Situation comedies on the way

Press, 12 August 1980, Page 15

Situation comedies on the way

■ Rehearsals will begin in Auckland today for the first of six -situation comedies to be shown next year. One of the six will be chosen for development into a spin-off series of six, in much the same way as British series have been developed from single productions in “Comedy Playhouse.”

When the first series is finished, a second series of one-off plays will be made in an attempt to find something else worthy of its own series.

The intention of Mr Tom Parkinson, Television New Zealand’s head of en-

tertainment, is to have two successful situationcomedy. series running by the beginning of 1982. He says .New Zealand has not -yet made a good situationcomedy series, and trying to find one that works is difficult because generally they do not travel.

“Sometimes . a show flops in Britain or America and is a hit here, or vice versa,” he says. “The loss rate on situation comedies is about 10 to one. So far we have only done five, so we still have five to go to find a good one.” Mr Parkinson will produce two of the first oneoff series himself, with di-

rectorial help from Derek Wooster, a producer’s as-= sistant with “Radio Times” and director at the New Independent Theatre in Auckland.

Two others will be produced in Christchurch by David McPhail, and two in Wellington by Tony Holden, a former director of “A Week of It” who is now with “Radio with Pictures” and “Ready . to Roll.”

Mr Holden wjll direct and produce the first spinoff series.

The situation comedy to be made first in Auckland is “Yes, Virginia, there is life after 40,” written -by

Valda Marshall, formerly of Lower Hutt and now living in Sydney. It is about a solo mother who.d after bringing up a daughter alone for 17 years, goes to a motel for a week-end of dalliance, only to find her daughter booked into the next room for a week-end exploring “a meaningful relationship” and disapproving of the mother’s activities. The second Auckland play, be an Auckland teacher’s college lecturer, Alan Trussel-Cullen, is called “My Better Half.” It is about a couple whose marraige has broken down but who continue to live together in a house where everything is divided. They have outside relationships, but their mutual

bitching is something they need.

Roger Hall, the Dunedin playwright, has written a play for. the series using the “Glide Time” characters. This will be produced, in Wellington, as will a comedy set in a motormower repair shop written by Bob Leman and Jeff Browett.

In Christchurch, writers for the “A Week of It” series and “McPhail and Gadsby” will contribute two comedies. Alan Grant and Chris McVeigh are writing a play about lawyers in search of clinets, and Jon Gadsby is writing one about a uniondelegate freezing worker whose university-educated son comes to the works as personnel officer.