Titles curated by Janet Bell
191 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 next
1980s (continued)
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.
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.
Bodyline television program – 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 television program – 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 television program – 1984
Max Gillies’ ability to capture the mannerisms of our politicians and Patrick Cook’s searingly funny scripts are this program’s great strengths.
Mother and Son – The Funeral television program – 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 television program – 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 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.
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.
The Dunera Boys – Episode 2 television program – 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 television program – 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.
Four Corners – French Connections television program – 1985
An extraordinary docudrama about the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and the death of a Portuguese cameraman.
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.
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.
Divine Service – The House of Freedom Church, Brisbane television program – 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 television program – 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.
Harp in the South television program – 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 television program – 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 television program – 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.
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.
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.
Backchat, Episode 215 television program – 1988
Viewers respond to a song – 'Sack the Jack’ – broadcast at a time when the republican issue was being hotly debated.
Backchat, Episode 216 television program – 1988
Backchat, presented by Tim Bowden for over eight years, was an opportunity for ABC viewers to vent their spleens or heap praise on Aunty.
Backchat, Episode 217 television program – 1988
For some, ABC’s religious programs are a welcome alternative to commercial broadcasts, while for others the ABC turns religion into a Marxist critique.
The Book Show – David Malouf television program – 1988
One of the earliest examples of The Book Show. DJ (Dinny) O’Hearn talks to David Malouf, who had just won the Haskell award for his body of work.
The Dirtwater Dynasty television program – 1988
In this 1980s epic production from the Kennedy Miller stable, Richard Eastwick, born in a London slum, dreams of establishing a family dynasty.
Four Corners – Blue Death television program – 1988
A chilling program about Australia’s greatest industrial disaster: years after the mine closed, Wittenoom residents are dying of asbestos-related illnesses.
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.
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.
Beyond 2000 – Episode 152 television program – 1989
Including a report from Japan where a robot mannequin with the body type of a typical Japanese woman might replace the European store dummy.
Come In Spinner television program – 1989
Lisa Harrow, Kerry Armstrong and Rebecca Gibney feature in the story of three very different women in wartime.The series won a slew of AFI awards.
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 – 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.
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.
1990s
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.
The Book Show – Jim McClelland television program – 1991
Jim McClelland, minister in the Whitlam Government, was a good friend of John Kerr until 1975 when Kerr dismissed the Labor Government. They never spoke again.
Brides of Christ television program – 1991
Brides of Christ take a vow to forsake the secular world and live according to God’s will. An Australian television landmark, recapturing the great changes of the ’60s.
Mother and Son – The Clock television program – 1991
Writer Geoffrey Atherden offers a deft spin on the eccentric character of Maggie Beare, who assumes that something that’s misplaced must be stolen.
Beyond 2000 – Episode 287 television program – 1992
Research and innovation around the world that will change our lives beyond the year 2000. When axed by the ABC, the team created Beyond Tomorrow for the Seven Network.
The Book Show – Germaine Greer television program – 1992
Germaine Greer talks to Andrea Stretton about the mixed reactions of feminists to her latest book, The Change: Women, Ageing and the Menopause.
The Book Show – Peter Carey television program – 1992
Peter Carey had already won the Booker prize for Oscar and Lucinda when Andrea Stretton interviewed him about his latest book, The Tax Inspector.
The Leaving of Liverpool television program – 1992
Lily and Bert are transported from an orphanage in England to Australia, where their childhoods are stolen from them in so-called 'centres of care’.
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.
