Replacement for Cryer

Press, 18 March 1977, Page 11

Replacement for Cryer

By

ROBIN TURKEL

Television One’s first 55-minute show called “Two on One,” a replacement for last year’s “Town Cryer,” will screen on March 25, at 8.30 p.m. But the producer, Eric Price, who is TVl’s man in charge in Auckland, has problems. He would like to transmit the show live on Friday nights, but the only outside broadcast van available has to be driven to sports venues to set up for Saturday sports coverage.

Problems dogged “Town Cryer” first in Symphonia Hall, a renovated picture theatre in Dominion problem with the TVI studio in the old Marac building at the intersection of Victoria and Hobson streets.

“Naturally, we wanted to put in a control room,” said Eric Price. “But then the budget crunch hit, and we would have had to rob some other place.”

Rehearsals for the new show have also been a two hosts, Ray Woolf tied up with reshooting some “Mackenzie Affair” scenes, and Vai Lamond in “Cider with Rosie” at Theatre Corporate.

Nevertheless the show will meet its target date March 25, and each 55minute show will be taped the preceding Wednesday.

Woolf and Miss Lamond have worked together before, in TV2’s serial, “A Going Concern.” But on this new show they will have to “get used to butting in on each other,” as Price puts it. The Max Cryer song and interview pattern will be broadened and overseas acts, budget permitting.

.are being planned. The first to sign has been Peters and Lee — blind English pianist Less Peters and singer, Diana Lee. Eric Price is looking for a comedian for “a series of punctuation marks, or one-line gags.” He is also on the lookout for what he calls, “Immediacy injects.” These would involve anything that is unusual — for instance, in Austra-

lia recently a young surfer fought off a shark. Community hi-jinks will also be a feature, according to Price, with “mild in-studio ahtletics” each week between teams captained by Woolf and Miss Lamond. New Zealand singers will be backed by Tony Baker and his orchestra. Price will direct as well as produce, but Richard Finny may take over some of the directing later.