Today’s TV: Saturday 18 April 1981
from the NZ Listener
TV One
10.00am Basil Brush
10.30 The Muppet Show (Rpt)
10.55 Don’t Ask Me
11.25 Play Soccer: Jack Charlton’s Way
11.50 Top of the Morning
Noon News
12.02 Saturday Matinee: Ceasefire (1953) (B&W)
1.15 Sport on One Includes racing from Ellerslie, harness racing from Addington, football (FA Cup quarterfinals)
5.10 Man from Atlantis (Rpt)
6.00 Ready to Roll
6.30 News
7.00 Rock Around the Clock Show
8.00 Royal Variety Performance 1980
10.30 The Johnny Carson Show
11.15 L.A.T.E.R
12.10am News
12.15 Closedown
TV2
Noon Search for Tomorrow
1.00 Family (Rpt)
1.45 Saturday Afternoon Movie: Incendiary Blonde (1945) (B&W)
3.35 Animals, Animals, Animals (Rpt)
3.55 Chico and the Man
4.20 The Good Old Days
5.05 The Brothers (Rpt)
5.55 News
6.00 News Review
6.15 Sports Review
6.30 Laverne and Shirley
6.50 I Like That One: Two
7.00 Foreign Correspondent
8.00 Master of Arts
8.30 Butterflies
9.00 Parkinson
10.00 News
10.15 World Cinema: The Silence (1963)
11.55 Closedown
Today’s TV: Tuesday 19 April 1988
from the NZ Listener
TV One
10.25am Teletext in Vision
10.40 Aerobics Oz Style
11.05 Play School (Rpt)
11.30 Kohanga Reo (Rpt)
11.40 Rainbow
Noon News
12.15 Santa Barbara
1.10 Doctor at Sea (Rpt)
1.40 Days of Our Lives
2.40 Big Deal (Rpt)
3.40 Anna Karenina (Rpt)
4.45 Three’s Company (Rpt)
5.15 Emmerdale Farm
5.45 Te Karere
6.00 M-A-S-H
6.30 Network News Includes Top Half (Auckland), Today Tonight (Wellington), The Mainland Touch (Christchurch) and The South Tonight (Dunedin)
7.30 Fair Go
8.00 Matlock
9.00 Australia
10.00 The World Snooker Championship Full coverage from the Crucible in Sheffield, UK
12.00am Closedown
Network Two
11.45am Teletext in Vision
Noon The Love Connection
12.30 One Day at a Time (Rpt)
1.00 Magnum PI (Rpt)
2.00 Alice
2.30 Play School
2.55 After School, including: 3.00 Sesame Street
4.00 Flintstone Frolics (Rpt)
4.30 The Book Tower
4.55 Silver Spoons (Final)
5.30 Doctor Who (Rpt)
6.00 Sons and Daughters
6.30 Entertainment This Week
7.30 EastEnders
8.00 The Flying Doctors
9.00 Jake and the Fatman
10.00 EyeWitness
11.00 The Streets of San Francisco
11.55 Closedown
Today’s TV: Wednesday 23 April 1986
from the NZ Listener
TV One
9.00am Play School (Rpt)
9.25 Willo the Wisp (Rpt)
9.30 The Magic Roundabout (Rpt)
9.35 You and Your Child (Rpt)
9.40 Aerobicize
10.05 Crossroads
10.30 Spice of Life (Rpt)
11.00 The Foundation (Rpt)
Noon The Young and the Restless
1.00 Citizen Smith (Rpt)
1.35 Days of Our Lives
2.30 You and Your Child (Rpt)
2.35 Play School (Rpt)
3.00 Animates (Rpt)
3.05 The Munch Bunch (Rpt)
3.15 Danger Mouse
3.25 After School, including: 3.27 Treasure Chest
3.31 The Perishers
3.36 Stig of the Dump (Rpt)
4.00 The Littlest Hobo
4.30 Mighty Orbots
5.00 Zoo Family
5.30 The Bagthorpe Saga
6.00 Happy Days (Rpt)
6.30 News Includes Top Half (Auckland), Today Tonight (Wellington), The Mainland Touch (Christchurch) and The South Tonight (Dunedin).
