1994 in Australian television

List of years in Australian television
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Events

• 18 January – Australian police drama series Blue Heelers premieres on Seven Network.
• 28 January – American animated series Rugrats makes its debut on ABC at 5:30 pm.
• 31 January – American children's action TV series Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers debuts on Seven Network.
• 31 January – A sequel to the Australian family film Clowning Around called Clowning Around II airs on Seven Network.
• February – Derryn Hinch has taken over Ray Martin's place as host of the Australian award-winning daytime talk program Midday .
• 7 February – Nicky Buckley replaces Jo Bailey as Glenn Ridge's co-host on Sale Of The Century , where she would remain for the next 6 years.
• 10 February – American science fiction television series The X-Files makes it debut on Network Ten.
• 11 February – The ABC has inked a deal to sell its children's TV series Bananas in Pyjamas to various countries around the world. The series has been sold for broadcasting in the UK, Cyprus, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Portugal, Iceland, Canada, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, South Africa, Namibia and Ireland. A deal is about to be signed with a Japanese network to air the series and ABC Enterprises executives will fly over to the USA for the New York Toy Fair and talks on how to crack the lucrative US market.
• 27 February – Network Ten launches Heartbreak High , a brand new schoolroom drama which was a spinoff of the 1993 Australian romantic comedy feature film The Heartbreak Kid .
• 28 February – Australian long running children's TV series Mr Squiggle returns to ABC for a brand new series at 3:55 pm.
• 3 March – British long running science fiction series Doctor Who airs on ABC for the last time in its original run at 4:30 am with the fourth and final part of the sixth and final serial of Season 22 Revelation of the Daleks.
• 5 March – American animated series Animaniacs premieres on the Nine Network as part of their What's Up Doc? block.
• 21 March – Final episode of the Australian comedy series Mother and Son airs on ABC.
• 24 March – American sitcom Frasier starring Kelsey Grammer premieres on the Nine Network.
• 27 March – The Animals of Farthing Wood , a British children's animated series based on the books by Colin Dann premieres on ABC at 8:00 am as part of Couch Potato .
• 31 March – Australia's iconic and long running soap Home and Away begins premiering on NBC in Namibia.
• 10 April – Australian children's TV series Lift Off has spawned into a game show titled EC Plays Lift Off with Mr. Fish as the host and only running for 13 episodes. It will air on ABC on every Sunday morning as part of Couch Potato .
• 11 April – Australian children's comedy series The Ferals premieres on ABC.
• 11 April – Michael Tunn, the host of the ABC's Afternoon Show returns with a brand new music series called Loud as a replacement for the weekday afternoon magazine show that was axed in late 1993. The show includes music videos as well as reviews on movies and video games, feature stories on youth culture, musicians talking about their favourite music videos and on location interviews with bands and will be shown from Monday to Thursday at 5:30 pm.
• 13 April – A Country Practice switches over to air on Network Ten following its final air on Seven Network in 1993.
• 16 April – American children's TV series Barney & Friends premieres on Nine Network.
• 30 April – The Tasmanian television market is aggregated, with TasTV (now WIN Television) taking a Nine Network affiliation & Southern Cross taking a dual Seven and Ten affiliation.
• 9 May – Frontline a satirical look at current affairs television from Australian comedy group The D-Generation and starring Rob Sitch as anchor Mike Moore starts airing on the ABC.
• 16 May – A brand new Australian game show for children called A*mazing debuts on Seven Network. Hosted by James Sherry and airing at 4:30 pm, the show pitted teams from two different primary schools against each other during the course of a week. Points gained by each contestant during the week would be totalled up to decide the winning school at the end of each week.
• 20 May – SBS commences transmission in Darwin.
• 23 May – Australia's favourite koala Blinky Bill returns to television with a brand new animated series on ABC at 4:30 pm. The series had previously aired in Germany, Hong Kong, the UK, Singapore, Ireland and on UK forces television before airing in its homeland.
• 1 June - Australian soap opera Home and Away airs on television in the United States for the first time on the country's newly launched cable television channel FX. It would take years to bring the soap opera to America.
• 16 June – Final episode of the Australian music series Loud airs on ABC.
• 20 June – Australian teen game show Vidiot returns to the ABC for a brand new series with Scott McRae taking over as presenter.
• 30 June – ABC has expired the rights to the long running British science fiction series Doctor Who . The series itself will no longer continue to air on the Australian free for air public broadcaster until 2003, but will soon air on cable television on UKTV in 1996. The ABC will also broadcast the television movie of the series in July of the same year.
• 1 August – Melbourne's ATV10 celebrates 30 years of transmission.
• 17 August – Australian comedy series Hey Dad..! hosts its final original episode on Seven Network.
• 18–28 August – The Commonwealth Games are televised live on Network Ten from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
• 8 September – ABC debuts The Human Animal , a six-part British nature documentary series written and presented by Desmond Morris described as "a study of human behaviour from a zoological perspective", travels the world to filming the diverse customs and habits of various regions while suggesting common roots.
• 23 September – Iconic Australian drama series Banjo Paterson's The Man From Snowy River: The McGregor Saga starring Andrew Clarke and Wendy Hughes premieres on the Nine Network.
• 29 September – The fourth episode of ABC's The Human Animal includes sexually explicit scenes when it depicted a couple making love by using tiny endoscopic cameras placed inside both bodies to show intimate orifices. It also depicts the insertion of a man's erect penis into a woman's vagina and the subsequent orgasm.
• October – In Neighbours , the Kennedy family (Susan, Karl, Libby, Billy, Mal) arrive at No. 28, Doug and Pam Willis leave for Darwin, Julie Martin is killed in the Murder Mystery Weekend.
• 16 October – The Nine Network rebrands its on-air graphics.
• 19 October – A television special known as The Very Best of the Don Lane Show airs on Nine Network at 8:30 pm. It features Don Lane introducing some of the memorable segments to have come from the popular variety show that ran from 1975 to 1983, including footage of guest stars Mel Brooks, Billy Connolly, James Randi, Charlton Heston, Bob Hope, Liza Minnelli, Robin Williams, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Allen, John Farnham, Peter Sellers and Johnny O'Keefe. This special was remastered for a DVD release in 2004.
• 5 November – A Country Practice (1981–1993 on Channel 7) revival attempt on Network Ten backfires and is swiftly cancelled due to low ratings.
• 26 November – The popular television character Ossie Ostrich leaves Hey Hey It's Saturday after 23 years as Daryl Somers' co-host. When the show returns in 1995, Somers will host solo.
• The infamous TAC Nightshift commercial depicting A Volkswagen Kombi goes to air on television for the very first time.
• The 1994 FIFA World Cup is broadcast live from the United States and is shown on SBS and Prime Television.
• Community Television starts with long-term trials of stations in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
• The ABC purchases an Australian children's television programme from the creators of Johnson and Friends called Boffins about tiny alien like creatures called Boffins who spent their days in kitchen cupboards and surrounding areas, trying to discover science behind how the world works. The series was never broadcast in Australia but it did air in several other countries such as Singapore, Israel, Malaysia, Brunei, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Canada, Africa and the Middle East. The complete series will be released on VHS in Australia the following year by ABC Video and Roadshow Entertainment featuring all thirteen episodes.
• American children's animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles changes it schedule to mornings as part of Agro's Cartoon Connection on Seven Network.

