ABC1's blog

7:30pm – Sunday, September 5 on ABC1

Every day, in the jungles, grasslands, deserts and frozen wastelands, battles are won, fought and lost between carnivores and their prey.

See cheetahs join forces to bring down an ostrich; a tiny stoat take on a rabbit ten times its size; elephant seal pups snatched from their nursery pool by a killer whale; the antics of a squirrel as it outwits a rattlesnake; and at an amazing 2,000 frames per second, the strike of a bulldog bat flying at 100 kph.

Key animal characters: � Cheetahs � Stoats � Killer whales � Greater bulldog bat � Ethiopian wolves � Star-nosed moles

5:30pm – Sunday, September 5 on ABC1

Sunday, 5 September 2010 Art Nation travels to the Gippsland Art Gallery in Sale, Victoria for a very unusual exhibition.

100 Ways to Ruin a Car might seem like an unlikely title for an exhibition but it accurately describes the photographs of Alex Cyreszko and Francesca Rosa who have spent the last two decades documenting the abandoned and ruined cars of rural Queensland and the back streets of Sydney.

Also on Art Nation, it’s not every day that a group of cutting edge visual artists are given a free rein to do whatever they like to a million dollar family home. That’s exactly what a group of 25 young artists have spent the last three weeks doing; pulling up floor boards, cutting holes in walls and transforming a suburban Melbourne home into one giant art installation, Wrongtown.

This week in Guilty Pleasures, where well known faces admit to their ‘secret shame’, it’s the turn of Spicks and Specks’ Myfanwy Warhurst who fesses up to her love of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.

And to close the show, the bluegrass ensemble The Wilson Pickers play in the Art Nation studio.

Art Nation will be repeated on ABC2 – Sunday, September 05 at 7.00pm

1:30pm – Sunday, September 5 on ABC1

Palm Island was established as an Aboriginal settlement in 1918 and it soon became known as Punishment Island. Throughout its history the island has been plagued by controversy, most notably in 1999 when it was entered into the Guinness Book of Records as the most violent place on earth outside of a combat zone – a claim strongly disputed by residents and the Queensland Government.

In 2004 the death of Cameron (Mulrunji) Doomadji sparked riots that made headlines around the world and once again Palm Island was a place to be feared.

For residents of Palm Island it’s a different story: it’s their home, their community, and it’s not all bad news. Almost ten years ago ‘Uncle’ Ray Dennis packed up his life on the mainland and moved to Palm Island. He had always trained boxers and on any given afternoon his gym is alive with kids of all ages training with Uncle Ray.

Message Stick follows the Island’s boxing team led by the 70-year-old father figure and coach who says “I’ve lived here so long, I think I’m more black than white”.

We meet our key characters and get an insight into life on the Island and follow them as they prepare for the State Titles being held just north of Cairns. A victory for one of the boxers is a win for the whole community.

9:20pm – Saturday, September 4 on ABC1

Six’s memory from his ‘real life’ is becoming clearer as his treacherous relationship with Two becomes even more strained.

313 (Ruth Wilson) is surprised – and secretly pleased – when Six (Jim Caviezel) comes to her house at night and tries to seduce her. But she is even more surprised when he appears to have no recollection of this the following day.

It soon becomes clear that Six has a doppelganger (known as 2 x 6). Somehow Two (Sir Ian McKellen) appears to have split Six in half. His passionate, uncontrollable, angry side is roaming the Village intent on killing Two. The reasoned, controlled Six must somehow stop his double from ruining his life.

Strangely, Two makes himself an easy target by giving up his status as Village leader for the day and letting himself become an ordinary Villager. He becomes ‘Untwo’. Six realises that this is a ploy to goad Six into giving into the side of himself that seeks vengeance. If Two can get Six to cave into his baser instincts he will lose his conscience and lose control – allowing Two to manipulate him entirely.

While this battle plays out, Two has left his son 11-12 (Jamie Campbell Bower) in charge. He gives 11-12 the keys to the drugs cabinet and allows him to wake M2 (Rachel Blake) up. For the first time 11-12 gets to spend the day with his mother. She explains that they cannot escape to the real world because 11-12 doesn’t exist there. One of the reasons she and Two invented The Village was so that they could create him as they were unable to conceive in the real world. M2 explains that The Village can only exist when she dreams it in her comatose state. When she wakes the holes appear and the very fabric of The Village is eroded. 11-12 is left with no choice but to put his mother back to sleep.

313 is plagued by dreams of her real world self. They are disturbing and 313 is increasingly afraid of who she is in New York. Two offers her the chance to glimpse her New York self but when she does she is scared by the mentally unstable, violent woman she appears to be.

