Actor
Jeremy Kewley who appeared in
the much maligned Australian
soap Arcade here writes
exclusively for Memorable TV
about his time on the
show.
I want to clear up one thing that EVERYONE seems to get wrong about Arcade (probably started by
mis-reporting in the media!) and that is how long the show was on air for. (It's not that I'm defending the show - it WAS pretty crappy! - it's just that I always like to get
the facts straight!)
The facts:
"Arcade" was NOT a Crawfords or Grundys series (as is often
reported). It was one of the first shows (in Australia) financed and
produced in-house by a Network (it is now more common - "Home and Away", etc). At the time, the 0-10 Network was being taken over by Rupert Murdoch and was being streamlined and changed into "Network Ten". The in-house idea was a big part of the problem with "Arcade". Each Channel/State put money into the show and had a say in it's production. Hence the problems - Sydney wanted more raunchy stuff, Perth and Melbourne wanted more comedy, and so on. This also led to the strange situation of it being shown in different time slots around the country . .. . and one state running it longer than the others . . . read on !
"Arcade" premiered around Australia on Sunday January 20th 1980 as a 90 minute telemovie - the same time the 0-10 Network became Network Ten. (The two stations that had been Channel 0, both became Channel 10, in line with the other Channel 10's)
The next night - Monday January 21st 1980, it began it's five
nights-a-week run. It aired at different times in different states.
(Sydney at 7.00pm, Melbourne at 6.30pm etc).
It went on to run for the next SIX WEEKS before it was axed (NOT two weeks as is often reported).
It was axed after episode #30 had gone to air (and replaced by
repeats of M*A*S*H) . Apart from the fact that I know this to be
true - my memory is very clear on this - I was taping it off air
every night at the time (in the brand new Beta format!), and have
episodes up until Episode #30!
My understanding (although I have no proof) was that Perth (NEW 10)
was the only Channel 10 that DIDN'T axe the show, and went on to play all 60 episodes that had been completed. (I kept getting fan mail from Perth for some time!)
At the time the show was axed, we were just about to finish shooting Episode # 65. A new set had been built (a pub/bar called The Sawmill as I recall) and we were all excited about shooting in this new set and confident that the network must have faith in us to have built a whole new expensive set - how wrong we were!!!
The scripts up to Episode #75 had been completed. I have copies of them at home- unfilmed! The storylines we were shooting at the time the show was axed included a story about a big television commercial being shot in the Arcade to promote each of the shops. It was an all-dancing, all-singing thing and most of the cast got to do "their party trick". But get this . . . the song that was used in the so-called commercial (which had been initially intended as the actual theme song for "Arcade") was actually released as a single AFTER "Arcade" was axed! It was called "Arcade Parade". (RCA Victor Records VPB0-0255) It was written and performed by Gary Keady and John Vallins
(Keady & Vallins). Side A is the song and Side B is an instrumental version. I have two copies!
Add to this the actual theme song for the show "Arcade" (ATA Records K-7748) performed by Doug Parkinson (Side A) and The Mike Perjanik Orchestra (Side B). I have three copies!
So there you go! (It always pisses me off when people say "Oh I
remember Arcade, the show that only lasted two weeks!") I hope I've cleared that one up. One day, I must get into ScreenSound's archives. I believe they have copies of some (or all) of the episodes that never went to air on the East Coast. I've never seen them!
