ABC to say goodbye to Gordon Street?

ABC is set to expand its premises in inner-city Melbourne with construction of a new television studio.

The new development, which has now been approved by the ABC board, will be built adjacent to the broadcaster’s existing radio and administration complex in Southbank.

The new television studios will be used for both internal productions as well as being made available for external hire.

No timeline for the development has been announced and neither has there been any announcement as to the future of ABC’s existing Melbourne television studios in Gordon Street, Elsternwick, although The Age reports that it appears that the property will be sold off to assist in funding the new development.  In 2009 the Elsternwick site was estimated to be valued at around $25 million.

The Elsternwick studios, located next door to the historic Ripponlea homestead, were opened in May 1958 – eighteen months after ABC’s Melbourne television station ABV2 commenced transmission.  For the previous eighteen months the various functions of the new television station were carried out from makeshift premises scattered around Melbourne.

The studios have hosted various productions for ABC including Bellbird, Adventure Island (pictured), Countdown, Power Without Glory, The Saturday Show, Australia – You’re Standing In It, The Factory, Countdown Revolution, The Big Gig, The Late Show, Phoenix and Seachange. 

Spicks And Specks, The Marngrook Footy Show and Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight are also produced at Elsternwick.

The potential sale of the Elsternwick site comes after the sale of the historic GTV9 studios in Richmond last year – while Seven and Ten have long moved out from their original studio premises in South Melbourne and Nunawading respectively.

Source: The Age, The Australian, ABV, ABC, Real Estate Source

1979: December 1-7

Two Restless Years old
It is two years ago since newspaper ads appeared about a new series from the 0-10 Network, The Restless Years: “an action-packed story of what happens to today’s school leavers when they go out in the world to try and get jobs.”  TEN10 general manager Ian Kennon described it as “a show about life.”  Two years later, who would have thought that the road to employment was so fraught with danger?  Are real-life teenagers attempting suicide, getting pregnant, having miscarriages, ending up in prison and being raped, bashed, robbed and murdered with the same regularity as the kids in The Restless Years?  And it’s not just the young characters having a rough time – Miss McKenzie (June Salter) and Dr Bruce Russell (Malcolm Thompson) have had their fair share, too.  In fact, in two years the show has been so turbulent that only four of the original cast members – Salter, Thompson, Zoe Bertram and Nick Hedstrom – still remain.
No more blues for Ugly Dave
Bright times are ahead for Ugly Dave Gray (pictured).  He and his new wife, Val, are expecting their first baby next month, and in the new year he will be hosting a new game show, Celebrity Tattletales, for the Seven Network.  The new show, set to run in the 6.00pm timeslot, marks a return to TV for Gray a year after the demise of Blankety Blanks.  But for Gray, it was worth the wait:  “Some people will grab anything to get their head back on TV.  That’s fatal.  I’ve had two offers of my own show but neither was suitable.  Then the Grundy Organisation offered me Celebrity Tattletales.  I think this is it.  I hope people don’t compare it to Blankety Blanks – it’s a different show.  But I’m sure gimmicks and catchphrases will come out of the blue.”
Plumber’s pin-up has million dollar plans!
Cheryl Rixon (pictured) has come a long way since her first modelling job, posing for the cover of the WA Plumbers’ Annual, paid her a mere $40.  The former star of the sexy soap The Box now lives in Manhattan, models in London and New York, and is looking to buy a beach house in California.  The 25-year-old, who earned $250,000 for posing nude for Penthouse magazine, is well on the way to her first million: “I should reach it in 1980 as it’s going to be a big year for me.  I’ve spent three years in America getting myself established and setting things up, and next year should be the beginning.”  Rixon plans to use some of that million to set up her own production company to make TV variety specials, but in the meantime she has been starring in Stephen Spielberg’s comedy, Used Cars, and is set for a part in the new $30 million epic, Flash Gordon.
The milkman who came in from the cold During his school years in New Zealand, Alan Dale (pictured) had a yearning to get into showbusiness.  He had sung, acted, danced and played musical instruments and, at the age of 18, had tried to get a job as a radio announcer but was told he was too young.  The thought of going overseas to further his showbusiness prospects was daunting, and not affordable.  He instead went into the car industry, starting as a salesman and working up to manager.  A chance meeting with the local milkman later led to him ditching the car business and picking up a milk run:  “I thought, what a way to earn a living, trotting around keeping fit delivering milk for a few hours.”  When Dale heard about a vacancy at a local radio station, Radio Hauraki, he tried to get the job.  He was unsuccessful, but did eventually end up with the midnight-to-dawn shift and later the afternoon show.  The radio announcing job led to an offer to star as a radio manager in a new local TV series, Radio Waves, for TV2.  The series was cancelled after 72 episodes, but  “I didn’t really want to go back to radio so I decided to hell with it.  I’ll go to Australia.  I’d had a taste of acting by then.”  Dale is now well-known to Australians as Dr John Forrest in the popular Nine Network series, The Young Doctors.
Briefly… There will be no expense spared in the production of the 0-10 Network’s new soap Arcade.  Apart from three production teams, a cast of around 30, authentic props and studio scenery, an average of 180 extras will be employed each week.  The new series is set to debut in January.
Former Young Talent Time cast member Jane Scali will be joining the cast of ABC’s The Saturday Show when it returns to air in the new year.  As well as The Saturday Show, Scali is currently in rehearsals for the Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of Cinderella.
Jonathan Coleman of Simon Townsend’s Wonder World has attempted to break the record for the biggest interview of all time.  The interview, with the 120,000-strong crowd at the recent 2SM Rocktober concert in Sydney, has been submitted to Australian Guinness Bureau of Records.
Comedy writer Mike McColl-Jones, who has worked with the likes of Graham Kennedy, Don Lane and Peter Couchman, has compiled a book, My Funny Friends, featuring anecdotes and photographs from his twenty years of working in television.
Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”I am 16, and I feel that a lot more should be done to promote Australian child actors and singers.  Look at America, they have many fine talents like Brooke Shields, Leif Garrett and Tatum O’Neal.  Australia has also got some good talent but it is not put to use.  There should be more shows like Young Talent Time, where children and teenagers can display their talent.” J. P., VIC.
“There is one thing I must beg of NBN3 (Newcastle).  Please, oh please, don’t put Norman Gunston on again.  I really feel embarrassed looking at that zany grin, and all those bits of sticking plaster all over his face.  Please, do me a favour and send him to Hong Kong, or somewhere like that.” D. Dickey, NSW.
“In reply to F. Gregory (Viewpoint, 20 October 1979), Peter Lochran may be one of the best actors on TV, but certainly not the best actor (even though he is gorgeously handsome – is this what you’re going by to pick a good actor?).  The Young Doctors is one of the most popular serials on TV at the moment, for sure.  But why?  Maybe it’s because all those dinner invitations from handsome doctors to the nursing staff keep all the women wrapped up in the show.  I’ll tell you what, it’s certainly not the acting that keeps everyone involved.” J. Stanley, QLD.
“S. McLaughlan’s letter (Viewpoint, 27 October 1979) is a gross example of generalisation.  Molly Meldrum (pictured) does not “rave on” through the entire show.  In fact, on most shows, he only puts in an appearance for 10 minutes to do his Humdrum segment.” K. Manton, NSW.
What’s On (December 1-7):
HSV7’s tennis coverage continues throughout the week with the final days of the Toyota Women’s Classic on Saturday and Sunday, followed by the NSW Women’s Classic from Monday through to Friday.  Commentators include Peter Landy, Allan Stone and Garry Wilkinson.
GTV9 crosses to Brisbane for live coverage of the cricket First Test,  between Australia and the West Indies, on Saturday through to Wednesday.  Coverage starts at 11.50am, with breaks at 2.00pm and 4.40pm, and ending at 7.00pm.
60 Minutes (GTV9, Sunday) presents its final show for the year, and New Faces with Bert Newton moves to Monday nights.
ATV0’s Eyewitness News, now with Michael Schildberger and Peter Hanrahan, is cut to 30 minutes at 6.00pm from Monday, with a new 8.30pm news bulletin launched for the summer period.
ABC’s daytime schools programs finish up for the year on Friday, and the weekly magazine program Statewide At Six, with David Johnston, also presents its final edition. 
ATV0’s morning show Everyday, with Roy Hampson and Annette Allison, finishes up for the year on Friday, as does the 7.00pm magazine show Peter Couchman’s Melbourne.
Sunday night movies: The Deadly Tower (HSV7), Future Cop (GTV9), Midnight Man (ATV0).
Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 1 December 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: November 10-16

