Aussie TV classics on 7TWO – including an ABC favourite

Although the Seven Network’s digital channel 7TWO tends to feature a line-up heavy in classic British fare of drama, comedy and lifestyle shows, the channel manages to squeeze in some classic Australian content.

With its coverage of the minor tennis tournaments now out of the way – and the Australian Open about to start on the main Seven channel – 7TWO from Monday will resume screening classic soap Sons And Daughters and early episodes of Home And Away in their morning timeslots.

From Monday afternoon, 16 January, 7TWO will also roll-out two more vintage classics.  Young Ramsay, a family drama that ran from 1977 to 1980 starring John Hargreaves (pictured with co-star Barbara Llewellyn) as a country vet, and Five Mile Creek, a period drama set in the early gold rush days of Australia that featured Liz Burch, Gus Mercurio, Michael Caton and a young Nicole Kidman.

Although Young Ramsay is being played out from episode one, Five Mile Creek is being resumed from season three as it had a brief run of episodes on 7TWO last month.

Both dramas were originally screened on Seven and produced by Crawford Productions, though Five Mile Creek was a co-production with the American Disney Channel in the early-‘80s and gained a loyal following in the US.

From Friday, 20 January, 7TWO begins a re-run of one of the most popular dramas to come from the ABC – Seachange.

Seachange told the story of city lawyer Laura Gibson (Sigrid Thornton) who after a string of personal crises adopts a change of lifestyle and moves her family to the fictional seaside town of Pearl Bay, hoping for a more peaceful and less dramatic existence as a local magistrate but finding herself immersed in a town of somewhat eccentric characters.

Although Thornton played the central character in Seachange, the series featured a strong supporting cast of veteran performers and new talent, including John Howard, Kerry Armstrong, David Wenham (pictured with Thornton), William McInnes, Jill Forster, Kevin Harrington, Fiona Corke, Tom Long, Alan Cassell, Shaun Micallef and Mark Mitchell.

The series, produced by Artist Services (best known for producing Fast Forward), delivered high ratings for ABC in the competitive 7.30pm Sunday timeslot and its popularity led to the initial batch of thirteen episodes in 1998 being followed by another in 1999 and a third in 2000. 

Over its three-year run Seachange collected nine TV Week Logies – including three for Most Outstanding Drama Series – and three AFI awards.

The series has been repeated on a number of occasions on ABC but this is its first airing on a commercial channel.

Other ABC titles to have featured on 7TWO since its inception are Mother And Son and Barry Humphries’ Flashbacks.

Young Ramsay and Five Mile Creek, weekdays from 12.00pm, starting 16 January.  Seachange, Fridays 7.30pm, starting 20 January.  7TWO.

Source: Five Mile Creek, Seachange, Australian Television Information Archive

Obituary: Michele Fawdon

Michele Fawdon, actress in film, stage and television, has died today after a battle with cancer.

Born in London in 1947, Fawdon studied in the United Kingdom before coming to Australia early in her professional career.  Following guest roles in Homicide, The Spoiler and Spyforce, Fawdon was cast as Mabel in the pilot for comedy series Snake Gully With Dad And Dave, produced in 1971, but her big break came the following year when she was cast in the original Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

She went on to appear in many television productions in the years that followed, including Ryan, Matlock Police, The Unisexers, Flashez, Loss Of Innocence, Young Ramsay, Winners, The Flying Doctors, GP, A Country Practice, Marshall Law, All Saints, MDA, Fergus McPhail, Bastard Boys and City Homicide. 

Her last TV role was in the mini-series Killing Time which is yet to be screened in Australia.

Her role in the 1979 movie Cathy’s Child won her Best Actress awards at both the AFI Awards and the Australian Film And Television Awards (The Sammys).

Michele Fawdon is survived by partner Geoff Jenkins and daughter Lulu.

A memorial service is to be held next Monday.

Source: IF, TV Tonight, IMDB, TV Eye

Obituary: Bill Hunter

Bill Hunter, one of Australia’s most recognisable and prolific actors, has passed away in Melbourne at the age of 71.

The actor had been admitted to a Melbourne hospice early last week with inoperable cancer.

Born in Ballarat, Hunter went on to a career spanning 50 years with more than 100 roles in various film, stage and television productions. 

Early television roles included appearances in Hunter, Skippy The Bush Kangaroo, The Long Arm, Riptide, Dynasty, Catwalk, The Spoiler, Spyforce and King’s Men as well as appearing on multiple occasions in Division 4, Homicide and Matlock Police.

He later appeared in series including Prisoner, Golden Soak, Young Ramsay, 1915, Scales Of Justice, The Dismissal, Eureka Stockade, The Flying Doctors, A Fortunate Life, Stark, Seachange, All Saints, Pizza, Stingers and Two Twisted.

Hunter had an extensive film resume, including iconic Australian titles Stone, Newsfront, Gallipoli, Strictly Ballroom, Muriel’s Wedding, The Adventures Of Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert, Australia and Finding Nemo.  He also starred in films The Shiralee, Ned Kelly, Far East, Street Hero, Crackerjack and Bad Eggs.  He had recently played the role of racing legend Bart Cummings in the to-be-released film The Cup, recreating the 2002 Melbourne Cup.

He also featured in a number of commercial roles, including recent campaigns for ‘Grain Wave’ chips and the AFL.

