From the New Zealand TV Weekly. January 16, 1967

Auckland

Any ping-pong noises you may hear are probably ideas being kicked around for the new year is local productions. Public reaction to the abrupt canning of Revue '66 suggests that there may be rethinking on the possibility of a local variety show. Seems high time that critical comment was overlooked and acceptance given to the fact that we can't expect the local folk to produce shows to measure up to the glossy polish of the high-budget imports. Revival of one of the earlier panel games is also being mooted. Wonder AKTV2 hasn't got in-to the chatty panel discussion business which thus far has been monopolised by Dunedin. Far better to have local faces for such a show . . . . . Wonder whether AKTV2 is still counting heads on Taranaki viewers. Best bet is that they're now all tuned to Wellington . . . . . Hope Town and Around has made a New Year's resolution to offer more meat and less gimmickry . . . . . Looks as though local entrepreneurs will be starting to borrow back from Sydney. Acts likely to cross to Tasman for Auckland appearances are singer Candy Devine (improbable name!) who was here a year or two back; one-time London Palladium comedienne Janet Fraser; and singer Kamhal. Fair bet that all will be getting TV spots while here . . . . . Seeing so many were away from their sets, how about a repeat of some of the Christmas goodies?

Wellington

Maxwell Smart started off slowly but ended up as a folk hero in the capital at least. Even in the parliamentary corridors you could. hear his catch phrases Would you believe. . . . ? and Sorry about that, chief (rather too many of these for the comfort of taxpayers). Agent 86 grew to be so popular that the NZBC is making urgent efforts to acquire another series. . . . . Producer Kevan Moore got the green light to make 26 C'mon! Earlier it had been thought the NZBC might limit the budget to 13. Question now is can Kevan sustain his go-go through 26?. . . . . Negotiations are at advanced stage for the purchase of many new programmes. These include Mrs Thursday and Emergency Ward 10 from ATV, Please Don't Eat the Daisies (Patricia Crowley playing mother to four boys), The Big Valley (Western-flavoured, with Barbara Stanwyck and four TV sons and a daughter), the comedies Pistols 'n Petticoats, Love on a Rooftop. Other interesting programmes on the purchase list include The Long, Hot Summer, and The Lover (from 20th Century Fox), Daktari (from MGM), Hey Landlord! and Super Six (from United Artists), The Road West and Family Affair (from MCA). Almost certain to be bought are new series of Wells Fargo, Hazel, Lassie, Candid Camera, The Hitchcock Hour. Unfortunately there are no more available of the Boone theatre series, a highly popular, quality dramatic show. . . . . District News Editor Bruce Crossan got a fine Xmas present from his wife in the shape of a bouncing son, to add to the family of two daughters.

CHRISTCHURCH

Christchurch-born actress Paddy Frost has been written into the BBC television serial United, which concerns the lives of footballers and their families and is being filmed in Birmingham. She plays the wife of a new soccer star who joins the team. She is also appearing in an ITV serial, Crossroads, which is filmed in the Midlands. . . . . Future of such programmes as Compass and Teletopic does not look bright, what with the resignations of the former's Gordon Bick and the latter's John Terris. What's more Christchurch's Dr Austin Mitchell heads back to England this year and he will be missed just about as much as the two producers. Mitchell and men of his ilk don't loom up frequently on the local TV scene. . . . . Channel 3's sports team has been busy these last few weeks and pressures' still on. Planned for the immediate future-interviews with leading racing motorists driving in the Lady Wigram Trophy land a film of about 10 minutes' duration on the race itself for Grandstand screening Monday, January 23. Then follows an OB on the surf lifesaving when the Australian team competes at New Brighton on January 28. A New Zealand first-timer will come up on February 18 when the Christchurch and Dunedin OB units will be used for a Saturday afternoon sports round-up taking in Australia v Canterbury cricket at Lancaster Park and the New Zealand Swimming Championship finals at the Centennial Pool. This will be fronted from the studio, probably by Dick Allard.

DUNEDIN

For weeks now DNTV2 has been making plans for televising special events of Festival Week (January 21-29). The pity of it is that with all their good intentions, festivities are much the same each year, and all the effort and inspiration in the world won't be able to make the telecasts very different from other years. . . . . Raewyn Lamb's wedding at the end of this month is going to have a novel twist. Another DNTV2 announcer, Kevin Mills, is going to be looking after the peas and taties part of the celebrations, since they are to be held at his family's garden restaurant at Glenfalloch. . . . . Next month there'll be another absence of producers while they attend special courses in Wellington. Ironically, the courses are to be run by Roy Meilford, who presumably trained the local team when he was stationed in Dunedin. . . . . DNTV2, which has had considerable success in the production of children's programmes will probably produce thirteen more Kaleidoscopes this year and thirteen. of a new, as yet not disclosed, format. . . . . It probably was a mistake (a standard repeat trailer scheduled at various intervals) but it created a bad impression. The Sunday before Christmas when running through the special Christmas programmes for DNTV2, the announcer (it was live ) summed up by saying, Of course, you will find all these programmes listed in your Listener. Sunday advertising?

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