ABC’s biggest golf coverage
Players from five continents – Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe and North America – will compete in this year’s Dunhill Australian Open, to be telecast on ABC this week in its largest golf coverage ever undertaken.  More than $8 million of outside broadcast equipment will be used at Melbourne’s Metropolitan Course.  ABC’s coverage will add up to 26 hours over four days, including live telecasts and evening highlights packages.  More than 50 technical personnel from interstate will join the 100-strong Melbourne ABC crew for the event.  ABC’s two Melbourne-based outside broadcast vans will be joined by outside broadcast vans brought in from Sydney, Adelaide and Hobart.  There will also be a team based at ABC’s Ripponlea studios in Melbourne responsible for editing the daily coverage into highlights packages for evening screenings.  ABC’s commentary team will be headed by Graham Dawson joined by Peter Thomson (pictured, a five-time winner of the British Open who will be competing in the Australian Open and joining the commentary team when he’s finished his round), Clive Clark and Peter Alliss.

Caroline scores Sullivans role
Stage actress Caroline Gillmer (pictured) has scored a TV break with a role in The Sullivans.  Gillmer, recently a star in John Dietrich and John O’May’s productions of Gershwin and The ‘20s And All That Jazz, will play a Dutch woman in a storyline based in Holland.  However, her scenes will all be taped in the studio in Australia despite series regulars Steven Tandy, Norman Yemm and Olivia Hamnett currently taping scenes on location in Holland.  Gillmer’s character will be first seen on screen in the new year.

Looking for a winner
Judges on ABC’s The Inventors have had a tough time deciding on six finalists from the 64 entries featured on the show this year.  Executive producer Beverley Gledhill said that the standard for this year’s series has been the highest in the show’s ten-year run:  “Normally we are scratching around to get the sixth finalist.  But this year I’m afraid some people will miss out, whereas three years ago they would have definitely made the final.”  Governor-General Sir Zelman Cowen will present the Inventor of the Year award, including a cheque for $3500, in the show’s series final this week.  The winner will then go on to compete at the International Exhibition of Inventors in Geneva.

