Obituary: Bill Hunter

billhunter 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

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2011/05/obituary-bill-hunter.html

Dixie calls it a day

dixiemarshall 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

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2011/05/dixie-calls-it-a-day.html

Obituary: Bob Davis

bobdavis 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

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2011/05/obituary-bob-davis.html

1991: May 4-10

tvweek_040591 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.

pennycook 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.

actofnecessity 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 WilliamsSBS 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).

tinaarena_0001 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.

dennismillerThursday:  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

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2011/05/1991-may-4-10.html

1991: April 27-May 3

tvweek_270491 ‘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.”

michaelveitch 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 ServicesAndrew 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.”

brentstreetkids 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).

sandystone 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

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2011/05/1991-april-27-may-3.html

Hazel Phillips has got Talent

donlanehazelphillips It was a brief stroll down memory lane on tonight’s edition of Seven’s Australia’s Got Talent when actress, performer and former TV host Hazel Phillips entered the stage.

Phillips dates back to the earliest days of television, appearing in a TV talent quest before TV officially launched in Australia.  She concedes she didn’t win the contest but the ones that did have not been heard of since!

She went on to appear in early variety programs including the Revue variety series and the original Beauty And The Beast, both from Sydney’s ATN7.

But it was as the host of the 0-10 Network’s daytime variety show Girl Talk that Phillips scored the TV Week Gold Logie for Most Popular Female Personality on Australian Television in 1967.  In the same year she also won the Logie for Most Popular Female Personality in New South Wales.

Phillips also appeared in The Mavis Bramston Show and The Barry Crocker Show and dramas including Boney, Number 96, Ryan, Chopper Squad, Until Tomorrow, GP, Brides Of Christ and A Country Practice.

In 1989, Phillips appeared alongside fellow female Gold Logie winners Lorrae Desmond, Pat McDonald, Denise Drysdale, Jeanne Little and Rowena Wallace in the opening number of the TV Week Logie Awards:

Prior to the Australia’s Got Talent appearance, Today Tonight screened a preview of Phillips’ audition:

Her entrance onto the Australia’s Got Talent stage was met with warm affection and after her performance received a standing ovation.  And for Phillips, it was as if her career had gone full circle – “I thought well as I started with a contest maybe I can go out with one!,” she quipped.

And good news is she passed her audition and now progresses to the next stage in the competition.

Australia’s Got Talent. Tuesday and Wednesday, 7.30pm.  Seven/Prime7

Source: IMDB, Australia’s Got Talent 
YouTube:
scottphillips55, oztvheritage

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2011/05/hazel-phillips-has-got-talent.html

Boxer was a TV record breaker

lionelrose Australian boxing legend Lionel Rose MBE died yesterday at his Warragul home at the age of 62.

A champion boxer from the age of 15, Rose was the first Aboriginal to win a world title when he won the world bantamweight title in Tokyo in 1968. He was also the first Aboriginal to be named Australian Of The Year. He was widely admired by the sporting community and the general public in the decades that followed.

He was also a key figure in one of Australian television’s significant events of the late 1960s.

ATV0_convert Melbourne’s third commercial channel, ATV0, had struggled to gain a significant hold of the market since its debut in 1964. The major stumbling block was that older TV sets and antennas were not compatible with the Channel 0 frequency. Even if households had converted their older TV sets to accommodate the 0 frequency, as many did prior to the launch of ATV0, their antennas might also have needed modification or replacement.

In a bid to address this issue of reception, station owner Reg Ansett, noting the popularity of boxing with Australians and the intense public interest in Rose, planned to stage a world title fight, to be held in Melbourne and telecast live on ATV0, between Rose and British champion Alan Rudkin.

roserudkin The event was said to have cost Ansett around $140,000 (in 1969 dollars) – including $70,000 to sign up Rose – but the channel was confident that it would deliver a result. “I’d be surprised if we didn’t have at least 50 per cent of the viewers… and probably up to 70 per cent,” station manager Max Ryan told The Age on the eve of the event.

