1990: December 29-January 4

tvweek_291290 Summer Bay was never like this!
Home And Away’s Mat Stevenson and Emily Symons, who play lovebirds Adam and Marilyn in the series, had a few days at Great Keppel Island during a production break for the Seven Network series.  Stevenson is now holidaying in America while Symons is doing a pantomime in the UK before production for Home And Away resumes in the new year.

Hey Hey it’s Daryl!
TV Week
announces that Hey Hey It’s Saturday’s Daryl Somers will host the 33rd annual TV Week Logie Awards to be held in March and televised on the Nine Network.  The awards presentation will also be held at a new venue – the World Congress Centre in Melbourne.  It will be Somers’ second hosting of the Awards, having hosted the night once before in 1988.  “I enjoyed the hell out of it,” Somers told TV Week.  “It proved to be a really rewarding experience from an adrenalin point of view.  The whole team was very innovative and I like going out on a limb, so I’m looking forward to doing it again.  The industry might be down at the moment, but hopefully the Logies will be the usual night of fun.”

Have a soapie new year!
There will be plenty of dramas, romance, new arrivals and shock departures as Australia’s popular soaps enter a new year: 

  • sophieheathcote A Country Practice celebrates its 800th episode in February and the series will soon welcome a new matron to replace departing matron Ann Brennan (Mary Regan) – while Luke Ross (Matt Day) faces a new life in the city as an apprentice with Qantas, but what will happen with his potential relationship with Steve Brennan (Sophie Heathcote, pictured)?
  • Neighbours’ lovebirds Matt (Ashley Paske) and Gemma (Beth Buchanan) have moved in together, much to the frustration of Madge (Anne Charleston) and Harold (Ian Smith).  Joe Mangel (Mark Little) faces the possibility of losing his daughter Sky (Miranda Fryer) as her natural father Eric (John Ley) is desperate to win a custody battle and take her to New Zealand following the death of her mother Kerry (Linda Hartley).  And Jim Robinson (Alan Dale) faces a dilemma when a man claiming to be his illegitimate son arrives in Ramsay Street.
  • paulkelman Former E Street star Paul Kelman (pictured) makes a guest appearance in ABC’s GP before starting an extended role in Nine’s The Flying Doctors.  Also joining the Nine Network series will be David Reyne, Nikki Coghill and Sophie Lee.
  • E Street enters its third season with the departure of cast members Penny Cook, Vic Rooney and Warren Jones – but joining the series will be former A Country Practice star Kate Raison and former Family And Friends star Adrian Lee.  Meanwhile, the relationship between Harley (Malcolm Kennard) and Toni (Toni Pearen) faces challenges as Harley is hired as a ‘personal assistant’ to newspaper editor Sheridan Sturgess (Raison) and Toni takes a sudden interest in feminism with the encouragement of free-minded Alice (Marianne Howard).
  • homeandaway_0001 Home And Away will start 1991 with Bobby (Nicolle Dickson) lying in hospital waiting to find out the fate of her unborn child.  A new policeman, Constable Nick Parish (Bruce Roberts) moves into Summer Bay – as the relationship between Pippa (Debra Lawrence) and Michael (Dennis Coard) is challenged with the arrival of Michael’s wife Cynthia (former The Box and Sons And Daughters star Belinda Giblin).  Sophie (Rebekah Elmaloglou) becomes embroiled in a love triangle with Blake (Les Hill) and new arrival Hayden (Andrew Hill).

Briefly…
Aussie-based actress Imogen Annesley, currently starring in the UK soap Families, had looked forward to a rest in Sydney while the soap was on a break.  Instead, she has been in Melbourne as the last-minute replacement for Tammy MacIntosh in the comedy film Garbo.  MacIntosh had to withdraw from the movie after suffering a broken collarbone.

bunneybrooke_0001 E Street producers have now had second thoughts about not renewing the contract of Bunney Brooke (pictured), who plays Aunty Vi in the series.  They had originally planned to have Aunty Vi exit the series to coincide with the departure of Ernie Patchett (Vic Rooney) but her popularity in the show appears to have saved her character from the axe.

Several Nine Network personalities were on hand at Sydney’s Hard Rock Cafe to assist with its hosting of a Christmas dinner for 100 needy people from the Sydney City Mission.  A Current Affair host Jana Wendt was in charge of serving the greens, Today’s Steve Liebmann and Elizabeth Hayes were in charge of turkey and mash and MTV’s Richard Wilkins was driving the gravy train.

John Laws says…
”Why on earth does Nine make such little use of its stump cam gimmick?  When it was first introduced we were told how revolutionary it was, and how nothing like it had been done before and how it would change the way we viewed cricket on TV.  Which was all absolutely correct.  But what does Nine achieve with stump cam?  Very little, it seems to me.”

Program Highlights (December 29-January 4):
Saturday:
  More tennis (Hopman Cup from Perth) on HSV7 and cricket (second test from the MCG) on GTV9.

Sunday:  Sunday night movies are The River Rat (HSV7) and Wills And Burke (ATV10), while ABC presents the Vienna New Year Concert, featuring the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

Monday (New Year’s Eve):  HSV7’s summer of tennis continues with the Australian Women’s Hardcourt Championships, live from Brisbane.  ATV10’s Neighbours makes an early return for the 1991 season.  The new year is heralded by MTV Party Zone on GTV9, a repeat of The Wall – Berlin Concert on ATV10 and all-night Rage on ABC.

Tuesday:  GTV9 crosses to Sydney for the Benson And Hedges World Series cricket, Australia versus England.

Friday:  GTV9’s cricket coverage continues with Day One of the Third Test, Australia versus England, live from Sydney.  Virginia Hey, Ernie Dingo, Nick Tate and Trey Ames star in GTV9’s family drama series Dolphin Cove, a US production set in Queensland. 

Source: TV Week (Victoria country edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide. 29 December 1990. Southdown Press.

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2010/12/1990-december-29-january-4.html

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