Being bad has been good for Vic Gordon
Many actors might be concerned at being cast as a “drunk” on successive occasions, but Vic Gordon (pictured) is very grateful for the work that it is bringing in.  The veteran actor has been cast twice in recent times as an amusing drunk in the Seven Network drama Cop Shop, but for Gordon it marks a turning point in his career as he tries to shake off the image of Sgt. Kennedy, the role he played for several years in Matlock Police.  “People don’t realise that before I became a TV copper I worked in every series under the sun, playing all sorts of different people.  Now at last some of them are starting to remember, and I’m getting some beautiful little cameo roles.”  On the home front, Gordon, 69, is about to celebrate five years’ marriage to artists’ agent Jean Lochhead.  The marriage, Gordon’s second after his first wife, Josie, died eight years ago, has also made Gordon the stepfather to rising star, Jean’s daughter Jacqui, who has won awards for her role in the ABC play Sally Go Round The Moon.

Briefly…
ABC’s rural affairs program, Countrywide, will present a special report on Japan’s booming farming industry and its influence on the Australian economy.  Host Neil Inall recent spent a month in Japan to research and put together the special report.

Anne Pendlebury, recently the lead actress in the ABC series Twenty Good Years, has been cast for the upcoming mini-series, Water Under The Bridge, being produced for the 0-10 Network.

Actor Ray Barrett has said he would be delighted to play a leading role in the upcoming ABC series Sporting Chance, being written by friend Peter Yeldham.  “I haven’t seen a script – or been made a firm offer – but from what Peter told me it sounds a wonderful idea.  He told me he had written something for me.  I would say yes right away on the strength of Peter’s writing it,” he told TV Times.   Barrett also has a role coming up in another ABC series, The Timeless Land, and presents a weekly documentary series in Brisbane on TVQ0.

ABC Show Band leader Brian May has just returned from Hollywood where he has been writing the music score for the movie The Blue Lagoon.  May is also to soon start work on a new series of The Saturday Show for ABC.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
”Congratulations to TVQ0, Brisbane, for showing some of the Kung Fu series, starring David Carradine.  At last a chance to see that kung fu is more mental mastery than an excuse for multiple mayhem.” R. Brown, QLD.

“I would be very interested to know why it is the exception – rather than the rule – in Queensland for a TV program to start on time.  As most networks have national affiliations, and it is rare for this fault to occur interstate, the reason for it is hard to understand.” L. Mackay, QLD.

“Congratulations to ABC for their coverage of the West End (Gawler) horse trials and also the coverage of the Australian evening championships earlier in the year.” V. Reynolds, VIC.]

“I’m fully aware of the furore about not knocking Australia, but let’s be realistic.  The Australian TV industry has gone backwards in the sense of fine quality.  Not many people know, unfortunately, how to distinguish rubbishy Australian shows from the good ones – which only ABC screens.  In the rubbish category are ostentatious programs such as Skyways, The Restless Years and Prisoner, which are pretty pathetic.  The plots are rhetorical, the stories lack realism, the acting, scripts and dialogue are poor.  What puzzles me is that these programs seem to be picking up good ratings – which is probably the only reason they were created.” P. Masci, QLD.

What’s On (November 10-16):
HSV7 crosses live to Adelaide on Saturday morning for the annual John Martin’s Christmas Pageant, with commentary by Adelaide personalities Pam Tamblyn and Sandy Roberts.

ATV0’s coverage of the Melbourne Cup Carnival concludes on Saturday with George Adams Day, live from Flemington, hosted by Phil Gibbs and Michael Schildberger.

Cricket has started on GTV9 for the summer with South Australia versus Western Australia in the McDonald’s Cup, with all-day coverage on Saturday and Sunday.  Richie Benaud, Fred Trueman and David Colley lead the coverage.

Sunday is Remembrance Day, and ABC and HSV7 both have 2 minutes’ silence scheduled for 11.00am.  ABC also features a one-hour documentary, Armistice And After, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the end of the Great War.

On Monday night, ATV0 presents a two-hour special, Thanks For The Memory, looking back at the news, people and events that have featured throughout the 1970s.  Hosted by Bruce Mansfield and Peter Hanrahan.

Comedy specials on GTV9 during the week include a repeat of The Paul Hogan Show, featuring the sketch This Is Your Strife with Roger Simpleton, and the second of a series of specials featuring Ronnie Corbett in Australia.

GTV9’s Family Feud (with Tony Barber, pictured), The Young Doctors and The Sullivans all come to a close for the year, with The Sullvans ending the year with a special one-hour episode on Friday night.  GTV9’s daytime US soaps All My Children, Days Of Our Lives, The Young And The Restless, Search For Tomorrow and General Hospital also come to a close for the year on Friday.

Queenslander Jodie Day is representing Australia in Miss World 1979, being telecast on GTV9 in a delayed telecast from Royal Albert Hall, London.

ABC’s telecast of the Dunhill Australian Open Golf Championship starts on Thursday afternoon, with five hours live from the Metropolitan Course, Melbourne, with an hour of highlights at 10.45pm.  Coverage continues on Friday with another five hours in the afternoon, and highlights from 10.50pm.

