Heavy TV commitments in General Election

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33063, 2 November 1972, Page 4

Heavy TV commitments in General Election

It is right and proper that television should be used to bring the general election campaign to the people, but the events of Monday and Tuesday make one wonder just where it is going to stop. On Monday, Mr Marshall opened the National Party campaign at Whangarei. The first 40 minutes of his address was telecast, and the reception was wrecked by bad weather. This was very bad luck for Mr Marshall and for the National Party.

On Tuesday evening, Mr Kirk gave the opening address for the Labour Party, and he had much better luck with his television audience. But then it was on to “Gallery,” and Mr Marshall again, after a few brief interviews to find out what people had thought of Mr Marshall’s speech—what Joe Cote cheerfully described as the “most unscientific opinion poll.” Such polls are a waste of the corporation’s and the viewers’ time. They mean simply nothing. On "Gallery” Mr Marshall spoke for a considerable time. Was this intended to be a form of compensation for his lost viewing time of the pre-

vious evening? If so, it was not used as such by David Exel, who hammered away at Mr Marshall in his best “watch me hit him now” style. And Mr Marshall improved the happy hour by crticising what he had heard of Mr Kirk’s address that evening. Will “Gallery” this evening have Mr Kirk criticising Mr Marshall’s speech, or will it be given over to Mr Bruce Beetham, the Social Credit leader, having a piece of Messrs Marshall and Kirk? And if it is Mr Kirk, will he have to undergo the same intensity of grilling Mr Marshall underwent? The N.Z.B.C. may be able, as the newspapers do, to organise things in such a way that the parties’ time is kept to set and reasonable proportions. But it will be difficult to have exactly the same treatment for each politican cross-examined, and however skilfully this may be done, it is going to leave a lot of people with the impression that the corporation has been unfair to one party, or both, or all of them.

The disruption to programme patterns caused by the election campaign did not prevent Robert Ironside from looking thoughtfully at the case of a young Mexican boy

being exploited as a faith healer by two confidence men. Ironside seldom deals in obvious crimes, as the bestknown British screen detectives do. This one was rather tame, although the young Mexican won some sympathy. “Sinister Street” was again extremely good and gripping entertainment. Brett Usher as Michael Fane gave a convincing portrayal of the sensitive young man looking very much at sea in the sleasy pubs, while searching for the sweetheart of his youth. But the performance of the play was that of (e. and 0.e.) Valerie Gearon, as the ageing prostitute—a terribly pathetic figure.—PANDORA.

CHTV3 2.00 p.m.: News. 2.03: On Camera ’72. 2.45: Judd For The Defence. Drama. 3.36: Family Affair. Comedy. 4.00: Untamed World. Wildlife. 4.25: Play School. 4.50: Adventures of Rupert Bear. Puppets. 5.13: You Are There. 5.01: Hubble Bubble. Cartoon. 5.34: News and Weather. 5.40: Getting Together. 6.07: Hogan’s Heroes. 6.35: In Your Garden. 6.55: Party Political Broadcast. 7.00: Network news. 7.20: Weather. The South Tonight 7.45: Coronation Street. 8.17: Pukemanu. Drama (final), 0.15: Newsbrief. 0.17: Gallery. Current affairs. 0.55: Rugby — New Zealand v. Western Counties at Gloucester on October 28. Highlights. 10.38: All In The Family. Comedy. 11.06: Late news, weather.

NATIONAL LINK [tncludlng 3YA Christchurch (690 kilohertz); 2YA Wellington (570 kilohertz); <YA Dunedin (750 kilohertz); and 3YZ Greymouth (950 kilohertz).] 7 p.m.: N.Z.B.C. Sports News. 7.20: Gardening Session. 7.30: The Old Curiosity Shop. 8.0: General Election. 8.30: Weather and News, Checkpoint. 9.0: Christchurch Citadel Salvation Army Band. 930: The Archers. 10.30: N.Z.B.C. News Comment, Weather. 10.45: No Highway. 11.0: 8.8. C. News and Commentary, 11.15: Continuous. 3YC, CHRISTCHURCH (960 kilohertz)

7 p.m.: Pamela de Almeida (cello), John Wells (piano). 7.17: Jussi Bjoerling (tenor), Frederick Schauwecker (piano). 7.30: Roussel — Nicholas Roth (violin), George Roth (cello), Joseph Weingarten (piano). 8.0: London Symphony Orchestra conducted

by Edward Heath (Elgar) and Andre Previn. 8.40: Puccini— Leontyne Price (soprano), Rome Opera Orchestra under Oliviero Fabritiis. 8.54: Kreisler — Fritz Kreisler (violin), Carl Lamson (piano). 9.15: Beethoven: Triple Concert in C, Op. 56. 9.54: Poulenc: Sonata (1922) — Gervase de Peyer (clarinet), William Waterhouse (basaoon). 10.0: Writings on Paintings with Peter Cape. 10.10: Bizet—Rudolf Schock (tenor), Josef Metternich (baritone), Opera Orchestra under Wilhelm Schuechter. 10.23: Suk: Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra under Karl Muenchinger. 3ZB, CHRISTCHURCH (1100 kilohertz) 7.2 p.m.: Hit Wave. 8.2: Thursday Night. 10.2: Looking back. 3Z.M, CHRISTCHURCH (1400 kilohertz) 7 p,m.: Music.