27 January 1990(1990-01-27)– 24 September 2016(2016-09-24)
Related
Seven's Super Saturday
Saturday Disney is a long-running Australian children's television program which aired on the Seven Network in Australia for over 26 years, with the first episode going to air on 27 January 1990.[1][2] The show was a television block which aired on Saturday mornings, consisting mainly of Disney television series dispersed between hosted content. The original presenters were Jeniene Mapp, James Sherry and Sofie Formica,[3] and the final presenters were Nathan Morgan, Candice Dixon and Teigan Nash. Many hosts have gone on to achieve successful careers in Australian television.[4]
Saturday Disney had three hosts at any one time, always consisting of two females and one male.
The presenters were also credited as segment producers, and they wrote and researched their own stories.
The only exception of having more than three hosts on air at one time was whenever a co-host was leaving and their replacement was introduced on screen, either a number of weeks beforehand, or during the final episode of the co-host who was leaving.
Shae Brewster was the longest-serving presenter in the history of the show. She hosted the show for three months short of eleven years.[8]
Appearances by hosts after leaving the show
Both Shelley Craft and Melanie Symons returned to the show as guests after their departures. Craft returned on 26 October 2002 to talk about her new hosting role on Perfect Match and via satellite on 29 October 2005 for the 800th episode. Symons returned on 2 August 2003 to promote Australia's Best Backyards.
Several hosts have appeared after their departure through old footage. On the 999th episode on 29 August 2009, footage of every previous presenter who had been on the show was aired, looking back at the show's then 19-year history.[2]
Sally Stanton was interviewed by Teigan Nash on 2 May 2015 at the Cinderella red carpet event. Stanton was reporting for Event TV.
Melanie Symons, Daniel Widdowson, Shae Brewster, Sally Stanton and Jack Yabsley featured as guests in the final episode which aired 24 September 2016. James Sherry also appeared via a video message.
History
Part of the Seven Network's output deal and long-running relationship with Disney in the late 1980s was to adopt a local program to feature new animated series such as DuckTales mixed with local studio segments.[9] This was part of an international franchise of programs in the global market to be named Disney Club,[2][3] the Australian version being located in Brisbane. The producers of this version convinced Disney to allow them to use the Saturday Disney title to avert confusion with The Mickey Mouse Club, a title which seemed dated.[2] The original set was designed to reflect Queensland architecture and make the viewers feel like they were visiting a friend's house on a Saturday morning. The set has since changed several times, the most recent set being introduced in February 2007. Saturday Disney was originally filmed at BTQ-7[3] from 1990 until 1997, when it moved to its new production base at ATN-7 in Sydney. It was originally produced by Buena Vista Television in conjunction with Seven.
On 5 September 2009, the show celebrated its 1,000th episode. The episode was filmed on location at Disneyland to celebrate.[5][10] A week prior to this, footage of every previous host who had been on the show was aired, looking back at the show's then 19-year history.[2][11]
Shae Brewster hosted her final episode on 27 July 2013, becoming the longest-serving host in the history of the program. She presented the show for three months short of eleven years, first joining in 2002.[8]
The final episodes of Saturday Disney were filmed on 26 August 2016.[6]TV Tonight reported that the show would be ending before the news was confirmed by a spokesperson for Seven.[7] The final episode aired on 24 September 2016 and featured guest appearances by former presenters Melanie Symons, Daniel Widdowson, Shae Brewster, Sally Stanton and Jack Yabsley. James Sherry also appeared via a video message. David Knox of TV Tonight reported the cancellation of the program was the result of a "change in direction" under a new executive producer in charge of children's programming for Seven.[4]
Format
As a main feature, Saturday Disney originally included three Disney programs dispersed throughout the course of a two-hour episode. From 2012 to 2016, Saturday Disney featured five programs over the course of a three-hour episode. The programs shown regularly rotated around the schedule, and were a mixture of animated cartoons and live action comedies, which were more common after the premiere of Hannah Montana in 2007.[12][13] There were three hosts of Saturday Disney, who lived in the 'Disney House' and introduced the programs along with performing other activities such as cooking, craft, science segments, interviews and special appearances by guests, usually celebrities, and occasionally live animals. Occasionally, the show was shot entirely on location, where the hosts explored certain cities such as Coffs Harbour[14] or places such as Disneyland for the episode's entirety.[5]
Feature stories produced by and starring the hosts were also included, which were usually articles about places, activities and events, interviews with celebrities or red carpet events.[15] This format has been likened to magazine-style edu-tainment shows.[16] In some stories, the hosts adapted certain characters used as a substitute for themselves presenting the article. Another type of the stories were recurring mini-series with the hosts acting as characters, which air occasionally. Some recurring series from the past included Hazard Man (1990s),[10]The Transfreezers (2000–2001), Tell Tale Trio (2002–2004) and the Secret Agents (2010–2011).[17]A Page in Time (2006),[18] introduced a style of serialised drama, depicting three children returning to 1850s. More recent series such as Danger Island (2009), Race Around the Island (2010) and The Assistant (2014) took on the reality genre, parodying American series Survivor, The Amazing Race, and The Apprentice respectively.