7.30 Magnum, PI
8.30 Credit Card
9.00 The Academy of Country Music Awards
11.10 News
11.15 Colditz (Rpt)
12.10am Closedown
TV2
Noon Petticoat Junction (Rpt)
12.30 Newsline
1.25 Beauty and the Beast
1.50 See Here
2.00 Crown Court (Rpt)
2.30 Knots Landing (Rpt)
3.20 The Mary Tyler Moore Show (Rpt)
4.00 Fantasy Island (Rpt)
4.55 RTR Video Releases
5.45 News
5.50 Te Karere
6.00 Sons and Daughters
6.30 The Young Doctors
7.30 Our World: Through Animal Eyes
8.30 Connie (Starting tonight)
9.30 Eye Witness News
10.00 St Elsewhere
11.00 Starsky and Hutch (Rpt)
11.55 Closedown
Today’s TV: Tuesday 24 April 1990
from the NZ Listener
TV One
9.55am Teletext in Vision
10.10 Play School (Rpt, G)
10.35 Creepy Crawlies (G)
10.45 Body Talk (Starting today) (G)
10.50 Dr Snuggles (Rpt, G)
10.55 Shoe People (Rpt, G)
11.00 Anna Karenina (Rpt, G)
11.55 Te Karere Headlines
Noon One Network News
12.15 Film on One: Nobody’s Child (1986) (PGR)
2.00 A Sort of Innocence (Part two) (Rpt, PGR)
3.00 EastEnders (PGR)
4.00 Bottle Boys (G)
4.30 227 (G)
4.50 Emmerdale Farm
5.20 North and South Island Programmes NORTH: 5.20 Te Karere
5.30 M-A-S-H (Rpt, G)
SOUTH: 5.20 Bugs Bunny (G)
5.35 Te Karere
5.45 The Mainland Touch (Christchurch) / The South Tonight (Dunedin)
6.00 One Network News
6.30 Holmes
7.00 Sale of the Century
7.30 This Is Your Life
8.30 Tuesday Documentary: Maori Battalion March to Victory
10.00 One Network News
10.30 One World of Sport: Goodyear Sports Action Includes World Superbikes, truck racing, AFL, English Soccer and netball
12.30am Closedown
Channel 2
6.15am Teletext in Vision
6.30 The Muppet Babies (Rpt, G)
7.00 Breakfast News
7.05 Ox Tales (Final) (G)
7.30 Breakfast News
7.35 Defenders of the Earth
8.00 Breakfast News
8.05 Raccoons
8.30 Breakfast News
8.35 Maya the Bee
9.00 Windfalls
9.05 Sesame Street (Rpt, G)
10.05 No Place Like Home (PGR)
10.40 Aerobics Oz Style (G)
11.05 Santa Barbara
Noon The Young and the Restless
1.00 Days of Our Lives
2.00 Newhart (G)
2.25 After 2, including: 2.26 Play School (Rpt)
2.50 Wisdom of the Gnomes
3.15 The Wind in the Willows
3.45 3.45 Live!, including: 3.50 C.O.P.S
4.20 Wildtrack
5.00 Batman (Rpt, G)
5.30 Blind Date
6.00 Happy Days (Rpt, G)
6.30 Neighbours
7.30 Cheers
8.00 Night Court
8.30 China Beach (AO)
9.30 Wiseguy (AO)
10.30 Newsbreak
10.35 Max Headroom (AO)
11.35 Alexei Sayle’s Stuff (PGR)
12.15am Closedown
TV3
Noon The Oprah Winfrey Show (PGR)
1.00 The Power, the Passion (PGR)
1.30 Generations (PGR)
2.00 The Bold and the Beautiful (PGR)
2.30 Another World (PGR)
3.20 Thomas the Tank Engine
3.30 Mickey Mouse Club (G)
4.00 The Real Ghostbusters (G)
4.30 Voltron
5.00 Police Academy (G)
5.30 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Rpt, G)
6.00 Home and Away (G)
6.30 3 National News
7.00 Family Feud
7.30 Sidekicks (G)
8.00 Hey Dad…! (PGR)
8.30 Crime Story (AO)
9.30 Hunter (AO)
10.30 Nightline
11.00 Diamonds (AO)
12.00am Closedown
“One of nature’s gentlemen” and “very nice, always correct,” that’s the bottom line for many of the guests honouring World War II fighter ace Johnny Checketts - who shot down 14.5 enemy aircraft (one was shared) but played down his own heroics - in an hour-long edition of This Is Your Life, which was shown on TV One (now TVNZ 1) at 7.30pm on the evening of Tuesday 24 April 1990. You can watch the full episode via NZ On Screen by clicking their link below.