Sunday night movies: Shout At The Devil (HSV7), Shampoo (GTV9) and Mr Majestyk (ATV0).  ABC presents The Rock Pool, the next in the series of Australian plays, starring Ed Deveraux, Lyn James and Bunney Brooke.

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

1979: March 3-9

Tickling the Peter!
Cop Shop's Peter Adams hasn't always been cast in the macho roles he has become familiar for.  In fact, he made his acting debut playing a chubby woman in a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta at age 10.  But in his adult career, mostly in the theatre, New Zealand-born Adams (pictured, with co-star Joanna Lockwood) has also had a variety of roles - including playing an owl in a panto production of Robin Hood.  Before scoring the role of "JJ" Johnson in Cop Shop, Adams' only regular TV roles were in ABC's Australia A To Z and as a newspaper reporter in Number 96.  Although a guest appearance in Division Four with Judy Morris in 1970 apparently has the unusual distinction of being the first nude bedroom scene on Australian TV.

The Kiwi Invasion
Australian television is about to be invaded by New Zealand actors.  Bill Stalker (pictured), one of New Zealand's most versatile stage and TV actors, is coming to Australia for a role in the new Seven Network series Skyways.  The actor had a popular following in New Zealand playing a mechanic in the long-running local soap Close To Home.  Fellow Kiwi actor Sam Neill has already had roles in two Australian films, My Brilliant Career and The Journalist, and will be starting work soon on The Sullivans, appearing on screen around mid-year.

'Sorry about that, love!'
A TV Times photo shoot featuring tennis star John Newcombe and 0-10 Network personalities Victoria Nicolls (pictured), Lenore Smith and Steve Raymond turned sour.  Nicolls, "only a social tennis player", took a fall when trying to return a hit from Smith.  Instead of returning to the set of The Restless Years for taping a wedding episode, the actress was taken to the local hospital.  No broken bones were found but she did have to keep her arm in a sling and managed to get to the postponed taping of the wedding episode later that day.

Briefly...
Actors John Ewart and Serge Lazareff are to join the cast of The Young Doctors, and there are plans for the Australian World Series Cricket team to also make a guest appearance next year.  Executive producer Alan Coleman is keen to have players such as Dennis Lillee come in to the hospital for treatment and end the guest stint with an appearance by the entire Australian team.

Former Young Talent Time regular Debbie Byrne and husband Dave Dudley are expecting their first child in July.  Byrne, who appeared in ABC's The Saturday Show last year, is also to feature in ABC's upcoming variety series Follies later in the year.

It has taken two years of planning, but Days Of Our Lives stars Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth are coming to Australia for a series of club appearances starting in Brisbane and touring to other capital cities.  The actors will be temporarily written out of the popular US drama to allow them the Australian tour.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
"Rowena Wallace, who plays Pamela Taylor in Cop Shop, should wear a wig, because she looks very old with grey hair.  A black or red wig would suit her very well.  She has a very young face."  C. Leoni, QLD.

"Monty Python's Flying Circus brings a touch of ABC sophistication to the otherwise tepid material usually screened on ATN7 Sydney.  But as usual we have to suffer for good TV on a commercial station - a fine, fast-moving show like Monty Python gets absolutely butchered by all the silly ads."  N. Wainwright, NSW.

"I wonder how many viewers know of the series Three's Company let alone watch it regularly?  I needed only one look to realise that it is yet another example of blatant American poaching of British ideas.  Man About The House was a far superior series.  ABC must have bought the series for a very low price, because it falls way below the standard I have come to expect from them."  K. Davidson, VIC.

What's On (March 3-9):
ABC presents live coverage of the Australian Masters' Golf tournament from Huntingdale Golf Club in Melbourne on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.  Saturday is Blue Diamond Stakes Day at Caulfield racecourse.  ATV0's Phil Gibbs and Clem Dimsey present a two-hour morning preview, then from midday Michael Schildberger heads the afternoon's live coverage.

Melbourne's Moomba festival is on again and ATV0 crosses live to the Yarra River embankment on Sunday afternoon for the 1979 Birdman Rally and Bathtub Regatta.

The second episode of HSV7's This Fabulous Century (presenter Peter Luck, pictured) is titled 'Institutions', looking at the Miss Australia tradition, Bondi Beach and the Holden motor car.

The winner of last year's Mastermind, John Bond, will represent Australia in Mastermind International which debuts on ABC on Wednesday night.  The series, taped in London, features Mastermind winners from around the world including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Nigeria, Canada and the Republic of Ireland.

In ATV0's Prisoner there has been a murder at Wentworth Detention Centre and both the authorities and the inmates have their own methods of finding the culprit.  The new drama screens on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

The Australian Football Championships, a national night football competition, continues on HSV7 with Richmond versus West Australian team Subiaco.

This week's guests on Peter Couchman Tonight include Ian Meldrum, Bob Rogers, Normie Rowe, Stan Rofe, Debbie Byrne, Brian Davies, Gus Mercurio, Peita Toppano, The God Squad, Ross D. Wyllie, Jane Scali and Michael Cormick. 

Sunday night movies are Eliza Fraser (HSV7), The Steel Cowboy (GTV9) and Flood (ATV0). 

