70 Years of Seven: Celebrating seven decades of TV gold with star-studded anniversary special

There was a time when no one in Australia didn’t know who Effie was. She had big hair, a big voice and a big attitude.

Effie had an appetite for life, for being out there and having a good laugh.

Her offscreen alter ego, Mary Coustas, shared a lot of the same qualities, and after almost 40 years since the groundbreaking Australian sitcom Acropolis Now premiered in 1989, Coustas feels as if Effie is a part of her more than ever.

Effie is also part of the Australian national character.

Coustas is one of the defining personalities throughout the history of Australian TV, so when time came to marking Channel 7’s 70 years as a broadcast powerhouse with a two-hour Spotlight special this Sunday night, there is no retrospective without Effie.

“I love hearing that,” Coustas told The Nightly. “I mean, not the bit about the others blending in, but I’m all about impact. Go big or go home, that’s my philosophy. Give them something to remember, something to connect to. Acropolis Now was that.”

Through Acropolis Now’s five seasons on Channel 7, between 1989 and 1992, Coustas remembers the creative energy that pulsed through the Melbourne studios, where, at the time, Fast Forward was also being made.

“There’d be Magda (Szubanski) and Marg (Downey) and Jane (Turner) and Gina (Riley) just laughing their heads off in the middle of the tape, and then they’d come and watch us, and we’d all be in the canteen together.

“It was a very potent time to be doing bold, fun work that Australians were absolutely loving.

“There was an atmosphere around that time of people that wanted to make each other laugh and create characters that we could relate to and quote.

“I’m so glad Effie was a huge part of that.

“I think life has gotten very, very serious and very polarising, and comedy is something that we all need a lot more of. I would love to think that I’m part of an era that changed the country in many ways, that allowed us to be the lovable larrikins that we are, to put mateship in a broader definition.”

Coustas, in character as Effie, will be part of that 70 Years of Seven special, along with a panel of Channel 7 personalities – Larry Emdur, Joanna Griggs, Bruce McAvaney, Natalie Barr, Georgie Parker, Michael Usher and Sonia Kruger - who have left an indelible mark on the network over the decades.

It’s a showcase of stars but, more than that, it’s a showcase of memories, which belong to everyone.

There was a George Clooney film released last year, Jay Kelly, in which his character said, “All my memories are movies”.

The same applies to TV, except there’s something even more intimate about a medium that is beamed straight into your home, where stories were told and shared to a group of people watching together.

Until more recently when devices made viewing an individual activity, watching TV was a collective experience.

It was a family gathered around one box, colleagues excitedly talking about the same big moments such as Cathy Freeman’s unforgettable win in the 400m at the Sydney Olympics, or when Shane died in front of Angel on Home and Away.

How about when Kath slipped and hit her head on Dancing with the Stars, or when one contestant on The Price is Right got so excited at being picked, she could literally barely breathe.

Those moments created a sense of community, and a national cultural identity which allowed for stories as divergent as Acropolis Now and A Country Practice.

Every kid who grew up in the 90s had Agro’s Cartoon Connection as a constant in their lives, and would then go to school to try to recreate – much to the alarm of the teachers – the obstacles that were on last night’s Gladiators, while their mums were whispering about the hunks on Man O Man.

Across the two hours of 70 Years of Seven, viewers will be taken back through the memories that formed not just their lives but that of Australia.

The news crosses and presentations of the moon landing, the search for Harold Holt, the Lismore floods, and when Barr told Australia that New York City’s World Trade Center was under attack.

There were the dramas that emotionally embedded into our lives, when characters from Blue Heelers, All Saints and Packed to the Rafters felt like they were our friends and neighbours with whom we celebrated their joy and mourned their losses.

There was the excitement at discovering the amazing talent and everyday personalities in this country on shows such as Australia’s Got Talent and The Voice, Popstars, or the national pride at watching the Matildas smash their competition.

Our TV memories become part of who we are, how we think, how we feel and how we see the world.

A lot of it is entertainment, some of it is distraction, some of it is useful (that casserole you dish you tried to cook after seeing it on Better Homes and Gardens), and some of it is heartbreaking.

But it’s never just something that you can turn on and off. Even when the screen is black, it’s embedded in who we are, and the fact we remember so many of those moments proves that it’s not just some disposable trifle.

“What we all experienced sitting in that studio watching all these amazing clips of all the different genres, you feel honoured to have been part of something so epic, because you’re really touching on people’s history,” Coustas added.

Just like Effie is part of a fan’s history. Yesterday, Coustas was in the city for a meeting and nearby, there was a Greek restaurant. “The guy came over, and then he brought his manager over, and he’s not even Greek, and they were telling me their kids watch (Acropolis Now). So it never goes away,” she recalled.

When people approach Coustas about Effie, it’s not just to say “you’re funny”.

“They say ‘thank you’ for shining a light on something, or it was the first time my kids felt OK about who they are.

“They had these strong figures on national TV that they were proud of, and that the public were loving, so that made it easier.

“You want great jokes, don’t get me wrong, but you want really lovable characters and great writing. If that can be combined with a bigger mission, then that’s the ultimate protein hit.

“We were left alone to make the best show we could make, and as a consequence, when I watch it, there is no cringe, I don’t feel like it was compromised, I don’t feel like it’s dated.

“I mean, a million years have passed, no doubt, but we were cute and innocent, we were spunky and we were daring and there was warmth on that set.

“We loved what we were doing, and it translated to the greater public. It wasn’t just watched by wogs, it was watched by Australians all over the country of every type of cultural background.”

All our memories are TV.

70 Years of Seven airs on Channel 7 and 7plus at 8pm on Sunday, October 11