Willesee at Seven… again

Veteran journalist and producer Mike Willesee, the man who popularised current affairs on commercial television in the ‘70s and dominated the genre for more than two decades, is returning to television to join the Seven Network’s Sunday Night.
Willesee, a reporter and presenter of Four Corners and This Day Tonight for the ABC back in the 1960s (pictured), was the first host of A Current Affair when it debuted on Nine in November 1971.  Although serious current affairs had been done on commercial TV before it was still largely seen as the domain of the ABC, though Willesee and A Current Affair in its original form did much to change that perception.
He later left Nine and had a stint as news and current affairs director at the 0-10 Network, where he also presented a weekly interview program, before joining the Seven Network in 1975.  At Seven he hosted the first Australian version of This Is Your Life and then the long-running nightly current affairs program Willesee At Seven.  The program claimed victory over A Current Affair in the then 7.00pm current affairs battle when ACA was axed in 1978.
Although Willesee At Seven (later to become Willesee ‘81 and Willesee ‘82) ended early in 1982, he had handed over the host role to Derryn Hinch in the show’s later stages while he produced documentaries for the network.  He returned to Nine in 1984 to revisit the nightly current affairs genre with Willesee as well as producing specials for the network, winning a Logie for Most Popular Documentary in 1986. 
Willesee was the predecessor to the revival of the A Current Affair brand when Jana Wendt took over as host in 1988 – with Willesee later returning as a guest host on occasions before taking over as Wendt’s successor in 1993.  His interview with then Liberal Party leader John Hewson is said to have lost the Liberals the 1993 federal election by highlighting the confusion over their proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST).
He has twice hosted the TV Week Logie Awards, first for the Ten Network in 1983 and then for Nine in 1986.  In 2002 he was inducted into the TV Week Logie Awards’ Hall of Fame for his contribution to television news and current affairs.
Willesee joining Sunday Night will give it some added clout up against Nine’s Sunday night flagship 60 Minutes in the two networks’ perennial battle in news and current affairs.
Sunday Night, with host Chris Bath, returns for 2012 next Sunday, 5 February, at 6.30pm on Seven.

The Playlist revisits the Arcade

Soap opera historian and TV commentator Andrew Mercado recently paid tribute to Australia’s most famous soapie flop, Arcade, on his Showcase program The Playlist. 

Featured in the program last week was Arcade cast member, TV Week Gold Logie winner Lorrae Desmond and one of the show’s creators, David Sale, to discuss with Mercado just what went wrong with the show that was hoped to be the ratings hit of the 1980s.

Sale was the creator and writer for the successful drama Number 96 (1972-77) and in 1979 was hired along with Number 96’s former executive producer Bill Harmon and story editor Johnny Whyte to turn the then 0-10 Network’s concept of a shopping centre-themed drama into a prime-time series that could take on ratings heavyweights like Willesee At Seven and The Sullivans.  The team came up with a quirky mix of characters that would run the stores that made up the fictional shopping centre in a series that would feature a broad mix of comedy and drama.

Arcade was rushed into production late in 1979 and debuted across the newly-relaunched Ten Network in a movie-length episode on Sunday night, 20 January 1980, before settling into a regular half-hour timeslot each weeknight with the hope that it would gain a following before the ratings season was due to kick off in February.

Despite Ten spending a fortune on constructing a mock shopping centre in its main Sydney studio, and hiring a cast featuring veteran performers such as Desmond (pictured, as newsagent proprietor Molly Sparks), Peggy Toppano, Mike Dorsey, Syd Heylen and Aileen Britton, the end result left viewers and critics dumbfounded by some fairly rudimentary storytelling and some stilted performances, including one infamous scene where a young actress is shown to be virtually reading straight from the script.

After copping much criticism and dismal ratings the series, originally heralded by Ten as being “a breath of fresh air”, ended up being removed from the schedule after six weeks – a duration that in today’s terms seems like a lifetime considering its shaky start.