This Is Your Life was followed at 8.30pm by Maori Battalion March to Victory as part of TV One’s “Tuesday Documentary” slot. The 90-minute documentary - written and directed by Tainui Stephens with narration by George Henare - told the story of the New Zealand Army’s (28th) Maori Battalion, which fought in campaigns during World War ll. You can watch Maori Battalion March to Victory via NZ On Screen by clicking their link below.
@TelevisionAU And speaking of Australian imports, TV3 (now Three) screened the daytime serial The Power, the Passion at 1pm. It was devised by the Seven Network in 1989 to lure audiences away from American imports such as The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless but failed to make an impact and was cancelled due to low ratings and strong competition from Channel Nine’s Midday with Ray Martin (I think) after 168 episodes.
Other Australian imports included Home and Away at 6pm, Family Feud with Rob Brough at 7pm and Hey Dad…! at 8pm.
Today’s TV: Monday 25 April 1977
from the NZ Herald
TV One
11.30am Play School
Noon News
12.05 The Young and the Restless
12.30 Beauty and the Beast
1.00 Today at One Special (Rpt)
1.30 Days of Our Lives
2.15 Crown Court
2.40 Sport on One Includes racing from Wingatui and football
4.50 The Virginian (Rpt)
6.05 The Odd Couple
6.30 News Includes regional news from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin
7.00 Close to Home
7.30 Warship
8.20 Dateline Monday
9.00 Second Time Around (Final)
9.30 News
9.40 The Greenhill Pets
11.00 News and Weather
11.05 Closedown
South Pacific Television (SPTV)
1.00pm One to Three with Blackie, including: 1.00 Search for Tomorrow
1.30 Dinah!
2.00 Medical Centre
3.00 Chicaboom, including: 3.02 Romper Room
3.25 Chicaboom Special
4.00 Here’s Andy, including: 4.00 Banana Splits and Friends
4.25 Klassic Keystone Komedy Kapers (B&W)
4.35 Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
5.30 The Partridge Family
6.00 First Edition (News)
6.30 Top of the World
7.00 The Tony Randall Show
7.30 Wonder Woman
8.30 Porridge
9.00 The Rookies
10.00 Late Edition (News)
10.10 The New People
10.55 Radio with Pictures Followed by Closedown
All programmes on TV One and SPTV were broadcast in colour, unless otherwise specified.
Today’s TV: Sunday 26 April 1987
from the NZ Listener
TV One
7.45am Teletext in Vision (Unlisted)
8.00 Danger Mouse
8.05 Bunny with the Chequered Ears
8.10 The Road Runner Show (Rpt)
8.35 Praise Be
9.05 Benson (Rpt)
9.30 Big League Soccer
10.20 British Football Results
10.30 Weekend (Starting today)
Noon News
12.02 Sorry, I’m a Stranger Here Myself
12.25 The Brain Puzzle
1.15 The Odd Couple (Rpt)
1.40 Ripley’s Believe It or Not! (Rpt)
2.30 The Long Watch: 50 Years of Radar
3.00 Sunday Grandstand Includes snooker (1987 Embassy World Snooker Championship), rugby (South Pacific Rugby Championship) and yachting
6.05 Country Calendar
6.30 Network News
7.00 Foreign Correspondent
7.45 Koha
8.00 Executive Stress
8.25 Mastermind
8.55 Midevening News
9.05 Paradise Postponed
10.00 Nga Take Maori This programme includes English and Maori subtitles
10.25 The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (Rpt)
10.55 The Paper Chase (Rpt)
11.45 Closedown
TV2
9.45am Teletext in Vision (Unlisted)
10.00 Waka Huia
11.00 Little House on the Prairie: A New Beginning
Noon Angels (Rpt)