Debuts

Program	Network	Debut date
Kate Ceberano and Friends	ABC TV	17 January
Blue Heelers	Seven Network	18 January
Level 23	Network Ten	24 January
Alan Jones Live	Network Ten	31 January
Man O Man	Seven Network	5 February
Under the Skin	SBS TV	16 February
The Bob Morrison Show	Nine Network	22 February
Heartbreak High	Network Ten	27 February
The Times	Seven Network	14 March
Denton	Seven Network	15 March
Ballzup!	ABC TV	20 March
Heartland	ABC TV	23 March
The AFL Footy Show	Nine Network	24 March
The Big Byte	SBS TV	24 March
EC Plays Lift Off	ABC TV	10 April
The Reading, Writing Roadshow	ABC TV	11 April
The Ferals	ABC TV	11 April
Loud	ABC TV	11 April
Consumer Power	ABC TV	13 April
The Zone	Nine Network	30 April
Frontline	ABC TV	9 May
Sydney Weekender	Seven Network	14 May
A*mazing	Seven Network	16 May
The Damnation of Harvey McHugh	ABC TV	2 June
Stampede	ABC TV	10 June
Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left	Seven Network	19 June
Strike It Lucky	Nine Network	11 July
The Battlers	Seven Network	13 July
Total Recall	Seven Network	15 August
Ocean Girl	Network Ten	29 August
The NRL Footy Show	Nine Network	1 September
Janus	ABC TV	1 September
Living in the 90s	ABC TV	1 September
Wedlocked	Seven Network	7 September
Banjo Paterson's The Man From Snowy River: The McGregor Saga	Nine Network	23 September
The Liberals: 50 Years of the Federal Party	ABC TV	12 October
Big Girl's Blouse	Seven Network	13 October
Halifax f.p.	Nine Network	9 November
Escape from Jupiter	ABC TV	26 November