The upside from the experience is that two of the show’s stars, Desmond and Heylen, went from Arcade to long-running roles in the popular series A Country Practice, while some of the show’s younger cast members, such as Jeremy Kewley, Tracy Mann and Christine Harris, went on to have their own career success. 

With only around 30 episodes aired before Ten pulled the plug (and hopefully they’re all still in the archive) and given its legacy of being such a monumental flop, Arcade seems a prime candidate for getting a DVD release so that it can be re-lived in all its bargain basement glory.

The Playlist is an entertaining panel discussion of all things related to television – although at five minutes per episode it is far too brief – and appears every Monday and Friday evening on pay-TV channel Showcase and is repeated the following day.  It can also be viewed online at http://www.theplaylist.com.au.

Source: The Playlist – Arcade of broken dreams

Laurie Oakes for Logies’ Hall of Fame

The Nine Network’s political editor Laurie Oakes is to be inducted into the TV Week Logie Awards’ Hall of Fame when the annual awards presentation takes place early next month.

With a background in radio and newspaper reporting, Oakes made his television debut in the 1970s on the Willesee At Seven program.  He later became political correspondent for the Ten Network before joining the Nine Network in the mid-1980s.

At Nine, Oakes regularly led the media’s news agenda with his weekly political interviews on the Sunday program.  Even after the demise of Sunday in 2008, Oakes continued to present his interviews on its successor programs Sunday Morning News and Weekend Today.

Earlier this month, Oakes announced that after 26 years he was stepping back from his Sunday morning commitments but will continue to report for Nine.

The Hall of Fame Logie is the third major award for Oakes in recent times.  He was also recently awarded the Gold Walkley and the Graham Perkin Journalist of the Year, following his breaking of significant stories during the recent Federal Election campaign.

The TV Week Logie Awards’ Hall of Fame was initiated in 1984 as a means of recognition of those who have made an outstanding or sustained contribution to the Australian television industry, either on screen or behind the cameras.  Past recipients have included Hector Crawford, Paul Hogan, Reg Grundy, Johnny Young, James Davern, Bert Newton, Don Lane, Graham Kennedy, Maurie Fields, Bruce Gyngell, Michael Willesee, Mike Walsh, Ruth Cracknell, Garry McDonald, Sam Chisholm, Steve Irwin, Brian Naylor, Bill Collins and Bryan Brown.  Long-running programs Four Corners, Neighbours and Play School have also been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The 53rd annual TV Week Logie Awards will be held at Melbourne’s Crown Casino on Sunday 1 May.  The awards presentation will be hosted by Shane Bourne and broadcast via the Nine Network.

Source: The Australian, Ninemsn

Derryn Hinch diagnosed with cancer

Melbourne radio host and former TV presenter Derryn Hinch (pictured) has told listeners of his 3AW drive-time program that he has been diagnosed with liver cancer and is to undergo “major surgery very soon”.

Hinch, 66, said he will be told later this week when the surgery is to go ahead and that he expects to be off-air from the station for a month.

He told listeners that he is feeling positive and determined to beat the illness:

"I am not down, I'm not depressed, I don't feel sorry for myself.  I'm as passionate as ever about the causes that I'm fighting for and maybe even more so."

"I intend to beat it.  I know everyone says that but I do truly believe this is not the end; it's the beginning of something.”

"As somebody once said, ‘That's life.' "

With a background in print and radio journalism in New Zealand, Australia and the US, Hinch made the move to television in the early ‘80s as the host of the Seven Network’s Willesee At Seven and daytime panel show Beauty And The Beast.  In 1987 he had been signed up by media tycoon Christopher Skase to front the revived Seven Network’s current affairs coverage, with Hinch At Seven running for four years on Seven and then a further two years (as Hinch) on Network Ten.  While at Ten, Hinch scored the first Australian interview with the fugitive Skase in Majorca.

At the end of 1993 he was announced as the successor to Ray Martin as host of Nine’s Midday, a role that lasted a year.

