Cover: Cathy Godbold (Newlyweds)
Rebekah leads Sale shuffle
Just after celebrating 500 episodes with Sale Of The Century, mystery surrounds Jo Bailey‘s sudden departure from the program. Media reports and speculation have insisted that Bailey was let go from the show following falling ratings, especially in Sydney. The Nine Network and Bailey have both denied the “sacking” — with Bailey now working on a new project for Nine, a lifestyle series called Looking Good, planned to make its debut later in the year. “I was not given the boot,” Bailey told TV Week. “It’s no secret — I’ve always wanted to work on a lifestyle-fashion program, and when this opportunity came up, I had to take it.” With Bailey’s sudden departure from Sale there will be a roster of guest co-hosts to fill the void — including All Together Now star Jane Hall, Mary Coustas‘ comedy character Effie and actress Rebekah Elmaloglou.
The times are a’ changing for Gary Sweet
Police Rescue star Gary Sweet (pictured) is taking on a much different pace in his new role in the Seven Network mini-series The Battlers. Sweet plays the part of Snow, a drifter during the 1930s Depression. “I love the fact that Snow is almost the opposite of (Police Rescue character) Mickey,” Sweet told TV Week. “Snow’s an incredibly hard man, but he’s also very fair and moral. He’s family-orientated but he’s also a drifter and he loves that aspect of his life.” The Battlers, which also stars Marcus Graham and Jacqueline McKenzie, is expected to screen next year.
Annie’s family concern
Newlyweds star Annie Jones knows that her family will be her harshest critics when they see her star as 24-year-old Eva Kovacs (pictured) in Nine‘s upcoming drama series Snowy. “After all, they’ve lived through it,” she says. “This is virtually my mother’s story. So I hope my portrayal is realistic enough for my family. I’m sure they’ll really enjoy Snowy, not only because of the escape scenes but because it will remind them so much of the Fifties.”
Briefly…
- Ernie Dingo will lead a predominantly Aboriginal cast in a new drama series to begin production for ABC in November. The 13-part series, yet to be titled, will focus on an inter-racial relationship and a murder mystery in a small town. Dingo takes on the role of police liaison officer Vincent Burunga.
- Bruce McAvaney‘s new sports magazine series Seasons is expected to go to air in the 9.30pm Thursday timeslot. Seven will screen eight episodes of the series — described as “a 60 Minutes of sport” — before making a long-term commitment to the project.
Former E Street star Toni Pearen (pictured) was ready to accept an offer to guest co-host Sale Of The Century when she received news that her record label, Mushroom, is ready to send her to London to spend three months to work on an album project.- Quantum reporter Geoffrey Burchfield is narrator for a four-part documentary series, The Dinosaurs!, to debut on ABC. The Dinosaurs! will be one of his last jobs in Australia before he heads over to Boston for a year to take up a Knight Of Science Journalism Fellowship at Harvard University. He is one of only ten people in the world selected for the prestigious fellowship.
Lawrie Masterson: The View From Here
“When The Lion Roars is a six-part television series tracing the history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, one of the world’s great movie studios. And when you watch the early episodes, it is difficult not to keep comparing how they did it back then with how it’s done today. Technological advances aside, somehow I wonder whether it is that much different. The Hollywood movie studios, of course, were just as famous for what their luminaries did when they weren’t on screen. But, inevitably, a decline was to follow the Golden Years and this, too, is covered in When The Lion Roars.”
Program Highlights (Melbourne, August 29-September 4):
Sunday: Sunday night movies are Shattered (Seven), JFK (Nine) and Career Opportunities (Ten). Four-part documentary series The Dinosaurs debuts (8.30pm, ABC).
Monday: In Neighbours (6.30pm, Ten), a game of hide and seek on Doug’s (Terence Donovan) unsafe building site goes dangerously wrong for Hannah (Rebecca Ritters). All Together Now star Jane Hall begins a stint as guest co-host on Sale Of The Century (7pm, Nine). In A Country Practice (7.30pm, Seven), the custody battle for Terence’s grandson (Joshua Kam) heats up when Jack’s mother (Phuong Tuy Tran) arrives from Vietnam to claim her son.
Tuesday: In GP (8.30pm, ABC), William (Michael Craig), suffering the effects of the siege, relents to hypnotherapy.
Wednesday: In the series return of Newlyweds (8pm, Seven), Allie (Annie Jones) and Peter (Chris Gabardi) disagree on basic household procedures. The documentary Outback Story (8.30pm, ABC) traces a year in the life of the McBean family who run the largest privately owned cattle station in Australia.
Thursday: In Neighbours (6.30pm, Ten), Darren (Scott Major, pictured) encourages Debbie (Marnie Reece-Wilmore, pictured) to shoplift. New series Spirit To Spirit (8pm, SBS) recognises the indigenous peoples of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Scandinavia. Ray Martin hosts Visions — A Fashion Spectacular (8.30pm, Nine), the two-hour Myer/Grace Bros spring/summer fashion collection — featuring international guest stars Claudia Schiffer and Linda Evangelista.
Friday: In The Great Outdoors (7.30pm, Seven), Sofie Formica visits New Zealand’s Bay of Islands and road tests the Audi Quatro with Neil Crompton; Frankie J Holden travels to Mt Spec National Park; Ernie Dingo drives a tram in Bendigo; and Ted Egan visits a rock art gallery in Arnhem Land.
Saturday: In the series final of Eggshells (8pm, ABC), Jill (Susan Lyons) turned down New York, but can she turn down six months in Britain? While Frank (Garry McDonald) wants the children to be on their best behaviour to help Jill decide to stay.
Source: TV Week (Melbourne edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide. 28 August 1993. Southdown Press.
