ABC2's blog

8:00pm – Friday, March 19 on ABC2

Miranda is a six-part British sitcom based on the semi-autobiographical writings of comedy actress Miranda Hart (Absolutely Fabulous).

Miranda is desperate to fit in with her girly friends from boarding school, but at 185cm she stands out from the crowd. Her nemesis Tilly (Sally Phillips) seems to be the big success that Miranda’s mother, Penny (Patricia Hodge) always hoped Miranda would be.

Miranda certainly doesn’t know how to behave around men, and even flirting causes problems especially with her old friend from university, Gary (Tom Ellis), when he starts working in the restaurant next door. However, Miranda is happiest playing games at her joke shop which is managed by her childhood best friend, and sense of humour vacuum Stevie (Sarah Hadland).

When Gary asks Miranda out for a drink to catch up, she gets over excited by the prospect of her first real date and decides it’s time to try and be more girly. She goes shopping for a new outfit to impress Gary but her make-over doesn’t go quite to plan.

After begrudgingly attending a reunion lunch with her old boarding school chums, she ends up being talked into helping them with their wedding dress shopping – against her better judgement.

http://abc.net.au/iview/

8:00pm – Friday, March 19 on ABC2

Miranda is a six-part British sitcom based on the semi-autobiographical writings of comedy actress Miranda Hart (Absolutely Fabulous).

Miranda is desperate to fit in with her girly friends from boarding school, but at 185cm she stands out from the crowd. Her nemesis Tilly (Sally Phillips) seems to be the big success that Miranda’s mother, Penny (Patricia Hodge) always hoped Miranda would be.

Miranda certainly doesn’t know how to behave around men, and even flirting causes problems especially with her old friend from university, Gary (Tom Ellis), when he starts working in the restaurant next door. However, Miranda is happiest playing games at her joke shop which is managed by her childhood best friend, and sense of humour vacuum Stevie (Sarah Hadland).

When Gary asks Miranda out for a drink to catch up, she gets over excited by the prospect of her first real date and decides it’s time to try and be more girly. She goes shopping for a new outfit to impress Gary but her make-over doesn’t go quite to plan.

After begrudgingly attending a reunion lunch with her old boarding school chums, she ends up being talked into helping them with their wedding dress shopping – against her better judgement.

http://abc.net.au/iview/

9:30pm – Thursday, March 18 on ABC2

With just six weeks to go until the wedding, the nerves and excitement are beginning to show. Gavin has a very important question for Smithy, while Nessa is having uncharacteristic doubts about herself.

Meanwhile the Shipman family and friends travel to Barry for a wedding fair. The event exceeds all expectations, with Smithy completely mesmerised by Jammy the ultimate stag do organiser (played by Little Britain star, Matt Lucas), and Bryn totally sold on a magician for the wedding.

http://abc.net.au/iview/

9:30pm – Thursday, March 18 on ABC2

With just six weeks to go until the wedding, the nerves and excitement are beginning to show. Gavin has a very important question for Smithy, while Nessa is having uncharacteristic doubts about herself.

Meanwhile the Shipman family and friends travel to Barry for a wedding fair. The event exceeds all expectations, with Smithy completely mesmerised by Jammy the ultimate stag do organiser (played by Little Britain star, Matt Lucas), and Bryn totally sold on a magician for the wedding.

http://abc.net.au/iview/

8:30pm – Wednesday, March 17 on ABC2

ABC TV, Opera Australia and The Australia Council for the Arts present Bliss, a new Australian opera and adaptation of Peter Carey’s award-winning landmark first novel. A live (AEDT) performance of this bold production will be screened live from the Sydney Opera House.

Neil Armfield directs the dangerous tale of Harry Joy’s (Peter Coleman-Wright) near death experience and subsequent return to life to find his world has been transformed into a Kafkaesque nightmare.

Once a flourishing and carefree advertising executive, Harry’s twisted reality resembles a hellish underworld where the excesses of the 80s meet sex, drugs and social dysfunction. He discovers that his son (tenor David Corcoran) is peddling drugs for sexual favours with his sister (soprano Taryn Fiebig), his wife (soprano Merlyn Quaife) is indulging in a lusty affair with Harry’s business partner (tenor Kanen Breen) and the advertising agency he once proudly led has resorted to flogging cancer-causing products.