12.50 Sunday Matinee: The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951) (B&W)
2.30 Opus
3.20 The Wind in the Willows
3.45 Rau-Tapu: Magic Feather
3.50 Faerie Tale Theatre
4.40 The Little Vampire
5.05 The Canal Children (Rpt)
5.30 Zone 7
6.00 The Wonderful World of Disney: The Hunter and the Rock Star (Rpt)
6.45 I Like That One: 2
7.05 One Day at a Time
7.30 Mini-Series: If Tomorrow Comes (Part three) (Final)
9.00 Sledge Hammer!
9.25 Radio with Pictures
10.10 Sunday Sci-Fi: Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) (Rpt)
11.55 Closedown
Today’s TV: Tuesday 4 May 1976
from the NZ Listener
TV One
11.30am Play School (Rpt)
Noon Lunchbox
12.05 The Young and the Restless
12.30 Beauty and the Beast
1.00 Today at One
1.30 Days of Our Lives
1.55 Owen Marshall: Counsellor at Law (Final)
2.45 Play School
3.20 Sooty
3.45 Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (Final)
4.05 The Up and Down, In and Out, Round About Man
4.15 The Lone Ranger (B&W)
4.40 Huckleberry Hound (Rpt)
5.05 Julia (Rpt)
5.35 Cowboy in Africa (Rpt)
6.30 News Includes regional news from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin
7.00 Close to Home
7.30 The Six Million Dollar Man
8.30 Moynihan
9.30 Tonight
10.00 My Brother’s Keeper
10.30 News and Weather
10.35 Closedown
TV2
1.00pm The Box
1.25 Dinah!
2.15 Search for Tomorrow
2.35 Rainbow
2.55 Romper Room
3.25 The Adventures of Rupert Bear
3.35 Wild Kingdom
4.05 The Flying Nun
4.35 Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
5.30 I Dream of Jeannie
6.00 News at Six
6.30 Thrillseekers
7.00 Tandarra
8.00 A Going Concern
8.30 Sez Les
9.00 Kojak
10.00 News at Ten
10.30 Closedown
All programmes on TV One and TV2 were broadcast in colour, unless otherwise specified.
Today’s TV: Wednesday 2 May 1990
from the NZ Listener
TV One
9.55am Teletext in Vision
10.10 Play School
10.35 The Adventures of a Mouse (Rpt, G)
10.45 Will o’ the Wisp (Rpt, G)
10.50 Doctor Snuggles (Rpt, G)
10.55 Anna Karenina (Rpt, G)
11.55 Te Karere Headlines
Noon One Network News
12.15 Film on One: Gidget (1959) (Rpt, G)
2.00 The Mayor of Casterbridge (Starting today) (Rpt, G)
3.00 Knots Landing (G)
4.00 Designer Women (G)
4.30 227
4.50 Emmerdale Farm
5.20 North and South Island Programmes NORTH: 5.20 Te Karere
5.30 M-A-S-H (Rpt, G)
SOUTH: 5.20 Bugs Bunny
5.35 Te Karere
5.45 The Mainland Touch (Christchurch) / The South Tonight (Dunedin)
6.00 One Network News
6.30 Holmes
7.00 Sale of the Century
7.30 Coronation Street (G)
8.00 The Bill (PGR)
8.30 One World of Sport: International Netball New Zealand v Jamaica, live from Auckland
10.00 One Network News
10.30 New Zealand 2000 (Rpt, G)
11.00 City Lights
11.35 Special Squad
12.35am Closedown
Channel 2
6.15am Teletext in Vision
6.30 The Muppet Babies
7.00 Breakfast News
7.05 The All-New Popeye Show (Rpt)
7.30 Breakfast News
7.35 Defenders of the Earth
8.00 Breakfast News
8.05 The Flintstone Kids (G)
8.30 Breakfast News
8.35 Maya the Bee
9.00 Bouli
9.05 Sesame Street (Rpt, G)
10.05 No Place Like Home (G)
10.40 Aerobics Oz Style (G)
11.05 Santa Barbara
Noon The Young and the Restless
1.00 Days of Our Lives
2.00 Newhart
2.25 After 2, including: 2.26 Play School (Rpt)
2.50 The Care Bears (Rpt, G)
3.15 Wowser
3.45 3:45 Live!, including: 3.50 C.O.P.S
4.20 The Video Dispatch
5.00 Batman (Rpt, G)
5.30 Blind Date
6.00 Happy Days (Rpt, G)
6.30 Neighbours
