1993: August 8-14

Taking to catwalk to TV
Kimberley Davies and Lisa Lackey might be soap opera rivals — with Davies in Neighbours and Lackey in Home And Away — but the pair (pictured) are close friends whose career paths have coincidentally matched.  They first met each other at a party hosted by a mutual friend, then both ended up modelling with the same agency. Then they both made the transition to soaps at around the same time. “We had a lot in common from the word go, and we’re still on that same road together,” Lackey told TV Week. “However, I’ve never felt there’s been any rivalry or jealousy, because we both had the same wants, were ambitious and moving in the same direction at the same time.”

Bobby’s boating tragedy
Home And Away star Nicolle Dickson‘s exit from the long-running series is approaching.  A fund-raising picnic at Summer Bay turns to tragedy when Bobby (Dickson) agrees to a speedboat ride with Luke (John Adam). The boat hits a log and is overturned. Bobby is knocked unconscious and is washed up on the shore. Husband Greg (Ross Newton) is by her side as she lay in a coma in hospital — will she regain consciousness and continue to make amends in her rocky marriage to Greg? Or will Greg be faced with the decision whether or not to turn off the life support system?

Stark-crossed lovers
English comedian and writer Ben Elton attributes his love of Australia and his Australian girlfriend, musician Sophie Gare, as the inspiration to base his novel Stark in the Outback. The book, which he wrote in Australia, has sold a million copies and has led to a $7 million mini-series adaptation in a joint venture between ABC and BBC.  Stark stars Elton and a strong cast of both Australian and English actors — including Aussies Colin Friels, Bill Hunter, Gus Mercurio, Deborra Lee Furness, Gwen Plumb, John Clarke, Colette Mann, David Argue, Marshall Napier, Bruce Venables and Jacqueline McKenzie. Stark was filmed on location in Melbourne and the outback town of Coober Pedy

Briefly…

• He might be the son of rock legend Jimmy Barnes, but 19-year-old David Campbell (pictured) is going down a different career path. Raised in Adelaide (“I was a product of a relationship early in the Cold Chisel days”), Campbell has already been making a name for himself as an actor and theatre performer. He is currently starring in the Sydney Theatre Company production of Michael Gow‘s Away — co-starring Jacki Weaver, Maggie Dence, Graham Rouse, John Hamblin and Beth Champion. “I think I realised early in my young, budding rock career that it wasn’t for me. I got sidetracked by acting — it was much more satisfying for me,” he told TV Week.  Although he is keen to continue to pursue theatre roles, Campbell has recently completed a guest appearance in ABC series GP.
• Cameron Daddo (pictured) and Tony Bonner are both to star in an upcoming episode of US series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. The episode, directed by Australian Simon Wincer, is about the Australian Light Horse Brigade’s charge on Beersheba during World War I.
• Former E Street star Melissa Tkautz‘s guest stint as Vanessa Campbell in Paradise Beach has impressed producers enough that they have asked her back for another month.  Meanwhile, the show’s poor ratings have been cause for concern by Nine — with rumours that the series will be bumped to 5pm weeknights (it already occupies that timeslot in its native Queensland) with re-packaged highlights of Australia’s Funniest Home Video Show to fill the 5.30pm timeslot.

Lawrie Masterson; The View From Here

“Ben Elton‘s “seriously funny” mini-series Stark is not so much environmentally conscious as environmentally wide-awake and hyperactive. So strong and, at times, heavy-handed in its message that the postscript — which concerns the amount of rainforest destroyed in the three hours it has taken to watch the series, and so on — seems superfluous, despite its worthiness. An ABC-BBC production, Stark boasts an enviable line-up of talent in front of and behind camera, working on locations ranging from the Outback near Coober Pedy to high-tech interiors in Melbourne. We’re not going to see many mini-series this year, so this could be the one to savour.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, August 7-14):
Sunday: The start and finish to the Sydney City To Surf Fun Run are broadcast during breaks in Video Hits (9am, Ten) with a full hour of highlights broadcast from 3pm. Author Anne Summers is the studio guest in Sunday Afternoon With Peter Ross (1.30pm, ABC). Sunday night movies are When Harry Met Sally (Seven) and Back To The Future Part II (Ten) — both are repeats.

Monday: In Neighbours (6.30pm, Ten), a custody battle between Philip (Ian Rawlings) and Julie (Julie Mullins) begins over Hannah (Rebecca Ritters), leaving her upset and bewildered. In A Country Practice (7.30pm, Seven), Hugo (Gavin Harrison) becomes involved with Tess Ormond (Alyssa-Jane Cook), an ex-prisoner determined to make a new life for herself and her young son.

Tuesday: In GP (8.30pm, ABC), Ian (Tony Llewellyn-Jones) is accused of sexual misconduct by one of his patients.

Wednesday: In Home And Away (7pm, Seven), a boating accident could mean the end of Bobby (Nicolle Dickson) and Greg’s (Ross Newton) new found happiness. The mini-series adaptation of Ben Elton‘s book Stark makes its debut (8.30pm, ABC). In Hard Copy (8.30pm, Ten), Renee Brack interviews Chopper Read.

Thursday:  In Neighbours (6.30pm, Ten), a bitter argument expels any hope of a reconciliation between Philip (Ian Rawlings) and Julie (Julie Mullins). The second and final chapter of Stark (8.30pm, ABC).

Friday: In Burke’s Backyard (7.30pm, Nine), this week’s celebrity gardener is broadcaster and media proprietor Jeremy Cordeaux.  Live coverage from Sydney of the AFL match between Sydney Swans and Fitzroy (7.30pm, Seven).

Saturday: Steve Irwin and wife Terri present the documentary Crocodile Hunter — Suburban Killers (6.30pm, Ten).

Source: TV Week (Melbourne edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide. 7 August 1993.  Southdown Press.