1992: January 18-24

Cover: Kevin Costner

Is Jennifer set to quit?
Tonight Live host and producer Steve Vizard has denied rumours that the show’s resident newsreader Jennifer Keyte will not be with the show when it returns for 1992, although he has conceded that she has not renewed her contract with the show.  “I can tell you she’ll be back,” he told TV Week.  And Seven Nightly News reporter Naomi Robson, who has filled in for Keyte on Tonight Live, denies suggestions that she will be Keyte’s replacement on the show.  “I don’t know where these stories come from.  There is no talk about it at the moment,” Robson said.  “Jennifer is well entrenched in both her jobs at Seven.”  Rumours over Keyte’s position have been sparked by her apparent concern that her appearances on the late night show are affecting her credibility as the main news anchor for Seven in Melbourne.  It is believed that she wants to concentrate on what is shaping up to be a fierce battle for early evening ratings this year with the launch of Seven’s new current affairs show, Real Life. 

The naked truth about Jeremy Sims
Chances star Jeremy Sims wants people to know that despite his character Alex’s readiness to strip off (as pictured, with co-star Annie Jones), in real life there is an intelligent head on those often bare shoulders and that he takes his job very seriously.  Sims has no desire to be a “personality” and as a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) wants to be taken seriously as an actor – adding that Chances presents some significant challenges.  “I’ve had to go into scenes after minimal rehearsal and put myself on the line,” he told TV Week.  “This means day in, day out, every week, in what is probably the most dramatic – if over-the-top – role on television.  I’m really grateful for the role of Alex.  It’s the only role I think I’d be happy doing on television in an ongoing soap.  I’m sure there are other guys who are happy doing their bits on Home And Away and E Street, but I would be bored out of my mind doing that stuff.”  Sims also responds to some of the jokes and send-ups made about the show and his frequent bouts of nudity.  “I’m fascinated that people still make such a big issue out of it.  People are puerile on the subject, you know.  Tits and bums are the most amazing subjects.  You can get endless publicity over the fact you show a part of your body on television,” he said.  “Apart from the political satire, Fast Forward is nearly all tits and bums jokes.  It’s all cheap innuendo, yet they can get away with it because they have the facade of being intelligent satire.  It is mostly just puerile, schoolboy humour.  I’m not saying I don’t laugh at it.”

Man of Meni talents!
Hard Copy reporter Meni Caroutas (pictured) will do anything for a story – even if it means crawling through Melbourne’s drains.  On a recent assignment, the policeman-turned-reporter joined the Cave Clan for a trip around a part of the metropolis few ever see.  “When I heard of the Cave Clan I thought it was just a bunch of kids, but they are all about 20 and well organised,” he said.  “They just do it for kicks, a bit of fun.  They get maps of the drains.  It’s all carefully planned.”  As a member of the NSW Police Force, Caroutas was an undercover detective but a set up saw him charged with theft of cash and amphetamines.  Even though he was exonerated and received a settlement, his career with the force was ruined.  Officially he is still a member of the NSW Police Force but is hoping to soon be discharged.  “I’m just a number at the moment,” he said.  “Hopefully all the paperwork will be processed soon.  I don’t consider myself a copper.”

Briefly…
Dinosaurs, a new US co-production between Jim Henson Productions and Walt Disney Television, is set to be Seven’s new weapon against long-running current affairs show 60 Minutes.  Not since The Comedy Company has a rival show managed to consistently knock 60 Minutes in the ratings – although Seven’s ALF and Ten’s The Simpsons had tried – but coupled with popular US sitcom Full House, Seven hopes Dinosaurs is a strong contender against the current affairs ratings giant.

GP star Brian Rooney might not be returning to the popular ABC drama when production resumes this year.  The 18-year-old, currently appearing in the stage production of Wizard Of Oz in Adelaide, will be taking on a leading role in the upcoming production of Neil Simon’s Lost In Yonkers but it is uncertain if he will be able to combine that commitment to production of GP.  “Hopefully, I can do both,” he told TV Week.  “I did that when I was doing Les Miserables and GP.  We might be able to work GP in.”

Former Brides Of Christ star Melissa Thomas is looking forward to making the move from Sydney to Melbourne for her new role as schoolgirl Lily Price in the upcoming Network Ten sitcom Late For School.  The 17-year-old has been the victim of an ongoing campaign of obscene phone calls and intruders at her home.  “It’s been pretty scary stuff,” she said, adding that the new job offer came at just the right time.  “I desperately needed some excuse to get away from Sydney.”  Late For School, which also stars Frankie J. Holden, Sarah Chadwick, Ross Higgins and Matthew Newton, is set to debut soon on Ten.

John Laws says…
”We are in for a heady year, it seems, on the current affairs front.  Even Ten is getting into the act, but I suspect it’s going to be trailing the field in the ratings with Mr Shame (though its much-criticised but entertaining beat-up series, Hard Copy, could well prove a ratings winner throughout 1992).  My prediction is that A Current Affair will maintain its momentum in the long haul, but its control of the important 6.30pm timeslot is no longer guaranteed.  Seven executives and Gerald Stone are, I’m told, supremely confident that their new product, Real Life, can knock off Jana (Wendt) and company.  If nothing else, the battle is going to be brutal and unrelenting.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne/Regional Victoria, January 18-24):
Saturday: There’s golf (Palm Meadows Cup) and lawn bowls (Qantas Jetabout International) on ABC, tennis (Australian Open) on Seven/Prime and cricket (Benson And Hedges World Series) on Nine/VIC TV.  With the cricket being held in Melbourne, regional network VIC TV has live evening coverage of the cricket, while Nine in Melbourne has a repeat of the 1983 movie BMX Bandits, the movie which launched the career of Nicole Kidman. 

Sunday:  Sunday night movies are Thunderball (Seven/Prime) and The Star Chamber (Nine/VIC TV) up against mini-series Bride Of Violence (Ten/SCN), while ABC presents Bruce Beresford’s production of the Richard Strauss opera Elektra for the State Opera of South Australia.

Monday:  Ten launches some major changes to its daytime and early evening line-up.  At 8.30am, Bert Newton (pictured) returns to TV as host of The Morning Show, presenting 90 minutes of entertainment and infomercials.  The new program replaces ‘Til Ten.  Ten also debuts US talk show Sally Jessy Raphael and moves Oprah Winfrey to an afternoon timeslot after a trial run in a late-night timeslot over the last few months.  However the biggest change is late in the afternoon, with the move of Ten Eyewitness News to the 5.00pm timeslot, followed by the debut of current affairs program Hinch at 6.00pm (following Derryn Hinch’s recent axing from the Seven Network).  At 6.30pm is American dating game Studs, followed by Neighbours at 7.00pm.  Regional network SCN breaks away from the Ten schedule in the early evening to run alternative programming: The New Candid Camera at 5.00pm, Neighbours at 5.30pm, Southern Cross News (Bendigo/Gippsland) and Studs (Albury/Shepparton/Ballarat) at 6.00pm, and then at 6.30pm Rob Gaylard (ex-GTV9) presents Southern Cross Eyewitness News, a half-hour bulletin of national news broadcast statewide, followed by a delayed broadcast of Hinch at 7.00pm before re-joining the Ten schedule.  Seven debuts its long-awaited current affairs program Real Life at 6.30pm, and after Home And Away presents the series return of A Country Practice.  Then in the wee small hours of the morning, at 4.00am, Ten resumes repeats of classic Australian drama Prisoner.

Tuesday:  After the late news, Ten/SCN debuts the new US drama series Dangerous Women, a production of the Australian Grundy organisation largely based on its former series Prisoner, with scripts and storylines in early episodes almost directly copied from the Australian original.