7.30 Island Son
8.30 The Star Movie: Kramer vs Kramer (1979) (Rpt)
10.35 Newsbreak
10.40 Spenser: For Hire
11.40 The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (PGR)
12.20am Closedown
TV3
Noon The Oprah Winfrey Show (PGR)
1.00 The Power, the Passion (PGR)
1.30 Generations (PGR)
2.00 The Bold and the Beautiful (PGR)
2.30 Another World (PGR)
3.20 Thomas the Tank Engine
3.30 The Mickey Mouse Club
4.00 The Real Ghostbusters (G)
4.30 Voltron (G)
5.00 He-Man & Masters of the Universe (Starting today)
5.30 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Rpt, G)
6.00 Home and Away (G)
6.30 3 National News
7.00 Family Feud
7.30 Dirty Dancing (PGR)
8.00 Hey Dad…! (PGR)
8.30 Wednesday Night at the Movies: Bridge to Silence (1989)
10.30 Nightline
11.00 Flamingo Road (AO)
12.00am Closedown (approx)
Today’s TV: Wednesday 8 May 1984
from the NZ Listener
TV One
11.30am Play School (Rpt)
11.55 You and Your Child
Noon News
12.05 The Young and the Restless
12.55 See Here
1.00 Beauty and the Beast
1.30 Days of Our Lives
2.25 You and Your Child (Rpt)
2.30 Play School (Rpt)
2.55 Chic Chat (Rpt)
3.25 Freetime, including: 3.30 Follyfoot (Rpt)
4.00 3-2-1 Contact
4.30 Star Fleet
5.00 Circus
5.30 Our John Willie
6.00 M-A-S-H
6.30 News Includes Top Half (Auckland), Today Tonight (Wellington), The Mainland Touch (Christchurch) and The South Tonight
7.30 One Day at a Time
8.00 A Big Country: The Kiwis
8.35 Wednesday Night at the Movies: The Four Musketeers (1975)
10.45 News
10.50 Closedown
TV2
2.30pm Something’s Got to Give (Rpt)
3.30 General Hospital
3.55 Fantasy Island (Rpt)
4.55 Autobahn
5.15 RTR Video Releases
5.45 News
5.55 Te Karere For East Coast viewers this bulletin screened on TV One
6.00 The Young Doctors
6.30 The Sullivans
7.30 Showtime: Prince Tui Teka
8.30 Hardcastle and McCormick
9.30 Eye Witness News
10.00 Jemima Shore Investigates
11.00 The Untouchables (Rpt) (B&W)
11.50 Closedown
Today’s TV: Saturday 9 May 1981
from the NZ Listener
TV One
10.00am What Now (Series premiere)
10.25 The Muppet Show (Rpt)
10.55 Don’t Ask Me
11.20 Pot Black
11.45 Top of the Morning
Noon News
12.02 Saturday Matinee: Minnesota Clay (1965)
1.30 Sport on One Includes rugby league, woodchopping, golf, world-record high diving and FA Cup preview
5.00 Man from Atlantis (Final) (Rpt)
6.00 Ready to Roll
6.30 News
7.00 The Ray Woolf Show
8.00 Taxi
8.30 Saturday Night at the Movies: The Hindenburg (1975)
11.00 The Johnny Carson Show
11.45 News
11.50 Peter Cook & Co (Rpt)
1.00am Sport on One Special: The FA Cup Final Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, live coverage from Wembley at 1.30am (kick-off at 2am). Includes highlights of the League Cup final, Liverpool v West Ham
3.45 Closedown
TV2
Noon Search for Tomorrow
1.00 Family (Rpt)
1.50 Saturday Afternoon Movie: The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938) (B&W) (Rpt)
3.50 Chico and the Man
4.15 The Good Old Days
5.05 The Brothers (Rpt)
5.55 News
6.00 News Review
6.15 Sports Review
6.30 Laverne and Shirley
6.50 I Like That One: Two
7.00 Foreign Correspondent
8.00 Master of Arts
8.30 Butterflies
9.00 Parkinson
10.00 News
10.15 World Cinema: Louis et Réjane (1980)
11.45 Closedown
@LiamP On this day (9 May) in 1981, What Now made its debut on New Zealand TV screens; 40 years later, it is the longest running children’s television programme in the country and it is still on air.