Since 2003 Hinch has presented drive-time on radio station 3AW, syndicated across Victoria, after several years at former talkback station 3AK.  He has also appeared in Dancing With The Stars and had a cameo role, as himself, in Underbelly.

In 2006 he suffered near-death with liver disease, septicaemia, kidney malfunction and immune system failure.

Earlier this year he celebrated fifty years in the media.

Source: The Age, Hinch, 3AW

Ticking away for 30 years

Beginning on 11 February 1979, 60 Minutes marked a new era for current affairs on Australian commercial television.  Before then, current affairs on commercial television was limited to early evening programs, such as Willesee At Seven and the original A Current Affair, or low-profile late night programs that attracted few viewers.  And Sunday night at 7.30pm was most definitely a time for light entertainment as viewers prepared to enter a new working week, so for Nine to slot an expensive new current affairs program into one of the most important timeslots of the week was an extreme gamble.

Based on an American program of the same name and assembled by former Nine news reporter and producer Gerald Stone (pictured), Nine's gamble almost didn't pay off as viewers did not attach themselves to the new 60 Minutes which was up against the popular This Is Your Life and the far more camp Adventures Of Wonder Woman.  But, unlike the current day trend of bumping programs after one outing to disappointing ratings, Nine persevered and, by 1980, 60 Minutes was becoming the flagship of Nine's prime-time schedule. 

So much has 60 Minutes gone on to be an unbreakable force in the ratings that it is estimated that over 150 programs have been thrown against it to try and dent its ratings armour.  Some of the programs pitted against it have included Kingswood Country, MASH, This Fabulous Century, The Benny Hill Show, Cheers, ALF, The Comedy Company, Sons And Daughters, The Main Event, Australia's Most Wanted, NSW Rugby League, Beverly Hills 90210, The Comedy Sale, Seachange, Good News Week, Big Brother, Australian Idol, Always Greener, Kath And Kim, All Aussie Adventures and Dancing With The Stars.  Some programs have managed some short-term damage to its ratings, but 60 Minutes has always fought back with flying colours.

And for reporters on 60 Minutes, they become almost as much the story as the subjects they are covering.  The show's initial reporting lineup - Ray Martin, George Negus and Ian Leslie - while they had years of television journalism experience, were far from being household names until they joined 60 Minutes when suddenly they were prime-time celebrities. 

Former ATV10 Melbourne newsreader Jana Wendt (pictured) became 60 Minutes' first female reporter in 1982 and set a new benchmark for female journalists who previously might have been tied to covering light news or human interest stories on commercial television.  Wendt went on to become one of television's most valued TV presenters with a career that has also included A Current Affair, Witness, Dateline, Sunday, a number of return visits to 60 Minutes and filing special reports for the American 60 Minutes.

The 60 Minutes lineup has also included many others along the way: Jeff McMullen, Charles Woolley, Jennifer Byrne, Elizabeth Hayes, Tracey Curro, Paul Barry, Ellen Fanning, Peter Overton, Tara Brown, Mike Munro, Liam Bartlett, Peter Harvey.  ABC political reporter Richard Carleton made headlines when he joined 60 Minutes, after many years with the national broadcaster, and himself became a story subject when he allowed 60 Minutes to cover his own heart bypass surgery in 1988.  Tragically, while covering the Beaconsfield mine disaster in 2006, Carleton died from a heart attack.

Of course, the program has had many significant moments: former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher giving George Negus an ear-bashing over claims that Britons said she was pig-headed; Ray Martin's award-winning report on Sydney's Chelmsford Hospital;  former One Nation leader Pauline Hanson (pictured), when asked was she xenophobic, famously responds "please explain"; former cult spokeswoman Ma Sheela's calm response - "tough titties!" - when accused of stealing $40 million from the cult; actor Tom Cruise telling Peter Overton to "stick his manners back in!" after questions about former wife Nicole Kidman; and former Nine Network CEO Eddie McGuire presenting a special report on colleague Sam Newman's prostate cancer surgery.