Thursday:  Seven/Prime starts a repeat of the popular 1981 mini-series A Town Like Alice, starring Bryan Brown, Helen Morse (both pictured) and Gordon Jackson.

Friday:  In the lead up to Australia Day, ABC presents the first of two nights of The Aussie Picture Show – a collection of films representing Australian life over the past 80 years.  Tonight’s line-up of films include Leisure, the 1977 Academy Award-winning animation depicting the world of work and leisure through history; Bingo, Bridesmaids And Braces, tracing the lives of three working-class women as they grow up over a 12-year period; This Is The ABC, a 20-minute review of the operations of the ABC in the 1950s; and the 1979 telemovie A Good Thing Going, starring Chris Haywood and Veronica Lang.

Source: TV Week (Victoria Country edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  18 January 1992.  Southdown Press

1992: January 11-17

There’s nothing psycho about this shower scene
E Street star Kate Raison shares her thoughts on the steamy closed-set shower scene that marks a turning point in the relationship of her character Sheridan Sturgess to Wheels (Marcus Graham).  Although Raison describes the steamy scene as not so much raunchy but “more your first kiss”, it is apparent that the scene – which lasts for two minutes – is a lot more than that.  But she points out that in reality neither actor was nude for filming of the scene and that it was nowhere near as romantic as the end product appears.  “I don’t want to take the romance out of it for people, but it’s not romantic at all,” she told TV Week.  “It’s very technical and difficult to film.  We had two cameras and we were trying to pivot in a baby’s bath… it took about three or four hours to film.  It’s one of the worst things you could ever imagine.  They were very difficult scenes to create and it’s a very technical thing in the end.  Hopefully, it will look romantic to the audience.  We want to make it look, and be, as real for the audience as possible.”

Luck of the draw!
Although he has appeared in commercials and occasionally gets caught on camera on Hey Hey It’s Saturday, the show’s resident cartoonist Andrew Fyfe is about to take on a new challenge as he faces the cameras in the new children’s show, Guess What?  Despite the challenge of a prominent role in a new show, Fyfe – who also produced the former Ossie Ostrich cartoon strip in TV Week and had been a cartoonist for satirical magazine Mad – has a positive outlook.  “The first thing I like about this is that it’s great fun.  The second thing I like is that it’s great fun.  And thirdly, I like it because it’s great fun,” he said.  Guess What?, which also stars Alison Brahe (recently Mrs Cameron Daddo), is being taped in Adelaide and debuts on Nine in February.

Red-hot for Silver!
TV Week takes a look at who could be strong contenders for this year’s Silver Logies for most popular actor and actress at the TV Week Logie Awards.  Neighbours stars Mark Little, Richard Huggett, Gayle and Gillian Blakeney and Melissa Bell are listed as potential nominees – while E Street also boasts a strong field, including Tony Martin, Marcus Graham, Kate Raison, Bruce Samazan, Alyssa-Jane Cook, Toni Pearen and Melissa Tkautz.  Home And Away has popular cast members including Les Hill, Rebekah Elmaloglou, Mat Stevenson, Nicolle Dickson and Emily Symons.  A Country Practice’s Georgie Parker and Shane Porteous have both won Silver Logies in the past and may do so again this year, but TV Week reminds readers not to underestimate other favourites such as John Tarrant, Matt Day and Joyce Jacobs.  Former The Flying Doctors star Rebecca Gibney now has new fans with her role in All Together Now, and Col’n Carpenter stars Kim Gyngell and Anne Phelan and Hey Dad!’s Julie McGregor are also listed as potential contenders.  TV Week also reminds readers of cast members of other series Chances, GP, Embassy, Police Rescue and The Flying Doctors that could also be worthy of votes.

Briefly…
Home And Away star Rebekah Elmaloglou talks about her teenage character Sophie coping with falling pregnant – and with the baby’s father David (Guy Pearce) now dead, she fears that she will lose custody of the child to her parents.  “Sophie’s got no husband or boyfriend, no money and not a happy future,” she told TV Week.  “Sophie starts to think that the only way she is going to be able to keep David’s child is by running away.  Her hormones are clouding her better judgment.”

It was a lavish event on the grounds of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron in Kirribilli as former ‘Til Ten host Joan McInnes married Sir James Hardy just before Christmas.  The wedding was attended by many TV and showbiz identities, including Midday’s Ray Martin and Geoff Harvey and Wheel Of Fortune hostess Adriana Xenides. 

Home And Away star Dee Smart’s recent outburst in TV Week about how unhappy she is about being in the show has caused quite a stir at Seven.  The network is now believed to be trying to release her from her contract to appease her, but this is proving difficult with planned storylines for the show written well in advance – so she may be in Summer Bay still for some time yet.

Lawrie Masterson’s Sound Off
”It is inevitable that Australia – already overserviced by television networks, in my opinion – will now get a Pay TV system.  How it is implemented, the number of licences to be granted and who gets them, and some guidelines on content, are among the contentious issues still to be ironed out.”

John Laws says…
”What is it about A Current Affair that grabs the imagination of the nation?  In my view it’s because the program has become the evening newspaper that modern Australians don’t buy any more.  Combine 30 minutes of news and 30 minutes of A Current Affair and you have all the elements of what evening newspapers used to be about.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne/Regional Victoria, January 11-17):
Saturday: Summer sport continues with tennis (NSW Open and the Rio International Challenge) on Seven/Prime, golf (Sanctuary Cove Classic) on ABC and cricket (Benson And Hedges World Series Cricket) on Nine/VIC TV.

Sunday:  Sunday night movies are Inspector Morse: The Ghost In The Machine (Seven/Prime) and Buster (Ten/SCN), while Nine/VIC TV presents the first instalment in the re-run of mini-series Ellis Island.

Monday:  The Australian Open, the premier Australian tennis event of the year, begins its two-week competition today at Melbourne’s National Tennis Centre – with live coverage throughout the day and evening on Seven and Prime.  Nine/VIC TV begins a daytime re-run of the landmark 1970s US mini-series Roots.

Tuesday:  Australian Open on Seven/Prime and World Series Cricket on Nine/VIC TV are the only real highlights today, with both events taking up most of the afternoon and evening timeslots.

Wednesday:  E Street (Ten/SCN) returns for its fourth year.  Wheels (Marcus Graham) moves in with Sheridan (Kate Raison) to protect her from serial killer Steven “Mr Bad” Richardson (Vince Martin), but it doesn’t take long for their attraction for each other to become apparent.

Thursday:  ABC begins four days of coverage of golf with the Palm Meadows Cup, live from the Gold Coast.

Source: TV Week (Victoria Country edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  11 January 1992.  Southdown Press

1992: January 4-10

Goodbye E Street
Alyssa-Jane Cook (pictured) says that now is the best time to leave E Street after the string of tragedies that have struck her character, Lisa Bennett.  “After everything the character has been through she definitely needs a break, so she heads to Queensland to contemplate life,” Cook told TV Week.  “But I think I’ve been there three years and I just think it is time to have a look around and see what else is happening, and to look at my life and decide which way I want to go next.”  Although Cook describes her character’s departure from the series as “scary, thrilling, hot and cold”, she is not ruling out a return at a later date.  “If Lisa Bennett comes back, let’s hope she smiles a lot more,” she said.

Coopers Crossing crisis!
Despite the show going into an extended “production break” two months ago, the Nine Network has given the go-ahead for thirteen more episodes of The Flying Doctors – but six of the show’s cast will not be returning.  Robert Grubb, who plays Dr Geoffrey Standish, is unavailable to do the new episodes, while co-stars Lenore Smith, David Reyne, Nikki Coghill, Paul Kelman and Chris Stollery have reportedly been axed.  Producers have confirmed that Sophie Lee and showbiz favourites Maurie Fields and Val Jellay (pictured) will be staying.  With the current backlog of episodes set to resume broadcast in February, production on the new series is due to start in March and the new episodes should screen by the end of the year.

