History
The program was conceived by Townsend in the early 1970s and was designed to be a fast-moving daily dose of informed entertainment for children, and be suitable for and attractive to older teens and adults.
Both the Nine and the Seven Networks helped Townsend make pilots for his concept, but neither network bought the series. However in 1979 when the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal introduced a compulsory 'C' classification (making it a requirement for networks to broadcast only 'C' classified shows between 4pm and 5pm weekdays), Townsend saw the potential and offered the Ten Network, which were searching for a suitable children's program at the time, the opportunity to produce his show.
The first episode of Simon Townsend's Wonder World! went to air on 3 September 1979. At first the show was telecast only in the East Coast capital cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Before long other capital city and regional stations began signing up for the show.
By the end of 1980 the show was screening in every TV broadcast region throughout Australia. Soon it became the top-rating program on the Ten Network outside prime time - and sometimes its ratings were better than programs in prime time. For many years the Ten Network ran two episodes of Simon Townsend's Wonder World every weekday because of its ratings power - an old repeat show at 4pm followed by a new show at 4.30pm. The show also became a media phenomenon, with one press story in 1985 claiming, "I read a newspaper today and there was not a single mention of Simon Townsend. Is this a record?"
After more than 2,000 episodes, the show finished in 1988. The extraordinary success of Simon Townsend's Wonder World! has never been repeated by any other show, though many sought to copy its style.
Read more about this topic: Simon Townsend's Wonder World
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