A Double Dog Dare was featured in every episode, where each host took turns (one each week) to complete ridiculous, embarrassing or challenging tasks which upon failure may have resulted in the loser eating unusual foods as punishment. Ingredients were also regularly mixed in a blender.[19] Ideas for dares and punishments were often sent in by viewers. This popular segment was a prominent feature of the show for many years.[20]
Each week there was also a chosen Letter of the Week, which could be letters, drawings, or art sent in by viewers. Winners usually received many prizes, and the artwork was displayed around the set.[21] Throughout the course of the program, emails from viewers were also read out.
Time slot
The program's time slot since the show's inception in 1990 was always every Saturday from 7:00am until 9:00am on Seven unless there were interruptions by sporting or news events. Further Disney programming would continue to air after Saturday Disney.[22]
From 4 September 1993 to 25 August 2001, Saturday Disney aired for an extra half-hour until 9:30am to include cartoons such as The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and The Little Mermaid, or C classified programming such as Crash Zone, Squiggle Vision and Science Court. However, the extra programme would be listed separately on TV guides and feature minimal hosted content.
On 4 July 2009, the show moved to the earlier time slot of 6:30am to 8:30am.[23] However, the show returned to the previous time of 7:00am to 9:00am on 31 October 2009.[24]
It was announced on 8 February 2010, that beginning 13 February 2010, the show would be moved to the later time slot of 9:00am to 11:00am, to make way for Weekend Sunrise.[25]
It was announced on 17 March 2012 that, beginning 31 March 2012, the show would be moved to 7TWO and return to the original 7:00am to 9:00am time slot with a new look and logo, to make way for The Morning Show.[14][26] On 12 May 2012, the regular length of Saturday Disney was extended to three hours with a time slot of 7:00am to 10:00am.[27]
On 1 September 2012, Saturday Disney moved to the new time slot of 6:00am to 7:00am on Seven, then from 7:00am to 9:00am on 7TWO, the three hours now airing across both channels.[9][28][29]
On 19 March 2016, the program's secondary channel changed from 7TWO to 7flix, airing from 6:00am to 7:00am on Seven, then from 7:00am to 9:00am on 7flix.[30] The program remained in this slot until its final episode.
Reception
At the time of its final episode, Saturday Disney was the twentieth-longest-running program in Australia, and the fifth-longest-running children's program in Australia.
Viewership
In 2005, Saturday Disney had an average of 196,000 viewers (in the 0–14 age group alone) and was the number-one-rating children's program on commercial television for people aged 0 to 14.[16][31]
Saturday Disney was the fifth-highest-rating children's program on free television in 2006, averaging 274,425 viewers over 48 broadcasts.[32] In 2008, the program's yearly average viewing audience had ballooned to 395,000 (combining metro and regional audiences), ranking as the eighth-most-watched children's program.[33]Saturday Disney ranked as the fourth-highest-rating children's program in 2009, averaging 368,000 viewers across both metro and regional audiences over 48 weeks.[34]
However, the final episode on 24 September 2016 was comparatively only watched by 41,000 on Seven (6:00am to 7:00am) and 24,000 on 7flix (7:00am to 9:00am).[35]
Awards
On 18 March 2012, Saturday Disney was announced as a nominee for the 2012 Most Outstanding Children's ProgramLogie Award. The ceremony took place on 15 April 2012, and the award was presented by former Saturday Disney host Shelley Craft with Sam Moran. The nomination package featured footage from the episode which aired 13 August 2011, in which the hosts visited the Northern Territory. ABC3's My Place won the award.[36]
List of awards and nominations received by Saturday Disney
Australian Survivor is an Australian adventure reality game show based on the international Survivor format. Following the premise of other versions of the Survivor format, the show features a group of contestants, referred to as "castaways" as they are marooned in an isolated location. The castaways must provide food, water, fire, and shelter for themselves. The contestants compete in various challenges for rewards and immunity from elimination. The contestants are progressively eliminated from the game as they are voted off the island by their fellow castaways. The final castaway remaining is awarded the title of "Sole Survivor" and the grand prize of A$500,000.