Ian’s the prime suspect
Cluedo, a new game show based on the popular board game, is set to begin production for the Nine Network next month.  The hour-long show will be hosted by Ian McFadyen (The Comedy Company) and will have a regular cast who will play various roles in a murder mystery.  At the end of the episode, members of the studio audience – each equipped with computer-linked electronic selectors – will be asked to nominate who the murderer is, how he or she did the crime, and where.  The first to guess all criteria correctly wins the prize.  Cluedo is being produced by Crawfords Australia and will debut on Nine later in the year.

Briefly…
TV Week has opened voting for the 34th annual TV Week Logie Awards, to be held at the Radisson President Hotel, Melbourne, in March and telecast via the Seven Network.  As well as the Gold and Silver Logie categories – for most popular personality and most popular actor/actress respectively – TV Week readers will be asked to vote for their favourite drama series, mini-series or telemovie, light entertainment/comedy program, public affairs program, lifestyle program, sports coverage, music video and children’s program.  Other categories open to the public vote are Most Popular Actor and Actress in a Telemovie or Mini-series, Most Popular New Talent as well as state-based awards for Most Popular Personality and Most Popular Program.

Former Young Talent Time cast member Debbie Hancock (pictured with YTT host Johnny Young back in the ‘70s) made a recent return to television as a contestant on Network Ten’s Blind Date, and since returning from the trip to Italy that she won with her date Mike Neat, the couple have announced their engagement.  “I never expected to find a man on Blind Date,” she told TV Week.  “Having had failed relationships, this is fairytale stuff.”

Network Ten drama Neighbours makes an early season return for 1992 – with Glen Donnelly (Richard Huggett) taken to hospital in a coma following a fall from a building site in the 1991 season cliff-hanger.  Glen wakes to learn he is paralysed from the waist down.  The storyline will lead to Huggett’s exit from the series, making his last appearance on screen in February.  “I am glad I left with something dramatic rather than just wandering out,” he told TV Week.

John Laws says…
”Does the title of Gerald Stone’s new current affairs show on the Seven Network (Real Life) imply that until now we have been experiencing something less than actual reality?  But let’s not be unkind to Gerald.  It’s quite a task to promote a new current affairs program these days – and promote it in such a way that the viewing public ends up believing it’s going to be something completely different.  But where will Real Life fit into the scheme of things, and just how different will it be?  If you look closely at the advance trumpeting you could be excused for thinking that, well, isn’t it all just a teeny-weeny bit A Current Affair-ish?

Program Highlights (Melbourne/Regional Victoria, January 4-10):
Saturday:  Seven (and regional affiliate Prime) has more tennis with the semi-finals of the Australian Women’s Hardcourt Championships, live from Brisbane, in the afternoon, and the Australian Men’s Hardcourt Championships, live from Adelaide, in the evening.  Nine (and regional VIC TV) crosses to Sydney for Test Cricket – the Third Test between Australia and India. 

Sunday:  Seven/Prime cover the final of the Australian Women’s Hardcourt Championships in the afternoon, and the final of the Men’s competition in the evening.  Nine/VIC TV has more Test Cricket from the SCG.  After Seven Nightly News, Seven/Prime debuts children’s drama Clowning Around – the story of a boy who fulfils his dreams against all odds – starring Noni Hazlehurst, Ernie Dingo, Rebecca Smart and Clayton Williamson.  Sunday night movies are Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (Nine/VIC TV) and Baywatch: The Trophy (Ten and regional Southern Cross Network).

Monday:  Aussie soaps Home And Away (Seven/Prime) and Neighbours (Ten/SCN) return for 1992 – now both screening against each other in the 7.00pm timeslot.

Tuesday:  The summer of tennis continues on Seven/Prime with the NSW Open, live from White City, Sydney.  In Neighbours (Ten/SCN), Madge (Anne Charleston, pictured) learns that she is to receive a $250,000 payment from her late husband Harold’s (Ian Smith) life insurance policy.

Wednesday:  Marcia Hines, Simon Gallaher and Tina Arena are among 25 performers at the Australian AIDS Benefit Concert, screening on ABC, introduced by Ita Buttrose and hosted by Jean Kittson (The Big Gig).

Thursday: Nine presents limited live coverage in Melbourne of the Benson And Hedges World Series Cricket, due to the match being held at the MCG, with only two hours in the afternoon and a highlights package from 11.30pm.  Regional network VIC TV presents live coverage of the full day’s play.

Friday:  In Blackout (ABC), Aboriginal singer and songwriter Archie Roach talks about his life and his forced removal from his family for assimilation into white society. 

Source: TV Week (Victoria Country edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  4 January 1992.  Southdown Press

1991: December 14-20

The Great End of Year Exit!
Home And Away and E Street have both been hit by a number of significant cast departures.  Network Ten’s E Street is going to lose original cast member Alyssa-Jane Cook and co-star Marianne Howard.  Their characters, Lisa and Alice, head to Queensland to visit Alice’s mother following of the murder of Lisa’s husband by serial killer Mr Bad (Vince Martin).  Their departure from the series follows the recent abrupt exit by co-star Melissa Tkautz.  Meanwhile, Seven’s Home And Away is about to lose Emily Symons and teen star Rebekah Elmaloglou.  Symons, who has also resigned from her other job as co-host of Seven’s Saturday morning show Video Smash Hits, is heading to London and plans to travel around Europe.  Elmaloglou is believed to be planning to exit the soap by mid-1992, although a Seven spokesperson said she is under contract until the end of 1992.  And Home And Away star Les Hill is believed to be negotiating an exit from his contract with the series.

Vizard’s hunch about Hinch
Despite the recent and sudden axing of his Seven Network current affairs show, Derryn Hinch (pictured) is confident of a television future in 1992 – and it could even be with Seven!  Tonight Live host Steve Vizard is believed to have offered Hinch a weekly segment on the popular late night show, prompted by earlier guest appearances during the year.  Despite Vizard’s comical send-ups of Hinch on comedy show Fast Forward, he has a great respect for Hinch and the way he handled the axing.  “I think Derryn’s been a total professional,” Vizard told TV Week.  “Most people are told of their demise and finish on the day.  Derryn was told well in advance and has handled the situation in a very professional way.”  And Nine Network’s Midday host Ray Martin has said that Seven has made a “huge mistake” in axing the Hinch program and wouldn’t be surprised if Nine made an offer for him.  Hinch has confirmed that he has received a number of work offers, and that some of those offers have come from television.  “I haven’t been out of work in 30 years, so it’s probably a good time to sit back and decide exactly what I want to do,” Hinch told TV Week.  “If you ask me if I want to stay in television, my gut feeling is that I do.”  But he is philosophical about his sudden axing by Seven.  “The fact I think they (Seven) are -------- for what they’ve done is just my opinion.  You’ve got to remember it’s a business.”

