50 Years of Television in Australia Page 43
So, come on, what are you waiting for: that fence isn’t going to fix itself!
Rove: the next Bert Newton?
October: He’s being dubbed the next big thing in TV, and having bounced back from being dropped by Nine last year, Rove McManus is ready to show us what he’s got.
After starting out in 1996 hosting the live comedy show The Loft on Melbourne’s community station Channel 31, McManus landed a one-year contract with Nine in 1999 and a late-night comedy show Rove. When Nine, burnt from ‘The Mick Molloy Show incident’, let him go, Ten welcomed him with promises of his very own tonight show. That new show, Rove Live, debuts this week, and McManus says there will be more on offer than just straight comedy.
‘There will be guests, bands, comedians, sketches – the same as last year – but there will be more concentration on the live element, the studio audience, which we didn’t do last year. And from what I hear, I am still in it, which is a relief.’
Pop goes the girl band
April: Manufactured they may be, but with both their debut single, ‘Poison’, and their self-titled album having entered the charts at number one, it seems Bardot are on the fast track to success.
The product of Seven’s fly-on-the-wall docu-soap/reality program Popstars, Bardot is made up of Katie Underwood, Belinda Chapple, Sally Polihronas, Sophie Monk and Tiffany Wood (who joined after original member Chantelle Barry controversially and mysteriously left the group). Selected from thousands of hopefuls, the members of Bardot are keen to move beyond the stigma of Popstars and forge lasting music careers.
ON DEBUT
> Switching Lives – people plying diverse trades switch lives
> Above the Law – drama in an apartment building above a police station and café
> The $20 Challenge – contestants are flown overseas to survive for three days on 20 bucks
> The Cool Room – cartoon show
> Farscape – the most expensive locally produced TV series where an American astronaut lands in an alien universe
> The Fat – sports/comedy panel show with Tony Squires presiding
> Beyond the Fatal Shore – writer Robert Hughes explores the Australian character and culture
> 48 Hours – Aussie duos are transported overseas with limited resources and two days to return home
> Going Home – nightly serial where train commuters discuss the day’s events
> The New Adventures of Ocean Girl – animated incarnation of the popular live-action children’s series Ocean Girl, narrated by Sigrid Thornton
> Race Around Oz – third instalment of the ‘Race’ documentary challenge series
> Search for a Supermodel – think Popstars with models
> Grass Roots – satirical drama looking at the wily world of local government
> Love Rules – two couples followed on their first date with reviews
> Australia by Numbers – SBS series exploring some of the quirkier aspects of cities and towns by postcode
> Before They Were Stars – profiles of Aussie celebs pre-fame
> The Mary G Show – variety-style program of indigenous humour, music and personalities set in the Kimberley
> The Mole – guess-who adventure series where a team undertakes challenges to earn money, though one of them is a saboteur
> Writers on Writing – Local authors reveal their world of writing
> Something in the Air – Whimsical ABC drama on life at a country radio station
> Starstruck! – talent quest program
Goodbye to a true Blue favourite
May: Maggie Doyle may be with us no more, but her spirit was well and truly alive at this year’s Logie Awards, where her alter ego Lisa McCune took home the Silver Logie for Most Popular Actress and her record-breaking fourth consecutive Gold Logie.
McCune had played Doyle on Blue Heelers right from the start in 1994, and by the end of the show’s second season was firmly entrenched as an audience favourite. And that popularity has clearly lasted to this day.
‘I’m so touched by this as I feel that I may have done something right in playing Maggie Doyle,’ McCune told TV Week after winning her fourth gold. ‘And what better way could I say a final goodbye to her?’
The episode in which Doyle was gunned down by a mysterious assailant (later revealed to be her no-good brother) aired in February, and though heavily publicised, pulled a considerably smaller audience than hoped, leaving commentators to speculate about the show’s future. McCune, meanwhile, will be seen later in the year in the mini-series adaptation of the Bryce Courtney novel, The Potato Factory, and there is talk of both further TV and stage work in the future.
