ABC1's blog

5:00pm – Sunday, July 12 on ABC1

This week on Sunday Arts, Fenella Kernebone meets David Harrington, the founder of the world renowned, innovative Kronos Quartet.

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet has been producing innovative and compelling music for over 30 years.

Founded in San Francisco by violinist David Harrington in 1973, Kronos has continually pushed boundaries both musically and visually, adapting the ancient musical tradition of a string quartet into a contemporary one. Kronos draw much of its inspiration from the many musical traditions from around the world, which include pop, rock, electronic and experimental compositions. It has collaborated widely, including teaming up with acclaimed composers Phillip Glass and Australia’s Peter Sculthorpe, as well as producing soundtracks for films such as Requiem for a Dream. The Kronos Quartet was recently in Australia and Fenella Kernebone had the chance to speak with founder David Harrington.

Sunday Arts will be repeated on ABC2 – Sunday, July 12 at 7:30pm

Saturday July 11, 9:15pm

As DC Jo Masters (Sally Rogers) investigates why someone ransacked a house, in his role of Safer Schools Officer, PC Nate Roberts (Ben Richards) is looking into what caused a pupil to be bashed in the toilets of Deansgate School.

Investigations reveal that the two are linked when the young man who was assaulted admits to the break-in, and accuses the pupil who lives there of raping his sister.

The Bill will be repeated on ABC2 – Tuesday, July 14 at 9:20pm

Saturday July 11, 8:30pm

After his recent successful stint as temporary Safer Schools Officer at Deansgate School, PC Nate Roberts (Ben Richards), volunteers to take on the role permanently, having won over a teacher who was opposed to his presence from the start.

However, his suspicions about drug dealing in the school are confirmed when he catches a pupil stashing a bag of ecstasy tablets in his carry-all.

When Roberts and DC Jo Masters (Sally Rogers) investigate, they discover that a local drug dealer is blackmailing the young pupil’s family.

7:30pm – Saturday, July 11 on ABC1

Brian Lane (Alun Armstrong) struggles to control and conceal his desire to drink again. He finds the perfect refuge in a commune at the centre of the team’s investigation into the death of university student Justin King.

Justin disappeared two months before his body was found on wasteland. The case was never concluded but his mother, Diane, has spent the last two years searching for answers about her son’s death – regularly conducting her own enquiries outside his old university to see if anyone remembers him. Her tenacity finally pays off when 18-year-old Heidi recognises Justin’s photograph and admits that he had lived with her and her ‘family’ at the time of his disappearance. But Heidi has no ordinary family, as the team discover when they pay a visit to her home – a self-sufficient community in Waltham Forest headed by the wise and kindly Beatrice.

While Pullman (Amanda Redmond) is deeply suspicious of the commune’s way of life and outraged to discover that the ‘family’ had encouraged Justin and the then underage Heidi to be lovers, Brian embraces its sense of freedom and sees it as a way to hide from his own problems. But when the body of an Eastern European pimp is found at the site, even Brian has to concede that life there isn’t as free-spirited and safe as he would like to believe.

Meanwhile, Gerry’s (Dennis Waterman) own problems with his ‘daughter’ Emily lead him to form an unlikely bond with Diane’s estranged husband, Melvin. The loss of their son makes Gerry even more determined to re-establish contact with Emily, who has not taken his calls since she discovered the truth about the DNA test at the trial in episode one.

10:00pm – Friday, July 10 on ABC1

Rhys Ifans, Sheila Hancock and Bob Hoskins, the cream of British acting talent star in this trio of cracking, contemplative comedy dramas written, produced and directed by Hugo Blick.

A farmer (Rhys Ifans) tries to find a way to free himself from the yoke of a dominating mother. A dying woman (Sheila Hancock) rehearses her last words to her husband in a Swiss euthanasia clinic. An assassin (Bob Hoskins) waits for his next target in a public lavatory.

These three people do not know each other, but they have one thing in common: they are all about to kill or be killed. A bleak comic effect is achieved as the audience is able to discern truths about the protagonist’s life – by reading between the lines of the monologues – before they do. Each story has a tragic but comedic sting in its tail; characters may die but it’s the viewer who has the last laugh.

Hugo Blick already has two successful series of monologues to his credit: the highly acclaimed Up In Town starred Joanna Lumley, while Marion and Geoff received a BAFTA Best Sitcom nomination, a South Bank Show Award for Best Drama and a Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Entertainment.

