Obituary: Jon Blake

Jon Blake, the promising young actor whose career was cut short following a road accident which rendered him paralysed with permanent brain damage, has died from pneumonia at the age of 52.

Blake was still a teenager when he was cast as Alan Archer in the 0-10 Network soap The Restless Years in 1977.  He later appeared in TV series Boy In The Bush, Five Mile Creek, A Country Practice and the landmark mini-series Anzacs.

He appeared in movies including Freedom, Cool Change, Running From The Guns and The Lighthorsemen. It was in 1986 while driving home from South Australia after The Lighthorsemen’s final day of filming that he was involved in the tragic accident, about 40 kilometres from Port Augusta, that led to him being in a coma for months and with permanent brain damage, leaving him totally incapacitated.

His compensation payout from the accident was partly calculated based on his estimated potential earnings in Hollywood.

For many years Blake was in the care of his mother Mascot until she died in 2007.  Recently, Blake’s son Dustin won a legal battle to take care of his father and also took his father to finally see a cinema screening of The Lighthorsemen.

Blake’s family have extended thanks to all the volunteers, carers and nurses that assisted in his care over the past 25 years.

A funeral is expected to be held later this week.

Source: IMDB, The Age, Network Ten, Herald Sun. TV Week, 19 September 1987.

TelevisionAU Update 29-May-2011

http://www.televisionau.com

FLASHBACK #58:
Although swimming champion Ian Thorpe (pictured) was still winning medals and breaking records in 2002, he took a brief diversion into television as the host of the Seven Network's Undercover Angels, a short-lived series that saw Thorpe's 'angels' - actress Simone Kessell, Katie Underwood (from the pop group Bardot manufactured by Seven's Popstars in 2000) and radio co-host Jackie O - performing good deeds for people in need.  The feel-good series was a good ratings performer for Seven but was never extended beyond the first series.  Picture: The Sunday Mail TV Scene, 12 May 2002

CLASSIC TV GUIDES:
Melbourne:
24 November 1975 (Premiere: Eyewitness Newshour)
30 October 1986 (Premiere: The Movie Show)
18 January 1988 (Premiere: Seven Nightly News, Hinch At Seven, Home And Away, A Current Affair)

Victoria:
30 April 1963 (Official Opening ABEV1, Bendigo)

New South Wales:
25 February 1980

Adelaide:
26 July 1965 (Official Opening SAS10)
22 April 1983 (TV Week Logie Awards)

Western Australia:
22 April 1983 (TV Week Logie Awards)
20 May 1988 (Official Opening NEW10)

Darwin:
1 January 1988 (Australia Live)

GREAT OZ TV FLOPS
Ben Elton: Live From Planet Earth (Nine, 2011)

TELEVISIONAU - THE HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN TELEVISION
http://www.televisionau.com
http://blog.televisionau.com
http://www.twitter.com/TelevisionAU
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/televisionau
http://au.youtube.com/user/TelevisionAU

Seven-year itch for Spicks And Specks

After seven years and 277 episodes, the team from ABC’s Spicks And Specks announced yesterday that the show’s current season will be its last.

Host Adam Hills said in a statement:

“I have loved every second of my involvement with Spicks And Specks, and especially working with Alan and Myf. We always said we wanted to leave when we were on top and while we were still having fun, and now feels like the right time.  We are indebted to our loyal fans for giving us seven amazing years on Australian television, and I hope they’ll hold the memories of Spicks And Specks close to their hearts.”

Team captain Myf Warhurst said the show has allowed her some great experiences:

“It's been a wonderful privilege to be part of Spicks And Specks. I've worked with an incredible team of people, both on and off screen, and miraculously, managed to keep a job on TV for seven years, on a show that people love.  I’ve been lucky enough to experience many great things. I've seen Frank Woodley's privates, been naked under a desk with Pete Murray, and met many of my childhood musical crushes. Life can't get much better than that, so this seems like the perfect time to wind things up.”

Fellow team captain Alan Brough said it was best to walk away too soon rather than too late:

“For seven years I've had a job where I've met Gourd Orchestras, Oompah bands and Status Quo. Very few people can say that.  I'd rather people were upset because we stopped a little early, than upset because we stayed far too long.”

Recorded at the ABC studios in Melbourne (in the same studio that hosted Countdown) the show began rather modestly back in February 2005, only a week after another music-based quiz show, RocKwiz, had debuted on SBS.  There were inevitable comparisons between the two programs, especially as both shows were hosted by comedians and comprised a three-on-three battle on questions related to music, but it was evidently clear that both have their own distinct style.