Source: The Age, ABC, IMDB, Mark Morrissey

1979: November 24-30

Sisters: For better and worse!
Although Rebecca Gilling and Diana McLean (pictured, with co-star Peter Lochran) are only sisters on-screen, as Nurse Liz Kennedy and Sister Vivienne Jeffries in The Young Doctors, their friendship off-screen has similar characteristics.  “On camera, I have a similar relationship with Diana as with my own sister Tracy, in that we do have our ups and downs, do tend to take each other for granted.  But in a crunch, we stick together!” Gilling told TV Times – though their separate childhoods were quite different.  McLean was essentially brought up as an only child as her older brother had died from Down’s syndrome at the age of 8:  “I grew up in a grown-up world, with few close relatives, except my maternal grandmother.  Like most only children, I was always conscious of wishing I had lots of brothers and sisters.  Then my mother was stricken with cancer and died when I was 13.  During the previous six years she was ill, I was cared for by a maid and my grandmother.  Sounds like a poor little rich girl, doesn’t it?  But it’s true, I had everything I wanted but nothing I really wanted.”  Rebecca Gilling was the youngest of four children.  “My mother has a highly individual approach to rearing children.  Both my parents encouraged us to have very strong personalities and a strong sense of humour.  The four of us were all very close when we were small.  Being the youngest has its perks and its serious drawbacks.  There was always the dichotomy of being one minute too young – and the next being told, why don’t you grow up?  It also meant I wore hand-down clothes which were a bit battered by the time they’d gone through three tomboys.  Then, when I was 12, I retaliated by growing taller than the others.  Then I had to get new clothes.”

Brush with the law!
Liz Burch (pictured), the girl from the toothpaste commercials, is the new girl in Cop Shop – and it’s given her a ring of confidence.  The 24-year-old joins the series as Vic Cameron’s (Terry Donovan) younger sister, Liz Cameron.  It is her first big break in TV after five years of trying to get into showbusiness, including three rejections from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).  The young actress came from Sydney to Melbourne to audition for a role in Young Ramsay, but was unsuccessful.  Her agent encouraged her to apply for the Cop Shop role, despite the fact that her only TV experience was in commercials.  “My biggest speaking part had been in a toothpaste commercial, telling a bloke he could do his own navigating next time.”

Love behind bars!
ABC stations in all states will be involved in a new public affairs program, Line-Up, to screen from December while the usual public affairs programs are on a break for summer.  The new program, to fill the timeslot normally occupied by Four Corners, will be hosted by former Nationwide and This Day Tonight reporter Paul Griffiths.  Executive producer for the program, Richard Watson, said the program will not be unlike the former magazine-style program, Saturday Week, but will have “more in-depth” content:  “It could be likened to a miniature Big Country.  The team will travel a great deal around Australia to make documentary films of varying durations within a flexible format.”  Another new series, Faces Of The Eighties, will be hosted by former Monday Conference compere Robert Moore (pictured), and will go to air on Wednesday nights in the timeslot normally occupied by Nationwide.  Faces Of The Eighties will feature interviews with Australians who are are leaders in their various fields, and who will continue to shape Australian society during the 1980s.  Overseas programs that will fill the Nationwide timeslot on Mondays include Collision Course, a documentary drama about a mid-air crash between two airliners over Yugoslavia in 1976, and Love Behind Bars, a look at a Texas prison where convicts of both sexes are allowed to mix.

Briefly…
Former Young Talent Time cast member Vikki Broughton is heading to Europe to star in a TV series for Italian network Telenova.  Broughton is currently in Sydney recording the soundtrack for the series of five half-hour specials, which will be filmed on location around Lake Como.

ABC’s rural affairs program Countrywide has won an award in the current affairs category at the recent Penguin awards in Melbourne.  Another ABC program, A Big Country, also won awards for Bob Connolly, for best producer and director, and Bob Plato for best script for a documentary or special report.

Former Number 96 star Joseph Furst’s guest appearance in The Young Doctors has so impressed the producers that they have decided to keep the character for future episodes.  Furst plays a mysterious German businessman, Heinrick Smeaton.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”The way Countdown is cut off during the number one song is thoughtless.  This song has been chosen number one by the public and is the one the majority of people want to hear.” S. Milward, VIC.

“While watching QTQ9, Brisbane, I heard the newsreader say: ‘And how that famous Irishman, Mike Walsh.’  I always thought Mike was a true-blue Australian.” F. Bellman, QLD.

“Why does TCN9, Sydney, leave scenes out of the shows they screen?  To date I have noticed entire scenes missing from shows such as Love Boat and Starsky And Hutch.  This practice does tend to leave one somewhat confused, as the missing scenes are frequently referred to in what is left of the show.  Surely the channels should not have the right to indiscriminately cut scenes from their shows whenever they feel like it (apparently for the purpose of screening more commercials – which, according to the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal, should be limited to 11 minutes in any case).” N. Lewis, NSW.

“I agree with S. Pye (Viewpoint, 20 October 1979) about the program So You Want To Be A Centrefold.  A friend and I (both females) watched this program, as our boyfriends said they were both going to watch it.  We were both absolutely disgusted, as well as being embarrassed.  I felt these girls must be cheap to pose nude in front of a cameraman, then to be filmed for TV.  It is bad enough that they do this in magazines, let alone display their unclothed bodies on the screen.  Are there no morals left in this world?”  T. Yesberg, QLD.