Harry’s only respite comes in the form of a prostitute, Honey B, (Lorina Gore) who he falls madly, deeply in love with… But can love conquer his tormented hell.

Jennifer Byrne and Chris Taylor host ABC2 Live Presents Bliss and take us backstage during interval to capture exclusive interviews with principal artists and crew.

This highly anticipated opera event is by composer Brett Dean and award-winning librettist Amanda Holden. Dean’s music is by turns fascinating, atmospheric and beautiful. Elgar Howarth conducts Bliss.

AB2 Live Presents Bliss is also being beamed live to cinemas around Australia. The broadcast concludes the ABC’s Bliss-a-thon, which explored the book, the movie and which went behind the scenes of the opera to film Artscape: Making Opera Bliss. To see exclusive footage from this documentary visit the Arts Gateway at www.abc.net.au/arts http://abc.net.au/iview/

8:30pm – Wednesday, March 17 on ABC2

ABC TV, Opera Australia and The Australia Council for the Arts present Bliss, a new Australian opera and adaptation of Peter Carey’s award-winning landmark first novel. A live (AEDT) performance of this bold production will be screened live from the Sydney Opera House.

Neil Armfield directs the dangerous tale of Harry Joy’s (Peter Coleman-Wright) near death experience and subsequent return to life to find his world has been transformed into a Kafkaesque nightmare.

Once a flourishing and carefree advertising executive, Harry’s twisted reality resembles a hellish underworld where the excesses of the 80s meet sex, drugs and social dysfunction. He discovers that his son (tenor David Corcoran) is peddling drugs for sexual favours with his sister (soprano Taryn Fiebig), his wife (soprano Merlyn Quaife) is indulging in a lusty affair with Harry’s business partner (tenor Kanen Breen) and the advertising agency he once proudly led has resorted to flogging cancer-causing products.

Harry’s only respite comes in the form of a prostitute, Honey B, (Lorina Gore) who he falls madly, deeply in love with… But can love conquer his tormented hell.

Jennifer Byrne and Chris Taylor host ABC2 Live Presents Bliss and take us backstage during interval to capture exclusive interviews with principal artists and crew.

This highly anticipated opera event is by composer Brett Dean and award-winning librettist Amanda Holden. Dean’s music is by turns fascinating, atmospheric and beautiful. Elgar Howarth conducts Bliss.

AB2 Live Presents Bliss is also being beamed live to cinemas around Australia. The broadcast concludes the ABC’s Bliss-a-thon, which explored the book, the movie and which went behind the scenes of the opera to film Artscape: Making Opera Bliss. To see exclusive footage from this documentary visit the Arts Gateway at www.abc.net.au/arts http://abc.net.au/iview/

8:35pm – Tuesday, March 16 on ABC2

More betrayal and terrifying secrets are unleashed when Durham County returns for another electrifying season. In season two, newly promoted homicide Detective Mike Sweeney struggles to keep his family together as they try to come to terms with the anguish left behind by a serial killer. He also develops an intense bond with a brilliant but deeply troubled forensic psychiatrist named Pen Verrity, who works in his department.

Amidst the bleak landscape of a new suburban setting, we deal with the aftermath of a serial killer’s impact on his family, his surviving victims and their family. The question is how do the families move on after being so traumatised by the heinous acts of a killer? Ray Prager (Romano Orzari) has left both families in a fragile and broken state. Mike Sweeney (Hugh Dillon) and his wife Audrey (Hélène Joy) are divorcing. Ray’s wife Traci (Sonya Salomaa) has gone elsewhere to heal, leaving her son, Ray Jr., (Greyston Holt) alone to finish school.

Mike’s daughter, Sadie, (Lawrence Leboeuf), one of Ray Prager’s victims, is acting out, wilfully putting herself in danger. Both families are on the edge, there is no grounding force for anyone.

Meanwhile at work, Mike deals with what seems to be a homicide involving the death of a baby. He brings in a forensic psychiatrist, Pen Verrity to help him understand the murder, but he’s already decided that the mother (Elodie) is the killer, and he’s going to do whatever he has to, to get her. Pen is also going through a difficult and messy divorce and their mutual loneliness, anger and pain brings them together sexually, and when Pen offers to treat Sadie privately, to get to the bottom of the young girl’s trauma and help her prepare for trial, the bond between the two is strengthened. But it’s clear that Pen is deeply troubled herself.

http://abc.net.au/iview/

8:35pm – Tuesday, March 16 on ABC2

More betrayal and terrifying secrets are unleashed when Durham County returns for another electrifying season. In season two, newly promoted homicide Detective Mike Sweeney struggles to keep his family together as they try to come to terms with the anguish left behind by a serial killer. He also develops an intense bond with a brilliant but deeply troubled forensic psychiatrist named Pen Verrity, who works in his department.