International Programming

Program	Network	Debut date
States of Mind	SBS TV	2 January
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3	Nine Network	3 January
Great Crimes and Trials of the 20th Century	ABC TV	7 January
Sandino	SBS TV	8 January
The Late Show with David Letterman	Nine Network	12 January
Kings Without Crowns	SBS TV	16 January
Coast of Dreams	SBS TV	19 January
A Very Merry Widow	SBS TV	19 January
Super Mario World	Nine Network	20 January
Grace & Favour	Network Ten	28 January
Rugrats	ABC TV	28 January
/ Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers	Seven Network	31 January
Biker Mice from Mars	Network Ten	31 January
/ / Clowning Around II	Seven Network	31 January
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog	Network Ten	31 January
/ Funnybones	ABC TV	1 February
/ Where's Wally?	ABC TV	2 February
Missing Persons	Nine Network	2 February
NYPD Blue	Network Ten	3 February
Calling the Shots	ABC TV	3 February
/ Eek! The Cat	Network Ten	3 February
Anglo-Saxon Attitudes	ABC TV	6 February
The X-Files	Network Ten	10 February
Flesh 'n' Blood	Seven Network	13 February
Doug	Network Ten	13 February
Davis Rules	Nine Network	17 February
Tooth Fairy, Where Are You?	ABC TV	18 February
A Child's Garden of Verses	ABC TV	18 February
Here's How!	ABC TV	22 February
To Play the King	ABC TV	24 February
Gallowglass	ABC TV	27 February
Body & Soul	Nine Network	1 March
Sightings	Seven Network	1 March
Tracey Ullman: A Class Act	ABC TV	2 March
Animaniacs	Nine Network	5 March
Forever Knight	Nine Network	9 March
Italianissimo	ABC TV	12 March
Ashenden	ABC TV	20 March
Boy Meets World	Seven Network	23 March
Dave's World	Nine Network	24 March
Frasier	Nine Network	24 March
/ The Animals of Farthing Wood	ABC TV	27 March
Almost Home	Seven Network	29 March
Here and Now	Seven Network	30 March
Kevin's Cousins	ABC TV	1 April
Ferris Bueller	Nine Network	1 April
Out All Night	Nine Network	2 April
Blood and Honey	ABC TV	3 April
Northwood	ABC TV	11 April
The Hat Squad	Nine Network	15 April
Barney & Friends	Nine Network	16 April
Old Bear Stories	ABC TV	18 April
Rat-a-Tat-Tat	ABC TV	20 April
Mathica's Mathshop	ABC TV	20 April
Walker, Texas Ranger	Nine Network	28 April
Today's Gourmet	SBS TV	30 April
In Suspicious Circumstances	Seven Network	4 May
The Full Wax	ABC TV	7 May
Hit and Run	SBS TV	11 May
Grace Under Fire	Seven Network	15 May
Miffy	ABC TV	16 May
His and Hers (USA)	Seven Network	17 May
The Greedysaurus Gang	ABC TV	23 May
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Seven Network	25 May
Kinsey	ABC TV	30 May
Discover America: The West	SBS TV	31 May
Where I Live	Seven Network	3 June
Ready or Not	ABC TV	17 June
/ / Deepwater Haven	Network Ten	19 June
Beakman's World	Network Ten	19 June
Key West	Seven Network	22 June
Great Scott!	Nine Network	24 June
Kevin and Co.	ABC TV	27 June
Between the Lines	Seven Network	28 June
/ / Madeline (TV series)	ABC TV	28 June
Philbert Frog	ABC TV	28 June
Behaving Badly	ABC TV	3 July
/ / Conan the Adventurer	Network Ten	4 July
A Touch of Frost	Seven Network	8 July
Murder Most Horrid	ABC TV	11 July
The Admiral and the Princess	ABC TV	15 July
Teddy Trucks	ABC TV	15 July
Glenroe	SBS TV	18 July
Supercities	SBS TV	19 July
Jo Brand Through the Cakehole	Seven Network	21 July
Dolphin Stories	SBS TV	21 July
Ooh La La	SBS TV	22 July
Great Chefs of San Francisco	SBS TV	23 July
Switch	SBS TV	26 July
/ Thicker than Water	ABC TV	31 July
Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean	ABC TV	5 August
As Time Goes By	ABC TV	8 August
