Simon Townsend's Wonder World

Simon Townsend's Wonder World!
Presented by	Simon Townsend
Country of origin	Australia
No. of episodes	2,000+
Production
Running time	30 minutes (including commercials)
Release
Original network	Network Ten
Original release	3 September 1979 – 1988

Simon Townsend's Wonder World! was an Australian children's television show that aired on Network Ten from 1979 until 1986. It was hosted by journalist Simon Townsend.

Each episode of Simon Townsend's Wonder World! featured an introduction by Townsend as the studio host, accompanied by his pet and companion bloodhound Woodrow (Woodrow died in 1986 and was replaced at first with a sulphur-crested cockatoo and then with a baby Labrador retriever. A competition was run amongst the viewers to name the new puppy and as Townsend had recently won a Logie award, the puppy was named Logie.) Townsend would then present four individual magazine-style stories, each presented by a different reporter.

The stories covered many subjects. Two researchers, two cinematographers, two sound recordists, four reporters and four editors worked on the time equivalent of a feature film every week – about eighty minutes of screen time shot on 16mm reversal film. Stories were not scripted, relying upon the ingenuity of the reporter and the two-person crew.

Every show also contained a viewer segment, and a music segment – often produced by the program itself. For instance Simon Townsend's Wonder World! made the first ever music video to feature Australian band INXS. During the course of the series, Townsend and his reporters traveled all over Australia and to many and varied locations in America, the UK, Europe, India, Asia and the Pacific region.

Simon Townsend would always end every show with the same signature farewell – "And remember, the world really is wonderful!"

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.

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