Cover: Josephine Mitchell, Craig McLachlan (Home And Away)
Wog out of work!
The Seven Network’s hit comedy Acropolis Now is now entering production of its third series but it will be without one of its key cast members. Simon Palomares, who plays Ricky, has decided not to appear in the third series and will focus on a behind the scenes role. “I think it got to the point where there were a few reasons for leaving,” he told TV Week. “The main reason is that I’ve been doing ethnic humour longer than any of the three of us. I think I’ve said as much as I can say on the subject. There are a lot of other issues I want to get into.” Palomares is preparing a pilot for a new comedy-adventure series and is planning a one-man show to go on stage later in the year.
Rebecca careers on
Actress Rebecca Gibney hasn’t looked back since she left the Nine Network’s The Flying Doctors last year. As soon as she left the show, Gibney took on the role of Guinea (pictured) in ABC’s Come In Spinner and has just completed a new mini-series, Ring Of Scorpio, for Nine. She is now about to start in a new sitcom for Nine. Rhythm And Blues will feature Gibney alongside Jon English, whose character is a ‘60s rock star who hasn’t come to terms with the ‘90s. “I’ve never done comedy before,” she told TV Week. “When I shot the pilot I was terrified because I’d never worked in front of a live audience before. That was very daunting.” The new series is set to debut later in the year.
New York, here I come!
Andrew Daddo (pictured), former co-host of ABC’s The Factory, has landed a job with the US cable network, MTV. Daddo caught the eye of MTV producers when the network screened an episode of The Factory, as part of the channel’s regular screenings of music shows from around the world. “They do it to borrow ideas, which is the norm, and apparently someone walked past and my fat head caught in their eye. They rang MTV in Sydney to find my agent’s number and asked me to send over a showreel. A week later I was on a plane to New York,” he told TV Week. The plum job is a far cry from Daddo being overlooked as a host for ABC’s new Countdown Revolution when it was formed last year, instead he was offered only a minor role on the new show which he left after only six weeks on-air. “I have no bad feelings for ABC. It was just one of those things. In fact, seeing what Countdown is now, maybe they did me a favour,” he says.
Briefly…
Actress Katy Brinson (pictured) played a barrister in the Seven Network’s Rafferty’s Rules. Now she is taking on a far different role in Seven’s new series Skirts, playing the role of an alcoholic writer who beats her daughter.
Former Neighbours star Rachel Friend is to star in a comedy pilot being made for Network Ten. The new series, Lipstick Dreams, is based on a theatre production that recently had a successful run in Sydney and features four women who work on a beauty parlour in a country town.
Neighbours star Linda Hartley, who is about to tape her final scenes for the Network Ten series, is shortly heading off to the UK to star in the touring stage production of Prisoner and has also scored a pantomime role in the UK. She will appear in the production of Mother Goose, joining former Neighbours castmate Kristian Schmid.
John Laws says…
”If the legendary Monty Python team were still around today they could find plenty of material to ridicule in the ABC’s new series Let’s Do Lunch. My own impression was that the whole idea for the program had been dreamed up at a long, boozy lunch. Usually, in the sober light of the following morning, such alcohol-inspired ideas are seen for exactly what they are. Not, apparently, in the case of Let’s Do Lunch. Whatever its origins, its entire theme is predicated around two people gorging themselves with food and booze, at lunch. Along the way, we are treated to the self-indulgence of ths host, Maurice Murphy (pictured), who roams around clutching a video camera taking pictures of himself. At which, I suppose, we are all supposed to laugh uproariously.”
Program Highlights (June 16-22):
World Cup: SBS continues its daily coverage of the FIFA World Cup from Italy, with live coverage of matches screened overnight and replays the following afternoon, followed by a 90-minute highlights package at 7.00pm. ABC takes on SBS’ overnight match coverage for regional viewers who don’t have access to SBS and also presents a nightly one-hour highlights package on all ABC stations.
Saturday: Legal drama Rafferty’s Rules returns with new episodes screening on HSV7.
Sunday: In the lead up to the return of dance competition That’s Dancin’, ABC screens a replay of the 1989 series grand final, presented by Paul Newman and Maureen Delacy. Sunday night movies are In The Line Of Duty: The FBI Murders (HSV7) and For Love Alone (ATV10). GTV9 screens the first part of mini-series Passion And Paradise, with the second and final part screening the following night.
Tuesday: In ABC’s medical drama GP, Cathy (Sarah Chadwick) finds out she is pregnant but her relationship with Jack (John O’Hare) hits rocky ground when his initial reaction to the news is less than enthusiastic.
Thursday: In The Flying Doctors (GTV9), a troubled young man finally his past to rest when a seven-year-old car wreck is found, and the mystery of his parents’ disappearance is solved.
Friday: In Neighbours (ATV10), Paul (Stefan Dennis) is shocked to discover the identity of Caroline’s (Gillian Blakeney) mystery date.
Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.
16 June 1990. Southdown Press.