Blonde actress Caroline Craig (Sergeant Tess Gallagher) steps in to make up the numbers at Mount Thomas, a role that Heelers veteran John Wood does not envy.
‘It’s probably one of the hardest asks in the history of TV,’ he told The Age. ‘To come in and replace a character like Maggie Doyle is a very tough call.’
Comedian Magda Szubanski has created and taken on the unusual role of a woman who solves mysteries through her ability to think like a dog in three Dogwoman telemovies on Nine.
Cheesy laughs a stinker?
April: SBS’s latest comedy offering is loud, fast and loaded with mozzarella. Pizza is a nine-part series produced, written and directed by Paul Fenech, who also stars as delivery guy Pauly. Fenech hopes the show’s edgy, unpredictable take on the everyday will appeal to audiences.
‘If you’ve got a sense of humour, it’s all out there,’ he told The Age. ‘There are so many funny people in Australia.’
But The Age critic Ross Warneke seems not to feel Fenech is one of them: ‘Pizza is an amateurish, grubby and unfunny bit of splodge that looks as though it was cooked on a budget of $23.48 a week. It should never have been put to air. SBS should throw it in the compost bin.’
Hits and misses
June: It might still be Molly Meldrum presenting music, but this ain’t no Countdown.
After the demise late last year of Hey Hey, It’s Saturday, the guru was snapped up by Ten and, alongside former Channel V presenter Leah McLeod, headed a new music offering, The House of Hits, an hour-long Saturday night mix of live performances, interviews, film, sport and pop culture news.
In February, Molly gushed about the show’s potential: ‘I am incredibly excited to be involved in what I think is a new era of music television.’
But critics were not so impressed: ‘It’s always a shame when an innovative and entertaining show is cut down in its prime. No tears were shed last week, however, when Channel 10 lifted the heritage order on this shabby old dwelling,’ The Sydney Morning Herald wrote of The House’s rapid demise.
ABC in turmoil
December: The ABC is in turmoil after a year of disruption and upheaval. The spark was the appointment of Jonathan Shier as Managing Director, who was brought home from the UK to replace Brian Johns earlier this year.
Senior respected staff have been sacked – including programmer Hugh McGowan, who left after failing a five-hour ‘psychological test’, the point of which evaded just about everyone – while there has been discontent with Shier’s management style and his plans for the ABC. Staff have become so concerned that they held a national strike earlier this month.
MEMORIES
> In the final episode of SeaChange a freak wave wipes out the tunnel linking Pearl Bay to the rest of the world, while Laura finds she is pregnant to Max and Karen finally marries the long-suffering Angus.
> Ten’s travel show Blue Planet is axed.
> Ray Martin signs a three-year contract with Nine and returns to 60 Minutes which, in another momentous move, pays for an interview with the lawyer of disgraced South Africa cricket captain Hansie Cronje.
> Nine commissions a seventh season of Water Rats.
> SBS newsreader Indira Naidoo resigns, as does Belinda Jeffery from cooking on Better Homes and Gardens.
But Jo Beth Taylor returns to ho
st Starstruck, Nine’s talent quest.
> Despite reports of disagreements over editorial involvement, Jana Wendt renews her contract with Dateline.
> Ailsa (played by original cast member Judy Nunn) suffers a heart attack in a diner on Home and Away.
> Lochie Daddo from Getaway becomes host of E! News on Ten.
> In a highly publicised move, David Johnston and Anne Fulwood are replaced by Peter Mitchell on Melbourne’s Seven News.
> Quantum is dropped by the ABC, amid promises of new science shows next year.
> After 13 years as sports commentator with the channel, Drew Morphett is dropped by Seven.
> Former Seven boss and World of Sport host Ron Casey dies, as do Bruce Gyngell, Alwyn Kurts and Paul Lyneham.
