Titles curated by Janet Bell
191 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4
M (continued)
Mum’s the Word – Episode 9 television program – 2003
The women selected for this discussion are chosen for their entertaining stories about parenting rather than representing the range of parenting issues in the community.
N
Nature of Australia – A Separate Creation television program – 1989
This first episode of the most expensive wildlife program ever made in Australia boasts magnificent photography and a great script.
Nature of Australia – Land of Flood and Fire television program – 1988
The animals and plants must cope with the stresses of life in a place that swings savagely between the wet season and the dust and heat of the dry season.
Nature of Australia – The Sunburnt Country television program – 1989
At the time this series was made, the program makers felt they were showing Australian flora and fauna to many Australians for the first time.
The New Inventors – Series 1 Episode 8 television program – 2004
The host works hard to keep the show moving along, with gags and one-liners that provide a contrast to the seriousness of the backyard boffins explaining their life’s work.
The New Inventors – Series 2 Episode 8 television program – 2005
This short and snappy program works because it never loses sight of its most precious talent, the inventors and their amazing creations.
P
Palace of Dreams television program – 1985
In this acclaimed drama series, an aspiring writer arrives in Sydney from the country during the turbulent and desperate times of the Great Depression.
Peach’s Australia – Darling River television program – 1976
Bill Peach was a household name in Australia at the time he gave up being the presenter of This Day Tonight to return to his first love, travel journalism.
Peach’s Australia – Flinders Ranges television program – 1976
Peach’s meanders around the country he’s describing, offering tantalising snippets of history, spiced with art history and Aboriginal Dreaming stories.
Peach’s Explorers – East to West television program – 1984
Bill Peach loves Australian history and tells us explorers’ stories by using their words, cleverly recreated from diaries and notebooks, and journeying through the same arid interior.
Peach’s Explorers – South to North television program – 1984
There’s a strong sense that each of these men is very much of his time, imbued with a duty to expand knowledge and a ruthless craving for fame and fortune.
Peach’s Explorers – The Prison Walls television program – 1984
The story is entertainingly told with a clever use of dramatic re-creations. The various techniques work to bring history alive.
Peach’s Explorers – The Secret of the Rivers: Captain Charles Sturt television program – 1984
This Bill Peach series uses recreations, diary entries and letters, among other devices, to tell the story of Australia’s colonial exploration in visually interesting ways.
Peach’s Gold – Eureka television program – 1983
This series exploits a range of first-hand sources for its vibrant retelling of the history, while Bill Peach appears from time to time to explain and analyse.
Peach’s Gold – Finders Keepers television program – 1983
This series is a lively way to learn about history, skilfully blending actors, re-creations, paintings, songs and newspaper headlines to bring the era alive.
Peach’s Gold – Land of Gold television program – 1983
This Bill Peach documentary is full of events, larger-than-life characters and all the madness and colour of this most extraordinary chapter in Australia’s history.
The Pearl Fishers television program – 1963
This black-and-white television production of the opera was one of the earliest performances ever broadcast on the ABC and one of the most elaborate.
Poetry In Australia – Judith Wright television program – 1963
This simple, talking heads interview is most informative and a delight to watch. It is a must-see for students of Judith Wright’s work and fellow poets.
Police Rescue – By the Book television program – 1990
Police Rescue was an immensely popular series during the 1990s, starting as a telemovie then spawning a weekly series for five years and even a feature film.
Police Rescue – Mates television program – 1990
The writing is strong, leaving us with a sense of the great camaraderie that allows these police officers to continue to do their job in difficult circumstances.
Police State television program – 1989
The script for this docudrama-style telemovie was developed using the transcripts from the Fitzgerald Inquiry into Queensland Police corruption.
Poor Man’s Orange television program – 1987
Harp in the South was so admired by Network Ten’s then head of drama, Valerie Hardy, that she immediately commissioned this second series.
Profiles of Power, HC Coombs television program – 1970
When Dr Coombs saw the unnecessary cruelty of the Great Depression and its terrible impact on ordinary people, he decided to dedicate his life to economics.
R
Robbery Under Arms television program – 1985
Before this 1985 version there had been five attempts to tell this story, the best known being the Australian–British feature film of 1957 starring Peter Finch as Captain Starlight.
S
Scales of Justice television program – 1983
The quasi-documentary style of this series adds a gritty reality to the typical car patrol of a police crew on any evening shift around Sydney streets.
Seven Deadly Sins - Envy television program – 1992
This show invites us to identify with behaviour we would not normally condone. All of the characters in this episode manifest the sin of envy.
Seven Deadly Sins - Pride television program – 1992
This one-off television play is terrific. The script is taut with great dialogue and the performances from Colin Friels and Elizabeth Alexander are stunning.
The Shiralee television program – 1987
This miniseries was made during the golden decade of television drama. Its magic lies in the chemistry of Bryan Brown and Rebecca Smart.
Stateline – The Transcontinental Dream television program – 2004
The spine of the story is Mark Bowling’s journey from Adelaide to Darwin on the historic Ghan, but what makes the story special are moments from the history of the region.
T
This Day Tonight – The Last Program television program – 1978
It is fascinating to hear the man who dismissed an elected Australian federal government in 1975 say that he would do it again.
Torque – Series 1, Episode 8 television program – 1974
Peter Wherrett, a former racing car driver and motoring journalist, praises or blames car manufacturers without fear or favour.
Torque – Series 4, Episode 10 television program – 1980
Peter Wherrett is great talent. He knows cars and can warn of the dangers of the road without sounding preachy.
A Town To Be Drowned television program – 1958
This ABC program was one of the first homemade documentaries on a contemporary local subject to be seen on Australian television, and previously thought to have been lost.
The Trouble With Medicine: Conceiving the Future television program – 1993
This is a thought-provoking program about advances in medicine, which we leave in the hands of doctors at our peril.
Two Tribes television program – 1998
It’s a tribute to the trust that the directors built with the kids and bankers alike that we get to share some very moving and quite intimate scenes.
V
Vietnam television program – 1988
This classic mini-series tells the epic story of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War through the history of a middle class family and features an award-winning performance from a young Nicole Kidman.
W
Waterfront – Episode 1 television program – 1984
Wharfies involved in a worker’s dispute and Italian refugees desperate to work during the Depression clash with tragic consequences.
Waterfront – Episode 2 television program – 1984
The series tells of the determination to stand up for what is right in a world that is rapidly slipping into a showdown between the extremes of fascism and communism.
Weekend Magazine – Carnarvon Gorge and the Fighting Highlanders television program – 1982
Weekend Magazine was one of the first programs on television to teach people about the environment and how it should be cherished and protected.
What’s Your Poison? – Ecstasy television program – 1997
For young people of an age where drugs and alcohol are likely to be on offer, this is a no-nonsense examination of the pros and cons of taking ecstasy.
With Gentle Majesty television program – 1962
The high point of the Melbourne Royal Agricultural Show each day is the Grand Parade. The initial languid pace of the filming and editing nicely underscores the images of the huge, slow-moving workhorses.