Amidst the bleak landscape of a new suburban setting, we deal with the aftermath of a serial killer’s impact on his family, his surviving victims and their family. The question is how do the families move on after being so traumatised by the heinous acts of a killer? Ray Prager (Romano Orzari) has left both families in a fragile and broken state. Mike Sweeney (Hugh Dillon) and his wife Audrey (Hélène Joy) are divorcing. Ray’s wife Traci (Sonya Salomaa) has gone elsewhere to heal, leaving her son, Ray Jr., (Greyston Holt) alone to finish school.

Mike’s daughter, Sadie, (Lawrence Leboeuf), one of Ray Prager’s victims, is acting out, wilfully putting herself in danger. Both families are on the edge, there is no grounding force for anyone.

Meanwhile at work, Mike deals with what seems to be a homicide involving the death of a baby. He brings in a forensic psychiatrist, Pen Verrity to help him understand the murder, but he’s already decided that the mother (Elodie) is the killer, and he’s going to do whatever he has to, to get her. Pen is also going through a difficult and messy divorce and their mutual loneliness, anger and pain brings them together sexually, and when Pen offers to treat Sadie privately, to get to the bottom of the young girl’s trauma and help her prepare for trial, the bond between the two is strengthened. But it’s clear that Pen is deeply troubled herself.

http://abc.net.au/iview/

9:30pm – Monday, March 15 on ABC2

Still overwhelmed by all there is to discover about the Sanctuary, Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne), joins Dr Magnus (Amanda Tapping) and Ashley (Emilie Ullerup) on a mission to retrieve an elixir that might be capable of prolonging life.

Aware that the serum will be heavily guarded, the team comes prepared for a fight. But they are not prepared for what they find instead of vials and containers. Inside the crypt that they expected would house the elixir, they find three coffins each containing a woman lying in an unusual green liquid. Although unconscious, all three women are very much alive.

With the women now resting and monitored back at the Sanctuary, Dr Magnus begins researching their possible history and origins. At her mother’s request, Ashley does some sleuthing with her contacts in Old City.

As the women awake, Will begins psychiatric examinations to determine who they are and how they came to be locked in the crypt. Remarkably, they remember, or reveal, very little of their lives before arriving at the Sanctuary, but make unusual references to historic events that go back more than a thousand years. Will is convinced they are suffering from delusion, sharing common traits found in kidnapping victims. He shares his diagnosis and concern with Dr Magnus.

Dr Magnus’s research turns up another theory however. She tells Will of an ancient legend dating back to medieval times involving three women with supernatural abilities. According to the legend, their powers were used to destroy their enemies en masse…

http://abc.net.au/iview/

9:30pm – Monday, March 15 on ABC2

Still overwhelmed by all there is to discover about the Sanctuary, Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne), joins Dr Magnus (Amanda Tapping) and Ashley (Emilie Ullerup) on a mission to retrieve an elixir that might be capable of prolonging life.

Aware that the serum will be heavily guarded, the team comes prepared for a fight. But they are not prepared for what they find instead of vials and containers. Inside the crypt that they expected would house the elixir, they find three coffins each containing a woman lying in an unusual green liquid. Although unconscious, all three women are very much alive.

With the women now resting and monitored back at the Sanctuary, Dr Magnus begins researching their possible history and origins. At her mother’s request, Ashley does some sleuthing with her contacts in Old City.

As the women awake, Will begins psychiatric examinations to determine who they are and how they came to be locked in the crypt. Remarkably, they remember, or reveal, very little of their lives before arriving at the Sanctuary, but make unusual references to historic events that go back more than a thousand years. Will is convinced they are suffering from delusion, sharing common traits found in kidnapping victims. He shares his diagnosis and concern with Dr Magnus.

Dr Magnus’s research turns up another theory however. She tells Will of an ancient legend dating back to medieval times involving three women with supernatural abilities. According to the legend, their powers were used to destroy their enemies en masse…

http://abc.net.au/iview/