What’s On (November 24-30):
HSV7 crosses live to Kooyong Tennis Stadium, Melbourne, for live coverage of the Satellite Circuit Tennis Finals, with commentators Peter Landy, Garry Wilkinson and Allan Stone.  The coverage airs from midday to 6.00pm on both Saturday and Sunday and starts Seven’s daily coverage of tennis action for much of the summer.  From Monday, Seven covers the Toyota Women’s Classic, live from Kooyong each day from 11.00am to 6.00pm.

Starting Monday night, and continuing through summer, GTV9 has a mid-evening news bulletin at 9.30pm in addition to the usual 6.30pm news.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, GTV9 crosses to the Sydney Cricket Ground for the Benson and Hedges World Series Cup, Australia versus West Indies.  Coverage starts at 2.20pm and, apart from a one-hour break at 6.00pm, continues through to 10.30pm.

In Prisoner’s season finale (ATV0, Wednesday), Lizzie (Sheila Florance, pictured) is a bit under the weather, and Greg (Barry Quin) discovers a theft from the examination room.  Pat (Monica Maughan) finds herself in a predicament, while David (David Letch) makes plans for revenge.

Michael Schildberger and Peter Hanrahan have replaced Bruce Mansfield and Annette Allison at the ATV0 Eyewitness News desk.

On Thursday night, 60 Minutes presents a special one-hour report, Year Zero – The Silent Death Of Cambodia, presenter by award-winning journalist John Pilger, the first western journalist allowed inside Kampuchea.

Sunday night movies: Perfect Gentleman (HSV7), Strange Homecoming (GTV9), The Abdication (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 24 November 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: October 6-12

Cover: Bill Bixby (The Incredible Hulk)

ABC plans a summer of golf
ABC plans to screen nine golf tournaments over spring-summer circuit, including the Dunhill Australian Open, which will be the largest single golf coverage ever undertaken by the broadcaster.  For the Open, 26 hours of coverage will involve 150 personnel, 25 cameras, $8 million worth of equipment, 11 kilometres of camera cable and 40 microphones.  As well as the Dunhill competition, ABC will cover the Garden State PGA Tournament, Westlakes Classic, NSW Open, Australia PGA Championship, Australian Open, Australia-Japan Trophy, Victoria Open and the Australian Masters. 

Why Gwen Plumb wants the last laugh
Gwen Plumb says she was born with a sense of adventure, and that could explain why she never married.  “I never wanted to pitch my tent in the one place for 50 years.  I always wanted to act and travel, I never wanted to be harnessed.  I never met a man who said I could I remain an individual after we were married.”  Beginning her career as a copywriter at a Sydney radio station, Plumb later (pictured) found herself being cast in local radio dramas and became nationally known in ABC radio serials Blue Hills and The Lawsons.  After a lengthy stay overseas, Plumb returned to Australia to host Women’s World for ABC in the 1960s and then switched to new Sydney channel TEN10 for a daily chat show, Gwen.  She was then cast as the gossiping Ada Simmonds in The Young Doctors when that started late in 1976.  Travelling, particularly overseas, is one of her greatest enjoyments.  “I last went to Europe about four years ago and since then I’ve been to New Zealand and the New Hebrides.  I’d love to go to New York this Christmas because I want to see a lot of theatre and TV. I know a lot of people there who could be into all sorts of interesting things.”

New series for Toothbrush gang
New episodes of The Toothbrush Family, the cartoon series created by Australian Marcia Hatfield and currently viewed by millions across Australia, the United States (via the national Captain Kangaroo program on CBS), Canada and New Zealand, are to be produced in Australia.  For the last two years the cartoon has been produced in Canada but the next batch of five-minute episodes are to be produced by the Grundy Organisation in Sydney.  The new episodes are to coincide with a national promotional campaign to promote dental hygiene.  The Toothbrush Family currently airs in Australia on the Nine Network’s Super Flying Fun Show in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and commences next month in an afternoon timeslot in South Australia.

Briefly…
John Bluthal joins the cast of the upcoming ABC series And Here Comes Bucknuckle, reprising the role originally performed by Frank Wilson in the show’s predecessor And The Big Men Fly.  Production starts this month and the series is expected to air next year. 

Mr Squiggle has just celebrated his 20th anniversary on television, and now his creator Norman Hetherington is planning a one-hour fantasy drama featuring Mr Squiggle and his regular offsiders Miss Jane (Jane Fennell), Bill Steamshovel, Gus the Snail, Kelly the Worm and Blackboard.

Yugoslav actress Vera Plevnik, from the telemovie The John Sullivan Story, gets a chance to do something different playing an Ocker farm girl in an upcoming episode of Young Ramsay.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”Congratulations to Sydney’s TEN10 for the rodeo specials they have been running.  Everything about the programs was first-class – except, maybe, the late-night viewing time.” L. Haywood, NSW.

“I’m getting a little sick and tired of all the criticism of our Aussie series (eg. Cop Shop, Skyways).  No doubt the people who complain are the same people who get engrossed in the American “soapies” during the day.  At least I get a good old laugh during our programs.  Complaints of homosexuality and illicit sex scenes are also a little unreasonable in comparison.  Skyways has “killed off” lesbianism, and evidence of sexual encounters is portrayed “before” and “after” – by the wearing of a bath robe or towel.  We very rarely go into the bedroom with them.  Perhaps the critics should note that the times these shows are on is late enough for children to be in bed.”  M. Brugel, NSW.