The fight took place at Melbourne’s Kooyong tennis stadium on the night of Saturday, 8 March 1969. The event attracted widespread media coverage, with four Melbourne radio stations also covering the fight, and national broadcaster ABC presenting a preview of the event the night before. The BBC were also to provide live radio coverage of the fight, with a videotape recording of the bout to be sent back to the UK for local transmission.

Nationwide interest in the fight saw even a rugby game in Sydney moved from Saturday to Friday night to avoid a clash.

atv0_roserudkin ATV0’s coverage started with the weigh-in at 11.00am on the Saturday. Then at 8.00pm all eyes were on Kooyong. ATV0’s evening coverage, headed by sports director Phil Gibbs (pictured, below, with Rose) with commentators Jim Shepherd and Rocky Gattellari, was being beamed direct for live transmission across the 0-10 Network and to regional stations across Australia. It was also being broadcast via ABC in some remote and regional areas.

The channel had six cameras set up at Kooyong to cover the fight, as well as a roving camera powered by a “back pack”.

The night’s program started with lightweight and middleweight bouts.  And then, the big one – a 15-round world bantamweight championship bout between Rose and Rudkin.

Rose won.

atv0_roserudkin_0001 The telecast was due to close at 11.00pm, including post-fight interviews with the opponents and the trophy presentation by Victorian Premier Sir Henry Bolte, with ATV0 scheduling a repeat the following afternoon.

The gamble taken by Ansett reaped a massive result. The telecast made Australian television history by scoring a rating of 67, that is 67 per cent of all households. At a time when anything above a rating of 30 was considered successful in a four-station market, it was a massive result and significant for a channel that up until then had struggled to get a decent audience. It would appear that the channel’s reception dilemma was over, though it would still be a couple more years before the channel scored any consistent ratings success.

The ratings record set by the Rose-Rudkin fight would stand for another three decades before being broken by the Seven Network’s telecast of the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.

The life of Lionel Rose was also enacted in a television mini-series, Rose Against The Odds, which aired on the Seven Network in the early 1990s.

Source: The Age, 6 March 1969.  The Age, 7 March 1969.  TV Times, 5 March 1969.  From The Word Go! – 40 Years of Channel Ten Melbourne, Network Ten Pty Ltd, 2003.  Herald Sun.

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2011/05/boxer-was-a-tv-record-breaker.html

Obituary: James Elliott

jameselliott In last Sunday’s TV Week Logie Awards’ tribute to those that have passed away, there was one name that was brought to our attention.

Actor James Elliott, best known as “whingeing Pom” Alf Sutcliffe in 1970s drama Number 96, died in February from Lewy body dementia.  He was 82.

Born in Scotland, Elliott came to Australia in 1949 after receiving a postcard from his older sister who had been visiting.  He’d only intended to stay a short while but Australia became his home permanently.

He pursued an acting career after scoring a non-speaking role as a pirate in the movie Long John Silver in the mid-1950s.  He went on to feature in ABC radio dramas, and in June 1959 appeared in ABC’s television production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet – the first Shakespeare play ever telecast in Australia.

Elliott starred in many early TV dramas including Consider Your Verdict, Stormy Petrel, Whiplash and Homicide.

He starred in the movie Ned Kelly in 1970 but his most famous role came in 1972 when he was cast as English migrant Alf Sutcliffe in the groundbreaking drama Number 96.  Elliott and Elisabeth Kirkby, who played wife Lucy, were with the show until their characters were written out in 1975.  They both returned for the 1000th episode special They Said It Wouldn’t Last in 1976, and again for the show’s all-star curtain call at the end of the final episode in 1977.

After Number 96, Elliott worked in the theatre but also continued to appear in film and television roles, including TV series Chopper Squad, Case For The Defence, Solo One and Bellamy.

