All television programs
411 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 next
1980s (continued)
Winner Take All – Downside Risk 1982
An ABC TV series about the fast-paced world of big business, Winner Take All is an early ‘80s time capsule.
Women of the Sun 1982
The colonisation of Aboriginal peoples, and their lands and resources, as seen through the eyes of four generations of Aboriginal women.
All the Rivers Run 1983
This program won a swag of awards and has arguably been watched by more people, more often, than any other Australian mini-series of the prolific ’80s.
A Big Country – City Girls 1983
A group of students from an exclusive girls’ school and a group of unemployed girls hike through the bush.
Cop Shop – Episode 485 1983
This episode is a good example of the relatively adventurous single-episode stories featured in Cop Shop at this point in its run. These appeared alongside the more usual crime and soap-oriented plotlines.
The Dismissal 1983
On 11 November 1975, the Labor Prime Minister was dismissed. Great Australian drama based on actual events, produced less than a decade after they took place.
Four Corners – Aiding or Abetting 1983
How is Australian’s aid to the Philippine Government being spent? This program was broadcast just before the overthrow of Marcos and his extravagant wife.
Peach’s Gold – Eureka 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 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 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.
Scales of Justice 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.
Bodyline 1984
This mini-series recreates the 1932-33 cricket test series that threatened ties between Australia and England and changed cricket forever.
The Cowra Breakout 1984
In the early hours of 5 August 1944, 1,100 Japanese prisoners launched a mass breakout from a POW camp near Cowra.
The Gillies Report – Series 1, Episode 4 1984
Max Gillies’ ability to capture the mannerisms of our politicians and Patrick Cook’s searingly funny scripts are this program’s great strengths.
Mail Order Bride 1984
A hard-hitting drama about racism, sexism and xenophobia in a small country town.
Mother and Son – The Funeral 1984
This sitcom shows the fraught relationship between 40-year-old Arthur and his mother Maggie, who is at turns forgetful, quick-witted and manipulative.
Mother and Son – The Money 1984
The problems of ageing would seem like an unlikely subject for television comedy but Mother and Son became an instant success when it was first shown in 1984, continuing for nine years to become one of Australia’s best-loved television shows.
Peach’s Explorers – East to West 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 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 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 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.
Play School – Bags Wednesday 1984
An episode of the iconic pre-school program Play School from 1984, featuring presenters Noni Hazlehurst and John Hamblin.
Waterfront – Episode 1 1984
Wharfies involved in a worker’s dispute and Italian refugees desperate to work during the Depression clash with tragic consequences.
Waterfront – Episode 2 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.
Butterfly Island – Series 1 Episode 1 1985
A young Vietnamese refugee on the run complicates the Wilson family’s attempts to save idyllic Butterfly Island from a crooked resort developer.
D-Generation – Series 1 Episode 1 1985
While the D-Generation credits read like a who’s who of two decades’ worth of Australian comedy, at the time these comedians were unknowns.
The Dunera Boys – Episode 2 1985
German Jews who had fled to Britain to escape Nazi persecution were then interned as 'enemy aliens’ in Australia and became known as the 'Dunera boys’.
The Dunera Boys – Episode 3 1985
Just who or what is a Jew is an important theme of this series. Private Dunstan’s response shows how sheltered Australia was from the maelstrom of Europe.
A Fortunate Life 1985
While most viewers will be aware of a strong note of irony underlying the story, there is no doubt that in the final analysis it is one of hope, endurance and faith in humanity.
Four Corners – French Connections 1985
An extraordinary docudrama about the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and the death of a Portuguese cameraman.
The Henderson Kids – Series 1 Episode 2 1985
Teenage actors Nadine Garner, Kylie Minogue and Ben Mendelsohn feature in this classic 1980s children’s drama from Crawford Productions.
Palace of Dreams 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.
Robbery Under Arms 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.
Winners – Just Friends 1985
Just Friends reveals the hard asks of a young teenager – trying to fit in, standing up for yourself and resisting peer pressure to do things you’re not comfortable with.
Winners – On Loan 1985
This is a strong and very painful story as Lindy is forced to make a difficult choice between her natural father and her adoptive parents.
Winners – Quest Beyond Time 1985
Simply told, and not too frightening, Quest Beyond Time shows the changes that could occur in the world if a nuclear war takes place.
Winners – Room to Move 1985
The script of this telemovie (starring a young Nicole Kidman) was criticised at the time for undermining parental authority but that seems hard to understand now.
Winners – The Other Facts of Life 1985
Ben’s over-the-top campaign to right the wrongs of the world is funny to watch but at the same time confronts viewers with some serious global and local issues.
Winners – The Paper Boy 1985
The Paper Boy is a beautifully shot period film that captures the era and gives a realistic insight into the lives of struggling people in the Depression.
Winners – Top Kid 1985
A compelling moral drama, made more powerful by its refusal to deal in absolutes, Top Kid draws on the real-life rigging of top American quiz shows in the 1950s.
Cyclone Tracy 1986
A fictional account of one of Australia’s worst natural disasters – a major turning point in the history of Darwin.
Divine Service – The House of Freedom Church, Brisbane 1986
An informal Christian service is held in a suburban home in Brisbane. This group is involved in a wide range of peace activities in the ‘International Year of Peace’.
The Fast Lane - Episode 7: The Sound of One Hand Counting 1986
A private detective agency run by a couple of incompetents feature in a social satire on life 'in the fast lane’ written by John Clarke and Andrew Knight.
The Flying Doctors – Public Property 1986
The Flying Doctors is a drama series set in the fictional town of Coopers Crossing and based on the work and lives of the men and women of the outback medical service.
Harp in the South 1986
The ‘harp in the south’ refers to Irish immigrants in Australia. A mini-series, based on Ruth Park’s book, follows the Darcys in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Jack Thompson Down Under – Episode 25 1987
Jack Thompson is a great narrator. He’s the iconic Aussie male and his voice has that dinky-di Australian drawl that Americans love to hear.
Jack Thompson Down Under – Episode 3 1987
Aspects of Australian life connected by the on-camera presence of actor Jack Thompson, the iconic Australian with the dinky-di Aussie drawl that Americans love.
Kaboodle – Series 1 Episode 1 1987
An anthology of stories for children aged 5-12 years old produced by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation in the late 1980s.
Poor Man’s Orange 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.
The Shiralee 1987
This miniseries was made during the golden decade of television drama. Its magic lies in the chemistry of Bryan Brown and Rebecca Smart.
