  The 13-part series will again feature John Hargreaves as vet Peter Ramsay and Serge Lazareff as wildlife ranger Ray Turner.

British sex symbol of the ‘50s, Diana Dors, is coming to Australia to promote her book Behind Closed Dors and will be making guest appearances on both The Mike Walsh Show and The Don Lane Show.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”I congratulate the staff of ATN7 and TEN10 Sydney who do such a wonderful job of program planning.  It was a stroke of genius to put The Muppet Show and Hans Christian Andersen on at the same time as the Star Wars Holiday Spectacular.  I hope these individuals of such superior intellect could inform a mother, with only one TV set, how she can explain to her two disappointed children that they could watch only one program.  I hope both Channels 7 and 10 take satisfaction in the fact that they upset a lot of children.” B. Hawk, NSW.  (TV Times responds: “All commercial TV channels are in competition to gain the biggest audiences, and “counter-programming” to reduce the anticipated ratings of an opposition channel’s programming is part of their business.  We get many letters on the subject.”)

“I’d like to take a shot at The Young Doctors – how the nurses carry on with the young doctors!  One would think that just about every nurse would have her going-on with the doctors.  The nurses on TV soapies are an insult to the honourable nursing profession.” I. Craig, NSW.

“Australian comedies are never usually worth watching, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that Doctors Down Under is not only distinctly worth watching, but it is nearly as good as the original.”  D. Dowell, NSW.

What’s On (May 19-25):
Philip Adams, Harry Butler and Lloyd Rees are the guests on the final Parkinson In Australia (ABC, Saturday).

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at fads and fashion – remembering the pogo-stick, mini-golf and yoyo crazes and the many changes in women’s fashions.

In Cop Shop (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), a dangerous epidemic threatens Riverside as police search desperately for a typhoid carrier.  Guest stars include Barbara Llewellyn and John Ley.

On Wednesday night HSV7 presents the Miss Teenage 1979 contest from the Camberwell Civic Centre, hosted by Ray Chapman.

ABC presents the first of a six-part series, Journey Into Japan, narrated by Keith Adams.  The program looks at various aspects of Japanese life including leisure, tourism, culture and tradition.

Sunday night movies: Irma La Douce (HSV7), The Rare Breed (GTV9), Summer Of ‘42 (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 19 May 1979.  ABC/ACP