8:30pm – Friday, July 10 on ABC1

There’s a dangerous cocktail of love, power and revenge in this latest instalment of Trial And Retribution from the always compelling Lynda La Plante.

In Kill The King a friend of DCS Mike Walker (David Hayman), paediatric surgeon Professor Jonathan Carlise (Benedict Taylor), is found dead. During her investigations the ever-cool DCI Roisin Connor (Victoria Smurfit) uncovers conflicts stirred by a recent operation that resulted in a child’s death. Gradually, DCI Connor’s enquiries focus on three people with motive: Gary Webster (John Lynch), the father of the dead child, Amber (Evie May Cassidy), is hungry for justice. Webster has never believed the hospital’s account of events and says his daughter’s death is a case of hospital negligence.

Professor Carlise’s anaesthetist Neelah Sajhani (Shelly Conn) had been having a passionate affair with her boss; and junior surgeon Dr Adrian Lawson (Ben Miles), is the third suspect as Carlise blamed him for Amber’s death.

Sajhani is put in the frame for Carlise’s murder when it’s revealed Carlise was murdered with a drug Sajhani had access to. Facing a potential murder charge, Sajhani starts to reveal the truth. She says she found Carlise dead on the kitchen floor with a syringe sticking out of his arm. She collected the needles and ampoules in an attempt to protect her lover’s reputation.

And when the spotlight of suspicion falls on Dr Lawson he offers a video recording of Amber’s surgery, showing it was a straightforward procedure, with nothing untoward. But his helpful nature doesn’t convince DCI Connor. When the full truth of what happened finally comes out the investigation team is once again surprised at what makes some people capable of murder.

9:30pm – Thursday, July 9 on ABC1

Spirit Stones is an exceptional film set in the southwest corner of Australia. On many occasions in the 1940s and 50s stones fell on Aboriginal (Noongar) camps.

These ‘showers’ delivered stones in locations up to 250 kilometres apart, falling at various places for hours, sometimes days and even weeks and months.

Landowners, Aboriginal farm labourers and inquisitive townsfolk were all witness to falling stones. Though these events stretched over many years not one person was ever hurt.

Remarkably the stones were reported as coming through roofs and canvas tents without making holes. The stones varied in size. They were typological (from that area), sometimes they were warm and rolled after softly falling to the ground. Investigations at the time, including by police who graded the surrounding dirt to try and pick up tracks of potential pranksters, could not determine a cause.

Our film explores the memories of those who experienced these very strange events.

Simultaneously we encounter cultural identity and untold history of the Noongar people. We structure a story that challenges our need for both logic and proof, increasing our affinity and appreciation of the acceptance of metaphysics in Indigenous cultural life.

Noongar elders reflect on the social and environmental conditions in relationship to the falling stones. Through intimate storytelling the eyewitnesses reignite their memories of these sometimes scary events. Some say it was the “little people” who did it, some say it was an angry ghost. Today there is still no scientific explanation, but these events had a real impact on people.

8:30pm – Thursday, July 9 on ABC1

Join well-known British actor, author and presenter Tony Robinson (Blackadder,Time Team, The Worst Jobs in History) on an archaeological dig unearthing details of Ned Kelly’s infamous last gun battle in 1880.

Ned Kelly Uncovered follows the first ever excavation of the Glenrowan Inn site where the iconic Australian bushranger and his gang holed up for a showdown with police.

The dramatic siege which lasted over 24 hours, ended with Ned Kelly’s capture and the death of gang members Joe Byrne, Dan Kelly and Steve Hart. Nearly 130 years later, can a team of archaeologists and historians reveal new insight into Ned Kelly’s final moments of freedom.

More than a century after the Kelly Gang rode the ranges of Victoria and NSW, holding up towns and stealing thousands of pounds, opinion remains passionately divided between those who love Kelly as a persecuted champion of the poor and those who dismiss him as a cold- blooded killer and thief.

Will the dig site shed new light on the motivations of a man cast into legend by history? Or have souvenir hunters destroyed any chance historians have of uncovering the truth.

With specialist commentary from Kelly experts Ian Jones and Alex McDermott, this one-hour documentary follows a seven-week dig led by archaeologist Adam Ford.

As the archaeologists unearth a host of artefacts including cartridges and bullets, the scientists conduct tests with fascinating results. Meanwhile, the historians strip back the myth, piecing together the clues to give a detailed new look at an iconic Australian, literally from the ground up.

