1978: October 7-13

The Sammys: Who will win?
TV Times promises a glittering night of stars when the third annual Australian Film and TV Awards - otherwise known as The Sammys - will be presented this week from the Seymour Centre in Sydney. The awards are a joint venture between TV Times, the Seven Network and the Variety Club of Australia. Roger Climpson will be the awards host and among the presenters to take part in the awards will be Tasmanian-born Hollywood actress Merle Oberon.

There are 39 award categories in this year's Sammy awards covering both film and television, but not all will be included in the two-hour Seven Network telecast. Following is a list of some of the award categories and nominations:

Best Variety Performer: Bert Newton (pictured), Paul Hogan, Don Lane, Barry Crocker, Marcia Hines, Julie Anthony, Garry McDonald

Best Actress In A TV Series: Joanne Samuel, Lorraine Bayly, Jill Forster, Tina Grenville, Paula Duncan, Rowena Wallace, Julieanne Newbould, June Salter

Best Actor In A TV Series: Paul Cronin, Sonny Blake (pictured), Nick Hedstrom, Malcolm Thompson, Tim Page, George Mallaby, Peter Adams, John Hamblin

Best Drama Series: Case For The Defense, Young Ramsay, The Sullivans, Cop Shop, The Young Doctors, The Restless Years

Best Sports Coverage: Australian Open Golf, VFL Grand Final, Davis Cup Tennis, World Series Cricket, VFA Grand Final, Hardie Ferodo 1977

Best Current Affairs Program: Willesee At Seven, Four Corners, A Current Affair, Eleven AM, Shoulder To Shoulder.

Best Comedy Program: The Norman Gunston Show, The Naked Vicar Show, Bobby Dazzler, Father Dear Father, The Paul Hogan Show, The Dave Allen Show, Benny Hill In Australia

Best Children's Series: Romper Room, Fat Cat And Friends, Here's Humphrey, Super Flying Fun Show, The Curiosity Show, What In The World, The Magic Bag, Wombat, This Week Has Seven Days, Happy-Go-Round, Magicat

Best Light Entertainment Series: Family Feud, This Is Your Life, Sound Unlimited, It's Not Just A Story, Blankety Blanks (pictured), The Mike Walsh Show, The Peter Couchman Show, Countdown, Mastermind, Nightmoves

Gold (Female): Cornelia Frances, Delvene Delaney, Lorraine Bayly, June Salter, Marcia Hines, Noeline Brown, Paula Duncan, Joanna Lockwood, Caroline Jones, Julieanne Newbould, Wendy Hughes.

Gold (Male): Don Lane, Paul Hogan, Mike Walsh, Graham Kennedy, John Waters, Harry Butler, Roger Climpson, Garry McDonald, Robert Moore, Mike Willesee (pictured), Sir Robert Helpmann, Paul Cronin, Gulpilil, Bill Hunter.

Grundy claims record!
Reg Grundy Productions is claiming a world record for an independent TV production company. The company has a current production schedule of around 30 hours a week of TV programming, with programs emanating from four capital cities: The Restless Years, The Young Doctors and Blankety Blanks from Sydney, The Daryl And Ossie Show from Melbourne, Pyramid Challenge and Perfect Match from Brisbane, and Family Feud from Perth. Although this only accounts for around 17 hours a week of TV airtime, production of game show episodes are produced in larger quantities each week to enable stockpiling of episodes. For instance, Pyramid Challenge has 20 episodes being produced in one week, while they are only aired at a rate of five per week.

Not just a pretty face!
Monique Daams (pictured) is the girl adding a touch of glamour to the 0-10 Network's The Daryl And Ossie Show. The Dutch-born 24-year-old has appeared in numerous TV commercials and modelling contests - winning the Australian Quest of Quests four years ago - but this is her first regular TV appearance. Executive producer of The Daryl And Ossie Show, Bill Mason, predicts a big future for Daams, "We wanted a fresh face, one that was not over exposed on TV, and someone with intelligence as well as beauty. We saw several dozen girls and Monique fitted our concept perfectly. We think she has a big future in TV."

Just briefly:
Crawford Productions and the 0-10 Network are planning a new police drama for next year, tentatively titled Murder Squad.

Harry Michael's Greek Affair looks like becoming a home away from home for former Number 96 stars, with Elaine Lee, Joe Hasham, Bettina Welch and Shiela Kennelly having filled in for Michaels who is in Greece.

Paul Jennings, the former radio newsman whose political impersonations made him a national personality on shows like A Current Affair, is now working backstage at ATV0 as the warm-up man for the studio audience of The Tea Ladies.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"There are many things on TV that bother me, but three things especially make me clench my fists. The first is Ross D Wylie on ATV0. I like the movies they put on but I can never stay awake once he comes on. And why can't GTV9 bring their late movies up to date? We're almost into the 1980s and they're showing films from the 1940s and 1950s. And I like Mike Walsh but I also like a bit of variety. I'm sick to death of soap operas." S. Edgell, VIC.

"I am sick of reading letters complaining of small inaccuracies in the production of The Sullivans. Some the criticisms are not even valid. Even if the criticisms do have some basis, surely a more constructive way of rectifying the mistake is to write to Crawford Productions directly." A Pellizzer, VIC.