“Sydney TEN10’s presentation of the Felini film Amarcord was a disgrace.  This fine film, which won Best Foreign Film at the 1974 Academy Awards, was shown at 11.10pm on a Friday night.  It received no promotion at all.  Why does TEN10 insist on showing fine films other than American at late hours?”  R. Porter, NSW.

What’s On (October 6-12):
Saturday afternoon sport includes the Citizen Australian Seniors’ Championship (ABC), live from Manly, Sydney.  HSV7 has live coverage of Davis Cup tennis from White City, Sydney, and ATV0 crosses to Flemington Racecourse for five hours of racing coverage.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at the struggles of Australian Aborigines in society.

Mal Walden presents the crowning of Miss Victoria 1980, live from the St Kilda Town Hall. (HSV7, Monday)

HSV7 presents 12 hours of coverage of the Super Tennis tournament over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday nights.  The competition, held at Festival Hall in Melbourne, offers a prize money of $530,000.

0-10 Network news reporter Ken Burslem presents a one-hour special, The High Cost Of Dying.  The program aims to remove some of the mystery and some of the rip-offs that occur in the dying business.  Common questions on the subject of dying are tackled and answered.

In Cop Shop (HSV7, Monday and Thursday), O’Reilly (Terry Norris) is beginning to feel something of an outcast and his loneliness leads to depression.  Vic Cameron (Terence Donovan) finally confides in Kate’s (Jacqui Gordon) teacher about his past and the effect it has had upon Kate.

Sunday night movies: Petersen (HSV7) (although TV Times also had this scheduled for the week September 8-14), Murder On The Orient Express (GTV9), High Plains Drifter (ATV0).  ABC presents Measure For Measure, another in the six-year BBC series of TV adaptations of the entire works of Shakespeare.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 6 October 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: June 23-29

Cover: Andrew McFarlane, Robert Coleby (Patrol Boat)

Timeless Land stars are cast
Michael Craig and Angela Punch will both return to Australia to star in ABC’s new big-budget series The Timeless Land, described as Australia’s own Forsythe Saga.  Production of the eight-part series, set in the 25 years following the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, is to commence in October.

The complete guide to Paul Hogan
Paul Hogan is known to viewers as the ocker Aussie, but on a recent appearance on Parkinson it was a more philosophical Hogan that appeared – giving his insight into Australian versus British class distinction, snobbery, politics and larrikin humour.  Michael Parkinson’s interviewing style impressed Hogan: “Parkinson’s an excellent interviewer.  He’s got a pretty laid-back style.  That helps.  But it’s the way he really listens to your answers and follows through on them.  To some journos you could answer a question about your wife’s health with ‘I killed her last week,’ and their next question would still be from their notes, ‘Yes, and how many children do you have?’.  Hogan also tells TV Times about his dining habits (“Where do we eat out as a family?  Simple.  The kids want to go wherever it costs a lot!”), wines (“I drink white wines mostly”), money (“It means the same thing to me as it’s always meant.  Freedom.  The right to say no.”), travelling (“At Rome airport I found myself surrounded by about 80 Australian Italians and they all introduced me to their mammas as Luigi.”) and the topic of canned laughter (“Nothing makes me angrier than shows like Donny And Marie.  A line that should get a giggle gets a belly laugh, a roar.  That’s not real.  We’ve been accused of using laugh machines.  We don’t, except for editing purposes to bridge or integrate something.  We’ve edited more laughs out than in.”)

Don Lane’s US debut a secret
Viewers of The Don Lane Show in the near future may notice a subtle change in the program as it prepares to be taped for a proposed US TV special.  Producer Peter Faiman said the upcoming special episode will not be significantly different to routine shows but it will be seen to be less parochial.

All grown up!
After more than 15 years playing the parts of schoolgirls and teenagers, former Bellbird and Alvin Purple star Anne Pendlebury has finally been cast as a middle-aged mother in ABC’s Twenty Good Years.   “I’ve been happy the way things have been, but this role is the highlight of my career so far and I’m happy to play an older woman.”

Briefly…
Stuart Wagstaff and Noeline Brown are to play the lead roles in a sitcom being made for the Seven Network by RS Productions (producers of The Naked Vicar Show).   The program has the working title of Two-Up and is expected to go into production next month.

Production of the Seven Network’s Young Ramsay is continuing despite its failure to gain approval for a ‘C’ classification for airing in the 4.00pm-5.00pm timeslot.

Former The Box actress Judy Nunn (pictured) is returning to the ATV0 studios to appear in an upcoming role in Prisoner.

Three years after joining Young Talent Time, team member Debbie Hancock has decided to leave the show to become a teacher after being offered a job with a modelling agency and school.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor
”I wonder if any other viewers are as besotted as I am with Doctor Who’s helpmate K9?  I look out for him in every episode.” M. Bennett, NSW.

“I have recently noticed that no horror movies are being screened at all.  I do think many people would appreciate at least one horror movie a week, preferably on a Friday night.” M. McEachern, SA.

“I agree with J. Lewis (Viewpoint, 12 May 1979), and wonder if ATN7 Sydney knows how much CBN8 (Orange) and CWN6 (Dubbo) mutilates the Seven Big League program.  I am fortunate in that I am able to receive the League replay two nights later than Orange and it is 200 per cent better than CBN8’s version.  RVN2 (Wagga Wagga) gives League fans 60 minutes of football compared to CBN8’s 35 minutes.” J. Holland, NSW.  (TV Times responds: “A CBN8 spokesman said he had discussed the question with RVN2 and that both stations used the natural breaks already inserted by ATN7.  They both allot the same time to commercials, not adding to the breaks provided by Sydney.”)