When What Now began it was originally half an hour in duration and aired Saturdays at 10am on TV One (now TVNZ 1). Steve Hooper was the host along with four intermediate school-aged children: Merryn, Richard, Oliver and Lucy (and Murdoch the dog). They were joined in What Now’s first year was comedic character Murray Slack (played by Jon Gadsby of “McPhail and Gadsby” fame).
Rex Simpson, TVNZ producer at the time, was the brains behind the NZ TV institution. According to him at the time the “whole idea of the programme [was] to create healthy leisure attitudes” and followed on from the template set by his previous children’s show, How’s That?, of introducing children to fun and educational activities (and which had been hosted by Stu Dennison the previous year in 1980; in the 1970s you probably recognised Stu from Nice One - aka “Nice One, Stu!”).
Today’s TV: Tuesday 10 May 1988
from the NZ Listener
TV One
10.25am Teletext in Vision
10.40 Aerobics Oz Style
11.05 Play School (Rpt)
11.30 Kohanga Reo (Rpt)
11.40 Rainbow
Noon News
12.15 Lorna Doone (Part two) (Rpt)
1.10 Mary (Starting today)
1.40 Save the Panda (Rpt)
2.35 Around London (Starting today) (Rpt)
3.00 Whodunnit (Starting today) (Rpt)
3.45 Anna Karenina (Rpt)
4.45 Three’s Company (Rpt)
5.15 Emmerdale Farm
5.45 Te Karere
6.00 Kate & Allie (Rpt)
6.30 Network News Includes Top Half (Auckland), Today Tonight (Wellington), The Mainland Touch (Christchurch) and The South Tonight (Dunedin)
7.30 Fair Go
8.00 Matlock
9.00 Australia (Part five) (Final)
10.00 CATS Eyes (Starting tonight)
11.00 House Calls
11.30 Citizen Smith (Rpt)
12.00am Closedown
Network Two
11.45am Teletext in Vision
Noon The Love Connection
12.30 Kids’ Holiday Movie: Hambone and Hillie (1984)
1.55 Mr Merlin (Rpt)
2.30 Play School
2.55 Freetime, including: 3.00 Sesame Street
4.00 Simon and the Witch
4.30 The Book Tower
5.00 Flintstone Frolics (Rpt)
5.25 Doctor Who (Rpt)
6.00 Sons and Daughters
6.30 Entertainment This Week
7.30 EastEnders
8.00 The Flying Doctors
9.00 Jake and the Fatman
10.00 EyeWitness
11.00 The Streets of San Francisco (Final)
11.55 Closedown
Today’s TV: Friday 11 May 1979
from the NZ Listener
TV One
Noon News
12.05 Animal World
12.35 Beauty and the Beast
1.00 Good Day
1.20 Angels (Rpt)
2.20 Crown Court
2.45 Play School
3.10 Forest Town Fables
3.20 CB Bears
3.45 The Basil Brush Show (Rpt)
4.15 Shadows
4.40 Little Lord Fauntleroy
5.05 Temperatures Rising
5.35 Donny and Marie (Rpt)
6.30 News Includes regional news from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin
7.00 Coronation Street
7.30 The Six Million Dollar Man
8.20 Weekends with One
8.30 That’s Hollywood
9.00 The Ray Woolf Show
9.30 News
9.40 1979 Grammy Awards
11.30 Barney Miller
12.00am News and Weather
12.05 Closedown
South Pacific Television (SPTV)