Spicks And Specks became a popular performer in its Wednesday night timeslot on ABC and was the springboard into a Wednesday night comedy and youth-oriented line-up for the network.  With the popularity that Spicks And Specks was attaining, it was inevitable that a string of similar team-versus-team shows would follow on various genres – history (ADbc), sport (The Squiz, The Locker Room, Between The Lines), television (The White Room) and popular culture (Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, You May Be Right) – though few have been a success.

More than 150 guests have appeared on the show over its seven years, representing almost a who’s who of Australian entertainment, including Marcia Hines, Jimmy Barnes, Jon English, Jim Keays, Renee Geyer, Denise Drysdale, Hamish Blake, Kamahl, David Campbell, Colin Lane, Meshel Laurie, Debbie Byrne, Ella Hooper, Cal Wilson, Pete Helliar, Fiona O’Loughlin, Toni Lamond, Patti Newton, Wilbur Wilde, Ian Turpie, Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum, Noeline Brown, Tina Arena, Dave Hughes, Amanda Keller, Geoffrey Rush, Caroline O’Connor, Kate Miller-Heidke, Shaun Micallef and Rhonda Burchmore.

The show was recognised this year with a TV Week Logie Award for Most Outstanding Light Entertainment Program, and host Adam Hills has been nominated for the Gold Logie four times since 2008.  This year saw Hills launch his own talk show, Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight, which will return for a second series.  ABC is also in discussions with Warhurst and Brough over potential future projects.

The final episode of Spicks And Specks is scheduled to screen on ABC1 on Wednesday, 23 November at 8.30pm.

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

1991: May 11-17

Cover: Cher

The Great Ramsay Street Shake-Up!
A massive revamp of the Neighbours cast line-up is about to see eight characters written out with a swag of “young and spunky” newcomers to give the ailing soap a breath of fresh air.  Producers keen to boost the show’s popularity have also enlisted a team of consultants to oversee changes in set design, wardrobe and lighting.  While long-serving cast members Ian Smith (Harold Bishop), Lucinda Cowden (Melanie Pearson), Mark Little (Joe Mangel) and Beth Buchanan (Gemma Ramsay) have chosen to leave the series, others to depart will be Amelia Frid (Cody Willis), Ben Guerens (Toby Mangel), Miranda Fryer (Skye Bishop) and Ian Williams (Adam Willis).  Joining the series will be former Cleo covergirl of the year Rachel Blakely and former models Scott Michaelson and Andrew Williams.  John Holmes, Network Ten’s executive producer of drama, said the show needed a revamp:  “After five or six years, the show was looking very tired.  It definitely slid in 1990.  It went from being a boomer, especially in Melbourne, to getting same ratings the other soaps were getting.  It needed a fresh approach.  We need to get the young and spunkies back in and we’ve started that with Richard Huggett and Melissa Bell.”  But despite the young and colourful revamp headed for the show, Holmes said Neighbours will not become another E Street.  “E Street has a tougher edge, but Neighbours has never been about that.  Neighbours is a light, easygoing show with a strong moral base.  We’re not out to follow those tougher stories.”

Col’n finds true love… with Annie!
Actress and TV Week Logie Award winner Annie Jones has been signed to appear in two episodes of Network Ten’s Col’n Carpenter.  Jones, who won a Logie for her performance in Jackaroo, will play Alison Button, the first true love for Col’n (Kim Gyngell, pictured).  A spokesperson for the show says the actress is “delighted” to be returning to work at Ten, her home for several years when she starred in Neighbours.

Out of the shadows…
NIDA graduate Josephine Byrnes has only been acting professionally for 18 months but is already gaining the title Queen Of The Aussie Mini-Series.  The young actress, who won a Logie Award nomination for her role in last year’s Shadows Of The Heart, has since filmed two more historically-themed mini-series – Half A World Away and Brides Of Christ (both coming to ABC) – but is afraid of becoming typecast.  “I’ve loved the ladies I’ve played,” she told TV Week,  “but I think it’s time I did something contemporary.”

Briefly…
A Country Practice star Matt Day has told TV Week he was ready to move on from the long-running series until producers came up with an offer he couldn’t refuse.  “I’d been with the show two years, which is the longest run I’ve ever done,” he told TV Week.  In trying to keep Day on board, the show’s writers had promised Matt some radical character changes following the departure of co-star Sophie Heathcote, who played his romantic partner for a year.  Also, there was an increase in salary but Day says that money was not a factor.  “Money wasn’t discussed until after the decision to stay was made,” he said.

