A Long Night At “Peyton Place”

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32321, 12 June 1970, Page 3

A Long Night At “Peyton Place”

It required considerable resolve and a stern sense of duty to sit through the most recent episode of “Peyton Place” on Wednesday evening. But the job was done, and by the time it was all over we felt about as cheerful as the people who worry away their lives in this peculiar Place.

It began with Elliott Carson getting a gun through the mail. This was apparently related to the assisted escape from gaol of a dangerous criminal. Elliott looked suitably grim about it all and took it to the police sergeant, who was obviously not having a good day either. And when the police sergeant telephoned Leslie Harrington about it, he did not receive the news with any great evidence of cheer. There were a few mad seconds when the Harrington brothers carried Rita up some steps, and laughed uproariously. This was very much out of character, even if it was brief, and no doubt they will have to pay, next week, for this unseemly act of levity. Then there was a bit more of Mr Harrington, with bulldog expression, and an earnest conference between Steve Cord and Dr Michael Rossi. They were both very unhappy. Then the voluptuous Mrs Van Leyden arrived to have a chat with Stephen. Was it about a little picnic get-together for all these happy people? Not likely. She called about her libel claim against the good doctor. From there? A terse exchange between Adrienne Van Leyden and old man Peyton. And on to a squabble between Harrington senior and Carson, about that wretched gun—a scene ending, as so many do, with a close-up of one of the principals, staring into space and obviously thinking unhappy thoughts.

Mrs Cord wasn't happy either, in her intimate scene with Stephen, whose intentions were clearly anything but honourable;- and Mrs Van Leyden found moments later that she was required to resist the advances of the well-muscled Lee Webber. After which Rita’s Mother had a few hard words with Leslie Harrington, and Leslie Harrington tried ■? some soft ' soap on Rita, who doesn’t want to call him Dad.

A barrage of insults was exchanged by Dr Rossi and the busy Mrs Van Leyden, and then Connie Carson, Elliott and the old dad indulged in a little bantering for a few dizzy seconds before getting down to the day’s sorry business.

Betty again: she doesn’t like Adrienne and spent some time telling old Mr Peyton about it.

It’s going to be good again next week, because the preview showed us the Harrington boys arguing—it was pretty obvious they would have to, after that obscene laughter—and Cord in a black mood, and Mrs Van Leyden and old Peyton at it, hammer and tongs. Gena Rowlands (Mrs Van Leyden) is billed as a guest star, a hint perhaps that she will be out of the story soon. And if only they would make proper use of that gun . . . There’s one good thing about “Peyton Place.” It made Roy Kinnear delightful. —PANDORA.

‘Coronation Street’

There may never be anything quite like “Coronation Street” again. After years of television life, the “Street” is as strong as ever, and it is being shown to an increasingly wide audience. Some of the original "Coronation Street” episodes are still being sold to new buyers, who can thus look forward to a decade or so of Mrs Sharpies and her associates. It has been sold to Hong Kong, to Singapore, to Greece, to Holland, with the new voices dubbed in. How Len Fairclough will sound spouting Chinese is a matter for the viewers. But no doubt “Coronation Street" will be as popular on these new screens as it has been for so long with Commonwealth viewers. Extreme care is taken to keep the “Coronation Street” characters intact. With script writers changing from time to time, there would be a danger of personality damage: viewers would not like to see Albert T. rush into an amorous affair with Ena Sharpies. So a vast card index system is maintained, recording the principals’ characteristics and mannerisms, even, sometimes, a slow evolution in personalities.

The future of the series is so soundly based that recently a whole new set was built outdoors in permanent materials, with a new frontage for the “Rover’s Return.” New Zealand is still well behind the English series. But another long-establi-shed programme. “Peyton Place” has ceased production in the United States. It will continue in New Zealand, on its present basis of 45 minutes a week, for two years.

CHTV3

2.00 p.m.: Headline news. 2.03: Hawaii Five-O—“The Cocoon" (Jack Lord, Nancy Kwan, Leslie Nielson). Drama. 3.39: The World of Lowell Thomas—“ Land of the Queen of Sheba.” Travel. 4.01: The Beverly Hillbillies. Comedy. 4.25: Casper the Friendly Ghost. Cartoon. 4.45: Kimba the White Lion. Cartoon. 5.08: The Whacky Racers. Cartoon. 5.29: Italian Truffles. 5.38: Headline news, weather. 5.40: The Night Sky. Documentary. (Repeat) 6.07: The Tyrant King. Fourth of six parts. Mystery. 6.33: World Scene. 6.50: Sports magazine. 7.00: Network news. 7.15: Weather.

The South Tonight. 7.35: Julia—“ Love is a Many Sighted Thing.” Comedy. 7.59: The Vai Doonican Show. New series (Variety). 8.42: Notes For a Film About Donna and Gail. Dramatised documentary. 9.29: Newsbrief. 9.31: Film, (1961) “The Loudest Whisper” (Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, James Garner). Drama. 11.13: Late news, weather. 11.20: C.B.S. Golf Classic—Bruce Devlin and Bert Green v. Gene Littler and Ken Still.

NATIONAL LINK

[lncluding 3YA, Christchurch <«9O kilocycles); 2YA, Welling, ton <570 kilocycles); 4YA, Dunedin <7BO kilocycles); and 3YZ, Greymouth (920 kilocycles).!

7.30 p.m.: Time For Music. From the Operetta; Rose of Stamboul, Waltz; Village Children, Waltz; Arias from the Spanish Zarzuela; My love my race knows how to conquer (The Legend of the Kiss); Dolores, my Dolores (La Dolores) Montserrat Caballe (soprano), Barnabe Marti (tenor); Ballet from the Operas: Rossini: William Tell Ballet Music: In an English Courtroom (2) The case for the defence: Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury (Part 2—George Baker (baritone), Elsie Morison (soprano), Richard Lewis (tenor), Glyndebourne Festival Chorus, Pro Arte Orchestra under Sir Malcolm Sargent. 8.30: Weather and News. 9.00: Music of the Maori. 9.15: World of Science. 9.30: The Jazz Hour. 10.30: News. 10.45: Cooks and Shepherds, Come Away. 11.00: 8.8. C. News and Commentary. 11.14: Table Tennis. . 12.00: News and

Weather. 2.30: Sing Something Simple. 4.09: Hungarian Song Festival. 3YC, CHRISTCHURCH (960 kilocycles)

7.27 p.m.: Nielsen: Quartet No. 3 in E flat, Op. 14—Copenhagen Quartet. 7.57: Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 8 in D minor (1955)—London Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Adrian Boult (new record). 8.26: Liapunov: Lezhinka: Nuit d’ete (Nos. 10 and 5 of 12 Transcendental Studies) —Waldemar Strecke (piano). 8.42: The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov. Translated by Constance Garnett The ugubrious image of three young women stuck in a provincial town and longing to go to Moscow. 3ZB, CHRISTCHURCH (1100 kilocycles)

7.00 p.m.: Swop Shop. 7.30: My Kind of Music. 9.05: Late night Friday. , 3ZM, CHRISTCHURCH (1400 kilocycles)

7.30 p.m.: Cilla Black Sings. 8.00: Pops of 1960. 8.30: Spotlight on Peter Nero. 9.00: From The Pen of Burt Baeharach. 9.30: Ivan Rebroff. 10.00: Nice ‘n’ Easy.