What’s On (June 23-29):
On Saturday night and into early Sunday, ATV0 airs live coverage from the UK of the final of the Prudential Cup cricket.  Also late on Saturday and Sunday nights, GTV9 screens delayed highlights of the US Open golf championships that were shown live on ABC last weekend.

This Week Has Seven Days (HSV7, Saturday) visits DPTV10, a closed-circuit TV station broadcasting to 5000 viewers in the community of Debney Park.

This Fabulous Century (HSV7, Sunday) looks at the portrayal and role of women in Australia’s history.

HSV7 on Monday night presents a one-hour special, Parlour Games, providing an insight into operation of Melbourne’s massage parlours.

In The Wild With Harry Butler (ABC, Wednesday) goes to Tasmania as Butler shows the impact of man on the Tasmanian wilderness and the animals that inhabit its wild, wet terrain.

ABC presents the debut of drama series Patrol Boat, starring Andrew McFarlane, Robert Coleby, Danny Adcock and Margo Lee. 

Maurie Fields, Val Jellay and Smacka Fitzgibbon are some of the guests featured this week on Peter Couchman Tonight (ATV0, weeknights).

Sunday night movies: The Wind And The Lion (HSV7), Ten Rillington Place (GTV9), The Eiger Sanction (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 23 June 1979.  ABC/ACP

1979: May 19-25

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1979: January 27-February 2

Stardom and the single man
TV Times talked to a cross-section of showbusiness bachelors about the pros and cons of single life while in the public eye. For Don Lane, currently in a relationship, there was a time when he would question if a girl was interested in Don Lane, the person, or Don Lane on TV. Actor Terry Donovan has had to combine his professional and social life with raising a son, Jason, but is enjoying being a bachelor. Ugly Dave Gray said it took some adjusting, after the end of his marriage to wife Gail, to getting out and being social again, but admits to being the marrying kind, and "I'd really like kids if I marry again." For Sherbet singer Daryl Braithwaite, being single has the benefit of not having any responsibility, but the downside is that he tends to be the only member of the group to come home alone after being away on tour. But he is reluctant to get involved in a serious relationship again, for a while at least.

TV greets the Year of the Child
All networks are planning locally produced or imported programs focused on the International Year Of The Child (IYC), and most channels are planning increased quality and quantity for children's programs:

ARVO (ABC): New series to launch in April. To go to air weekday afternoons 4.00pm-6.00pm, and will include children's entertainment, such as Sesame Street, and reports and interviews with children about their own IYC projects. ABC is currently looking for a host for the program who gets on well with children, and bunyips, as ARVO's co-host will be a bunyip called Alexander.

Twin Towers (ABC): A new six-part children's drama is in production, starring John Ewart, Tessa Mallos, Ray Meagher, Justine Saunders and Candy Williams. Storylines for the new series have been developed with contributions from children at a Sydney primary school.

Earth Patrol (ABC): New drama series to debut in June and will screen in combination with the Earth Patrol Club which will provide a forum for children's involvement in community and environmental issues. Many of the episodes for Earth Patrol will be filmed in Sydney and Queensland.

Mad Dog Gang (Nine): New Zealand-based series to be screened in March.

Falcon Island (Nine): A Perth-based children's drama about the search for a wrecked sailing ship off the coast of Western Australia.

The Gene Machine (Nine): Seven-part British series about how genes affect the lives of humans and animals.

A Gift Of Song: The Music For UNICEF Concert (0-10): The official launch concert for IYC that took place in New York on 10 January. Performers include the Bee Gees, Olivia Newton-John, Kris Kristofferson, John Denver, Earth Wind And Fire, Andy Gibb, Rod Stewart, ABBA and Rita Coolidge. To be screened in Australia possibly in February or March.

The Seven Network has also obtained local broadcast rights to a mammoth 20-hour telethon in aid of IYC which will be beamed direct from the United States over two days in June to more than 30 countries worldwide. Seven's telecast is expected to include an Australian component featuring local personalities from the Seven Network, and rival network identities will also be invited to appear.

New shows for '79
The four networks - ABC, Seven, Nine and 0-10 - all unveil some of the new and returning shows for the coming 1979 season.

ABC: New Australian-made drama with The Oracle (starring John Gregg, pictured), Patrol Boat, Twenty Good Years, Ride On Stranger and One Day Miller, a spin-off of the comedy series Tickled Pink. Another new drama, Golden Soak, based on the novel by Hammond Innes, a six-part series co-produced by ABC with British and German interests. Also to come this year are new episodes of British series Are You Being Served?, The Two Ronnies, Doctor Who, The Goodies and George And Mildred. Peter Wherrett presents a new ten-part series Marque: 100 Years Of Motoring tracing the history of the motor car industry and takes a peek at where it's headed. There's new episodes of Holiday With Bill Peach and Mastermind. And a new era in current affairs with Nationwide replacing the long-running This Day Tonight.