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 3 March 1979.  ABC/ACP

1978: November 11-17

A little bit of what John fancies
Although he's been an actor since the age of 11, John Meillon (pictured, with Stuart Wagstaff) has never been a walk-on, say-a-few-words, walk-off-again actor... a bit player. But that will change with a role in Bit Part, one of the series of plays featured in ABC's Stuart Wagstaff's World Playhouse. "This play is quite funny really. It's a sort of joke in the industry, 'Hello, you're finally playing a bit part'," he told TV Times. The veteran actor had declined offers for bit parts in the past, instead choosing the maintain a certain level in the roles he's accepted: "If you want to - with all due respect - be in things like The Restless Years, The Young Doctors and those Crawford things, if you want to do that, well, there is work. But to me the quality work has always been with ABC. My maxim has always been quality over quantity."

More of Parkinson's lore!
British TV interviewer Michael Parkinson is due to come to Australia in early 1979 to record a series of shows for ABC. Parkinson's Saturday night series has been a British favourite for seven years and has been screening on ABC since earlier this year. It's also been revealed that Parkinson was offered the chance to host the Nine Network's upcoming current affairs program 60 Minutes but declined as it meant permanently relocating to Australia.

Happy Dave is here to stay
British comedian Dave Allenby (pictured) first came to Australia in 1970 to compere the Beach Boys concert tour. The sunshine and opportunities for future work was enough to lure him back permanently. Now settled with his family in Australia, Allenby is also settled in as host of the 0-10 Network's new game show Perfect Match, where husband and wife contestants are asked questions about each other: "The format is just right. It's relaxed and I can crack gags and ad-lib as much as I like."

Briefly:
The cast of Cop Shop celebrated the show's 100th episode with a special lunch courtesy of the Seven Network, while Nine's The Young Doctors has just taped its 500th episode.

An album of Irish songs released by The Saturday Show's John MacNally (pictured with co-star Suzanne Steele) has sold more than 120,000 copies, with a single due to be released in time for Christmas and a second album next year.

A five-part documentary series China - The Human Face has been made by Film Australia, breaking the long-standing ban on Western film crews entering the nation. The documentary is expected to screen early in 1979.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"I hope that ABC can sell The Truckies overseas. People should understand that Australian truckies' long hauls are not like those in smaller countries. I have been married to a truckie for over 27 years and we all wait to see who the next program will remind us of." B. Longhurst, NSW.

"Why doesn't ABC screen some Elvis Presley movies? When Elvis died only capital city stations showed his movies. But country people who simply receive ABC would like to see his movies too." E. Eames, QLD.

What's On (November 11-17):
11 November is Remembrance Day, and HSV7 takes time out for two minutes silence at 11.00am, while GTV9 presents a special to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Remembrance Day.

On Saturday, ATV0 presents the last day's events of the VRC Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Australian series Glenview High returns to HSV7 on Saturday night for screening over the summer months.

GTV9 launches a summer mid-evening edition of National Nine News, screening weeknights at 9.30pm and read by Peter Hitchener.

On Thursday, GTV9 begins four days' coverage of the Australian Open Golf Championships, live from Sydney - with four hours of coverage on each of Thursday and Friday, but interrupted by The Mike Walsh Show and US soaps Days Of Our Lives and The Young And The Restless.

The Brisbane-based Orton's Old Time Music Hall, hosted by Paul Sharratt, begins on GTV9 on Friday night.

Sunday night movies are Love's Dark Ride (HSV7), My Father's House (GTV9) and Up The Sandbox (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 11 November 1978. ABC/ACP

1978: August 5-11

Cover: The Love Boat

Tasmania's holocaust
The Australian-made film The Last Tasmanians, which has already aired in Britain and been sold to other countries, is to be shown on Australian TV later in the year. The 90-minute movie tells of the extermination of Tasmanian Aboriginals in the late nineteenth century, and received rave reviews when shown on BBC earlier in the year. While there was no interest from Australian networks in financially backing the "slightly dramatised" documentary when in production (it ended up being partially funded by BBC and French group SFP), ABC and the three commercial networks had since made bids to buy the rights to screen the movie - with the 0-10 Network successful.

Walsh's Walkabout
With The Mike Walsh Show about to be based in Melbourne for a week, host Mike Walsh has announced plans to take the popular daytime show to other parts of the country. "We get a huge response from all over Australia. After we announced that we were going to Melbourne, GTV9 called us to say they had been inundated with calls from people wanting to be in the studio audience," he told TV Times.

Bert gets the boot
Nine Network personality Bert Newton (pictured) has been awarded The Footlighter Award (a cigarette lighter shaped like a foot) for personality of the year at the annual Footlighters showbusiness ball in Melbourne. The night was highlighted by an off-beat floorshow featuring The Naked Vicar Show's Colin McEwan as an un-angelic Charlie's Angel, Maurie Fields as a girl guide and Ross D Wylie as a limping nun. After accepting his award, Newton had to race off to the Nine studios to appear on The Don Lane Show.