What's On (October 7-13):
The Nine Network's new early-morning show, The Job Show, debuts on Monday, screening weekdays at 6.30am leading in to The Super Flying Fun Show.

The third annual Sammy Awards are on HSV7 on Wednesday night at 8.30pm, honouring the best talent in Australian film and television.

GTV9 presents the (TV Week) King Of Pop Awards, a 90-minute presentation on Friday night, hosted by Glenn Shorrock with special guests Kate Bush and Leif Garrett.

Sunday night movies are The Great Scout And Cathouse Thursday (HSV7) and Lost Horizon (ATV0) while GTV9 presents the first instalment of mini-series The Bastard, with remaining parts screened on the following two nights.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 7 October 1978. ABC/ACP

1978: September 9-15

Million dollar TV extravaganza begins!
The Seven Network's million-dollar historical epic Against The Wind premieres this week. The 13-part series, starring Mary Larkin and Jon English, took six months to make and is the culmination of intense research and meticulous set construction and costume design to properly reconstruct 19th century Australia. Also starring in the mini-series is Frank Thring, Gerard Kennedy, Frank Gallacher, Lynn Rainbow, Fred Parslow and Hu Pryce. Executive Producer is Ian Jones.

Peita's no jail bird
Former The Young Doctors and Class Of '75 actress Peita Toppano has scored the role of housewife-turned-murderer Karen Travers in the upcoming Grundy Organisation series Prisoner, being made for the 0-10 Network. Production of the thirteen one-hour episodes is to start in Melbourne in October and the series also stars Elspeth Ballantyne (Bellbird), Val Lehman, Carol Burns, Colette Mann and Richard Moir.

Cricket 'fever' for 34 nights
The Nine Network is so confident that its World Series Cricket will capture a large summer TV audience, that between 28 November and 4 February it will screen all major matches in the series with most of them airing in prime-time. Program manager Gordon French told TV Times, "We found viewers had reacted very favourably to night cricket. And if people want night cricket we will provide it to them. We are, after all, governed by the wishes of our viewers."

Steady job sours 'Sugar' Wood
John Wood (pictured), of ABC's The Truckies, has a big problem when he's working on a TV series - boredom. He worries constantly that the hours spent sitting around waiting his turn on camera will affect his performance: "That was one of the problems I had on Power Without Glory. At first, it was great, as Sugar - the character I played - was in all the action, but in the middle episodes all I seemed to do was walk on to the set just to let people know Sugar was still around." This would be one reason why Wood would be wary about joining a long-running series, such as Cop Shop or The Sullivans, in a sustaining role: "I think I'd go screaming mad with the boredom of week-to-week chore acting."

Just quickly...
Stuart Wagstaff has revealed that he has never had a written contract for his cigarette commercial work. Everything, including pay rises, was done by gentleman's agreement.

Latest catch-phrase in the United Kingdom is "I'll rip yer bloody arms off!" following the screening of the pilot of The Little Big Show, starring Grahame Bond.

The atmosphere at Melbourne's ATV0 studios has never been so highly charged since the halcyon days of The Box, with all studios working to capacity.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
"I've been watching The Restless Years from the beginning and haven't missed out once. But since Deborah Coulls isn't in it any more, I dislike it a bit. There have probably been reasons for taking Deborah out of it, but I reckon Sue Smithers (pictured) can't act as well as Deborah." A. Wiesenthal, NSW.

"I cannot understand why ABC sent Norman May to Canada to commentate at the Commonwealth Games after his awful exhibition at the last Olympic Games, especially the swimming events." W. Dickie, NSW.

"Would somebody mind telling that bore, Ian Meldrum, to grow up! Why ABC insists on inflicting him on the ever-suffering viewing public is beyond me." A. Rankins, NSW.

What's On (September 9-15):
ABC's long-running current affairs program Monday Conference features an interview with the Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.

As mentioned above, Against The Wind debuts Tuesday night on HSV7 in a two-hour episode. Earlier the same night, ABC screens the first of a six-part series Run From The Morning, a mystery thriller starring Michael Aitkens (The Truckies), Bud Tingwell, Rod Mullinar and Bill Kerr.

It's a big week for premieres for ATV0 this week. On Monday night at 7.00pm, The Daryl And Ossie Show debuts as a half-hour variety/game-show format with Daryl Somers and Ossie Ostrich having made the move from hosting GTV9's Hey Hey It's Saturday last year.

Stuart Wagstaff hosts the debut of the ATV0's new talent quest series, Showcase, reviving the former 1960s format of the same name. Leading the 36-piece orchestra is producer Hector Crawford, and judging the acts are Robert Helpmann, Margaret Schofield, Roger Savage and Kenn Brodziak.

On Thursday night, ATV0 presents the first episode of comedy series The Tea Ladies, starring Pat McDonald and Sue Jones (pictured) as tea ladies working in Parliament House, Canberra.

