From the New Zealand TV Weekly. April 3. 1967
Auckland
Sad to say, religious programmes must have about the lowest Viewer ratings of anything on telly. Lack, of imagination, or production on parsimonious budgets, have been to blame. But score a resounding success for the Rev Ted Buckle's Cost of Living quartet utilising highly dramatic film cuts-and even a Cilla Black pop number-to get the message across. What's the betting Brian Ashbridge will be under pressure from other churchmen to come up with equally forceful presentations..... Newcomer among continuity announcers is Eileen Evans, wife of programme officer Michael. In fact, husband and wife teams seem to be the thing in TV these days. Eileen still found her debut harassing even though she is no stranger to stage appearances.... Wonder whether the Night Sky series really have the following, the NZBC apparently thinks they have ..... Rugby specialist Bob Irvine sighted inventing a new game called "trundle the telephone book." Nothing more infuriating than trying to supervise a trolly-load of slippery old phone books along a bumpy footpath. Good practice for paper-chasing on an elephantine scale. . . Judith Lessing a crack of-dawn riser to get out on her radio car rounds with quizzes for all.... Pirate radio has no qualms about using discs carefully banned from NZBC airwaves. . . From mink sweater to borzoi pooch, Max Cryer. never misses a gimmick... With the extended afternoon hours, film agencies are sifting through their files to offer again series turned dewn earlier.
Wellington
Graham Billing the outstanding reporter with the WNTV1 Town and Around team planned originally to spend half a day on the show (he works on contract) but he finds it, ‘more and more, taking up the best part of the day, and sometimes the evening as well. . . Dougal Stevenson is developing quite a dynamic style as a newsreader. Since Alan Lyne left, the newsreaders have been a rather dull lot on WNTV1, and Dougal certainly gives it a bit of punch..... Jennifer Goodwin, from Auckland on transfer, is a new face among the channel's team of continuity girls.... Julia Mason, the researcher for the Compass team in the past year or two, is back again this year to dig out the facts. Bob Heigson who worked as a reporter with Gordon Bick, is to be chief reporter for this season's Compass and another end of March.... Talking of reporters, Alister Jensen just back from a trip to London, has joined NZBC head office news staff.... C'mon! rates highly with Wellington viewers. It might not be quite gas, man, gas
(as singer Tommy Adderley put it the other day) for older viewers. Possibly its time slot on a Saturday night doesn't net all the youngsters who would otherwise be keen to watch. It will be interesting to chart its progress on the NZBC's own ratings....The new Minister of Broadcasting Mr Adams-Schneider and the Government were obviously going to take their time about fulfilling the party's election pledge to set up an authority to license all television stations. Of course if Mr Adams-Schneider solves the problem too quickly how would he continue to fill in his day as minister?
CHRISTCHURCH
Probably New Zealand's best-known schoolmaster, Christchurch's Ron Walton, has contracted to do a further series of thirteen programmes of In the Nature of Things later this year. The current series, now appearing on all channels, has been lifted out of the juvenile slot and comes on at 7.15 pm. to give the adults a reasonable chance of seeing and enjoying it too. Producer is CHTV3's Stanley Hosgood-another excellent reason why the popular science series conducted by the Christchurch Boys' High School science master is of such good quality..... Appears that the series of 12 half-hour programmes that will look into current New Zealand life and times will run under the title This Is Your Country. As mentioned last week, three programmes will stem, from each channel, starting with CHTV3 any day now, with Bob Lepresle, head of Associated Film-makers Ltd., of Wellington, as executive director.... Sneaking suspicion in some quarters that Town and Around has slipped a bit, but this might be because the material in prominence at present probably incorporates some of the stock built up during the recess and lacks the spontaneity which was part of this most popular programme last year.
DUNEDIN
The Town and Around team of DNTV2 has more "gags" lined up for local viewers but they will be rationed out carefully through the year. No one on the production team wants to overdo the fun and games because Town and Around believe the programme's most important job is to backup and enlarge on local news items and not present to viewers an extended varslity revue, AKTV2 please note. The team also states happily there is no shortage of material and that almost a third of the material screened comes from ideas sent in by viewers. Seems Town and Around producers throughout the country wage a constant battle against the special pleadings of women's clubs and organisations looking for some free advertising ..... Alison Holst has just completed another of her cooking series in the Dunedin studios. The programme will be presented on pretty much the same lines as last year's but Miss Holst reports that this time she was given a handsome, new kitchen in, which to demonstrate before the cameras. Made my, work a lot easier,
she said. Incidentally, her cookery book has been a sell-out in most centres of the North Island. Too bad broadcasting. can't make a little on each copy, too ..... The economic crisis has not appeared to have interfered with any proposed production schedules, as yet ..... Waric Slyfield, a man-of-all-dramatic-work is expected to be signed up for a new children's television senies that will probably be tailored to the same style as last year's popular Kaleidoscope. Waric will introduce the new programme.
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