This Sunday night 60 Minutes returns to air for 2009 with a tribute to its first 30 years.  It will be interesting to see what, of the estimated 3500 stories filed for the program in that time, will be featured.

60 Minutes Celebrates 30 Years. Sunday 22 February, 7.30pm.  Nine/WIN/NBN/Imparja

1979: February 10-16

Around the world in 60 Minutes
The wait is over.  This week marks the debut of Nine's new multi-million dollar current affairs gamble 60 Minutes.  The show's reporting team and producers have been around the world gathering stories.  Former ABC New York correspondent Ray Martin has been travelling the United States.  Former A Current Affair and Eyewitness News journalist Ian Leslie has been to Asia, and former A Current Affair and This Day Tonight reporter George Negus has been through Europe.  With executive producer Gerald Stone, the program has been in planning since May last year and is believed to have a budget of $2 million.  Stone is confident that his reporters' personalities will help them connect with viewers, even though they are reluctant to adopt the celebrity tag that may come with the show.  "I can't say I'll be looking forward to that side of it," Leslie told TV Times.  "I loathe the idea of my personal life coming under scrutiny because I become well-known as a TV reporter.  I shall be guarding against that side of the job." 

Ossie battlers hit back
After departing GTV9 in a blaze of publicity a year ago, Daryl Somers and Ossie Ostrich had the disappointment of the ill-fated The Daryl And Ossie Show for the 0-10 Network.  But now the pair could be making a return to the Nine Network in a deal that could include them featuring in a movie later in the year.

The laugh's on them
A new rapid-fire sketch comedy series is about to debut on ABC.  Jokes is to be a four-part series comprising purely of jokes presented as short sketches, some as short as ten seconds.  Starring in the show is Noni Hazelhurst (The Sullivans), Chris Haywood, Robyn Moase and Terry Bader. 

Star seekers - a game of snakes and ladders
Winning a TV talent quest is not a sure-fire way to stardom.  Even though some winners manage to get an extra few bookings or maybe a short-lived record deal, the journey to stardom is still a long hard slog.  For Ray Highcock, since winning Pot Of Gold, he has lost his job, his prize and his agent.  But the 42-year-old is not giving up, "I've got to get this entertainment bug out of my system, so I'll keep giving it a go."  Singer Christine Mullane won a trip for two to the UK from Young Talent Time, but found the prize didn't include accommodation, but did score a record deal that only led to one failed single.  Another singer, Denis Walter (pictured), won a Young Talent Time contest in 1971, and then went on to win on New Faces, but even then his dreams of instant wealth and stardom wasn't to be:  "And that was my first let down.  I think all I got was a $200 prize."  Walter has been one of the lucky ones since then, however, with regular appearances on Young Talent Time, four top-selling albums and performing at a Royal Command Performance in London.

Briefly...
Luigi, the Italian taxi driver featured regularly on Willesee At Seven and The Penthouse Club, is going to be missing from TV screens for the next few months.  Alter ego Colin McEwan is headed to the United Kingdom and Europe, but may film some Luigi segments for the Willesee program.

Radio 3UZ announcer Peter Byrne is going to be the new 'man about town' for HSV7's new Saturday Night Live (formerly The Penthouse Club). 

Former Bellbird star Elspeth Ballantyne is enjoying a career comeback with a role in the movie Blue Fin and an ongoing role in the 0-10 Network's upcoming new series Prisoner.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
"I read with interest your recent article on Lorraine Bayly in TV Times, and her identity crisis, but was disgusted to read how much she is being paid each week.  As far as I am concerned, that is none of our business.  Also, this attractive, very talented actress does nothing to get into the public eye and telling us her salary is certainly invasion of privacy." V. Hannaford, WA.

"I have been a regular ABC viewer for 17 years, and have always admired the tremendous personality and style of the various announcers.  Their clean, neat appearance and well-educated accents epitomise Australian manhood at its best.  And I think the most promising of the new faces is Graeme Lyndon.  I congratulate ABC for their good choice, and, of course, I must congratulate Graeme Lyndon for such a consistently high standard of performance." D. Anderson, NSW.