Murder, marriage and mayhem!
TV Week previews some of the storylines to occur in Australia’s popular dramas when they return in the new year:

• Chances (Nine) will finally resolve the mystery surrounding Alex Taylor’s (Jeremy Sims, pictured) missing 12 months – though not before he goes on the run after finding himself waking up next to two dead women, a knife close by and no memory of what happened.  This leads to a chain of events that see him end up in a straitjacket and locked up in a detoxification centre.  Meanwhile, his parents Barbara and Dan (played by Brenda Addie and John Sheerin) are having marital issues which may lead to Barbara having an affair with a much younger man.
• E Street (Ten) will be dominated early in the new year by the romance between Wheels (Marcus Graham) and Sheridan (Kate Raison) and the continuing reign of terror from Mr Bad (Vince Martin) – with Toni (Toni Pearen) potentially his next target.  Meanwhile, Reverend Bob (Tony Martin) and Elly Fielding (Diane Craig) are still engaged but have not yet made any wedding plans.  The series will also welcome the arrival of fashion designer Penny O’Brien (Josephine Mitchell) and Max’s (Bruce Samazan) cousin James (played by Scott McRae) and the return of publican Ernie Patchett (Vic Rooney).
• Romance will feature heavily in Home And Away (Seven), with Blake (Les Hill) entering into a relationship with a new character, who arrives in Summer Bay with a major problem.  “This will be the strongest and most relevant story we have done,” according to producer Andrew Howie.  Meanwhile, Marilyn (Emily Symons) finds a new love, and Findlay (Tina Thomsen) begins a relationship with a man who doesn’t meet the criteria that Pippa (Debra Lawrance) and Michael (Dennis Coard) expect.  A love triangle develops that will force Bobby (Nicolle Dickson) to choose between her ex-husband Frank (Alex Papps) or Greg (Ross Newton).  Home And Away will also enter a new era as it moves to a new timeslot – 7.00pm, up against Neighbours – and welcomes new cast members Cathy Godbold (formerly from Chances) and Debbie Byrne.
• In A Country Practice (Seven), Wandin Valley farewells Lucy (Georgie Parker) and Matt (John Tarrant) who leave the town after finally becoming parents.  Luke (Matt Day) is also leaving to pursue a flying career, and Wandin Valley bids farewell to larrikins Cookie and Bob (Syd Heylen and Gordon Piper, pictured) – but will they be gone for good?  Series stalwarts Lorrae Desmond, Shane Porteous, Brian Wenzel and Joyce Jacobs will be joined by newcomer Gavin Harrison.  Meanwhile, on-again-off-again lovers Harry (Andrew Blackman) and Kate (Michelle Pettigrove) will continue their game of cat and mouse, and there will be a new love for Dr Terence Elliott (Shane Porteous).
• ABC’s widely-acclaimed medical drama GP enters the new year with guest appearances by veteran actors Willie Fennell and Queenie Ashton (pictured), and joining them will be Normie Rowe, Jeff Truman and Scott Burgess.  Now entering its fourth year, GP will start the year with the murder of one of Ross Street surgery’s medical staff.  Jackaroo star David McCubbin joins the series as the son of Robert Sharp (John McTernan), and Dr William Sharp (Michael Craig) will finish his career as a general practitioner.
• Neighbours (Ten) enters the new year with confidence, despite the recent departure of eight cast members and with rival Home And Away set to move into its long-held 7.00pm timeslot.  Following the recent arrival of new cast members Melissa Bell, Scott Michaelson, Rachel Blakely and Andrew Williams, the series will soon be joined by newcomers Natalie Imbruglia and Simon Stokes.  Recently-widowed Madge Bishop (Anne Charleston) returns to Ramsay Street and finds herself being chased by old flame Lou Carpenter (Tom Oliver).  Veteran actress Lorraine Bayly (pictured) joins the series as Faye Hudson, a fun character far removed from her previous more serious roles in The Sullivans and Carson’s Law.  Meanwhile, Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) faces financial ruin with the collapse of his business.
• The Flying Doctors (Nine) continues over the Christmas/New Year period – with one storyline featuring a controversial bedroom encounter between Guy (David Reyne) and Penny (Sophie Lee), spurred by her unfaithful boyfriend Steve (Paul Kelman), and a pregnancy that forces the evaluation of many relationships.  Meanwhile, Jackie Crane (Nikki Coghill) faces a grim future when she’s accused of negligence following a patient’s allergic reaction to penicillin.  Guest stars to appear in upcoming episodes include Gus Mercurio, Justine Saunders and TV Week Gold Logie winner Rowena Wallace (pictured).

Briefly…
Former 60 Minutes reporter George Negus (pictured) has been a vocal critic of the state of current affairs on TV – and now he has a chance to address the situation as the front man of Foreign Correspondent, a new program to start soon on ABC.  “It’s because this program is different that I’ve agreed to do it,” Negus told TV Week.  “If the ABC had said, ‘We want you to be involved in a new current affairs program which is a variation on a theme,’ I probably wouldn’t have said yes.”

A breakdown in negotiations have appeared to have halted plans for Craig McLachlan to take over from Jacki MacDonald as the host of Australia’s Funniest Home Video Show.  Negotiations were believed to also include the option for McLachlan to become a fill-in host for Hey Hey It’s Saturday, but money wrangles appear to have killed the deal.  Meanwhile, Jacki MacDonald’s new venture with Network Ten, a weekly lifestyle show, is believed to have the working title Saturday Night Live-Style and is set to go up against her old show Hey Hey It’s Saturday.

Former E Street star Melissa Tkautz is reluctant to talk about her recent split from the show but hits out at suggestions that her emerging pop music career saw her neglect her commitments to the show.  “I don’t have time to ponder why I left E Street,” she said.  “It was good while it lasted.  I feel like I’ve done my part.  I was always there, I always knew my lines and I was at every rehearsal and every studio call.  I never let them down in any way.  They should all wish me well.”

John Laws says…
”In what bracket could you place a movie like the Nine Network’s Hardbodies?  It had no plot and its cast was comprised of talentless young people posing as actors.  It had, as far as I could detect, no redeemable feature whatsoever.  Set at a California beach house, it depicted groups of young people in various stages of half-dress and undress.  When they weren’t gyrating to a truly awful all-girl band, they were gyrating in bed, getting into bed, or getting out of bed.  Yet the fact that a TV station screens Hardbodies at 8.30pm, shows that there is a substantial audience who will watch it.  Which proves that where the prospect of a few minutes of TV boobs and bums are concerned a significant section of the population – presumably mostly male – is willing to put up with anything just to get a glimpse of them.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, December 14-20):
Saturday:  Afternoon sports coverage includes Benson And Hedges World Series Cricket on Nine, and highlights of Grand Slam Cup tennis from Munich, Germany, on Seven.  Ten’s afternoon schedule includes children’s programs Kelly and re-runs of The Henderson Kids.

Sunday:  Sunday night movies are Eddie Macon’s Run (Seven) and Stroker Ace (Ten) up against the debut of two-part mini-series Atlanta Child Murders (Nine).

Tuesday:  Jennifer Keyte hosts a one-hour special, Drinking Like There’s No Tomorrow (Seven), an insight into alcohol abuse amongst teenagers.

Wednesday:  Nine’s day is dominated by the Benson And Hedges World Series Cricket, live from Perth, with coverage starting at 2.20pm and continuing through to 10.30pm – with a one-hour break for National Nine News and A Current Affair: Summer Edition.  Melbourne filmmaker Paul Cox is the topic of the final episode of the SBS series Nostalgia.

Thursday:  ABC presents live coverage of the Colonial Mutual Classic tennis, live from Kooyong, Melbourne.  In The Flying Doctors (Nine), Penny (Sophie Lee, pictured) is locked in a tough administration battle with the hospital laundry staff, headed by Trisha (Colette Mann).  ABC debuts four-part series The Cricket Archives, documenting a history of Australian cricket based on film archive material, presented by Jack Egan.

