Thank God it's Friday at the Zoo

Since its inception in 1964, the 0-10 Network (rebranded as Network Ten in 1980) consistently targeted the teenage music audience, setting itself apart with music programming throughout the black-and-white TV era. Shows like GO!!, Kommotion, and Uptight/Happening 70–72 helped define the network. With the advent of colour TV, they followed up with titles like Right On (1974–78), Rock and Roll Circus (1975–76), The Rock Show (1976), Rock and Roll Milk Bar (1977), and Long Play (1977). Unfortunately, most of these shows are now ‘lost,’ with no footage held in the NFSA collection – underscoring the low regard for music TV in Australia at the time. Producer Lyle McCabe, involved in several of these productions, took on a new venture with a disco twist: Thank God It’s Friday at the Zoo. 

Launched in August 1978, Thank God It’s Friday at the Zoo aimed to ride the disco wave generated by Countdown’s live music TV format. Drawing inspiration from the recent American disco film Thank God It’s Friday, the show featured a large, themed set and was anchored by DJ Karel Lopes and 2SM DJ Ian Macrae, who attempted to wrangle performers and conduct informal interviews with mixed success. 

Despite its ambitions, Thank God It’s Friday at the Zoo arrived too late, as disco’s popularity was already fading. The 60-minute prime-time show hosted many contemporary music artists including John Paul Young, Sherbet, Stylus, Russell Morris, Cheetah, and even a phone interview with Great Train Robber Ronald Biggs, calling in from Brazil. But the show’s early ratings tanked, and after only six episodes, the show was axed. Critic Christine Hogan of The Sydney Morning Herald quipped that the show was ‘as bad as amateur night at the Yerongpilly School of Arts… perhaps the viewers could sue’, reflecting the harsh reception from both audiences and critics. 

Today, Thank God It’s Friday at the Zoo survives as a footnote, mainly for dedicated television historians. Its archival status is precarious: the only known surviving footage is a preview tape of the first episode, discovered in the NFSA’s 2SM radio station collection. Our compiled sequence edited from the source U-matic tape captures a few chaotic moments from the show’s debut, including its high-energy opening, a performance by American soul singer Delilah, an interview snippet with Sherbet’s Daryl Braithwaite, 1950s revivalists the Studs miming to ‘Dr Bop’, and resident dancers Angy and the Zoo Connection on the dance floor. This rare footage reflects the last days of disco, as Thank God It’s Friday at the Zoo  remains a vivid, if brief, snapshot of an era in Australian music television.