Viewers’ views

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32635, 17 June 1971, Page 4

Viewers’ views

Letter* on television topics are subject to the rules applying to general correspondence.

JOHN OLIVER There must be many people like ourselves who are disappointed to find that John Oliver’s gardening programme has been discontinued. We hope the cessation is only temporary. We realise that there must be a considerable amount ol work necessary in the production of any programme such as this, but to us it seems very well worth the effort. There are many aspects of gardening which have not been covered yet, and we look forward to seeing some more of Mr Olivet in the near future, also some of the interesting garden* where his demonstration* have taken place. TWO HOPEFULS. BREAK-DOWN

This is not a programme complaint. It seems that, because of some fault or another, we went without our national hook-up on Tuesday night The fact that there was a fault did not even rate a mention on the local news, let alone an apology. In the meantime we watched nature study. This situation is not good enough. We pay good salaries to the technical staff and so far as is known good equipment is provided. This break-down will not be shrugged off as something that happens to yokels. A full inquiry is imperative, and some guarantee given to the paying public that the paidfor service will be provided. —STEPTOE.

[When this letter was referred to the N.Z.B.C. a spokesman said: “At 6.51 p.m. on Tuesday there was an announcement, and an apology, for the fact that there would be no ‘Column Comment,’ national news, or •Gallery.’ At 7 p.m. there was a further apology and similar announcement. At 7.05 p.m. the announcement was repeated. At 7.46 p.m viewers were advised again that there would be no ‘Gallery* programme, and that a ‘Comedy Rayhouse’ item would be screened. At 9.18 pm. there was a further announcement that there would not be a ‘Gallery’ programme because of a technical failure. After the ‘Comedy Playhouse’ item, at 9.55 pJtn. there was an apology for the lack of ‘Gallery.’

"It is unfair to expect the N.Z.B.C. to have given a full explanation of the breakdown on Tuesday night The relay station at Blue Duck is on a mountain top, it is unmanned, and inevitably it must take some time for the fault to be traced. Tuesday night’s break-down was not the first in the micro-wave equipment, but the number of auch break-downs hss been remarkably small.”]

“A Killer is Loose” "A Killer is Loose,” a fulllength film screening on Friday night is a suspenseful United Artists story about a bank robber who vows vengeance upon the detective who arrested him. It stars Joseph Cotten and Rhonda Fleming. "A Killer is Loose” was released in 1956.