Burke’s Backyard host Don Burke, whose company recently spent 18 months producing a one-off program about the environment, is unapologetic about his obsession for accuracy, particularly when it comes to the environment – even if it puts him offside with the ‘greenies’ and bureaucrats, and the scientific experts whom he claims are ego or grant-driven.  “Much of what has been put out on the greenhouse effect has been unsubstantiated,” he told TV Week.  “What has put out on recycling has been terribly misleading.  If we lose the public by feeding them scientifically imprecise material, that would be a tragedy.”

E Street star Melissa Tkautz (pictured) has signed a contract to record three singles and an album for Polygram Records.  The 17-year-old will have her first single, titled Read My Lips, debuted on Network Ten’s Video Hits later this month.

John Laws says…
”To the delight – and surprise, I’m sure – of Nine, the first Sale Of The Century shows with the new team (Glenn Ridge and Jo Bailey) attracted healthy ratings.  So healthy, in fact, that in some viewing areas the opposition programs were out-rated.  Glenn and Jo did a workmanlike job in their first nervous week.  Naturally enough, Glenn lacked the polished zest of Tony Barber, but he showed enough to indicate that he may well be capable of assuming the departed supremo’s mantle.  Whether Glenn and Jo can succeed in keeping Sale high in the ratings is going to be one of TV’s most intriguing test-cases.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, May 11-17):
Saturday:  Mark ‘Jacko’ Jackson, A Country Practice star Joyce Jacobs (pictured) and Phil Smythe are contestants on this week’s Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune (Seven).

Sunday:  SBS debuts a new documentary series Through Australia Eyes, a six-part series covering a wide variety of otherwise unrelated material – except they, as the title suggests, focus on life through Australian eyes.  Seven crosses to the Gabba, Brisbane, for the AFL match between Brisbane Bears and St Kilda, followed by highlights of the Richmond versus Collingwood match.  Sunday night movies are Breaking Point (Nine) and Cocoon – The Return (Ten), while Seven presents the debut of mini-series Family Of Spies (to be concluded the following night).  Nine’s late-night line-up includes coverage of the Spanish 500cc Grand Prix and the Monaco Grand Prix.

Monday:  Ten presents a delayed telecast of the international event Save The Kurds – The Simple Truth, a charity concert to benefit the International Red Cross Relief Campaign for Kurdish refugees.  The concert includes performances by MC Hammer, Peter Gabriel, Rod Stewart, Sting, New Kids On The Block, Gloria Estefan and Chris De Burgh.

Tuesday:  In GP (ABC), Sister Julie Winters (Denise Roberts, pictured) feels she’s grown stale at the Ross Street surgery, and re-enters nursing – but discovers that nursing has become more demanding since she last did it.  She also gets embroiled in a nurses’ strike after a patient is endangered by hospital understaffing.  In Beyond 2000 (Seven), Andrew Carroll examines Indonesia’s fledgling aircraft industry and Simon Reeve introduces a cookware that allows omelettes to be cooked in 15 seconds.

Wednesday:  ABC presents Spinning Out, Anne Deveson’s documentary which gives new understanding of the most misunderstood of all mental disorders – schizophrenia.

Thursday:  Maggie Tabberer and Richard Zachariah return with a new series of The Home Show on ABC.  In Chances (Nine), Charlie (Kimberley Davenport) announces she is pregnant – but who is the father-to-be?  Is it scheming Alex (Jeremy Sims) or lovable Ben (Rhys Muldoon)?

Friday:  Some changes starting in appear in the Network Ten schedule launched earlier this year – the 5.30pm game show Let’s Make A Deal appears for the final time, while Star Search moves to the new timeslot of Friday 7.30pm with new host Mike Hammond.  Seven presents a delayed telecast of Friday night AFL – North Melbourne versus Adelaide.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  11 May 1991.  Southdown Press

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

Dixie calls it a day

Perth television newsreader Dixie Marshall last night announced her resignation from the newsdesk at STW9 effective immediately:

“I have loved every moment of working for Channel Nine, but it’s now time to be brave and make a change.  After more than 25 years as both a reporter and newsreader, I’ve had enough of reading and reporting stories about tragedy - floods, fire, earthquakes and violence.

“I’m making a strategic career decision to move into another phase, which will allow me to participate in the changes happening within our state and city.  It’s a fantastic time to be a West Australian, with so much entrepreneurial spirit on show, and I want to be part of that and make a contribution.”