Friday:  Ten presents the final 1991 episodes of ‘Til Ten, The Miraculous Mellops and Blind Date.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  14 December 1991.  Southdown Press

1991: December 7-13

Set to scorch!
E Street stars Kate Raison and Marcus Graham (both pictured, far right) were due to leave the series with this week’s series final – but a “scorchingly romantic” storyline devised for their characters was enough to convince both actors to re-sign.  “The storyline is so fantastic I couldn’t refuse it,” Graham told TV Week.  “The difference between E Street and other Australian serials is that it takes risks.  It is imaginative.  There is no other show doing it.  If Forrest (Redlich, the show’s producer) wasn’t doing it, nobody would be.  Even the network doesn’t want him to do it.”  The storyline, which will see both actors stay with the show for another six months, comes as E Street’s crazed serial killer Steven Richardson (Vince Martin) sets Sheridan Sturgess (Raison) in his sights and Wheels (Graham) comes to her rescue.

‘It’s all over’
It appears that Nine’s The Flying Doctors is about to fly off into the TV sunset.  The official line from the network is that the show is going into an extended break until the end of 1992 and that producers Crawfords are putting the shows sets into storage.  “As far as the cast and crew are concerned, it’s all over… and we have to let people know about it,” cast member David Reyne told TV Week.  Reyne says he was contemplating leaving the show, anyway, and is keen to develop some new projects for television.  “I think television is in the doldrums and the networks have to employ new blood,” he said.  “If you look at Nine, nearly everyone on after 6pm has been around for years… where’s the new blood?”  And not restricting himself to drama, Reyne says he could see himself hosting an information program or even a music show.  “I’d love to grab music television and give it a good shake,” he said.

New laughs from an old team
Lex Marinos and Max Gillies (both pictured) are set to team up for a new ABC comedy series, with Gillies as the star and Marinos the co-director.  The planned half-hour episodes will introduce Gillies fans to a new range of characters and will feature some of Australia’s top comedic talent in short plays scripted by leading writers.  The pair are not unfamiliar colleagues – they worked together in the Seventies as Chico and Groucho Marx at Melbourne’s Pram Factory.  “It’s nice to get back together after 17 years of meeting in foyers,” Marinos told TV Week. 

Briefly…
The biography of underworld figure Mark “Chopper” Read has claimed that in the late ‘70s he was asked by a notorious robber – now deceased – to take part in a plan to “kidnap” actress Lynda Stoner (pictured), then starring in drama series Cop Shop.  “He had photos taken of her and even knew where she did her shopping; he really was quite nutty over her,” according to Read.  “(He) was always falling in love with TV stars and making outrageous fairytale plans to kidnap them.”  But even Read, with his past criminal background, knocked back the elaborate scheme, instead insisting “we’ll all get 100 years’ jail for this!  Send the bloody woman some flowers instead!”. 

ABC’s yet-to-be-screened police drama Phoenix has already been given the green light for a second series.  Production is due to begin in June and expected to go to air in 1993.  The show’s first series of thirteen episodes, starring Paul Sonkkila, Sean Scully, Simon Westaway, Andy Anderson and Nell Feeney, is expected to go to air early in 1992.

This week’s Christmas episode of Col’n Carpenter (Ten) departs from the usual traditional sitcom formula to acknowledge that for some people it can be a sad time.  In the episode, Col’n (Kim Gyngell) faces the prospect of being alone at Christmas.  In a dream sequence, he clings to the hope his family (featuring Dale Stevens, Monica Maughan and Ray Baldwin, pictured) will arrive – but this appears unlikely.  “This is a very emotional issue,” Gyngell told TV Week.  “Obviously, Col’n’s big wish is to have his family around him for the occasion.”

John Laws says…
”When you present a current affairs program three nights a week for most of the year, relying mostly on satellite interviews on one selected issue each night, you have to be good to survive.  Kerry O’Brien’s Lateline carries a format like this – a simple, direct way of dealing with pertinent issues for sure, but still a TV mixture that in the wrong hands could prove a disaster.  O’Brien, though, is a seasoned political hand and a fine interviewer with a relaxed TV presence and there’s never really been any doubt that he was going to make this program work – and work well.  So, can a program like Lateline go to a fourth night of the week and maintain the quality?  I see no reason why not.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, December 7-13):
Saturday:  Nine presents the year’s final Saturday edition of Wide World Of Sports.  ABC presents the grand final of That’s Dancin’, and Seven’s World Around Us presents a Malcolm Douglas special, Return To The Top, featuring his return to central Arnhem Land 17 years after his first visit.

Sunday:  SBS debuts a new ten-part series, Our Stories, from the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association.  Sunday night movies are Casanova (Seven), Weekend War (Nine) and classic James Bond with You Only Live Twice (Ten).  ABC’s Sunday Stereo Special screens the Australian Ballet’s production of Romeo And Juliet. 

Monday:  In Neighbours (Ten), Glen (Richard Huggett, pictured) makes a sudden marriage proposal to Gaby (Rachel Blakely).  Seven Nightly News launches a late-night edition as a summer replacement for Tonight Live With Steve Vizard.

Tuesday:  Nine crosses to Hobart for the Benson And Hedges World Series Cricket match between Australia and India.  During lunch, Nine switches to ten-pin bowling with the Goldpin Coca-Cola Classic.

Wednesday:  SBS debuts a three-part documentary series, Nostalgia, with each episode focusing on a prominent Australian and their country of origin.  In E Street (Ten), Mary (Joan Sydney) makes a decision that will affect the rest of her life.

Thursday:  In the series final of E Street (Ten), Wheels (Marcus Graham) and Sheridan (Kate Raison) contemplate the next step in their relationship, while Alice’s (Marianne Howard) labour isn’t what she expected.

Friday:  Good Morning Australia (Ten), Neighbours (Ten) and The World Tonight With Clive Robertson (Nine) present their final editions for 1991.  Nine Network daytime show What’s Cooking (featuring Gabriel Gate and Colette Mann, pictured) moves into prime-time for the summer season.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  7 December 1991.  Southdown Press.

1991: November 30-December 6

An old affair rekindled
In a surprising move, the Nine Network has announced that former A Current Affair and Willesee host Mike Willesee will be hosting A Current Affair for three weeks in January while regular host Jana Wendt (pictured with Willesee) takes a break over the summer non-ratings period.  The move is surprising given that Willesee’s last appearance as a fill in host on the program two years ago was marked by controversy when he was caught stumbling on his words and had to apologise for giggling and “attempts to be humourous”.  The incident saw Nine and the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal inundated with complaints about his behaviour – and rival current affairs host Derryn Hinch opened his show the following night by saying, “I’m Derryn Hinch… and I’m sober”.  But Willesee, who claimed at the time that his behaviour was a result of “something he ate or drank”, is no longer keen to discuss the incident (“You’ve got to understand how often I’ve been asked about that.  There’s got to be a limit to how often I answer it.”) and is enthusiastic about his upcoming return to the program.

The eyes have it!
Actor and comedian Mark Mitchell could be forgiven for having a split personality after working on children’s series Lift Off.  In the multi-million dollar production Mitchell plays 19 characters, including an apartment caretaker, a farmer, a school principal and a geriatric legionnaire.  “I’m principally cast as Mr Fish (pictured), the caretaker, and represent the adult bureaucracy the kids have to deal with,” he told TV Week.  “He was made to look at flawed as possible, which is why he is fat, bad-tempered and wears glasses which make him look like a puff fish.  The show allows me to dress up and be silly, which is one of the reasons I’m doing it.”  Lift Off is expected to screen on ABC around mid-1992.