3.00pm Chic Chat, including: 3.00 Romper Room
3.30 Clutch Cargo (Rpt)
3.35 Aquaman
4.00 Good Time Show with Tracy, including: 4.00 The Making of “Storm Boy”
4.25 Daniel Boone (Rpt)
5.15 Good Time Sounds
5.30 The Debbie Reynolds Show
6.00 News at Six
6.23 Weather
6.25 Police Five
6.30 Telethon Report
6.35 That’s Entertainment
6.43 The World Around Us: Vandal Rule OK?
7.37 My Wife Next Door (Rpt)
8.07 The Duchess of Duke Street
9.00 Joe Forrester
9.50 News Stand
10.00 News at Ten
10.25 Forum
10.45 Nocturne
12.00am Weather Outlook and Goodnight Kiwi/Closedown
Today’s TV: Saturday 12 May 1979
from the NZ Listener
TV One
Noon News
12.05 Top of the Morning
12.15 Saturday Matinee: The Clown (1953) (B&W)
1.45 This Week in Britain
1.50 Sport on One Includes rugby league, FA Cup semifinals, bowls, squash and racing from Te Rapa
5.00 Wings (Rpt)
6.00 Ready to Roll
6.30 News
7.00 The Muppet Show
7.30 Paddy’s Market (New series)
8.00 Saturday Night at the Movies: Avanti (1972)
10.45 News
10.55 Charlie’s Angels
12.45am News and Weather
12.50 The George Burns Special
1.35 The FA Cup Final Arsenal v Manchester United, live from Wembley Followed by Closedown
South Pacific Television (SPTV)
Noon Search for Tomorrow
1.00 The Sullivans
1.55 Alice
2.25 Saturday Matinee: Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) (Rpt) (B&W)
4.00 Doctor Who
4.30 The Tarzan Season: Tarzan and the Green Godess (1938) (B&W)
6.00 Weekend Edition News
6.28 Weather
6.30 Little House on the Prairie
7.30 The Love Boat
8.30 The Club Show (Live)
9.30 Weekend Edition News
9.40 Saturday Late Show (Movie): The Day of the Triffids (1963) (B&W)
11.25 Within These Walls
12.20am Weather Outlook and Goodnight Kiwi/Closedown
@TelevisionAU@OnAir In 1968, Sydney’s ATN Channel 7 had produced a live, sports-themed variety show called “The Club Show” with Rex Mossop as host. But here in New Zealand, we got our version of “The Club Show” - although it had nothing to do with sport.
Produced by South Pacific Television (SPTV) at its Auckland studios and broadcast live to air at 8.30pm on Saturday nights for about 13 weeks - from March through May 1979 - “The Club Show” was hosted by Ernie Leonard and Glyn Tucker. They had light entertainment experience, but were better known for their expertise in horse racing and wrestling respectively.
The hour-long, live variety show was described as a ‘TV equivalent of an RSA talent quest’ and packed with song, dance and laughter, plus a viewer participation segment called ‘The Silver Shot’; it was an early attempt at interactivity via a viewer on the phone and a blindfolded cameraman.
Believe it or not, “The Club Show” was remembered as one of the greatest fiascos on New Zealand television (along with the sitcom “Melody Rules”).
Just curious, was the second station launched as South Pacific Television? Did it launch across NZ at the same time or was it in Auckland first and then other parts later?
According to the Wikipedia page for SPT, the channel first launched as TV2 back in June 1975, with the rebrand to South Pacific Television happening in December 1976, as a way to distinguish itself from Television One.
It did launch in Auckland first (and Christchurch too, however with transmissions there being limited due to a faulty transmitter). Transmissions to Wellington, Waikato, and the Bay of Plenty began later that year and by the rebrand to SPT, it was being broadcast across the country.
Hopefully, these answered your questions @Brianc68
Today’s TV: Saturday 14 May 1977
from the NZ Listener
TV One
10.00am Sports Extra Includes racing preview
11.00 Of Course You Can Do It
11.30 Dig This (Final)
11.50 This Week in Britain
11.55 Top of the Morning
Noon News
12.05 Crossroads
12.30 Saturday Matinee: Viva Max! (1969)
2.05 Sport on One Includes rugby league, gymnastics and racing from Te Rapa
5.00 Basil Brush (Rpt)
5.30 Goodbye from Gary Glitter
6.30 News
7.00 The Donny and Marie Show
8.00 It’s in the Bag
8.30 Saturday Night at the Movies: After the Fox (1966)
10.30 News
10.35 Movie: Three Faces of Eve (1957) (Rpt) (B&W)
12.20am News and Weather
12.25 Closedown
South Pacific Television (SPTV)
1.00pm Saturday Matinee: The Petty Girl (1950)
