Tuesday night has wide and varied appeal

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32587, 22 April 1971, Page 4

Tuesday night has wide and varied appeal

Tuesday evening programmes probably rank as about the best of the week. The large audience captured after the news by “The South Tonight” and “Coronation Street” must tend to linger on late into the night.

Interest in the programme on antiques may be somewhat limited, but it has a running time of little more than 20 minutes. After which it is time for the Walt Whitman High School. “Room 222” has improved since its opening episodes, and although the audience laughter is distinctly irritating, the stories are usually worth while, because the sentiment has not been spread too thick.

“Gallery” is nearly always worth watching, “Softly Softly” is the best of the crime series, and Alan Bennett's “On the Margin” has been very funny, most of the time. Its replacement next week, “Up Pompeii” has prospects of being very popular. The “Room 222” story on Tuesday night was not at all involved: an unresponsive Negro student was won over by the charm of Denise Nicholoas, and by her genuine interest in him. Nothing more complex than that. But there were touches of whimsical humour, an asset which has made “Room 222” one of the best shows of its kind. “Gallery” had some good topics. David Beatson rather beat his fists in vain at the implacable Mr E. A. Pozdnyakov, First Secretary at the Russian Embassy, on the question of lews emigrating from the Soviet Union. But

the interviews with Christchurch workers on voluntary unionism, and with Mr Tom Skinner were lively and gripping. David Exel has become one of the most successful of the “Gallery” team. He is an alert, but courteous and polished interviewer. This viewer could not but feel sorry for Detectiveconstable Digby in “Softly, Softly.” Digby has quite often been the whipping boy for the assertive Barlow—Cnarlie is not everybody’s darling—and the occasionally acid Mr Watt. It seemed this time that he was to enjoy real success, as he ran the campaign to catch a team planning a house-breaking job. In the end, the job was called off, the criminals having been warned that the police knew all about it. So Digby went empty-handed, not consoled very much, perhaps, by Watt’s “modest sense of achievement” at having prevented crime.

The very practical and practised methods of the Wyvern crime squad always hold a note of authenticity, and again the story was most competently acted. The familiar face of Jack Watling, as Sam Carter, was welcome as was that of Mary Webster, as his wife. There was one scene in which someone was getting on a bus. The camera seemed to stay on the bus, and especially on an advertising sign it carried, for an unnecessarily long time. It might have been a little bit of careless editing. But it suggested the idle thought that if television companies fall on hard times, they might be tempted to sell commercial firms advertising space as concealed com-

mercials . . . What an appalling prospect that would be: the secret agent plunges a knife into the back of his opposite number. Close up to show the knife was made by Sharp and Company of Sheffield. Perhaps times are not quite as bad as that

An easy eloquence has contributed heavily to the enjoyment of “On The Margin,” which finished this week. Alan Bennett’s scripts for himself have been wildly imaginative and sometimes very funny indeed. Very little offence could be taken at the most successful sketch in his final show—the sermon from the pulpit, which was assisted by some very clever lighting.—PANDOßA.

CHTV3 2.00 p.m.: Headline news. 2.03: On Camera. 2.46: Cheyenne. Western. 3.34: Bewitched. Comedy. 3.59: Cesar’s Wofld. Travel. (Repeat). 441: Wboden Tops. Puppets... 4.45: Peter. Cartoon. 4.50: The Roadrunner Show. Cartoon. 5.11: Zorro. Adventure. 5.39: Headline news, weather. 3.42: This Week in Britain. 5.47: The Johnny Cash Show (Phil Harris, Bobbi Martin, Roy Orbison, the Creedence Clearwater Revival). Variety. 6.40: Gardening with John Oliver. 7.00: Network news. 7.20: Weather. The South Tonight. 7.46: Coronation Street. 8.16: It Takes a Thief—“ The Suzy Simone Caper.” Adventure. 9.12: Newsbrief. 9.14: Gallery. Current affairs. 9.42: Ironside—“ Due Process of the Law.” Detective. 10.36: Never Mind the Quality—Feel the Width—- “ Hello Mother, Hello Father.” Comedy. 11.05: Late news, weather.

NATIONAL LINK ‘’(lncluding 3YA Christchurch (690 kilohertz); 2YA, Wellington (570 kuohenz); 4YA Dunedin (750 kilohertz); and 3YZ Greymouth (920 kilohertz) 7.0 p.m.: N.Z.B.C. Sports News. 7.5: Russ Morgan’s Greatest Hits. 7.30: In Your Garden This Week. 7.45: Queen’s Piper: Pipe Major Robert Brown. 8.0: The Land of the Shamrock. 8.30: Weather and News. 9.0: Men of Brass. 9.30: The Archers. 10.30: N.Z.B.C. News, Comment, Weather. 10.45: Golden Evergreens from Werner Mueller’s Dance Band. 11.0: 8.8. C. News and Commentary. 11.15: All Night Personality: Mike Lynch. 12.6 a.m.: I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again. 1.0: Melody Time from Germany. 2.5: England. 4.9: Eric Cook and his Orchestra. 3YC, CHRISTCHURCH (960 kilohertz)

net), Donald Bowick (piano) —Ravel: Piece in Habanera Form; Tadeusz Baird: Two Caprices; Szalowski: Sonatina (N.Z.8.C.). 7.18: Goldmark: Rustic Wedding Symphony, Op. 26. 8.0: Aldeburgh Festival. 9.0: Record Review. 10.0: From Sorcery to Science. (4) The World of the Midnight Mind (5.A.8.C.). 10.30: Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 4 (for the left hand), Op. 53 —Anatol Vedernikov (piano), U.S.S.R. State Radio Orchestra under Leo Ginzburg. 3ZB, CHRISTCHURCH (1100 kilohertz) 7.2 p.m.: Hit Wave! 8.2: World Records on the Air. 8.30: Thursday Night with George Taylor—The FiftyOne Club. 10.30: Looking Back. Including: An Old Serial—Silks and Saddles (1). 3ZM, CHRISTCHURCH 7.30 p.m.: Things are Swinging. 10.0: From the Top Pops.

7.0 p.m.: Ken Wilson (clari-