From the New Zealand TV Weekly. November 21, 1966
Auckland
Did you spot one-time TV panelist and Sambo voice of the crumpet commercial Eddie Hegan as a hunter in One episode of The Adventures of the Seaspray? .... Sandy Edmonds appearing on TV again in Australia. Top popsters are good business for the airlines these days. .... A prime set of manes were flying—and they weren’t all on the horses — when Larry’s Rebels met Colin Hill to film a Town and Around segment on horse- back..... Publicity from their church appearance didn’t harm The Rebels. They’ve also been tagged for the pilot show of Kevan Moore’s C'mon, and a steam radio Have a Shot finale guest Spot..... Warren Lambert lined up for a Revue '66 appearance..... Production supervisor Jack Metcalf went to the States to share the last sectors of wife Cherry Raymond’s world trip for a magazine. An eye on TV produced the comment that Stateside TV is less inhibited than the home-grown product because we take it too seriously, lacking other entertainment outlets. .... Revue 66’s debut met a mixed bag of comment. Should settle down happily provided all concerned remember that it is supposed to be an adult variety show. Coy compere couch canocdling caught churlish critical comment... Local geography takes quite a beating in the Seaspray adventures, but does it really matter? .... Can’t figure how Kevan Moore has worked out something different for C’mon’s gogo dancers to do. Maybe go topless, a la San Francisco? Some hope!
Wellington
Producer John Terris took over Town and Around from Kevan Moore for a month, while Kevan was in Auckland working on his pop show. John seemed to have a more documentary approach, where Kevan often had a lighter touch. One Wellington critic thought it time for a critical reappraisal of the show, described it as a ragbag of sight gags, sad jokes and a flatulent mixture of froth and bubble. That was being a bit tough. Latest TV ratings still have Town and Around high on the list. ... Former WNTVI1 continuity girl Elizabeth Andrews sailed off to England. She hopes to do some TV work while there. So, too, does Stewart Macpherson, who dropped in briefly to Wellington after seven months in Sydney. Stewart, due to leave with his wife for the U.S. and England early in November, will seek to try his hand in TV and radio documentary work. He is on leave from the NZBC until March, but may seek an extension... Producer Brian Bell dropped a couple of grades to get away from all the administrative work back into a more creative job. It seems odd that the corporation should limit its best producers in this way. It’s nice to know that the NZBC has a man like Alan Martin as chief producer—but viewers would be much more appreciative seeing some of his work on the screen rather than knowing that he is tied to a desk. Couldn’t the corporation find a way of supplying the talented people with administrative staff to do the deskwork while they get on with the real job of creating shows?
CHRISTCHURCH
The 1966 Golden Disc Award programme has a Christchureh flavour in some respects. Sets for the programme have been. designed by Cedric Leeming, formerly with CHTV3 and now chief designer in Wellington, while compere Erin Sinclair, WNTV1 newsreader, is husband of Hilary Young, an ex- CHTV3 announcer... Nice to know that all the talent in AKTV2’s ambitious weekly musical series Revue ’66 has not been exclusively recruited in the Queen City. CHTV3 viewers will find there is some hither- to little-known hometown talent which has been selected in local auditions... Channel 3 newsviewers have seen more than their share of confusion in recent times, what with mixed film and commentary, sound and no film and film and no sound. .... With A. & P. shows now in full swing round about Canterbury, it is to be hoped that horse lovers will get another chance of seeing some show jumping with Stanley Hospood controlling the O.B. cameras. is effort at Rangiora’s Centennial Show was right up to the best overseas presentations... When a certain newspaper advertised the wrong film for Sunday showing at Labour Weekend Channel 3’s switchboard was literally jammed by complaining viewers, one of whom suggested that they should have shown the film advertised in the paper and not that scheduled, anyway!
DUNEDIN
There doesn’t seem to be any great enthusiasm among Dunedin viewers about the proposed extension of television transmission. Thoughts are that it will be well-received by the elderly and infirm, but a distraction for the young and active, keeping women away from daily routine and children away from homework. There’s going to be a lot more family and personal discipline needed comes April, Another thought thrown our way—if TV in the afternoon is intended to feature cooking, garden- ing and so on, what changes will this mean in radio at present so heavily committed afternoons to women’s service features?... Brian Ault has been left an unenviable legacy with Roy Melford’s transfer. As acting chief producer for DNTV2 he’s brain-deep in planning Election Night TV. Plans at time of writing look bright. There’ll be a New Zealand map showing electoral districts with a front man there to announce results as they come in; another board showing the state of the parties (another front man); and a caption set up to show candidates and numbers of votes. Between results, Brian hopes to keep things moving with three political experts, . and the whole shebang will be presided over by a co-ordinating chairman. It is also hoped later to take DNTV2’s OB unit on the road to interview winning candidates, but that is not as yet confirmed. Still, however the actual telecast turns out, it’s certain that Brian Ault and his colleagues are putting plenty of work into pre-planning.
Comments powered by CComment