Seven: A new series of Father Dear Father In Australia will also be joined by Australian versions of UK favourites Love Thy Neighbour and Doctor In The House. There's new local drama this year with the Melbourne-based airport drama Skyways. Journalist Peter Luck (pictured) presents a new 16-part documentary series This Fabulous Century. New imported series include CHiPs, The Incredible Hulk, The Upchat Line, Return Of The Saint, The Professionals, The Unknown War and Lillie. A new mini-series, Centennial, traces the lives of seven generations of Americans living in the Colorado area and boasts the largest production budget ever for a TV series. Returning this year are overseas series The Sweeney, Quincy, Welcome Back Kotter, Good Times, The Muppet Show, Eight Is Enough, Mind Your Language and The Dick Emery Show. There will also be more locally-made specials featuring Norman Gunston, Julie Anthony and Malcolm Douglas.

Nine: The long-awaited current affairs program 60 Minutes (pictured) makes its debut while returning favourites include The Mike Walsh Show, The Don Lane Show, The Paul Hogan Show, The Sullivans and The Young Doctors. New overseas drama with Vega$, Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, The Source and mini-series The Immigrants. New US comedy series Taxi, WKRP In Cincinnati, Who's Watching The Kids and Mork And Mindy. Returning US series include The Love Boat, Happy Days, Fantasy Island, Laverne And Shirley, Charlie's Angels, Hawaii Five-0, Donny And Marie and Family.

0-10: New Australian drama with the Melbourne-based Prisoner (pictured) starring Val Lehman, Peta Toppano, Carol Burns, Fiona Spence, Kerry Armstrong, Elspeth Ballantyne, Colette Mann, Sheila Florance, Patsy King and Mary Ward. New US comedy with Flying High and Grandpa Goes To Washington. New US drama includes Dallas, The Eddie Capra Mysteries, The American Girls, The Paper Chase, Sword Of Justice and Roots: The Next Generations, the next chapter to Alex Haley's saga of his ancestors' early life in America. A three-part mini-series, Pearl, tells the events surrounding the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941. Returning US series include MASH, The Adventures Of Wonder Woman, Grizzly Adams, The Waltons, Project UFO, Alice and The Rockford Files.

Bush vet comes to town - again
Crawford Productions is to begin work later this year on a further thirteen one-hour episodes of drama Young Ramsay for the Seven Network. The series will again feature John Hargreaves as Peter Ramsay, the young city vet who goes bush. Co-star Serge Lazareff is also expected to return for the new episodes, though Barbara Llewellyn will not be returning. A replacement for Llewellyn has not yet been cast. It has been more than twelve months since the first series of Young Ramsay was shown in Melbourne.

The taming of a workaholic
In the five months since Brian Naylor resigned from Melbourne's Seven National News, there had been plenty of speculation as to who would replace him. However, none of that speculation seemed to include the former reporter that had been filling Naylor's position in the meantime, Mal Walden (pictured): "I must admit that all the newspaper reports at the time were very crushing for the ego. After all, I was doing the job at the time and it was embarrassing to be completely dismissed by the press. Even Pamela Graham, who was filling in my usual spot, got a mention. I just would have liked someone to acknowledge the fact that I was there." As it turned out, Walden was the one that management wanted for the role, although it did take a lot of convincing from station manager Ron Casey to get him to accept it. A former country radio announcer, Walden came to radio station 3DB in Melbourne in the late-1960s. Then in 1970, after a year-long hitch-hiking tour through Europe and Asia, Walden joined 3DB's sister TV station, HSV7, where he reported for the news, hosted the quiz show Jeopardy and filled in for David Johnston on the children's program This Week Has Seven Days. In 1974, Walden was the first reporter to arrive in Darwin after the city had been devastated by Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Day. "Naturally it is one of those jobs you never forget, but as a reporting job it wasn't hard. The news was everywhere. All you had to do was point a camera and put a microphone at someone's mouth and you had a story. The big problem was getting the stories out of Darwin. I'd spend hours trying to get the reels of film on some sort of plane to Melbourne."

To the rescue, with classics
ABC has purchased a package of more than 140 classic movies for screening on Saturday and Tuesday nights from next month. The package includes titles from three different sources, MGM, the Goldwyn estate and London Films. The first movie to be shown from the package will be Woman Of The Year, starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, which will head a block of movies to be shown as the Spencer Tracy Festival. Geoff Daniels, head of ABC drama, explains the plan behind the purchase: "Our philosophy is that ABC can't afford first-run movies - no way we can ever be in that. We want to build up an audience who are interested in these type movies. It's worked successfully for BBC and there's no reason why it shouldn't work for us." The line-up of classic movies is part of a new-look evening line-up for ABC this year, following the axing of This Day Tonight, that will see comedy scheduled after the news at 7.30pm, followed by local or imported drama at 8.30pm and new current affairs program Nationwide at 9.30pm.

Briefly...
After guest roles in Matlock Police, Division Four and The Truckies, singer-turned-actress Leila Hayes is about to play the mother of the hero in the new ABC series Twenty Good Years.

Janise Beaumont, a former Sydney journalist and reporter for The Mike Walsh Show and later The Steve Raymond Show, is a new addition to The Don Lane Show's on-air line-up.

In the four months since arriving in Australia from New Zealand, actor Sam Neill has been signed for three movie roles and a three-month stint in The Sullivans starting in May.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
"The spate of televised tennis matches shows no sign of abatement, but, it must be admitted that the tennis does at least keep out the more idiotic serials and crime movies which have dominated the afternoon box." F. Rowley, NSW.

"Thank you ABC, from the bottom of my heart, for screening the TV movie Shimmering Light and the series Who Pays The Ferryman, the two most outstanding shows of the year." G. Papadopoulos, NSW.