Peter can lend you an ear
In a dance routine on this week's The Saturday Show, don't be fooled into thinking there are nine John MacNally's on screen. No special effects, but rather, there will be MacNally (pictured with co-star Suzanne Steele) accompanied by eight dancers all wearing latex masks in his likeness - the work of ABC props artist Peter Dack whose desk is surrounded by relics of former ABC productions; such as fake snakes from Bellbird, a rubber hand used in a Bellbird scene where Lynette Curran had to touch a live electric fence ('the producer wanted real sparks'), and a lump of latex that was stuck to Graham Kennedy's face to show a nasty bruise after his character had been beaten up in a scene in Power Without Glory.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"I greatly enjoyed the program Mastermind, but disagree with the method of questioning. The method of asking an entirely different set of general knowledge questions is, I think, most unfair. They are so varied it is impossible to make an even test of the competitors' knowledge." B. O'Shea, NSW.

"I cannot understand how Willesee At Seven is such a highly rated program. Mike Willesee (pictured) himself blunders his way through the show, mutters useless comments almost inaudibly, and half the time doesn't even bother to look to camera." G. Jackson, New Zealand

"Country Road is excellent. It is good family viewing and full of good talent. So why must it be shoved into a late timeslot? Surely it's more feasible to put Dave Allen and Soap on later?" P. Martin, QLD

What's On (August 5-11):
ABC presents limited live coverage, about an hour on each of the first two days only, of events from the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada, with half-hour evening and late-night highlights packages each night during the week.

Dame Enid Lyons, the first female member of the House of Representatives, and later the first female Cabinet Minister, is the guest on the final episode of interview program Woman In Question.

The series may have been axed a year beforehand, but the movie version of the former hit series Number 96 is shown on ATV0 on Tuesday night - and on Friday night, the comedy All At Sea, featuring some of the former cast members of Number 96 and game shows Blankety Blanks and The Celebrity Game.

Sunday night movies are The Strange Vengeance Of Rosalie (HSV7), Save The Tiger (GTV9) and Avanti! (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 5 August 1978. ABC/ACP

1978: July 29-August 4

Cover: Mike Walsh nominates his ten all-time favourite films. Among the list are The Sound Of Music, Cleopatra, Singin' In The Rain, The Getting Of Wisdom and Gone With The Wind.

Dramatic ABC switch
ABC has announced a dramatic change to its prime-time line-up with plans to schedule drama and comedy programs in the 7.30pm timeslot, meaning the end for current affairs program This Day Tonight which has occupied the timeslot for the past eleven years. This Day Tonight will be replaced by a new program Nationwide, to be shown in the later 9.30pm timeslot. The launch of Nationwide early in 1979 will also mean the end of ABC's long-running discussion program Monday Conference.

Truckies set to roll
ABC's latest drama series, The Truckies, is finally ready to go to air despite being dogged by problems during production. The show's main leading lady, a 65-tonne Volvo truck called Maggie D, was found to be drinking fuel much faster than producers had budgeted on. As for human cast members, John Wood fell ill and ended up in hospital, Colleen Hewett fell pregnant and had to be written out from later episodes when her baby bump could not be disguised, but was then written back at the last minute in when producers decided to make her character pregnant, and the four male leads (Wood, Michael Aitken, Mike Carmen and John Hewitt) were all discovered to not have truck licences and were sent off to a Melbourne driving school for a crash course in prime mover techniques. But producer Oscar Whitbread only had one complaint during production - the weather - particularly when one drought-inspired episode was being filmed and they were caught out by rain!

In search for a soap
The Seven Network has put the call out - if you could write a soap opera not set in an apartment block or a hospital, then they want to hear from you. Seven is currently showing re-runs of the US sitcom Bewitched in the early evenings and would instead like to add a new early-evening soap to its line-up to challenge Nine's The Young Doctors.

Regional channels unite for quest
A new talent quest is to go into production in a unique venture between 25 regional TV stations. National Star Quest, being co-ordinated by Reg Grundy Productions for Australian Television Facilities (ATF) which represents the 25 participating stations, will feature acts performed at their local regional station with all videotaped performances sent to WIN4 Wollongong to be compiled into a single program with a studio compere and judges. If successful, ATF may then look to making more regional-based production for national screening. Allan Hoy, manager of WIN4 told TV Times, "We're not really aiming to set up a fourth commercial network, but it is entirely possible that in a few years the big city stations might be taking programs from us, rather than the other way around, as at present." Thirteen episodes of National Star Quest are being planned with production starting in September. Executive producer of the program will be Hal Croxon, a former producer of the 0-10 Network's Pot Of Gold.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
"What has ABC done to Saturday nights? How could it follow Shirley Bassey with such sweet and tacky entertainment as The Saturday Show (pictured)? The opening numbers were supposed to warm you up, but they couldn't warm up an anaemic bullfrog. The Saturday Show may be ideal for the Bullamakanka Choral Society, but not the ABC." J. McArthur, NSW.

"I have watched Mastermind since its inception and shall do so until the end, looking forward to Mastermind 1979. Huw Evans is a most charming and extremely well-spoken compere - not a gaudy Bob Dyer trying to be funny as well as asking questions." Y. Farr, NSW.

"The excellent British science-fiction series Dr Who has been running for sixteen years, and it has never yet had a fair go from ABC. They continue to waste it in ridiculous screening times. If inane garbage like Space 1999 can command a 7.30pm timeslot, then surely Dr Who can claim the same." S. Collins, QLD.

What's On (July 29-August 4)
Pop star Ray Burgess is special guest on ATV0's Young Talent Time, while later in the evening on HSV7's Penthouse '78, Mary Hardy and Ernie Sigley are joined by Bartholomew John, Norman Banks and Frank Dyer, a finalist of the show's Search For A Star talent quest.