He then quit acting and worked for twelve years as a tipstaff to a judge in the Supreme Court, but in 1995 returned to appear in a commercial with son James followed by guest appearances in Home And Away and All Saints.  He also made a brief appearance in the SBS comedy Life Support.

Last year, Elliott was among the cast members of Number 96 to reunite for the occasion of former colleague Johnny Lockwood’s 90th birthday.

James Elliott is survived by his second wife Elaine, their son James, and sons Greg and Doug from his first marriage.

Source: The Age, IMDB

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2011/05/obituary-james-elliott.html

1991: April 20-26

tvweek_200491 Bye-bye baby!
The announcement of the pregnancy of Carly (Sharyn Hodgson) in Home And Away is set to lead to the departure of her and husband Ben (Julian McMahon) from the popular series.  But news of the pregnancy is not plain sailing for the young married couple.  Ben wants to go back to the army, but Carly is concerned that moving from base to base is not her idea of a secure lifestyle for a child.  Hodgson, one of Home And Away’s foundation cast members, is now planning an overseas trip following the taping of her final scenes with the program, while McMahon is heading overseas to look out for film and television opportunities.

estreet_0005 Reverend Bob behind bars
In a stunning turn of events, E Street’s Reverend Bob Brown (Tony Martin) ends up behind bars this week.  The trouble starts with his involvement with a young Dylan (Adam Lloyd) – a boy he discovered chained up under a house like a dog – and sympathetic media coverage given to his father Gus (Rob Steele) leads to a murder in Westside, and viewers then see the reverend locked up in a police cell.  But while Network Ten is giving nothing away about the outcome about Reverend Bob, the character’s fiancee Elly Fielding (Penny Cook) is about to exit the series – so the outcome may not be hard to guess?

Farnham TV bid!
John Farnham
is set to make an entrance into prime-time television, with the backing of Steve Vizard and Andrew Knight’s Artists Services, the company that produces Tonight Live With Steve Vizard and Fast Forward.  Negotiations are still taking place, but Farnham is expected to host a new variety show for the Seven Network in the Sunday 7.30pm timeslot.  “John can sing, he can tell a joke, he’s funny and he genuinely likes talking to people… what more could you want in a host?” Vizard told TV Week.  And Farnham is certainly no stranger to working in television – having appeared in variety, comedy and drama programs in the 1970s and ‘80s.  But even if the new show gets the go ahead, it may not appear for some time as Seven has just launched its new Sunday night game show The Main Event.

Briefly…
The producers of Nine’s Chances are about to kill off one of the show’s main characters.  The murder leads to seven suspects but the identity of the killer is being kept under wraps as they hope to create their own “Who shot JR?”-type cliff-hanger.  To keep even the actors and backstage crew guessing, producers have filmed six different endings for the mystery.

Former 60 Minutes reporter and Today host George Negus is expected to make a return to TV one way or another.  Negus has teamed up with former The Big Gig host Wendy Harmer for an arts-related program commissioned by the Australia Council.  The program has yet to be sold to any network – but Negus may be appearing soon on the Seven Network on a new program, tentatively titled Contacts, which is set to reunite families.  No decision on the new program has been made, but Negus says he is also in discussions with Seven over other program ideas.

maggiekirkpatrickemilysymons Former Prisoner and Richmond Hill star Maggie Kirkpatrick is about to make a three-week guest appearance in Home And Away, reuniting with former Richmond Hill co-star Emily Symons.  Kirkpatrick is set to play the role of Aunt Jean to the character of Marilyn, played by Symons.  “To walk into a studio again… it was like putting on an old pair of slippers.  It felt so good,” Kirkpatrick told TV Week.