Knight Rider 2000	Network Ten	10 August
/ Highlander: The Series	Seven Network	11 August
Back to School Mr. Bean	ABC TV	12 August
Underbelly (UK)	ABC TV	14 August
/ Orson and Olivia	ABC TV	19 August
Space Age: The Quest for Planet Mars	SBS TV	21 August
SeaQuest DSV	Network Ten	28 August
Models Inc.	Network Ten	30 August
Mad About You	Network Ten	30 August
/ Counterstrike	Network Ten	1 September
Burke's Law (1994)	Network Ten	2 September
The Human Animal	ABC TV	8 September
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	Nine Network	10 September
/ Tales of the City	ABC TV	11 September
Café Americain	Seven Network	14 September
Ben Elton: The Man from Auntie	ABC TV	17 September
Good Advice	Nine Network	19 September
Countess Dora	SBS TV	21 September
So Haunt Me	ABC TV	22 September
The Lodge	ABC TV	26 September
Sea Dragon	ABC TV	26 September
Seven Signs	SBS TV	27 September
Wallace and Gromit	ABC TV	30 September
Noel's House Party	Nine Network	30 September
Exosquad	Network Ten	15 October
Mansion: Great Houses of Europe	SBS TV	18 October
Discovering Japan	ABC TV	19 October
Shortland Street	SBS TV	24 October
Side by Side	ABC TV	29 October
The Sinbad Show	Seven Network	1 November
The Dreamstone	ABC TV	6 November
The Riff Raff Element	ABC TV	12 November
Budgie the Little Helicopter	ABC TV	18 November
Tumbledown Farm	ABC TV	18 November
Scarlett	Nine Network	20 November
Bottom	ABC TV	22 November
Ricki Lake	Network Ten	28 November
The John Larroquette Show	Nine Network	28 November
Byrds of Paradise	Network Ten	28 November
Real Stories of the Highway Patrol	Nine Network	30 November
The Mommies	Seven Network	1 December
Renegade	Nine Network	1 December
Diagnosis: Murder	Nine Network	1 December
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.	Nine Network	3 December
Cobra	Seven Network	3 December
Babylon 5	Seven Network	3 December
/ Kung Fu: The Legend Continues	Nine Network	5 December
Sea Trek	ABC TV	8 December
Open a Door	ABC TV	11 December
/ / The Little Engine That Could	ABC TV	11 December
Prince Cinders	ABC TV	11 December
The Nightmare Years	Seven Network	12 December
Byker Grove	ABC TV	13 December
Three Stars	SBS TV	16 December
Rubbish, King of the Jumble	ABC TV	18 December
Wild Palms	Nine Network	19 December
Success	SBS TV	23 December
Mole's Christmas	Seven Network	24 December
Jolly Old St. Nicholas	Seven Network	24 December
Noddy and Father Christmas	ABC TV	25 December
The Mousehole Cat	ABC TV	25 December
Brains & Brawn (1993)	Seven Network	26 December
Twins of Destiny	ABC TV	27 December
What's Up Doc?: A Salute to Bugs Bunny	ABC TV	28 December
See How They Grow	ABC TV	29 December
The World of Hammer	SBS TV	31 December
Mighty Max	Seven Network	1994
/ Tales from the Cryptkeeper	Network Ten	1994
Bonkers	Seven Network	1994
Marsupilami	Seven Network	1994

Changes to network affiliation

This is a list of programs which made their premiere on an Australian television network that had previously premiered on another Australian television network. The networks involved in the switch of allegiances are predominantly both free-to-air networks or both subscription television networks. Programs that have their free-to-air/subscription television premiere, after previously premiering on the opposite platform (free-to air to subscription/subscription to free-to air) are not included. In some cases, programs may still air on the original television network. This occurs predominantly with programs shared between subscription television networks.