> Gold Logie: Lisa McCune
> Hall of Fame: Bruce Gyngell
KIDS TV
Once upon a time there lived lots of Australian kiddies who were always up to mischief. It was giving their mums and dads a big headache. One day, it was announced that a new invention was coming to town. Mums and dads would be able to buy a big box and it would tell all the boys and girls stories. It sounded very exciting …
And here’s something for the kiddies
When television was launched in Australia, the new medium was immediately recognised for its potential to entertain kids, and was therefore a compelling reason for consumers (read: parents) to buy a television set. The result has been a colourful journey that has produced a wealth of inspiring, world-class TV targeted at kids.
It started almost as soon as TV was born, with a plethora of ensemble cast-hosted late afternoon programs such as Young Seven, The Happy Show, the Tarax Show, Children’s TV Club and the SSB Adventure Club, featuring iconic characters such as Captain Fortune, Happy Hammond, Uncle Norman, Joffa Boy and puppets such as Gerry Gee and the legendary Mr Squiggle. The after-school tradition continues today, and has included Daryl Somers’ first forays with Cartoon Corner and, much later, Sophie Lee getting a male-skewed demographic all steamed up over the Loony Tunes cartoons.
Once TV started to air in the mornings, programmers quickly realised that was a prime spot for kids’ shows. Before school, shows like The Super Flying Fun Show, hosted by Marty and Marilyn, gave us our daily dose of animated action, while long-running shows like Romper Room and Play School became a staple of mid-morning TV for years.
Saturday morning cartoons have also been a feature of most Australian kids’ childhoods, whether it be classics from Hanna-Barbera or Loony Tunes, or cartoon spin-offs from merchandise such as Transformers, Masters of the Universe or Pokemon. Just as our weekends started out with cartoons, they were often rounded out with The Wonderful World of Disney.
Many of these programs often featured fictional characters, and one of the most enduring was that funny old fellow, Humphrey B. Bear. We loved Humphrey for his endearingly expressive dancing, and he wasn’t the only non-talking bear on Australian TV. In 1965, Fredd Bear also appeared, to make his name as part of The Magic Circle gang, before landing his own show, Fredd Bear’s Breakfast-A-Go-Go.
Australian kids have also responded to fantasy concepts on their small screens. Network 0 found success with The Magic Circle Club (1965), a children’s fantasy show set in the Enchanted Forest, and Adventure Island (1967), which detailed the exploits in the village of Diddle Dum, before it was dropped for fiscal reasons. Later, the internationally acclaimed Round the Twist (1990) took on various supernatural themes and became a major hit (though admittedly only after first making its mark in the UK).
Another innovation was Noah and Saskia (2004), a joint production between the Australian Children’s Television Foundation and the BBC, which earned world acclaim with a storyline about an Australian girl and a British boy becoming friends over the internet.
Aussie kids have also been treated to a string of impressive magazine-style programs, starting with Simon Townsend’s Wonderworld. The first program to be given a C rating, Wonderworld first aired in 1979, was awarded five Logies and continued for 2000 episodes over eight years. Shirl’s Neighbourhood, hosted by ex-Skyhooks lead singer Shirley Strachan, also won a loyal audience, while Network Ten’s Totally Wild series made a place for itself in the critical after-school timeslot. And let’s not forget Behind the News, the long-running kids’ news service that was dropped then hastily reinstated by the ABC.
But in terms of popularity, few of those programs could hold a candle to the appeal enjoyed by two giant fruit who don’t even bother to get dressed each day. Bananas in Pyjamas has done huge business for the ABC, and another popular interactive program for younger kids is Hi-5, which first aired on Network Nine in 1999, engaged pre-schoolers with purpose-designed dance and movement. Its simple pitch was ‘Spice Girls meets Sesame Street’.
Whatever age group it courts, kids’ television has been a constant performer since the first Australian TV was flicked on. You suspect that for as long as Wile E. Coyote does his best to catch Roadrunner, canny TV execs will find ways to keep little ones perched in front of their channel.
Kids commercial successes
Every now and then a kids concept comes along that not only proves a winner with its target audience, but does big business. Here are some of Australia’s C-rated superstars.
