Full change still to be seen

Press, 20 February 1980, Page 21

Full change still to be seen

By

FELICITY PRICE

Unwept, unhonoured and uiioung, South Pacific -Television has been swept under the carpet and the staid and steady Network Two has been born, to replace'it. r. In the next few weeks, we are told, there will be a transition period, a time for us all to get used to rhe idea of complementary network television, before the full, balanced blast of the new Television New Zealand set-up is felt. A time for us all to die of boredom, with continuity .'.nnouncers telling us from time to time to turn over to the other channel

for a change (if you think this is bad, you should turn over to the other side.

. A time for us all to wonder if Auckland is the only place in New Zealand worth mentioning — because it is the only place we hear about on television these days. South Pacific Television’s farewell binge on

Friday night, while reminding us of the many flaws of the channel, was still a sad reminder of some of the things we are going to miss — the brightly coloured endearing little Goodnight Kiwi, (the new one is a bit drab), the signature tunes and logos, the levity that made such a welcome change sometimes to the seriousness of TVI,- the early, spontaneous Telethons, and, above .all, the healthy competition for programmes and advertising- ' =*

Sure, the viewer sometimes go'- a' raw deal when there were two • programmeson at the same time that ■ were worth watching. But if this week’s programmes are anything to go by, that hasn’t changed. For example, on Monday night, at 8.30 p.m. there were two programmes on and both looked good. Undoubtedly,, other examples will abound.

On Monday night, no fewer than nine new series were screened to introduce us to the new deal network television. Three of them, though, were simply familiar faces in a new series of , rogrammes we have seen before. Of the remainder, only one seemed worthy of note. “Minder,” starring Dennis .Waterman has all

the hallmarks of a good action drama, with a touch of humour thrown in.

“Telford’s Change',” on the other channel, was so low key that if it had got any slower and quieter, it was'in danger of dying a de- h of dullness. But. perhaps the most significant comment on the new television structure, as we have seen it so far,< was. made by the' continuity • . announcer -when previewing the evening’s programmes on TVI. “Soap,” the American farce- previously screened on-'-TV2, is now going to be shown -on the other channel, so that it can reach a wider audience.

.-“Soap” is, we are told, a highly popular series on television, and by screening it on TVI, it would be able to reach a much bigger audience. Well, if that’s what complementarity is all about, give me some healthy competition any day.