Blankety Blanks (pictured) is shifted from prime-time to afternoons, with ATV0 moving it to 12.00pm from Monday, followed at 12.30pm by repeats of racy soap opera The Box. In place of Blankety Blanks at 7.00pm is re-runs of The Six Million Dollar Man, with one-hour episodes cut into half-hour episodes over two nights.

ABC presents the 150th episode of The Inventors and to celebrate has invited some of their previous winners to present their latest inventions.

The 1978 Commonwealth Games opens in Edmonton, Canada - with ABC providing live coverage of the Opening Ceremony at 6.00am Friday morning and highlights of the ceremony Friday night at 8.00pm and again at 11.20pm.

Sunday night movies are Night Of The Lepus (HSV7), Little Ladies Of The Night (GTV9) and The Go-Between (ATV0). Renowned concert pianist Isador Goodman is the special guest on ABC's Sunday night music show Capriccio! hosted by Carol Raye.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 29 July 1978, ABC/ACP

1978: July 15-21

Let 'er RIP!
After forty episodes over five years, Paul Hogan (pictured) has decided it was time to let his classic ocker 'Hoges' - his trademark football jersey, shorts and boots - lay to rest. Now, the emphasis on The Paul Hogan Show will be on the caricatures based on either real-life figures, such as Don Lane or ABC adventurer Harry Butler, or more of Hogan's unique characters to go along with Luigi the Magician, Nigel the skateboard kid or Stung the derelict. Hogan, married with five children, and co-star and producer John 'Strop' Cornell, are knocking back offers to do more commercials after the success of the famous cigarette campaign they have both appeared in. The pair have also had movie offers - most have been knocked back, but two are still being considered. "I'd like to take advantage of doing a film," Hogan says. "I'm wide open but there's no way I'd do a Carry-On-Up-The-Khyber production."

UK comedy Aussie style
British comedy writers Johnny Speight and Ray Galton are writing a new comedy series for the 0-10 Network. The Tea Ladies will be a 'conversational comedy' based around a pair of Parliament House tea ladies. The new series, being produced by McCabe-Paradine for 0-10, will go into taping in September.

It's Miss Wran if you please!
Kim Wran (pictured), of The Young Doctors, has some very definite views on marriage: "A woman should be independent. I'd never get married unless I had $100,000 of my own. And then if I were ever in the position of being 45 to 50, and my husband said 'You're not young any more and I'm going off with a girl of 25,' I wouldn't have to hang on. I wouldn't lose my pride or dignity." The 23-year-old actress, who also happens to be the daughter of NSW premier Neville Wran, is equally as indignant if anyone dares address her as 'Ms', "I can't figure out why people call me that. I'm Miss Kim Wran! The women's lib bit isn't really for me. Men should be men, and women should be women. Equality in jobs is great, though some women shouldn't be in the jobs that they are."

New tragedy for Grace Sullivan
Grace Sullivan (Lorraine Bayly) gets the news that she has been dreading but half expecting. Her only remaining civilian son, Terry (Richard Morgan), who was rejected from the Air Force on medical grounds, has joined the Army. In episodes of The Sullivans to screen during this week, Terry's impulse decision came after Michael Watkins (John Walton) has joined up after a long battle to get out of his civilian job.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"It is disgusting that a program the quality of Space 1999, should be degraded by Melbourne's HSV7. It is evident that they have no time for science fiction. Or, they do have time for it but at 12 midnight it is hardly fair that youngsters and adults alike should have to stay up that late." M. Savage and A. Best, VIC.

"In these days of bad grammar and slovenly speech one would presume that a former schoolteacher would know how to correctly use the Queen's English. However, on Pot Of Gold we heard Bernard King boast many times that in his early years he was a schoolteacher. He was giving judgment on one of the show's contestants, and passed this jarring remark: 'She would not be good enough for the Roxy or I' ! Not good enough for I! Bernard, your illiteracy is showing." H. McNeill, NSW.

"Why did ABC drop such a terrific show - Flashez? Twice I wrote to them and I received answers saying they could not do anything about it. We now have to watch British shows which are not as entertaining as Flashez. Why pay the British when ABC could air Australian shows?" G. Chewlun, QLD.

What's On (July 15-21)
Saturday night, ABC presents another episode of The Saturday Show (pictured), with guest star Johnny Lockwood, followed by current affairs with Four Corners, and then six hours of golf with the British Open Championships, live from Scotland.

On Wednesday night, ABC presents the final of quiz show Mastermind. Four contestants from the semi-finals will compete for the title Mastermind of Australia 1978.

This week's guests on ATV0's Peter Couchman Tonight include Denis Walter, Bev Harrell, Jane Scali, Wendy Stapleton and Cliff Portwood.

Sunday night movies are Butterflies Are Free (HSV7), Return To Fantasy Island (GTV9) and A New Leaf (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 15 July 1978. ABC/ACP

1978: July 1-7

Cover: The Bee Gees

Meldrum's TV hit at heroin
Heroin addiction has claimed the lives of four of his friends, so Ian 'Molly' Meldrum has decided to use his profile as a national TV presenter to do something about it. The Countdown host has been given the go-ahead by ABC to produce a documentary to highlight the dangers of heroin addiction. "This is the most important project in my life at the moment. Four of my friends have died from heroin and I have gone through the hell of living with one of them," he told TV Times.