They’re sold on Alyce
When Alyce Platt (pictured) made a sudden exit from Sale Of The Century earlier this year, her television future appeared grim.  But apart from an appendix operation that saw her have to withdraw from a planned guest appearance in All Together Now, she has been almost in constant work since leaving Sale, with a guest appearance on Fast Forward and a role in the Seven Network’s new children’s series Animal Park.  She is also starring in stage production Torch Song Trilogy at Melbourne’s Universal Theatre.  “I enjoyed working on Sale for as long as I was there,” she told TV Week.  “But getting the part in Animal Park was the best thing that could have happened.”

Briefly…
Former Hey Dad! star Christopher Truswell, former Neighbours star Ian Williams and performer Maria Mercedes are set to star in a Nineties revival of the acclaimed rock musical Godspell which is scheduled to open at the Sydney Opera House early in 1992.

Some surprising announcements from the Ten Network with news that Australia’s Funniest Home Video Show host Jacki MacDonald (pictured) is to make a sudden shift from Nine to Ten to co-host a new lifestyle show to be produced by former Hey Hey It’s Saturday co-producer Gavan Disney.  “I’m very excited about moving on to a different style of program,” MacDonald told TV Week.  Disney is also tipped to be working on a revival of variety show Young Talent Time for the network.  Meanwhile, Bert Newton is making a regular TV comeback to host a new mid-morning talk show for Ten starting in the new year.  The program, tentatively titled This Morning, is tipped to also feature Kerri-Anne Kennerley from Good Morning Australia. 

Chances star Jeremy Sims and new A Country Practice star Kym Wilson have become TV’s hottest young couple despite them each living in separate cities.  Sims is based in Melbourne and Wilson is in Sydney, leading to regular weekend commutes and many long-distance telephone calls.

John Laws says…
”We’ve been fortunate in Australia to have a healthy history of satire on TV, going back as far as the ground-breaking The Mavis Bramston Show (pictured) in the Sixties.  Australians like to laugh at themselves – it’s probably one of our better human traits – and the success of programs such as Fast Forward and The Comedy Company are evidence of the presence of this self-depreciating sense of humour.  Fast Forward’s major attribute is its talented young cast.  Magda Szubanski is surely one of the finest comedy talents to have emerged for a long, long time.  Her Pixie-Anne Wheatley character is a classic.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, November 30-December 6):
Saturday:  The final day of TV ratings for the year.  Hey Hey It’s Saturday (Nine) presents a special three-hour show for its 1991 finale with guest appearances by John Farnham, Jimmy Barnes, Marina Prior, Johnny Diesel and Rhonda Burchmore.  This week’s contestants on Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune (Seven) are swimmer Kieren Perkins, singer Venetta Fields and comedian Anthony Ackroyd.  Ten presents a re-run of mini-series The Heroes as a four-hour telemovie, starring Jason Donovan and Cameron Daddo.

Sunday: ABC presents the final episode of 1920s mini-series The River Kings.  Sunday night movies are Splash (Seven), Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (Nine) and Bat 21 (Ten), up against the Australian Opera production of Don Giovanni on ABC.

Monday:  Repeats of early episodes Hey Dad! are the summer replacement for Home And Away on Seven, while Peter Luck hosts Summertime, replacing Derryn Hinch’s current affairs program.  Helen Dalley hosts the summer edition of A Current Affair (Nine).  Neighbours star Richard Huggett guest stars in Col’n Carpenter (Ten).

Tuesday:  Beyond 2000 (Seven) and Embassy (ABC) are presented in repeats for the summer season.

Wednesday:  In E Street (Ten), Sheridan (Kate Raison) has a taste of the working-class life, and Lisa (Alyssa-Jane Cook) has some exciting news.

Thursday:  Debbie Byrne guest stars in this week’s episode of The Flying Doctors (Nine), playing the part of a TV reporter who is stranded in Coopers Crossing due to a faulty plane.  To pass the time she prepares a “day in the life of the Royal Flying Doctor Service” report, but a plane crash forces her to understand the other side of a news story.

Friday:  Nine crosses to Perth for the Benson And Hedges World Series Cricket day/night match between India and the West Indies.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  30 November 1991.  Southdown Press

ABC success sparks Nine spin-off

Just days after the resounding ratings and critical success of ABC’s two-part mini-series Paper Giants: The Birth Of Cleo, the Nine Network has announced production of what is essentially a sequel.

The new two-part mini-series, to commence production in 2012, is set to trace the rise of a young Kerry Packer, after the death of media mogul father Sir Frank, in particular the events surrounding the formation of his rebel cricket competition, World Series Cricket, which revolutionised cricket in the late 1970s with the glamour of prime time coverage on his Nine Network, ending decades of the traditional broadcast of the game by ABC.  The new series will follow the legal battles, the secret player dealings and the turf battles with the cricket establishment.

The new series will be a production of Southern Star and John Edwards, the team behind Paper Giants, which told the story of the 1972 launch of groundbreaking women’s magazine Cleo by editor Ita Buttrose (played by Asher Keddie, pictured right) and with the support of Kerry Packer (Rob Carlton, pictured above).  The performances of the cast, but Keddie and Carlton in particular, as well as the reconstruction of the early 1970s era have earned rave reviews and high ratings over its two nights on ABC1.  The Sunday night debut was watched by 1.2 million viewers across the five capital cities, while the Monday conclusion was watched by 1.34 million – making it ABC’s highest rating program of the year to date.  By Monday night the series also clocked up over 17,000 views on ABC’s online viewing portal ABC iView.

The national broadcaster has now scheduled a repeat of the series, to appear in a three-hour screening next Sunday, 24 April, from 8.30pm on ABC2.

The Australian reports that ABC was keen to pursue the rise of Kerry Packer and World Series Cricket as a sequel, but the ratings success of Paper Giants saw Nine rush into a deal with Southern Star and effectively block ABC from any access to Nine’s archive of cricket coverage, promotions and player footage.

Despite the deal struck between Southern Star and Nine, the production company is said to be discussing options for another magazine-themed drama for ABC.

Source: Nine Network, The Australian

1991: January 12-18

Will love smile on Alyssa-Jane?
1991 could be a big year for E Street’s Alyssa-Jane Cook (pictured), both on and off screen.  Her character Lisa Bennett is enjoying a romance with Michael Sturgess (played by Graham Harvey) after a certain run of tragedy – she had been raped by her stepfather, saw her mother jailed, and broke her engagement to her childhood sweetheart, who was later murdered by her delinquent brother, who finally committed suicide.  She had been dumped by boyfriend “Wheels” (Marcus Graham), and E Street ended last year with her and Michael lost at sea, presumably drowned.  Off camera, Cook’s relationship with Gary Davis continues but there is no talk of marriage.  “I don’t think I’m old enough.  I think you have to be more responsible than I am right now,” she told TV Week.  Meanwhile, E Street goes into 1991 with a much leaner cast than last year, having farewelled cast members including Chris Orchard, Virginia Hey, Paul Kelman, Lisbeth Kennelly, Chelsea Brown, Rebecca Saunders and Richard Huggett, with three more (Penny Cook, Warren Jones and Vic Rooney) soon to go.

Greg calls for a rematch!
TV matchmaker Greg Evans is set to return to the Ten Network as it relaunches its axed game show Perfect Match as part of a programming revival after a disastrous 1990. This time around the show will be called Blind Date and will feature Evans with a female co-host yet to be appointed.  Perfect Match was a stand-out hit for Ten in the mid-1980s, turning Melbourne radio announcer Evans into a national celebrity. Cameron Daddo hosted the show for two years after Evans was poached by the Nine Network, with Evans returning to host the show before it was axed in a bout of cost-cutting in 1989.  “It hadn’t flagged in the ratings,” Evans told TV Week.  “It went because of the money involved.  The show was let down by Ten.”