What's On (February 10-16):
HSV7's Saturday morning music show Sound Unlimited, hosted by Donnie Sutherland (pictured), presents its fifth anniversary show.

GTV9's Sunday night talent quest, New Faces with Bert Newton, returns for another year - followed by the premiere of current affairs program 60 Minutes.  HSV7 tries to take some of gloss of the new current affairs show by programming a US special, Mickey Mouse's 50th Anniversary, up against it.

On Tuesday night, ATV0 presents the Victorian Sports Star for 1978 from the Southern Cross Hotel, hosted by Tony Charlton with Tracy Wickham.

Sunday night movies are The Ambushers (HSV7) and The Omega Man (ATV0).  US mini-series Washington Behind Closed Doors screens over six consecutive nights on GTV9.

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

1978: December 30-January 5

Holden rocks Hollywood
Mark Holden burst onto American TV screens in Hollywood's Diamond Jubilee special. Within days the CBS network's Hollywood offices were deluged with fan mail. But, despite his newfound attention, the Aussie pop star is keeping a low profile on the PR circuit. Besides, he has enough to keep him busy with writing and recording songs for his new album, working with a drama coach, and keeping various business appointments. And the phone doesn't stop ringing. Holden's new American album, to be released in 1979, will feature a new direction for him musically with a stronger focus on rock and roll.

The Dean Report
TV Times columnist Peter Dean looks back on the year 1978, describing it as a year 'remarkable mediocrity, broken by the occasional oasis of quality'. Dean's highlights of the year included imported series I Claudius, Are You Being Served?, The Incredible Hulk, Doctor Who and The Muppet Show. Current affairs program Willesee At Seven was the only Australian program to make his 'best of' list. Even big-ticket mini-series Holocaust, hailed as the TV event of the year, was reviewed by Dean as "a novelettish treatment of indescribable human agony, presented with slicknesss and flair, but failing to move or ignite." Dean lamented the axe falling on current affairs programs This Day Tonight, Monday Conference and A Current Affair, and deemed Blankety Blanks the winner of the Vinegar Award for supremacy in bad taste. Sport had a bumper year with cricket, golf, tennis, racing, World Cup soccer and the Commonwealth Games.

Doctor on the glow
Feeling tired after a day at the office? Then go for a jog - that's the advice given by Bartholomew John (pictured) the New Zealand actor appearing in The Young Doctors: "It's the best way to get rid of tiredness. It wakes you up, sharpens your appetite - and puts the fridge out of reach so you don't nibble." He also suggests a quick dip afterwards, even in winter. "I'm certainly no Bondi iceberg but sometimes in winter, instead of going to the heated pool at the gym, I jump into the surf. But go for a run to warm up. It's freezing in - but it is refreshing."

Briefly:
The title of the new 0-10 Network drama series Prisoner has been changed to Women Behind Bars.

The second series of Father Dear Father, made in Australia for the Seven Network, is likely to be seen first in the United Kingdom where it is scheduled for screening in the new year.

Fred Parslow, who played Jarvis in The Sullivans, returns to Crawford Productions to play a guest role as a dodgy businessman in Cop Shop.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"Countdown is a very entertaining show and even my parents watch it sometimes, although they have the volume turned down low." F. Allison, SA.

"It is great that overseas networks have bought Against The Wind (pictured) as they now shouldn't be so ignorant as to think that Australians only have koalas living in our backyard gum trees and kangaroos hopping in and out of shopping centres." D. Hewett, VIC.

"Of all the Sunday night shows the various channels offer us, the ABC series Nicholas Nickleby, standards inestimably above the rest. With such perfect casting and brilliant overall production, shows like Nicholas Nickleby put the best of Australia's and America's dramatic offerings to shame." E. Hawksford, NSW.