What's On (January 27-February 2):
This weekend's This Week Has Seven Days includes a segment on orienteering, a tour of the galleries and museums of the City of Boston and a discussion on psychiatry with a doctor from the Royal Melbourne Hospital. In the arts and crafts segment, Shirley Shackleton demonstrates the Fairisle knitting pattern.

On Sunday, ABC presents the cricket Fifth Test from Adelaide, and GTV9 presents World Series Cricket from VFL Park in Melbourne. HSV7 presents coverage of the 1979 Superbowl between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys which was played 21 January. This is followed by a documentary covering the activity in Saint Peter's Square during the two-day wait for the announcement to be made and the coronation of Pope John Paul II.

ABC's 7.30pm line-up features a magazine program, Horse Talk, on Monday night with Heath Harris and Suzy Jarratt, while from Tuesday through to Friday is a repeat of the documentary series Australians At Large featuring Australians in far-removed parts of the world.

The Early Bird Show, Fat Cat And Friends and The Holiday Fun Show keep the kids amused in the early mornings, as well as the perennial Sesame Street and Play School. But with TV still basically in summer mode, afternoon TV is largely a sea of classic and black-and-white movies and sitcoms on HSV7 and ATV0 every weekday although ATV0 does include The Steve Raymond Show and GTV9 has more World Series Cricket.

Sunday night movies are repeats of The Chairman (GTV9) and Masquerade (ATV0). HSV7 presents Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll, the third part of the Ray Lawler trilogy featuring Bruce Myles, Peter Curtin, Carole Skinner, Sandy Gore, Christine Amor and David Downer. ABC presents a 50-minute special Australia Day concert featuring the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 27 January 1979. ABC/ACP

1978: TV Week Logie Awards

As part of this blog's ongoing theme of all things TV in 1978 - to coincide with tonight's presentation of the 50th annual TV Week Logie Awards, let's have a look at what they were doing at the 20th TV Week Logie Awards presentation, thirty years ago.

The 1978 TV Week Logie Awards were held at the Southern Cross Hotel, Melbourne, on Friday 3 March. The presentation was hosted by Bert Newton and telecast through the Nine Network. The telecast was sponsored by the national telecommunications carrier Telecom (now Telstra).

The winner of the Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Australian TV was Graham Kennedy, host of the popular late-'70s game show Blankety Blanks. Kennedy had stiff opposition for the award, fending off other nominees Don Lane, Bert Newton, Mike Walsh and Lorraine Bayly. This was Kennedy's fifth Gold Logie which was a new record - but it would be twenty years before he would win another one, when he was inducted into the TV Week Logie Awards' Hall of Fame in 1998.

Kennedy had also won another Logie earlier in the night in '78 when Blankety Blanks was awarded Best Australia Variety/Panel/Comedy Show.

But while Kennedy was the winner of the night's top award, he was upstaged by six-year-old Beau Cox who had won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Juvenile for his performance in an episode of the Seven Network's Young Ramsay.

It was also a big night for the popular Nine Network series The Sullivans, picking up five Logies, including Most Popular Drama, Most Popular Actor (Paul Cronin) and Most Popular Actress (Lorraine Bayly).

Overseas celebrities to feature at the 1978 TV Week Logies were Florence Henderson (then starring in The Brady Bunch Variety Hour), Mike Farrell (MASH), Richard Anderson (The Bionic Woman), Pattie Weaver (Days Of Our Lives), British TV host David Frost, and legendary performer Sammy Davis Jnr. The presentation also featured a link-up to Sydney to feature an interview with Bob Hope who had been touring Australia and was about to head back to the US to host the Academy Awards.

MASH star Mike Farrell had made an on-air appeal for a gentleman who had taken a fall earlier in the week in the Melbourne CBD following an altercation with Farrell's daughter Erin. In the confusion that followed the incident, the man did not give Farrell his name, hence the Logies night call for the man so that Farrell could "buy him a drink". Then, within an hour, Melbourne man Don Sinclair arrived at the Southern Cross Hotel. "One day you are an avowed fan of MASH and the next day you're having an accident with BJ Hunnicut's daughter," said Sinclair after arriving at the hotel. And yes, he got his drink.

Mark Holden was awarded Most Popular Teenage Personality, but was curiously not present to collect his award. It was later revealed that the pop singer and former The Young Doctors star had made a quick dash outside the ballroom but failed to return in time to accept his award.

Melbourne's Mary Hardy (pictured with host Bert Newton), in accepting her Logie for Most Popular Female Personality in Victoria, jokingly acknowledged: "I really have to thank Graham Kennedy for this. If he hadn't got me the sack at GTV9 all those years ago, I would not have gone to Seven!" After her acceptance speech, Hardy then felt a tug at her skirt on her way back to her seat. She turned and found it had come from Florence Henderson who smiled and threw her arms around Hardy, saying "I thought you were marvellous." For one of the few times in her life, Hardy was lost for words. The two had never met before and Henderson's compliment was based solely on Hardy's on-stage acceptance speech.

Now these days there is just as must emphasis placed on the red carpet arrivals and the fashions as there is on the actual awards themselves. But in 1978, TV Week's only coverage of some of the fashions of the night was a two-page spread featuring Cop Shop's Lynda Stoner (pictured), The Sullivans' Susan Hannaford (shown to be arriving with Mark Holden, triggering stories of a possible romance between the two), and sisters Carmen and Paula Duncan - but the biggest shock frock of the night came from A Current Affair host Sue Smith, who wore a revealing black gown split to the hip. The strapless top half of the gown was more revealing. For a presenter who was better known for her serious approach to current affairs, it took many in the crowd by surprise.