8:30pm – Saturday, September 4 on ABC1

Sgt .Callum Stone (Sam Callis) and PC Kirsty Knight (Sarah Manners) are called to the home of elderly widow Jill Peters (Claire Bloom), after a neighbour reported what he thought was a domestic disturbance.

When they arrive, Mrs. Peters is extremely anxious but eventually opens the door, claiming to have been the victim of a burglary.

Upon further inspection, PC Knight believes that there is more to the case than just a burglary, especially when she notices the bed has been stripped and the washing machine is in operation. But Mrs. Peters is reluctant to say any more.

However, with gentle encouragement, Kirsty gets the woman to admit that she was raped. But after agreeing to an examination, the woman changes her mind.

Agreeing to come back the next day to speak to CID, Mrs Peters declines to be examined and when her son arrives, she asks him to take her home.

As the police scour the neighbourhood for any information that might help, Sgt. Stone suggests that PC Knight talk to Mrs Peters again. This time she remembers a man she exchanged harsh words with in the street some days before when he was dumping rubbish.

However, her description matches someone who’d come forward as a witness to seeing a man fleeing the scene, and who, when questioned, admits to burglary but nothing else.

Is Mrs Peters telling the truth.

Meanwhile, Sgt. Stone gets yet another message that his mother has called about his father.

So why is he not returning her calls?

6:00pm – Saturday, September 4 on ABC1

Berry Syrup, The Ultimate Chocolate Cake Saturday, 4 September 2010 Annabel Langbein travels to the wild west coast of the South Island in New Zealand to net a feed of the tiny delicacy – whitebait. Along the way she learns the secret to cooking the perfect whitebait fritter.

Cooked in an old cast iron pot, over a gas ring on the stony riverbed, whitebait fritters have never tasted this good. So it’s only fitting Annabel should return the hospitality and invite the hosts of her whitebait expedition to a dinner featuring a double-baked whitebait souffl�.

8:30pm – Friday, September 3 on ABC1

A body found in a disused tunnel has evidence of a burial ritual.

DSI Boyd and the Cold Case squad trace the victim to a group of middle-aged men on a self-empowerment weekend, led by a self-appointed American guru. He is identified as Chris Dearden, an air-conditioning salesman who went missing in 1996. He was killed by blows to the head.

Boyd and Grace (Sue Johnston) break the news of the discovery of the body to Dearden’s wife, Lucy, who admits that she was having an affair at the time with landscape gardener Frank Monk and they are still together.

Dearden’s 19-year-old son, Jimmy, refuses to believe the body is that of his father.

Later Eve gives Boyd devastating news about his son Luke.

9:35pm – Thursday, September 2 on ABC1

The Music Instinct: Science & Song delves into questions surrounding the unique effects music has on mental capacity, intelligence, healing and other areas of evolution, the natural world and even, perhaps, the origins of the cosmos.

This final episode reveals that music’s universality in nature and the cosmos is far more profound than previously imagined. Whales, birds, even elephants sing and concoct melodies.

Scientists, philosophers, spiritual leaders and musicians all help to provide an in-depth look at the power of music.

8:30pm – Thursday, September 2 on ABC1

What will life in the future be like? American theoretical physicist Michio Kaku believes humankind is on the brink of a radically new scientific era. In this 3- part series, he shares his vision for the future.

In this second episode Michio explains that today humankind is witnessing a revolution in science. And that revolution will radically transform our lives. This bio-molecular revolution promises the almost god-like ability to manipulate life at the most fundamental level. It could enable us to grow human organs in laboratories. Part of that could mean eradicating most major diseases and prolonging life by decades.

WED 1 SEPT AT 9PM ON ABC1, THURS 2 SEPT AT 8.30PM ON ABC2

In Episode 8, Wil Anderson, Todd Sampson and Russel Howcroft are joined by Matt Eastwood and Carolyn Miller.

How Do You Sell? – Razors

Men have been doing it since the Stone Age. 1.7 billion do it almost every day. Each bloke will do it about 20,000 times in his lifetime, spending more than four months hard at it. It’s called shaving.

In one of the funniest segments ever filmed on GRUEN, the panel discusses everything from sportsmen and the number of blades to the difference in women’s razors and the marketing push towards the manscaper. Todd has one of the best lines of the night: “There is huge growth in giving your groin a go!”

Ad Crunch – Omo Challenge

Last month in Brazil, Omo achieved global PR when, as part of a competition, it inserted GPS devices into unmarked detergent boxes. SWAT teams of Omo trackers in 35 different cities followed the boxes home, then knocked on the door offering prizes. Was it smart advertising or stalking?

The Pitch: Fnuky (Adelaide) vs Play (Sydney)

The Parent Licence. A campaign to convince Australians that would-be mums and dads should be forced to pass a competency test before being allowed to breed.