2.30 Dinah!
3.15 The Governor and JJ
4.10 Tom and Jerry (Rpt)
4.35 Klassic Keystone Komedy Kapers (B&W)
5.05 Shane
6.00 Weekend Edition (News)
6.15 Sport in Action
6.30 In Search Of…
7.00 Emergency (Rpt)
8.00 The Two Ronnies (Rpt)
8.50 A Joke’s a Joke
9.20 Executive Suite
10.20 Weekend Edition (News)
10.30 Saturday Late Show (Movie): Crosscurrent (1971) Followed by Closedown
All programmes on TV One and SPTV were broadcast in colour, unless otherwise specified.
Today’s TV: Saturday 15 May 1982
from the NZ Listener
TV One
10.00am What Now
10.30 The Muppet Show (Rpt)
10.55 Don’t Ask Me
11.20 Pot Black 1981
11.45 Top of the Morning
Noon News
12.02 Saturday Matinee: Helen of Troy (1956)
1.55 Sport on One Includes rugby league, woodchopping, showjumping and cricket
5.10 Gunsmoke (Final)
6.00 Ready to Roll
6.30 News
7.00 The Rock Around the Clock Show
8.00 Private Benjamin
8.30 Saturday Night at the Movies: Magnum Force (1973)
10.50 Trapper John MD
11.40 News
11.45 Closedown
TV2
Noon Search for Tomorrow
1.00 Eight Is Enough (Rpt)
1.50 Saturday Afternoon Movie: The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer (1947) (B&W)
3.25 The Human Experience
3.50 The Palace Presents
4.40 Lorne Greene’s Last of the Wild (Rpt)
5.05 The Onedin Line (Rpt)
5.55 News
6.00 News Review
6.15 Sports Review
6.30 Laverne and Shirley
6.50 I Like That One: Two
7.00 Foreign Correspondent
8.00 Master of Arts
8.30 Saturday Playhouse: A Little Rococo
9.20 Parkinson
10.05 News
10.20 World Cinema: Oedipus the King (1967)
11.55 Closedown
Oh god I remember Pot Black in the 80s in the regional Australian area I grew up in. I’m 90% sure it was on ABC here. What a snooze fest :). As I’ve mentioned I grew up in the 70s and 80s with only 2 stations in regional Australia (ABC and a commercial channel). I’d have to say on comparing what I had to TVOne and TV2 the choices were pretty similar, although I’d say the program line up was probably slightly better in New Zealand.
Although I guess at least we had the 2 stations both on air by 1965.
Today’s TV: Saturday 15 May 1976
from the NZ Listener
TV One
10.00am Sports Extra Includes racing preview
11.00 Of Course You Can Do It
11.30 The Phil Silvers Show (B&W)
Noon Saturday Matinee: Charlie Chan in Panama (1940) (B&W)
1.05 Counterpoint: The U-2 Spy Story (Rpt)
2.00 News
2.05 Sport on One Includes football
5.00 The Beachcombers
5.30 Iron Horse (Rpt)
6.25 The Wombles
6.30 News
7.00 Space 1999
8.00 It’s in the Bag
8.30 News
8.35 Saturday Night at the Movies: Krakatoa, East of Java (1969)
11.00 Blerta
11.30 News and Weather
11.35 Closedown
TV2
1.00pm Saturday Matinee: The Girl Can’t Help It (1956)
2.40 Dinah!
3.25 Free Time
3.50 The Big Valley
4.40 The Adventures of Black Beauty
5.05 Thunderbirds
6.00 News at Six
6.10 Sport Around Six
6.30 Little House on the Prairie
7.25 A Touch of Country
7.55 The Two Ronnies
8.45 Movin’ On
9.40 News
9.50 Late Night Movie: The Alligator People (1959)
11.05 Closedown
All programmes on TV One and TV2 were broadcast in colour, unless otherwise specified.