8:00pm – Thursday, July 9 on ABC1

Complex Pain Everyday injuries happen to everybody. But what happens if the pain doesn’t go away but just gets worse – even after the injury has healed? Ongoing pain has become a disease in its own right called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a debilitating affliction which can cause changes in the wiring of the brain. Maryanne Demasi meets a group of Sydney pain specialists who are developing ways to help sufferers learn how to manage pain and improve their quality of life.

People’s Choice Award 2009 is the 20th anniversary of the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes – the Oscars of Australian science. Catalyst profiles the six finalists selected from all branches of science for you to vote on. Dr Claire Baker, Dr Amanda Barnard, Dr Andrew Smith, Dr Kathy Belov, Dr Paul Beggs and Dr Will White are the finalists. Visit the Catalyst website to view extended video profiles of the finalists and follow the link to the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes website and participate in their 20th Anniversary by voting in The People’s Choice Award.

Dugongs Dugongs are often referred to as the ‘sirens of the sea’, but the future of these gentle giants is under threat. It’s estimated that their global population has decreased by 95%. Dugongs are classified as vulnerable to extinction, and research is critical if they are to be protected.

Surprisingly little is known about these mysterious marine mammals, and Ruben Meerman, (whose surname literally means ‘merman’ in Dutch), dived at the unique opportunity of swimming with these docile giants to assist marine biologists in Queensland to lift them from the sea for a medical check-up.

Catalyst will be repeated on ABC2 – Friday, July 10 at 5:30pm

8:00pm – Wednesday, July 8 on ABC1

Hosted by James O’Loghlin, The New Inventors showcases bright minds from across the country as they discover ingenious solutions to the problems of our lives. Deciding the winner of these three inventions are: designer and inventor Sally Dominguez, futurist and author Mark Pesce, and woodworker and teacher Richard Vaughan.

Inventions featured on the program:

Invention 1 LIQUID SOLAR ARRAY – by inventor Phil Connor from NSW.

Solar power’s potential to contribute a significant proportion of our energy needs has often been dismissed on the basis of cost. The problem lies in the way that environmental conditions affect solar power’s performance.

Solar panels are usually anchored to the ground, and as they pivot to follow the sun, their structure must be resilient enough to withstand the strongest possible wind. The panels must also be kept cool, as excessive heat will destroy them. Liquid Solar Array is a water-borne solar capturing system. Instead of occupying usable ground space, and losing energy cooling the panels down, the invention floats on calm bodies of water. The technology combines a solar concentrator and a photovoltaic cell, with sun-tracking and storm protection mechanisms. Water is used to cool down the cells, resulting in longer life and better efficiency. Liquid Solar Array has the potential to produce solar power at half the cost of conventional solar technology.

Invention 2 CIRCUITS IN PLASTIC – by inventors David Thiel and Madhusudanrao Neeli from QLD.

The UN estimates that 50 million tonnes of electronic waste can be prevented from going to landfill, making e-waste disposal a major issue. Many countries have legislated to reduce e-waste, and in the developing world, toxic chemicals leaching from landfill have been linked to children born with health issues. Circuits in Plastic is a new method of electronics manufacture for circuits and systems. The circuit ‘board’ is a plastic sheet, with components placed in divots within the sheet. The conductor is screen printed onto a thin cover sheet which is then thermally bonded to the circuit board to form the complete electronic system. This thermal production method has a lower carbon footprint than current methods. Recycled plastic and biodegradable materials can be used, and the circuit is also waterproof.

Invention 3 CONVERTIBLE ARM WRESTLING TABLE – by inventor Allan Haddad from NSW.

Many a dispute has been settled, and time been enjoyably passed, with a good arm wrestle. However, an ordinary table can be painful for your elbows and knuckles. 17-year-old inventor Allan Haddad was inspired while watching the Arm Wrestling Championship to create a table with professional arm wrestling features, incorporated into an everyday study desk. By removing brass pins on either side, the Convertible Arm Wrestling Table flips over on an axle, transforming a regular desktop into a professional-style table with a thick padded ergonomic surface and two screw-in anchor handles.

The players’ elbows are protected, and handles allow competitors to be supported as they wrestle in champion style.

The New Inventors will be repeated on ABC2 – Friday, July 10 at 4:30pm