Rosemary’s baby…
Sixteen years ago, Nine Network personality Rosemary Margan was showing off newborn daughter Cathy Godbold to the TV Week cameras.  Now, Godbold (pictured, with Margan) is set to appear on the same network that made her mother a household name with a role in the upcoming Nine Network drama series Chances.  She will be playing the role of Nicki Taylor, a character who “loves boys and parties and she’s very tough – a bit of a tomboy.”

Briefly…
Grundy Productions has announced that their ABC drama series Embassy has been sold for an undisclosed sum to Canada, Germany, Belgium, Holland and Greece.  The sale helps ensure a second series of Embassy which is due to go into production next month.

NIDA graduate Richard Huggett, formerly of E Street and about to make his debut in Neighbours, says that he never wanted to be a soap star.  “I’m often asked if I feel I’ve ‘sold out’ by doing shows such as E Street and Neighbours and my reply is simple: ‘I’m working’.”

Hey Hey It’s Saturday voice-over man John Blackman (pictured) is set for his own national program later this year.  Blackman is about to tape a pilot for a daily 30-minute lifestyle program.  “As soon as you say lifestyle, people think of Jo Pearson’s Body And Soul, but it’s nothing like that,” Blackman told TV Week.  “I’m thrilled about it because I don’t get many opportunities to get out from the booth and be in front of the cameras.”

ABC is planning to launch a new music video program to lead in to the popular Rage on Saturday nights.  The new show, to be known as Racket, aims to address the often-neglected musical interests of the 25-39 age group.  The show will have a team of presenters led by James Valentine.

Lawrie Masterson’s Sound Off
”Bobby Rivers is about as thick as the air used to get during events such as the Sunbury Pop Festivals of the early Seventies.  Bobby, a washed up Seventies rock star, is one of the central characters in the Nine Network’s new sitcom All Together Now.  It is due to make its debut next week and the opening episode – written by Phillip Dalkin and winningly sub-titled Daddy Cool – has much promise.  Like anything else, All Together Now (formerly known as Rhythm And Blues) will be a matter of wait and see, but at the outset it does seem to have a lot going for it.”

Program Highlights (January 12-18):
(Note: Not listed in TV Week, but with tensions rising in the Persian Gulf between Iraq and the US-led coalition, networks this week ramp up their news coverage efforts – some of which overrides some of its pre-planned schedule.  In particular, Nine’s late-night Nightline is expanded to a one-hour format and Network Ten launches a temporary 7am news bulletin as its usual morning program Good Morning Australia is still on holidays)

Saturday:  Tennis on Seven with the NSW Open live from Sydney in the afternoon and the Rio International Challenge, live from Adelaide, in the evening.  Ten crosses to Queensland for golf with the Daikyo Palm Meadows Cup during the afternoon and ABC presents live coverage of the World Swimming Championships from Perth.

Sunday:  The final day’s play of the NSW Open on Seven.  More swimming from Perth on ABC and golf from Queensland on Ten.  Nine crosses to the Sydney Cricket Ground for the first final of the Benson And Hedges World Series Cricket.  Sunday night movies are Supergirl (Seven) and A Handful Of Dust (Ten).

Monday:  Seven’s two-week coverage of the Ford Australian Open tennis begins.  Ten’s 6pm news bulletin is re-named Ten Eyewitness News to coincide with the launch of the network’s new logo – the new-look network entering a new era as it recovers from the financial dramas of 1990 and begins its focus on a younger audience.

Wednesday:  Nine presents a one-hour World Vision special, Reach Out For The Children, hosted by Rebecca Gibney and Brett Climo.

Thursday:  (Much of the day’s pre-planned schedule is abandoned with the outbreak of war in the Persian Gulf and networks switch to continuous news coverage – in particular the Ten Network makes much of its connection to US network CNN, relaying the news channel through most of the day and continuing its regular overnight broadcast)

Source: TV Week (Victoria country edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide. 12 January 1991. Southdown Press.

1991: January 5-11

Baby tragedy for Bobby
When Home And Away finished up at the end of 1990, pregnant Bobby Simpson (Nicolle Dickson, pictured) had collapsed in the diner.  This week, with the series returning for 1991, she is told that she has miscarried at 22 weeks.  “It’s very harrowing,” Dickson tells TV Week.  “Fisher (Norman Coburn) comes in to tell her she’s lost the baby, but she already knows and is trying to keep calm.”  In entering another year with the series, Dickson told TV Week she was unsure about signing up for another year.  “I was a bit nervous about it,” she says.  “But the industry is in such bad shape and it’s so much better than not working.”

Bruce cops it sweet!
Home And Away newcomer Bruce Roberts (pictured) laughs off suggestions he could become television’s next hunk.  As Summer Bay’s new policeman, Nick Parish, Roberts is sure to break hearts on screen and off – but it is a notion the NIDA graduate laughs off.  “I can laugh about it because I know I’m not building my career around that sort of image,” he told TV Week.  Roberts makes his on screen debut in Home And Away in March.

Joyce’s night of anguish
A Country Practice star Joyce Jacobs (pictured) has spoken of the anguish from a recent call at midnight by police to inform her that her husband, Ian, had gone missing earlier that evening while participating in the NSW Gliding Championships.  “I didn’t know what to think,” Jacobs told TV Week.  “Ian could have hit a fence or telegraph wire and flipped over while landing.  I thought ‘maybe he’s had a minor heart attack’.  I was worried sick.”  It turned out that Ian had been forced to make an emergency landing about 25 kilometres from the town of Warren in the late afternoon.  He had sent a radio message to say that he was making an emergency landing, but a second radioed message that he had landed safely had not been received, so race organisers had feared the worst and had begun a search.  Despite being stranded in isolation he eventually found a homestead and managed to make a call to Warren police and was taken to hospital.  A relieved Jacobs is hopeful that her husband might now choose more sedate hobbies.  “He’s 68.  I think he should be getting to the stage where he is just happy to just potter around the house!" she said.

Briefly…
Voting has opened for the 33rd annual TV Week Logie Awards, to take place in March.  Will Home And Away star Craig McLachlan manage to make it two Gold Logies in a row, or could he be upstaged by the man who is credited with giving the Logies their name – Graham Kennedy?  Other possible contenders for TV’s biggest prize could be Steve Vizard, who has had a successful year as host of Tonight Live, or Nine Network stalwarts Jana Wendt, Daryl Somers or Ray Martin.

The popularity of Neighbours and Home And Away in the United Kingdom have seen a swag of stars making the trip to the UK for the Christmas pantomime circuit.  Among those appearing in productions this year include current and former Neighbours stars Anne Charleston, Jessica Muschamp, Kristian Schmid, Rachel Friend, Linda Hartley and Mark Stevens.

Beyond 2000 reporter Carmel Travers has been recently crowned Redhead of the Year.  The globe-trotting reporter has said that it is about time that somebody appreciated her genetic richness.  “My hair was a constant source of embarrassment as a child,” she says.  “I know what it’s like to go out in the sun and hope those freckles join up.  And I certainly know what it’s like to have lily-white boobs and be told to get off the beach!”  Last year’s winner of the title was Hey Dad! star Julie McGregor (pictured, with Travers) and other contenders this year included The Big Gig’s Angela Moore (who plays Shirley Purvis), ABC newsreader Mary Delahunty and Fast Forward’s Pixie-Anne Wheatley (Magda Szubanski).

Gold Coast teenager Nerida Leishman (pictured) has beaten hundreds of young hopefuls to join Tony Johnston as co-host of Nine Network children’s programs Cartoon Company and C Company.  She replaces former co-host Kristine Davis who is going overseas to pursue an acting career.  “I can’t believe this is happening,” the 18-year-old told TV Week.  “Not too many people get the chance to work on national television, especially at my age.”  Leishman is not a complete unknown to television, having appeared on Nine’s New Faces talent quest and performed on the local In Brisbane Today morning show.