Domestic

Program	New network(s)	Previous network(s)	Date
A Country Practice	Network Ten	Seven Network	13 April
Kaboodle	ABC TV	Seven Network	27 June
Ship to Shore	ABC TV	Nine Network	2 October

International

Program	New network(s)	Previous network(s)	Date
Unsolved Mysteries	Network Ten	Seven Network	15 January
The Black Adder	ABC TV	Seven Network	8 April
Fawlty Towers	Seven Network	ABC TV	14 April
Executive Stress	Network Ten	ABC TV	22 April
Blackadder II	ABC TV	Seven Network	13 May
The Wonderful World of Disney	Network Ten	Nine Network, Seven Network	5 June
Blackadder the Third	ABC TV	Seven Network	10 June
Blackadder Goes Forth	ABC TV	Seven Network	24 June
Woof!	ABC TV	Nine Network	9 October
The Woman Who Raised a Bear as Her Son	ABC TV	SBS TV	11 December
Blackadder's Christmas Carol	ABC TV	Seven Network	24 December

Specials

Program	Channel	Debut date
No Cure for Cancer No Cure for Cancer	Nine Network	6 April

Television

ABC TV

• Mr. Squiggle and Friends (1959–1999)
• Four Corners (1961–present)
• Rage (1987–beyond)
• G.P. (1989–1996)
• Foreign Correspondent (1992–present)
• The Damnation of Harvey McHugh (1994)

Seven Network

• Wheel of Fortune (1981–1996, 1996–2003, 2004-beyond)
• A Country Practice (1981–1994)
• Home and Away (1988–present)
• Family Feud (1988–1996)
• Real Life (1992–1994)
• The Great Outdoors (1993–2006, 2007)
• Full Frontal (1993–present)

Nine Network

• Sunday (1981–2008)
• Today (1982 – present)
• Sale of the Century (1980–2001)
• A Current Affair (1971–1978, 1988–2005, 2006–present)
• Hey Hey It's Saturday (1971–1999)
• The Midday Show (1973–1998)
• 60 Minutes (1979–present)
• The Flying Doctors (1986–1991)
• Australia's Funniest Home Video Show (1990–2000, 2000–2004, 2005–present)
• Hey Hey It's Saturday (1971–1999)
• Getaway (1992–present)
• Our House (1993–2001)
• Money (1993–2000)

Network Ten

• Neighbours (1985 – present)
• E Street (1989–1993)
• Good Morning Australia with Bert Newton (1991–2005)
• Sports Tonight (1993–2011)

Ending this year

Date	Show	Channel	Debut
22 January	Let the Blood Run Free	Channel Ten	1990
4 February	Supermarket Sweep	Channel Nine	1992
16 March	Newlyweds	Channel Seven	1993
20 March	Kideo	ABC	1993
21 March	Mother and Son	ABC	1984
28 April	Alan Jones Live	Channel Ten	31 January 1994
4 May	Under the Skin	SBS	16 February 1994
13 May	Blockbusters	Channel Seven	1991
27 May	All in a Day's Work	ABC	1992
1 June	Heartland	ABC	23 March 1994
16 June	Loud	ABC	11 April 1994
27 June	The Adventures of Blinky Bill	ABC	23 May 1994
3 July	EC Plays Lift Off	ABC	10 April 1994
8 July	Paradise Beach	Channel Nine	1993
16 August	The Bob Morrison Show	Channel Nine	22 February 1994
17 August	Hey Dad...!	Channel Seven	1987
18 August	The Damnation of Harvey McHugh	ABC	2 June 1994
14 October	Strike It Lucky	Channel Nine	11 July 1994
5 November	A Country Practice	Channel Ten (Channel Seven, 1981–1993)	18 April 1994
25 November	Man O Man	Channel Seven	5 February 1994
1 December	Real Life	Channel Seven	1992
9 December	Stampede	ABC	10 June 1994
14 December	Live and Sweaty	ABC	1991
24 December	Video Smash Hits	Channel Seven	1990

See also

• 1994 in Australia
• List of Australian films of 1994