> Bananas in Pyjamas – Picture this: two bananas, endearingly dubbed B1 and B2, decked out in striped pyjamas, cheerfully singing about chasing teddy bears. This bright idea proved a winner in more than 50 countries.
> Hi-5 – This charming and brightly adorned gang has thrilled kiddies around the world, reaping around $15 million in the process.
> Round the Twist – This kids’ drama centring on the weird and wonderful happenings in the lives of the Twist children was a number-one hit in over 40 countries and was sold to 78 international ports.
> Saddle Club – This series about a bunch of teenage girls hit the jackpot. Screened in the US on cable, the DVD and videos have sold over 400,000, while at home Aussie fans have splurged over $30 million on Saddle Club toys, stickers, board games, drink bottles and clothes.
> Wiggles – This merry skivvy-wearing quartet have proved that producing lyrics such as ‘Wags the dog, he likes to tango, Wags the dog, he calls it rango’ is profitable. In 2004 they topped the BRW list of Australia’s 50 richest performers, raking in $45 million.
2001
We witness a Big Brother bonanza, a mighty All Saints achievement, some new funny faces, some old furry ones and a worldwide tragedy. Who are the big ratings winners? Who really knows? But boy, how cool does St Kilda look?
He’s watching us, and we’re watching them
August: Out of the bum dancing, lip gloss, dancing doonas and bunny ears, something quite remarkable has emerged from the first series of Big Brother: a phenomenon. About four million people nationwide tuned in to the series final last month and watched 21-year-old Ben Williams win the inaugural Big Brother crown and $250,000 in prize money.
Initial ratings were solid rather than scintillating, but as the weeks progressed and viewers came to love or loathe Chrissie, Sara-Marie, Blair and Ben, the show’s audience swelled considerably.
Big Brother is a reality/docu-soap concept that premiered in the Netherlands in 1999. Since then it has spread right throughout Europe and across to America. The concept is pretty simple: 12 strangers are isolated from the outside world together in a house and filmed 24 hours a day. There is no escape from the 20-something cameras (though footage from the toilet-cam only airs if it captures any un-toilet-like behaviour) and viewers hold the power over who’s evicted and who remains, right down to the ultimate winner.
But Big Brother is more than just a TV show – it’s a swarm of manufactured hype and cross-promotion. News Ltd, Triple M and Pizza Hut have all been in on the act, an abundance of merchandise was readily available and the BB web site attracted hundreds of thousands of fans wanting to keep a 24-hour eye on the house’s goings on.
Locating the BB House at Dreamworl
d also opened up a whole new realm to the show’s producers, as Southern Star Entertainment’s Errol Sullivan told The Guide.
‘We’ve learnt from overseas that it’s a TV show and an on-line event and a music program and a big merchandising opportunity,’ he said, ‘but this is the first time anywhere that we’ve made it a theme park as well.’
The psychological effect of Big Brother on its housemates has been a matter of some debate, with commentators concerned that such intense group bonding followed by painful separations may have a lasting negative impact.
Still, their futures look rosy. With contestants from the hit UK series landing book, record, TV and magazine gigs, the sky’s the limit for our own new instant celebs.
Doctoring up a Logies triumph
July: Once local production was dominated by doctor and nurse series like The Young Doctors, A Country Practice, The Flying Doctors and G.P., but today only Channel 7’s All Saints flies the Australian medical drama flag on TV. And its solo endeavour seems to be paying dividends, being the second highest rating Australian drama behind Blue Heelers and consistently winning its timeslot with over 1.6 million viewers nationwide.
All Saints’ success was evident at this year’s Logies, picking up the award for Most Popular Program, while the show’s much-loved star and new mum Georgie Parker (nursing unit manager Terri Sullivan) took home the Gold Logie and Silver Logie.
Parker also won four Logies in the early 1990s as nurse Lucy Gardiner in A Country Practice.
First days of digital
1 January: Today signals the advent of digital TV in Australia. The hype has been promising us the end of analog, marked improvements in picture and sound quality and increased camera angles and options, but is the current reality really much more than a great expense?