Lawrie Masterson’s Sound Off
”With business in general – and the business of television – in such an uncertain state at the moment, it’s almost comforting to know that there is something constant.  As you’re no doubt aware by now, the TV Week Logie Awards will go ahead in 1991.  This year will be the 33rd time TV Week has presented the annual awards to the television industry, a record of which we can be proud considering the industry itself is a mere youngster at 36.”

Program Highlights (January 5-11):
Saturday:  There’s tennis (Australian Women’s Hardcourt Championships) on Seven and cricket (Third Test: Australia versus England) on Nine.  The evening features highlights of the World Swimming Championships from Perth on ABC and live coverage of the Australian Men’s Hardcourt Championships on Seven.

Sunday:  Ten’s Sunday night movie is KGB: The Secret Of War, while Nine presents the first part of mini-series Traffik and Seven has the evening session of the Australian Men’s Hardcourt Championships.  ABC’s Sunday Stereo Special is Sydney Dance Company In Cafe – a study of Sydney’s cafe society written and choreographed by Paul Mercurio and Kim Walker.

Monday:  Seven’s season of tennis continues with the NSW Open, live from White City, Sydney, continuing all week.  Home And Away returns for its fourth year – Bobby (Nicolle Dickson) comes to terms with her heart-breaking news, while Pippa (Debra Lawrance) comes to terms with her feelings for Michael (Dennis Coard).  ABC presents a repeat of the Hindsight special Power To The People, focusing on the 1970 Vietnam moratorium and the swing of middle Australia against the war.

Tuesday:  ABC begins a re-run of drama series House Rules, starring Jacki Weaver, Gil Tucker and Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell.

Wednesday:  Network Ten’s E Street returns for its third year.

Thursday:  Nine crosses to the MCG for the afternoon session of the Benson And Hedges World Series Cricket, Australian versus England.

Source: TV Week (Victoria country edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide. 5 January 1991. Southdown Press.

1990: December 1-7

Kate’s hush-hush romance
Actress Kate Raison has spoken to TV Week to deny rumours that her three-year romance with former A Country Practice co-star Nick Bufalo is to lead to marriage.  “I don’t know where that one started, but, no, I am definitely not getting married,” she told TV Week.  “There is no truth in that rumour whatsoever.”  Raison (pictured) is soon to make a return to TV, playing the role of newspaper editor Sheridan Sturgess in Network Ten’s E Street.

The great E Street exit! 
Meanwhile, E Street is set to lose three of its foundation cast members going into its third year – with the show’s leading star Penny Cook deciding to take “an extended holiday” after her contract expires in February, while Warren Jones and Vic Rooney are also departing the series when their respective contracts expire.  The departure of Cook – which could be permanent – poses a dilemma for producers who have just matched up her character Dr Elly Fielding to Reverend Bob (Tony Martin) after a lengthy friendship and were hoping to stage an E Street wedding.  There is also the issue of what to do with Dr Fielding’s daughter, Claire (Brooke Anderson), in the series.  Meanwhile, there is talk around the industry that the series is heading to the Nine Network following the financial problems surrounding the Ten Network in recent times.

‘I’m shocked it’s come to this…’
The future of the Nine Network’s Hey Hey It’s Saturday appears to be under a cloud following the split of business partners Daryl Somers and Gavan Disney, whose company DAS Entertainment packages the show for the network.  The company, which is also owned by Ernie Carroll (the man behind Ossie Ostrich), is to be dismantled, with Somers and Carroll expected to set up their own company to produce the show.  Compounding to the drama is that Disney is also the manager of show regulars John Blackman (pictured) and Molly Meldrum.  “I’m shocked it has come to this,” Blackman told TV Week.  “It’s upsetting from all angles that they had to resort to this, but my sole responsibility is to the show and that’s how everybody (the rest of the cast) feels.  We’ve got to look to 1991 with the view that we’ll maintain the success Hey Hey has enjoyed.”

Briefly…
Good news for fans of ABC’s Mother And Son, with news that the popular comedy (starring Ruth Cracknell and Garry McDonald, pictured) is returning in a new series in the latter half of 1991 – ending speculation that the end of the show might be near with reports that cast member Henri Szeps was considering leaving the close-knit cast.  But Cracknell, who plays Maggie Beare, expects Szeps will be back for the new series.  “I hope so,” she says.  “I’m sure he will.  You couldn’t get anyone else to take the role.”

ABC will be hosting its Picnic In The Park event at Melbourne’s Myer Music Bowl this weekend.  The six-hour event is set to feature on-stage performances from That’s Dancin’ contestants, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Coodabeen Champions, cast members of The Big Gig and presenters from Play School.  Also attending the event will be weatherman Edwin Maher, cast members of drama series Embassy and ABC radio presenters.

Nine’s Bugs Bunny Show host Sophie Lee is joining the cast of The Flying Doctors.  She will be playing the role of radio operator Penny Wellings, the younger sister of Kate Wellings (Lenore Smith).  Lee is expected to continue to host The Bugs Bunny Show around her new commitments with The Flying Doctors.  Meanwhile, Brett Climo, who plays Dr David Ratcliffe in the series, is leaving the show after two years.

John Laws says…
”As far as Steve Vizard is concerned, it’s probably a good job it’s annual holiday time.  The man who made late-night live entertainment a ratings winner this year was looking decidedly tired, if not exhausted, as he creaked his way through his final programs.  The razor-sharp wit of his early months was blunted, much of the innovative sparkle had spluttered out, and Steve resembled a man dutifully going through the motions, doing his darndest to make things work but finding the task more difficult with each passing night.”

Program Highlights (December 1-7):
Saturday:  A big day of sport for HSV7, starting at 9.00am with live coverage of the Davis Cup: US versus Australia, from Petersburg, Florida.  Then during the afternoon, coverage will switch to the Australian Open golf, live from Sydney.  GTV9 covers the Benson And Hedges World Series Cricket: England versus New Zealand, live from Adelaide.

Sunday:  HSV7 crosses to Florida for the Men’s Doubles of the Davis Cup, live from 4.30am.  Then, from midday, the Australian Open golf from Sydney.  GTV9 has another day of the Benson And Hedges World Series Cricket, live from Adelaide, while ATV10 crosses to Bondi, Sydney, for the Ironman Super Series.  SBS presents the final edition of current affairs program Vox Populi for 1990.  Sunday night movies are Who Dares Wins (GTV9) and Birdy (ATV10).  HSV7 presents a re-run of mini-series Favourite Son, and ABC’s Esso Night At The Opera presents the Australian Opera production of Cosi Fan Tutte.

Monday:  HSV7 crosses to Florida at 5.00am for the final day’s play of the Davis Cup: US versus Australia.  Game show Wheel Of Fortune (HSV7) moves to the new time of 6.30pm, replacing Home And Away which is on summer break.  Steve Liebmann hosts A Current Affair: Summer Edition (GTV9).

Wednesday:  GTV9 presents the 1987 Australian movie The Tale Of Ruby Rose, starring Melita Jurisic, Chris Haywood and Sheila Florance.

Thursday:  HSV7 presents the first day’s competition of the Johnnie Walker Classic, live from the Melbourne Golf Club.  ABC presents live coverage of tennis, the Colonial Mutual Men’s Invitational, from Kooyong, Melbourne – with an hour of highlights late in the evening.

Friday:  More tennis on ABC.  More golf on HSV7.  And more cricket on GTV9, with the Benson And Hedges World Series: England versus New Zealand, live from Perth.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide. 1 December 1990. Southdown Press.