The Sullivans’ forgotten man:
TV Times‘ cover story is about the leading man in The Sullivans, who also appears to be the one that the public hears least about. However this does not bother actor Paul Cronin, who acknowledges that “there is more to being a series actor than that”. Pictured on the cover is Cronin with co-stars Richard Morgan and Susan Hannaford.

‘Sex change’ for Hasham:
Actor Joe Hasham is moving on from his six-year role as homosexual Don Finlayson in Number 96 to a smooth-talking ladies man in the Nine Network soap The Young Doctors: “In Number 96 I was the perennial nice guy, but now I’m to be a ‘nasty’. But that will be a pleasant change, too.”

The Molly versus Boz show!
Countdown host Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum has dismissed a clash between himself and American singer Boz Scaggs as “just a friendly tap”, but did admit he’d been on the receiving end. Meldrum said a dispute had arisen due to a misunderstanding of Scaggs’ TV commitments while in Australia, after Countdown had been refused an interview with the singer, but Scaggs had appeared in an interview on The Don Lane Show.

This gadget helps you catch two TV shows at once:

Philips has announced it has solved the problem of favourite TV programs clashing on separate channels, or appearing when you’re not at home to watch them. The company’s new video cassette recorder (possibly like the one pictured?), estimated to cost around $A1000, makes it possible for viewers to watch one program while another is being recorded. The new recorders also have a timer which allows programs to be set up to be taped up to three days in advance.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:

“I am sick and tired of hearing people complaining about cricket taking over other shows during the summer.If you don’t like cricket, you don’t have to watch it.You can always change channels or go and do something else.” D. Snudden, NSW.

An attack from TV Times columnist F.C. Kennedy on the standards of TV programming during the summer months, published in an earlier edition of TV Times, sparked a reaction from at least two regional TV programmers:

“I, as a programmer, take great exception to the article because he refers to the larger cities like Sydney and Melbourne with never a thought to the provincial channels. May I assure you that we do care for our audience.. our total amount of repeat programming between 6.00pm and 11.00pm during January amounted to 3 hours and 15 minutes, which, I think you would agree, out of 155 hours is very reasonable.” P. Hunniford, CTC7, Canberra, ACT.

“As your magazine is sold in country areas, why don’t you be the first to recognise the four million viewers, roughly a third of the TV audience, who do not have to put up with repeats? Regional TV services such as ours have adopted a first-run policy for 12 months of the year. For instance, prime time repeats on this station in November, December and January came out at less than two per cent.” Laurie Burrows, Darling Downs Television (DDQ10), QLD.

What’s On (March 18-24):
As reported in TV Times back in January, this week’s edition of Countdown comes from the Festival of Arts in Adelaide with special guests John Paul Young, Skyhooks, Dragon, Mark Holden and the Little River Band.

ATV0‘s Eyewitness News At Six expands to one-hour from Monday, with newsreader Bruce Mansfield, sport with Rob Astbury and special reports by Peter Couchman.

ABC screens a 90-minute BBC special Terror International, focusing on the men and women who plan and execute global terrorism, and how and where they are trained and financed.

HSV7 presents The Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal in association with the Sporting Globe newspaper and radio station 3DB. Special guests on the all-day telethon include overseas stars Patrick Duffy (The Man From Atlantis), Jack Smethurst (Love Thy Neighbour) and Susan Penhaligon (Bouquet Of Barbed Wire). Also appearing on the telethon are Lee Simon (Nightmoves), presenters from 3DB, cast members of Cop Shop, Glenview High, Willesee At Seven and World Of Sport, and personalities including Mike Willesee, Mary Hardy, Happy Hammond, Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum, Andrew Harwood, Mal Walden, Ilona Komescaroff and Norman Gunston (Garry McDonald). Appeal organisers hope to top the previous year’s record total of $A1,489,866,84.

Sunday’s movies are all repeats, leading into the Easter break, with Heaven With A Gun (HSV7), A Farewell To Arms (GTV9) and The Candidate (ATV0).

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 18 March 1978. ABC/ACP