John Laws says…
”Occasionally in the quirky TV world there are ‘sleeper’ hits – programs that bomb on their first run and then boom when re-run, often on another network.  The American series thirtysomething was so much of a sleeper for Ten last year that it was virtually comatose.  It had arrived amid a fanfare of publicity, and riding high on its enormous American success.  But Australians cold-shouldered it.  And so thirtysomething laboured away for Ten, picking up low ratings, and then eventually disappeared, for good it seemed.  But this year Seven has taken over the rights to the more recent episodes and thirtysomething is, finally, gaining the audience it couldn’t attract the first time around.  It’s out of the coma and looking bright-eyed.  So much so that Ten is now running its thirtysomething episodes again!  Annoyingly, this means that you can watch the early episodes on Ten and then much later ones on Seven, all within days of each other.”

Program Highlights (April 20-26):
Saturday:
  A team of swimmers taken on the Manpower boys in Celebrity Family Feud (Seven).

Sunday:  Seven’s afternoon of AFL includes West Coast Eagles versus Adelaide Crows, followed by highlights of Geelong versus Carlton.  To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Anzac campaign, Ten screens a one-hour documentary Gallipoli: The Anzac Legend, narrated by Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell.  Sunday night movies are Return From The River Kwai (Seven), Clara’s Heart (Nine) and The Return Of The Musketeers (Ten).

saleofthecentury_1991 Monday:  It’s the beginning of a new era as Glenn Ridge and Jo Bailey (pictured) take over on Nine’s Sale Of The Century.

Tuesday:  In Chances (Nine), Dan Taylor (John Sheerin) rescues daughter Nikki (Cathy Godbold) from a group of oversexed teenage boys.  In comedy All Together Now, everyone is under suspicion when Bobby (Jon English) finds marijuana in the house.  Brett Climo and singer Doug Parkinson are guest stars in this week’s GP (ABC).

Wednesday:  ABC’s Melbourne newsreader Mary Delahunty presents a one-hour special, Love’s Labor Lost, a report into what went wrong with the State of Victoria.  Delahunty questions what type of companies were being supported by government funds, the feasibility of their operations and how they were supervised.

Thursday (Anzac Day):  ABC presents live coverage of the annual Anzac Day March from the Melbourne CBD.  Frankie J Holden guest stars in The Flying Doctors (Nine).

Friday:  Seven presents a special Friday night edition of The Main Event, hosted by Larry Emdur.  The special screening is due to the show’s normal Sunday timeslot next week being occupied by a football telecast.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  20 April 1991.  Southdown Press

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2011/05/1991-april-20-26.html

Network stars unite for Freeview

Freeview TomPersonalities from all the free-to-air networks have gathered for a new advertising campaign to promote the Freeview digital television platform.

More than 40 on-air personalities have taken part in the campaign, including Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Les Murray, Gary Mehigan, Tom Williams (pictured, right), Scott Cam, Chrissie Swan (pictured, below) and Kayne Tremills.

The new campaign – ‘Everyone loves Freeview’ – is designed to highlight the range of content available on digital television and to celebrate the success of the new channels that have appeared.

Freeview ChrissieSo far around 79 per cent of Australian households have converted to digital television and, since the advent of Freeview and the expanded choice of channels on free-to-air, people are spending more time per day watching free-to-air television – and almost a quarter of all prime-time free-to-air viewing is now via the new multi-channels.

Freeview CEO Robin Parkes acknowledged the networks’ collaboration in putting the campaign together:

“We are so excited to have pulled off such a complex shoot with all our on-air talent and the end result looks fantastic. This is testament to the success of the partnership between the free-to-air networks, having all the talent come together to support the campaign. The celebrities from all the networks had a huge amount of fun on the sets in Melbourne and Sydney which you can see in the commercial!”

The ad campaign kicks off with a ‘roadblock’-style launch, a 60-second commercial to air across multiple networks at approximately 6.27pm this Sunday.

Three commercials have been produced for the campaign and will air across all Freeview channels, including Community TV channels, over six weeks.

FREEVIEW 2011 TVC 3Freeview was launched in 2008 as a joint initiative of the free-to-air networks to promote a single branding for the digital television platform and to promote the features and channels that it provides.

Source: Digital Tracker, Think TV, Freeview, OzTAM

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