PerthNow reports that Marshall is believed to be headed for a role in public relations, despite earlier suggestions that she had accepted a job at Tourism Western Australia.

With a background in newspaper and radio journalism, Marshall joined the STW9 newsroom in 1984 and later moved to Melbourne to join the Seven Network.  At Seven she became the first female sports reporter on television, contributing to VFL/AFL coverage, Seven Nightly News, Olympic Games reports and co-hosting Sportsworld with Bruce McAvaney.

Returning to Perth in the early ‘90s, Marshall re-joined STW9 as a senior reporter and weekend newsreader.  In 2003, she began presenting the channel’s weeknight 6.00pm bulletin, first with Sonia Vinci – making them the first all-female newsreading team in Australia – and more recently alongside Perth television veteran Greg Pearce.

Last night’s bulletin ended with a tribute presented by Pearce and sports presenter Michael Thompson with a flower bouquet handed over by weather presenter Angela Tsun.

It is not yet known if Marshall will be replaced at the newsdesk, with Pearce to read the news solo in the interim.

Source: PerthNow, NineMSN

Obituary: Bob Davis

Geelong Football Club identity and former commentator Bob Davis has died at the age of 82.

A player for the Cats from 1948 to 1958, Davis later became captain and coach of the then VFL club.  He coached the team to their premiership in 1963 – their last Grand Final win for over 40 years.  He lived to see the team take the premiership in 2007 and presented the team with the premiership cup when they won again in 2009.

He was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 1996.

But Davis’ contribution to football wasn’t just on the field, he was also a passionate commentator and was a key figure in the development of television coverage of the game.  Joining the commentary team at HSV7 in the late 1950s, Davis went on to many years as part of the World Of Sport team and, with Lou Richards and Jack Dyer, presented the late night favourite League Teams.

He later appeared on Sportsworld and Seven’s Footy Panel before leaving Seven in 2001.

Lewis Martin, General Manager of HSV7, said that Davis was a television pioneer:

“Bob Davis was not only a great football personality on Channel Seven, he was a television pioneer and his legacy can be seen today in sports entertainment television.  He was and always will be a beloved member of the Seven family from who we learned a great deal.  Bob will be sorely missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Margaret and the Davis family.”

AFL chief Andrew Demetriou paid tribute to the Geelong legend:

"He coached his beloved club to a premiership in 1963, but perhaps his greatest contribution of all was to take our game into lounge rooms every weekend, as television developed in this country, and forged a powerful bond between our players and our fans.  On behalf of the AFL and our clubs, I wish to pass on our deepest sympathy to Bob’s wife Margaret and his family, and the Geelong Football Club, and to thank them for Bob’s wonderful service to our game."

Source: The Age, Throng

1991: May 4-10

It all started with Love Letters
Love has blossomed between two of television’s most popular stars.  Julian McMahon, formerly of Home And Away, and A Country Practice’s Georgie Parker have been inseparable since they performed together in the theatre production of Love Letters.  Although the pair (pictured) have said little about their relationship, their affection for each other was obvious at the recent TV Week Logie Awards and they are often seen out together around Sydney.  “We are not prepared to make any comment at this stage,” Parker tells TV Week.  “We are just good friends,” said McMahon.

‘It’s time to move on…’
Neighbours is about to lose one of its most popular characters as Mark Little, who plays Joe Mangel, has decided not to renew his contract.  A Network Ten spokesperson told TV Week: “Mark has been with the show since June 1988 and I think he feels it’s time to move on.  As with any ongoing drama, it’s the nature of the production that cast members have to leave.  Inevitably they are replaced by new actors who are hopefully just as talented.”  Little, who also formerly starred in The Flying Doctors and co-hosted ABC’s Countdown Revolution, is set to perform a season of stand-up comedy in Sydney and is also promoting the movie Nirvana Street Murder, in which he stars with Ben Mendelsohn.

Carmel’s ‘horror movie’
Beyond 2000 reporter Carmel Travers has returned from India, Turkey, the United Kingdom and South America, where she found the body-parts trade is big business.  “India is basically the organ bank for the rest of the world,” she told TV Week.  “It’s so easy to acquire an organ there.”  Travers’ story, to appear soon on Beyond 2000, says the lure of cash is leading to young men to sell their organs.  “Every young man has sold a kidney or intends to do so,” she said.  “The promise of 20,000 rupees (around $A2000) for a kidney is too alluring.  Eyes are worth 80,000 rupees.  But it is not just a kidney and eye trade we are talking about – it is a trade in skin, bones and ligaments.  Poverty and ignorance can drive people to do the most amazing things.”  Travers found that it wasn’t just India where body-part trading is rife, with certain operations to remove body parts for trade also taking place in the United Kingdom. 