In total, 43 awards were handed out on the night. The Nine Network claimed twenty awards, the Seven Network claimed eight Logies, while the 0-10 Network picked up four, and ABC picked up five. Hobart's TVT6 picked up the three Tasmanian state awards, and Newcastle's NBN3 won the regional TV category.

Finally, a list of all 43 winners of the 1978 TV Week Logie Awards:

Viewers' voted awards:

Gold Logie: Graham Kennedy, Blankety Blanks (0-10 Network)

Silver Logie - Most Popular Actor: Paul Cronin, The Sullivans (Nine Network)

Silver Logie - Most Popular Actress: Lorraine Bayly, The Sullivans (Nine)

Most Popular Teenage Personality: Mark Holden

Most Popular Variety/Panel/Comedy Show: Blankety Blanks (0-10)

Most Popular Drama Series: The Sullivans (Nine)

Most Popular Commercial: Export Cola

Best New Talent: Brandon Burke (Glenview High, Seven Network)

Industry panel awards:

Best Individual Performance by an Actor: Neil Fitzpatrick, Pig In A Poke (ABC)

Best Individual Performance by an Actress: Jacki Weaver, Do I Have To Kill My Child? (ABC)

Best New Drama: Cop Shop (Seven)

Best Sustained Performance by a Supporting Actor: Michael Caton, The Sullivans (Nine)

Best Sustained Performance by a Supporting Actress: Vivean Gray, The Sullivans (Nine)

Outstanding Performance by a Juvenile: Beau Cox, Young Ramsay (Seven)

Best Single Drama: The Alternative (Seven)

Best Dramatic Script: Margaret Kelly and John Dingwall, Pig In A Poke (ABC)

Best Documentary Series: In The Wild (ABC)

Best News Documentary: Utah report, Four Corners (ABC)

Outstanding Contribution to TV Journalism: The Werribee Accident, A Current Affair (Nine)

Best Public Affairs Series: Willesee At Seven (Seven)

Best News Report: Blue Mountains bushfires, Eyewitness News (TEN10 Sydney)

Outstanding Contribution to Community Service: The National Survival Test (0-10)

Outstanding Coverage of a Sporting Event: Australian Open Golf Championship (Nine)

Best Comedy Performer: Paul Hogan, The Paul Hogan Show (Nine)

Outstanding Contribution by a Regional Station: Ian (NBN3 Newcastle)

State winners (Most Popular Male Personality, Female Personality, Program):

NSW: Mike Walsh (TCN9), Sue Smith (TCN9), The Mike Walsh Show (TCN9)

VIC: Bert Newton (GTV9), Mary Hardy (HSV7), The Don Lane Show (GTV9)

QLD: Paul Sharrat (QTQ9), Jacki MacDonald (BTQ7), Country Homestead (QTQ9)

SA: Roger Cardwell (NWS9), Helen Woods (NWS9), Super Fun Show (ADS7)

WA: Terry Willesee (STW9), Jenny Clemesha (STW9), Channel Nine News (STW9)

TAS: Tom Payne (TVT6), Robyn Jackman (TVT6), This Week (TVT6)

Source: TV Week, 11 March 1978 & 18 March 1978.

The 50th Annual TV Week Logie Awards. Tonight (Sunday) 4 May, from 7.30pm. Nine*

* GTV9 Melbourne. Other stations/affiliates check local guides.

Seven goes retro after dark

The Seven Network have recently delved into their video vaults for DVD releases of shows such as Sons And Daughters, A Country Practice, Blue Heelers and All Saints, but this week seem to be giving some less-famous titles an airing in late night timeslots.

From a time when cute furry animals were TV fiction rather than today's TV "reality" or "factuality", Young Ramsay was the story of 30-ish vet Peter Ramsay (John Hargreaves, pictured with co-star Barbara Llewellyn) who had decided to leave his job in the city to go to a small veterinary practice in the country. Intended as a family series it was a distant cry from the usual cop dramas or the soapie The Box to come from Crawford Productions, although the company had previously produced a children's drama Solo One in the mid-'70s. Young Ramsay ran for two seasons, screening between 1977 and 1980, and also featured Vic Gordon, Serge Lazareff and Louise Howitt.

Seven's other late-night offering is a much more recent series, Marshall Law from 2002, which marked actress Lisa McCune's first TV role since leaving Blue Heelers, the series which earned her four TV Week Gold Logies. The series told the story of two sisters, played by McCune and Alison Whyte (Frontline), both working in the Magistrate's Court. Marshall Law also included another former Blue Heelers cast member, William McInnes, and Jane Hall who is now in Neighbours. The series was launched as a pseudo Ally McBeal-type drama, but despite its strong cast, it failed to grab ratings and was cancelled after one year.

Seven's screening of these retro titles follows the regional WIN network's late-night/early-morning screenings over the past year or so of former Crawford classics such as Matlock Police, Skyways, Carson's Law and Division Four.

Further reading:
TV Eye (Young Ramsay)
Australian Television Information Archive (Marshall Law)
Young Ramsay. Tonight (Thursday morning) 1.10am, Seven*
Marshall Law. Thursday night/Friday morning 12.20am, Seven*

* Melbourne. Other areas check local guides