Things go boom for Willesee
The Willesee At Seven team is thrilled at ratings figures that indicate that the daily current affairs format is far from dying despite the recent axing of A Current Affair on Nine. The program, hosted by Mike Willesee, is winning its timeslot in Sydney, and beaten only by Nine's The Sullivans in Melbourne. Producer Phil Davis has also just announced a new recruit, former TEN10 producer and newsreader Peter Hanrahan, to the reporting team.

Colour her ambitious!
Thirteen-year-old Arkie Whiteley (pictured) is aware that her dad, artist Brett Whiteley, is the famous one in her family. But one day, Arkie says, he will be known as her father. The young actress has already been to a drama school in England and made her acting debut in a London Weekend Television series People Like Us. She has already made guest appearances on The Young Doctors and has a role in the upcoming ABC production A Place In The World, but has no aspirations to challenge her father's artistic talent, "An artist? No! Everyone expects me to be like my father, brilliant at art and that sort of thing. I just sit there and do these pathetic little paintings. I can't draw. But then, he can't act!"

Everybody loves Saturday night!
ABC is hoping to liven up Saturday nights with glamour and music as the main ingredients of its new lavish variety series The Saturday Show, beginning this week. Regular performers on the show include Suzanne Steele (pictured, centre), John MacNally, Phillip Gould, Debbie Byrne, dance troupe The Natural Seven, Brian May and the ABC Show Band, and guest performers including Frank Thring, Johnny Lockwood and Bobby Limb.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
"What beats me on TV is the incredible number of comperes and others introducing shows, who sign off with the inane remark, "See you next week," or whatever. We can see them but it would be a miracle if they saw us. Don't they realise how stupid they sound?" W. Blackall, WA.

"I would like to commend The Sullivans and The Young Doctors. In my opinion they are of a very high standard and certainly as good as anything to come from Britain or America. However, the producers of Cop Shop obviously tries to emulate some of the cheaper dramas from these countries, in which men wear shirts too small for them and have their collars wide open. This is to let the viewer know that these people are tough. To me they look like slobs in a cheap production." W. Beaton, SA.

"Will someone please explain the following to a poor galah with no brains who is puzzled by some of the mysteries on TV? Why does Norman Gunston cut himself while shaving? Why is it always the husbands who cough, and why don't they administer their own cough mixture instead of their wives having to do it? Why does coffee have to be 43 beans per cup? Why not 40 or 50? And how do they get the lemons to jump back into the packet, and are they real ones or dummies?" W. Bodfish, QLD.

What's On (July 1-7):
HSV7 screens Shirley Bassey - Australia 78, a concert recorded at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion. Songs include Big Spender, Goldfinger, Johnny One Note and The Greatest Performance Of My Life.

The Nine Network presents live via satellite coverage of the final stages of the Wimbledon tennis championships from London. Former Seven commentator Mike Williamson will head Nine's coverage, which will air between 11.00pm and 4.30am from Wednesday through to Sunday and includes men's and women's semi-finals, men's and women's doubles finals, mixed doubles final, women's singles final and men's singles final.

Joining Paul Hogan on Nine's comedy series The Paul Hogan Show this week are regulars John Cornell, Delvene Delaney, Andrew Harwood, and guests Jon English and Ray Burgess.

This week's guest on ABC's Woman In Question is theologian-author Barbara Thiering, discussing women's issues including abortion, sexist attitudes both in the church and the community, and sexual discrimination.

Sunday night movies are The Wrath Of God (HSV7), On The Buses (GTV9) and Shoot Out (ATV0). Later in the evening, GTV9 screens movie classic A Streetcar Named Desire and after midnight runs a marathon of Barbara Stanwyck films - California, The Bride Wore Boots and Trooper Hook.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 1 July 1978, ABC/ACP

YouTube: The Saturday Show

Last month's post dedicated to Saturday night TV failed to mention one title that some may remember or, in this author's case, at least remember the send-ups that followed several years later.

The Saturday Show was a weekly variety show on ABC in the late-'70s and early-'80s with a cast of regular performers, including Michael Cole, Darryl Stewart, former Young Talent Time member Jane Scali, and the dance troupe The Natural Seven. The Saturday Show was produced in a different vein to variety shows on commercial television in that featured traditional musical variety rather than more contemporary acts.

Although the legacy of The Saturday Show is that it ended up providing fodder for later comedy shows. The D-Generation's The Late Show (1992-93) regularly featured forgettable performances from The Saturday Show archives as part of its "Toilet Break" segment.

The Saturday Show also gave inspiration to the Seven Network's Fast Forward (1989-92) who parodied the program as a mix of inappropriately performed songs with cheesy backing tracks and gawdy backdrops.

The Fast Forward version of The Saturday Show was hosted by Eleanor LaGore (Gina Riley). This clip on YouTube shows a collection of Ms LaGore's performances and who could forget Barry Crocker's rendition of I Am Woman?



Another clip found on YouTube features LaGore performing a somewhat different adaptation of the '80s anti-war song I Was Only 19, complete with toe-tapping dance break:



YouTube: tizzo99, damo2310