Briefly…
ABC will this week air the Film Australia telemovie Act Of Necessity, a moving story of a mother’s search to prove her dying daughter’s leukaemia and the spraying of insecticides are connected.  The telemovie is not scripted – the actors’ dialogue was improvised, the result of two weeks of workshopping the characters and researching by spending time with the real people of the communities.  The telemovie stars Angie Milliken, Mark Owen-Taylor, Wendy Strehlow, Scott McGregor, Paul Sonkilla, Lauren Hewett and Steven Grives.

E Street star Penny Cook (pictured), who recently left the series for an extended break, has just signed up for a ten-week guest role in ABC’s GP.  The guest appearance has slimmed any chance that Cook will return to E Street this year, meaning that the pending nuptials between Dr Elly Fielding and Reverend Bob Brown (Tony Martin) are likely to be left waiting even longer.

The Nine Network’s Chances this week sees character Eddie Reynolds (Dennis Miller) brutally murdered, leaving a trail of deceit, blackmail and fraud.  With seven key character suspected of the murder, viewers and even the show’s cast and crew have been left guessing who did it.  Six different storyline endings have been filmed, and even the actors don’t know yet which one will be played out.  The answer will be revealed on the series this week.

Lawrie Masterson’s Sound Off:
”Film Australia has developed a rather expert knack of taking a social issue, wrapping it in a telemovie format, then simply spreading it out in front of us, no frills.  Previous efforts on thorny subjects such as custody of children, racial prejudice and the battle to keep a family’s head above the mortgage waterline all have been applauded and awarded.  The latest, a telemovie called Act Of Necessity (featuring Angie Milliken and Lauren Hewett, pictured), deserves the same.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, May 4-10):
Saturday:  Seven Network sports commentators Bruce McAvaney, Sandy Roberts, Kim Sporton and Jack Newton battle it out against comedians Elliot Goblet, Austen Tayshus, Mitchell Faircloth and Steve Haddan in Celebrity Family Feud (Seven).

Sunday:  Seven crosses to the SCG for live coverage of AFL, Sydney Swans versus Geelong, with commentators Drew Morphett, Ian Robertson, Don Scott and Cameron Williams.  SBS presents a delayed telecast of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, this time coming from Rome, featuring performances representing twenty-two countries.  Sunday night movies are Three Fugitives (Seven), She’s Having A Baby (Nine) and Great Balls Of Fire (Ten).

Monday:  In A Country Practice (Seven), Cookie (Syd Heylen) becomes ill when he hears the taxman is visiting the district.  Farmer Dave Watson (Don Reid) offers his property to recreational shooters, despite warnings from his son and ranger Trevor Jackson (Michael Watson).

Tuesday:  Singer Tina Arena (pictured, with Jon English) guest stars in Nine’s sitcom All Together Now, playing the part of a stripper - ‘Vanessa the Undresser’ – hired for a bucks’ night.  In Chances (Nine), Eddie’s (Dennis Miller) blackmail over Connie (Deborah Kennedy), Barbara (Brenda Addie) and Jack (Tim Robertson) reaches crisis point.

Wednesday:  ABC screens telemovie Act Of Necessity.  In Hey Dad! (Seven), Nudge (Christopher Truswell) falls in love, while the rest of the household learn to live with a new burglar alarm.  Nine presents a late-night delayed telecast of the Sydney Rugby League State Of Origin game between New South Wales and Queensland.

Thursday:  The murder of Eddie Reynolds (pictured) in Chances (Nine) leads to the family being questioned by police.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  4 May 1991.  Southdown Press

1991: April 27-May 3

‘I’ve had to become a little harder…’
At 18, E Street’s favourite girl next door Toni Pearen (pictured) has suddenly become a sophisticated woman – but her transformation isn’t just about make-up or a new outfit.  “I’ve had to grow up as a means of survival,” she told TV Week.  “I’ve had to become a little harder to ensure I don’t get hurt too easily.  This, after all, is a very cut-throat industry.  I’m concentrating on working hard and enjoying it while I’m still here.”  Pearen has also become aware of the growing presence of paparazzi, citing the experiences of former talent school colleague Rebekah Elmaloglou:  “Rebekah has done so incredibly well and success hasn’t changed her.  But she does have to cope with so much now – she can’t even walk down the street any more.  Can you imagine the pressures?”  Pearen also responds to rumours of a relationship with Home And Away star Mat Stevenson.  “That was amazing,” she says.  “Mat and I have been friends for a long time.  We met through Rebekah.  He didn’t have anyone to take to Hamlet, so he asked me to tag along and a rumour was born.”