Sunday night movies are There's A Girl In My Soup (HSV7), Holiday On The Buses (GTV9) and The Man Who Would Be King (ATV0), while on ABC's Capriccio!, actor Warren Mitchell has chosen the music to be performed on the program.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 9 September 1978. ABC/ACP

1978: August 26-September 1

Megan Williams' views on marriage
The Sullivans actress Megan Williams (pictured, with co-star John Walton) has good and bad news for Australian men. The good news: she is a romantic. The bad news: she is in no hurry to marry or settle down. The 21-year-old who shot to national fame in the teenage soap Class Of '74, followed by a role in the stage production of Wonder Woman, is tackling a more serious role in playing Alice Morgan in the 1940s war time drama: "I know I have a lot to learn about acting, and The Sullivans is helping a lot."

TV Violence: A Special Report
The average school-leaver has spent more hours watching TV than in school - a statistic that has parents, teachers, governments and even TV executives concerned about what TV is teaching children and how it affects their development. Research conducted on school-age children in Western Australia found that 5-to-8 years olds were watching TV more than their older and younger counterparts, and that they are predominantly being led to believe that we are living in a mean and violent society, and that by watching predominantly American programming that this may be affecting their notions of what Australia is like as a society.

Just Pat's cup of tea!
Former Number 96 star Pat McDonald (pictured) and Sue Jones, recently seen on ABC's The Truckies, have won the lead roles in the new comedy series The Tea Ladies, to be produced in Melbourne for the 0-10 Network. The series revolves around the team of tea ladies serving tea to Members of Parliament. For McDonald, the new role will be a welcome change from the dotty Dorrie Evans who was part of Number 96 for its entire five year run: "Edna is a completely different character part. She is nothing like Dorrie." The Tea Ladies is being produced by Maurice Murphy (whose credits include Aunty Jack and Alvin Purple), and written by British writers Ray Galton and Johnny Speight, with additional topical material being provided by Australian writers.

Zero hour for $2m venture
The Nine Network is putting the finishing touches to its ambitious new current affairs program, 60 Minutes. Executive producer Gerald Stone has announced his team of eight producers and four reporters - ABC's New York correspondent Ray Martin (pictured) and former A Current Affair reporters George Negus, Ian Leslie and Kate Baillieu - for the new show expected to debut later in the year. Among the producers for the program are Peter Meakin, formerly of TVW7 Perth and TEN10 Sydney before joining Nine's A Current Affair, Gordon Bick, one of the founding members of ABC's This Day Tonight and also formerly of Four Corners, and former This Day Tonight and Holiday reporter Jeff Watson.

TV probes jail, hospital dramas
ABC has announced plans to produce a documentary series about hospitals. The network has held discussions with a Sydney hospital about the feasibility of producing a series following the day-to-day operations of the hospital. The program, to run for six episodes in the new year, is expected to cover surgical, casualty and geriatric wards as well as industrial relations and perhaps some of the lives of some of the doctors and nurses. ABC has also taken cameras inside Parramatta Jail for a BBC program Jailhouse Shock, which also follows a rehabilitation scheme being adopted in an American prison.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"I would like to congratulate Roger Climpson and the producers of This Is Your Life for featuring someone like Dr William McBride, who has done so much for science, instead of nearly always having politicians or actors." M. Ford, SA.

"Lately there's been a lot of fuss about the conversion to metrics. Although personally I am against this conversion, I would be interested to know why, in quiz programs (in most cases), they still use the imperial measurements. I have just been watching It's Academic with Sandy Roberts and always there were many occasions where metrics should have been used, not once were they. This is hardly fair to the young contestants when they are getting metrics pushed down their throats by their teachers and the media." P. Newey, SA.

"I enjoy watching the live telecast of Sydney Rugby League, but have to turn down the sound to cut out the inane and unfair comments of Reg Gasnier and Rex Mossop." J. Watson, NSW.

What's On (August 26-September 1):
ABC's talent series Quest, hosted by Peter Regan, begins a new season with a look back at the winners from the 1977 series and interviews with the series judges, Dame Joan Hammond (opera), Bryan Ashbridge (ballet), Peter Rorke (instrumental) , Joe Latona (open), Brian May (popular vocal) and Betty Pounder (musical comedy).

HSV7 presents a documentary Woodchipping: Can We Afford It? New techniques of using forests for woodchipping is having a drastic effect, and this two-hour special brings to the Australian public the significance of woodchipping and its long-term effects on Australia.

Wednesday 7.30pm seems to be a programming void with all three commercial channels offering one-off specials: Lindsay Wagner - Another Side Of Me (HSV7), The Great Moscow Circus (GTV9) and Paul Williams In Concert (ATV0).

A Woman In The House is this week's Stuart Wagstaff's World Playhouse production, starring Neil Fitzpatrick, Penne Hackforth-Jones and Wendy Hughes.

Sunday night movies are The Defection Of Simas Kudirka (HSV7), F. Scott Fitzgerald And The Last Of The Belles (GTV9) and the 'modified TV version' of Sunday Bloody Sunday (ATV0). Actor John Waters is the guest on ABC's Capriccio!, joining Jennie Cullen, Rod Dunbar and Geraldine Turner in singing songs by Jacques Brel.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 26 August 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