The Seven Network is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of the five main free-to-air television networks in Australia. The network's headquarters are located in Sydney.
John Henry Michael "Rove" McManus is an Australian triple Gold Logie award-winning comedian, television and radio presenter, producer and media personality. He was the host of the eponymous variety show Rove and was also the host of the comedy talk show Rove LA. He is the co-owner of the production company Roving Enterprises with business partner Craig Campbell. He hosts Whovians on the ABC.
Sunrise is an Australian breakfast show program. It is broadcast on the Seven Network, and is currently hosted by Natalie Barr and Matt Shirvington. The program follows Sunrise Early News, and runs from 5:30 am to 9:00 am. It is followed by The Morning Show.
Today is an Australian breakfast television news and current affairs program, with an infotainment base, hosted by Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo and includes news and weather updates. It broadcast weekdays on the Nine Network. The show also has a weekend edition called Weekend Today.
Weekend Sunrise is an Australian breakfast television program, broadcast on the Seven Network and currently hosted by Monique Wright and Matt Doran.
Wide World of Sports is an Australian sports television program. It is broadcast on the Nine Network.
Disney Channel was an Australian pay television channel. It was the flagship television property owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company in Australia. Launched in 1996, the network targeted towards children and their families, with original series and movies.
Cartoon Network Australia & New Zealand is an Australian pay television channel launched on October 3, 1995 and owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pacific. It primarily shows animated programming.
Shelley Craft is an Australian television personality.
The Morning Show is an Australian morning talk show broadcast on the Seven Network and currently hosted by Kylie Gillies and Larry Emdur. The show airs between 9:00 am and 11:30 am on weekdays and follows Seven's breakfast news program Sunrise, with both programs closely interlinked. The program features infotainment, celebrity interviews and live music performances.
Kids' WB is an Australian children's television programme which aired on the Nine Network from 16 September 2006 to 29 November 2019. It is based on the US television block of the same name with the addition of hosted content, which was absent in its American counterpart. It was originally hosted by Georgia Sinclair and Shura Taft. The show is a television block which aired on weekend mornings and weekday afternoons, mainly consisting of cartoons and locally hosted variety-style segments, filmed at GTV-9 in Melbourne, itself owned by the Nine Network, and occasionally on location at Warner Bros. Movie World in Queensland. The show would not air over December and January. As of 2013, Kids' WB aired exclusively on 9Go!. Its final presenters were Lauren Phillips and Andy Sunderland.
ABC Me is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3.
Studio 10 was an Australian morning talk show on Network 10 which aired from 4 November 2013 to 22 December 2023. Its final hosts were Angela Bishop, Narelda Jacobs and Tristan MacManus and aired between 10am and noon on weekdays and a highlights show aired between 10am and noon on weekends. Studio 10 was broadcast live from Network 10 Studios in Pyrmont, a suburb in Sydney's inner-city.
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! is an Australian reality television series on Network 10 which is based on the British television show of the same name. The series airs on Network 10 and is simulcast on its HD channel 10 HD. The series sees celebrities living in the jungle with few creature comforts, and competing in various challenges to earn meals and other luxuries. The celebrities compete for $100,000 to be donated to their chosen charity. The series is set in Kruger National Park, South Africa, and is hosted by Julia Morris and Robert Irwin. Until 2023, it was hosted by Morris and Chris Brown.
E! was an Australian and New Zealand pay television channel, owned by NBCUniversal International Networks. Much like its American counterpart it featured entertainment-related programming, reality television and Hollywood news. It was available, at the time of closure, through the Foxtel and FetchTV platforms in Australia. It was available on the Sky platform in New Zealand, from April 2002 until 15 January 2023. It was also available on the Austar service prior to 2012. In 2014, it became available on Australian streaming service Foxtel Play.
Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old.
Bluey is an Australian animated preschool television series which premiered on ABC Kids on 1 October 2018. The program was created by Joe Brumm and is produced by Queensland-based company Ludo Studio. It was commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the British Broadcasting Corporation, with BBC Studios holding global distribution and merchandising rights. The series made its premiere on Disney Junior in the United States and is released internationally on Disney+.
↑ Cashin, Miranda (5 March 2011). "Dreams come true on Disney". Sunshine Coast Daily. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
↑ Knox, David (25 September 2016). "Saturday 24 September 2016". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