What's On (December 30-January 6):
New Year's Eve is Sunday, and ABC features British and American specials on the night before a New Year's presentation at 11.59pm and music special Blood Sweat And Tears just after midnight. HSV7 presents New Year's greetings at midnight, followed by a special edition of Nightmoves. GTV9 does little special for the evening with movies running through the night, and ATV0 closes down before midnight.

Sport continues throughout the week with the Australian Open from Melbourne, and Australian Hardcourt Championships from Tasmania, on HSV7, World Series Cricket on GTV9 and continuation of the cricket Third Test on ABC.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 30 December 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

1978: March 25-31

The day Mike Walsh blew a fuse!
TV Times' cover story reveals some of The Mike Walsh Show's behind-the-scenes hazards in producing a daily live variety program. One incident involved a local electrician being summonsed at the last minute to present a segment on how to replace a fuse, only to have host Mike Walsh realise the electrician spoke little English. The segment became a impromptu, though brief, comedy spot. Another incident saw one visiting guest that came very close to catching a glimpse at Walsh's normally top-secret interview notes while on-air, which gave some unflattering references to some of the star's previous incidences which he would have rather forgot.

Ed Devereaux stars in school kidnap drama:
Ed Devereaux, star of the former children's drama Skippy, is to star in a BBC dramatisation of the real-life 1972 kidnapping of a teacher and her young students from a school in the small town of Faraday in Victoria. The re-enactment of the crime is to feature in an eight-part series, Life At Stake, which is to screen in Australia on ABC.

May the best mind win!
The first episode of a new ABC quiz show, Mastermind, is about to go to air. Forty-eight contestants will embark on a battle of the brains over seventeen weeks. The winner of the series will then head to the United Kingdom to appear in the BBC series of the same name. But unlike most quiz shows, Mastermind will have no loud audience participation, no "pick a box" or "spin the wheel" type stunts - but does take general knowledge question and answers to a new level with subjects ranging from the music of Beethoven, to the royal families of Europe in the 19th century. One of the show's upcoming contestants will be Hutton Gibson, an American-born computer programmer living in Sydney who had also been champion on other game shows including the US version of Jeopardy. Mr Gibson also has a son, Mel, who had just graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"The lovely little lady who, until now, had been only a voice on radio 2BL afternoon programs popped up on ABC News at 1.00pm. How wrong can one be? I had pictured Margaret Throsby to be a lass wearing long caftans, shawls and an Afro hairstyle. Instead, I find she is quite beautiful. Thank you ABC, it is about time we saw a pretty girl reading the news." I.C. Alexander, NSW.

"Why is such a low-down, vulgar and senseless show such as Blankety Blanks allowed to be shown? The alternative channels often have little better. Give us good family shows. The Celebrity Game was enjoyed by my family. They like something that makes their brains tick over." C. Roberts, VIC.

"Paul Makin of Willesee At Seven handles serious subjects with understanding, but he should stop there while he's ahead, as his interviews and antics with visiting celebrities and his street interviews are embarrassingly unfunny." G. Sheen, NSW.

What's On (March 25-31):
Weekend sport telecasts include the traditional easter Stawell Gift on ABC and HSV7. ATV0 presents a delayed telecast of Caesar's Palace Challenge Cup Tennis, from the Caesar's Palace Hotel in Las Vegas. ABC presents the Australian Rowing Championships from Hobart, and the Australian Surfing Championship from Budgen Beach, NSW.

ATV0 presents a one-hour US musical spectacular celebrating the 100th anniversary of America's Bell Telephone Company, hosted by Bing Crosby and Liza Minnelli.

GTV9 screens a one-hour presentation of the Little River Band performing in concert in at the Rainbow Theatre in London. The special includes songs from the band's album Diamantina Cocktail, and interviews with the band members. The band will also appear as special guests on GTV9's The Don Lane Show.

Easter Sunday night movies include the biblical epic The Greatest Story Ever Told (GTV9) with an all-star Hollywood cast including John Wayne, Charlton Heston, Angela Lansbury, Shelley Winters, Telly Savalas and Max Von Sydow as Jesus.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 25 March 1978. ABC/ACP.