Comedy duo fast forward to radio!
The Seven Network has given the go-ahead for a sitcom pilot likely to feature Fast Forward stars Marg Downey and Michael Veitch (pictured).  The new project, Without Wires, is set in a radio station in the 1950s and is being developed by Fast Forward co-star Steve Blackburn with writer Peter Herbert and Artist Services’ Andrew Knight.  “We love it… it’s a very strong idea,” Knight told TV Week.  “There are three levels of comedy in it.  There are broad elements of farce, talent quests and the music of the time.”  Production is expected to begin in May or June.

‘Absent friends’ mar Pippa’s big day
This week’s Home And Away wedding between Pippa (Debra Lawrence) and Michael (Dennis Coard) mostly goes without a hitch – but the return of Ben (Julian McMahon) in army uniform hoping to convince pregnant wife Carly (Sharyn Hodgson) to join him as he returns to the army is set to interrupt the celebrations.  Two uniformed military police arrive at the reception to inform Ben that he is under arrest for going absent without leave.  Some pleading from Ben explaining his marital situation leads to the officers giving him a reprieve, and Carly agrees to leave with him.  The scene marks the series departure of cast members McMahon and Hodgson.

Briefly…
The recession hits Neighbours this week as the Willis family are forced to give up their home.  Doug (Terence Donovan) and Pam (Sue Jones) are shocked to learn they may have to move out of Ramsay Street when the bank forecloses on their mortgage.  “It’s very appropriate at the moment with the way things are in Victoria,” Jones tells TV Week.  “What happens to the Willis family is a situation faced by many normal people.  People aren’t paying them and they can’t pay their debts.  It’s a vicious circle.”

Star Search producer Jacqui Culliton and host Jeff Phillips are awed by the amount of phone-in votes that pour in after the Network Ten talent quest goes to air on Saturday nights – currently around 20,000 calls a week are received.  The series is about to hold its first Grand Final for the year, following two semi-finals.  One of the show’s acts through to semi-final stage is junior dance troupe, the Brent Street Kids (pictured).

Actor Cameron Daddo is in training for his role in the mini-series Tracks Of Glory, which tells the story of Australian champion cyclist Don Walker.  Daddo’s training routine, under the supervision of Olympic champion Mike Turtur, starts each morning at 5.30am with a mini-triathlon… bike for an hour, run for half an hour and then swim.  “If I want to look like a cyclist, I’ve got to cycle,” the determined Daddo told TV Week.

John Laws says…
”Like all comedy programs that are successful, Fast Forward’s biggest problem is going to be how to come up with fresh routines.  The first of the new series kept up Fast Forward’s reputation as slick and satirical, with little you could really criticise.  Whether it can maintain its previous high standards is anyone’s guess.  I hope it can, because it’s a marvellous vehicle for some very good local comedy talents.”

Program Highlights (April 27-May 3):
Saturday:  Seven crosses to Carrara, Queensland, for live coverage of AFL – Brisbane Bears versus Essendon.

Sunday:  Seven crosses to Adelaide for live coverage of a twilight AFL game between Adelaide Crows versus Footscray.  Sunday night movies are Surrender (Seven), The Accused (Nine) and The Sicilian (Ten).  Late night sport includes Australian Touring Car Championships (Seven), San Marino Grand Prix (Nine), Australia versus West Indies in the Fifth Test (Nine), Sports Week (Ten) and the Sydney Rugby League Match Of The Day (Ten).

Monday:  ABC presents the debut of The Life And Death Of Sandy Stone, featuring the suburbanite character (pictured) portrayed by Barry Humphries, talking about life in Glen Iris in a series of touching and witty monologues.

Tuesday:  ABC’s live comedy series The Big Gig returns with a new series.

Thursday:  In The Flying Doctors (Nine), Geoff (Robert Grubb) collapses with a mystery illness that baffles the doctors who race against time to save him.  In Acropolis Now (Seven), is Uri (Rhys Muldoon) from Russia really a student, or is he a KGB spy as Jim (Nick Giannopoulos) suspects.

Friday:  Seven crosses to Nimes, France, for late night coverage of the Davis Cup quarter finals, Australia versus France.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  27 April 1991.  Southdown Press