ABC2's blog

9:30pm – Wednesday, January 23 on ABC2

At age 31, presenter Cherry Healey has had a daughter and survived a year of sleepless nights. Now it’s time to get back on the roller coaster of modern life – but has she been left behind.

In episode two, Cherry sets out to discover why we have become a nation of pill-poppers. In a world where we can buy legal drugs online, how informed are the choices we make, and how much do we rely on the pills we take? Whether we are chasing a legal high or trying to cure a physical problem, are we all addicted to something these days.

She meets a range of young Brits, from thrill-seekers to self-confessed addicts, to discover why we’re all in love with the idea of the quick fix.

On the way, will Cherry be able to resist trying laughing gas and smoking salvia, and can she kick a lifetime’s habit of slimming aids?

8:40pm – Wednesday, January 23 on ABC2

It is estimated that obesity and obesity-related illnesses could cost the British National Health Service �45 billion (approx 70 AUD billion) a year by 2050 unless the trend is arrested. Obesity in the UK is an epidemic spiralling out of control. The UK is the fattest country in Europe and with over a third of the nation categorised as clinically obese, bulging Britain is now the third fattest nation on earth.

Bariatric surgery offers a radical cost-saving and life-changing solution to this problem. In this new documentary series, cameras follow the lives of 12 obesity sufferers from fat to thin as they undergo radical bariatric surgery.

Episode 3: After a string of bad relationships Yvonne (43) took to food for comfort and the weight piled on taking her to 127kg. Yvonne became a secret binge eater, secretly hiding high-sugared foods which exploded her waistline and busted her bank balance. Yvonne’s relationship with food is known as compulsive overeating. She will consume an average of 7,000 calories per day. Now she is determined to lose weight in order to be able to look after her son. Yvonne has also fallen in love, but with her partner’s mum’s bullying, Yvonne is desperate to make a change.

Also featured is Julie Sharpe (42) a mother of two. Previously a size 8/10 her slow, yet progressive weight gain has resulted in her reaching 165kg. For Julie it is the social stigma of her weight that is equally, if not more problematic than her health issues. Julie also feels like a failure in most areas of her family life. Julie will undergo a gastric bypass and have her stomach stapled. This is Julie’s last hope to end the weight struggles that have plagued her for the past 20 years.

9:30pm – Tuesday, January 22 on ABC2

Rudy and his down-beat doppelganger are forced to unite as they confront a long forgotten face from their shared past. Can they put aside their differences and save themselves from the killer who has the power to end their lives.

Meanwhile, Jess hits on handsome Alex from the bar, Curtis hits on Lola the mysterious trainee probation worker and Finn is hit on by…his stepmum?.

Cast includes: Joseph Gilgun (Rudy), Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Curtis), Matthew McNulty (Seth), Karla Crome (Jess), Nathan McMullen (Finn), Matt Stokoe (Alex), Shaun Dooley (Greg) Lucy Gaskell (Lola) and Natasha O’Keeffe (Abby).

8:40pm – Tuesday, January 22 on ABC2

This nail-biting series sees eight personalities surviving in some of the planet’s most perilous and remote locations. Each is left completely alone, with only a handheld camera to film their struggle. They must find water, food and shelter, and battle against the elements and local wildlife. Forced to confront their innermost fears, will they survive being Alone in the Wild.

This week Winter Olympic gold medallist Amy Williams and World Champion Free-diver Tanya Streeter spend eight days fending for themselves in a remote corner of Botswana’s Okavango Delta.

They have to hunt and gather to supplement their emergency survival rations or they will go hungry, and they have to collect, boil and filter every last drop of the drinking water they need to survive. Armed with a camera to film their adventure, they are constantly on guard against attack from wild animals. Only minutes after they set off into the bush on their own they disturb a cheetah on a fresh kill. Terrified, they don’t take any meat from the kill and move swiftly on to their first campsite which is only a few hundred metres away.

8:30pm – Monday, January 21 on ABC2

Louis Theroux travels to California, home of America’s adult entertainment industry, to meet the porn stars and find out how the growth of the internet has changed the industry.

In the 1990s, Louis visited the hub of America’s adult entertainment industry – the San Fernando Valley in California – to find out if being a male porn star really was one of the best jobs a man could have, and to explore the psychological effects of performing one of the most intimate acts of human behaviour in public and on film.

Now, 15 years later, Louis goes back and finds that everything has changed. Pornography is far more mainstream, the rapid expansion of the internet means that porn is available at the click of a mouse, much of it free of charge, and new technology means that performers can upload their own films and have direct contact with their fans.

Louis catches up with some of the people he met before to see how they have fared over the years. He also meets some of the newer performers and finds out how they cope in a business that offers less money, more insecurity and more stress than ever before.

9:30pm – Monday, January 21 on ABC2

Cullen (Anson Mount) resumes his quest for vengeance by learning the name of one of the men responsible for his wife’s death. His plans change when he crosses paths with Lily (Dominique McElligott) and Joseph (Eddie Spears). She has been wounded in a Cheyenne attack on her camp that also killed her husband. Joseph has been seeking answers from his former tribe, including his own brother, about the savage attack.

Elam (Common) is approached by his fellow freeman about not doing his share of the work. Durant telegraphs Senator Crane (James D. Hopkin), appealing for federal troops to help them with the natives.

Crane wires back his dissent about the troop request, the pacing of the construction, and Robert Bell’s murder.

7:30pm – Saturday, January 19 on ABC2

Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind landed in our cinemas over thirty years ago, lifting the lid on UFO sightings and turning it into a worldwide phenomenon. The film re-awakened our fascination with the eternal question – are we alone in the universe.

The True Story investigates the original cases that inspired Close Encounters of the Third Kind – from the Michigan UFO chase to the first and most famous case of alien abduction in the US – the Betty and Barney Hill abduction.

5:50pm – Sunday, January 13 on ABC2

Preschoolers can now enjoy exciting new episodes of Kioka daily on ABC4Kids.

Kioka, a curious, imaginative and confident little girl, has a very special way of looking at things. When she shakes her magical snow globe amazing things happen – suddenly her room fills with snowflakes and Kioka’s in the snow globe where all her toy friends have come to life.

Bursting with imagination, Kioka finds her own unique way to have fun with her toys as they come across interesting challenges together. Morning exercises with penguins, fishes stuck in ice cubes – every day brings its questions and Kioka and her friends work together to solve a situation or problem in a unique and creative way.

9:30pm – Friday, January 18 on ABC2

Around one percent of the Thai population are ladyboys: men who use hormone therapy and surgery to transform themselves into women. The results are often so astonishing that many Western men who visit Thailand can’t resist a closer look.

Like many divorced Western men 42-year-old Scott came to Thailand to enjoy the company of the world famous bargirls. Scott was in for the shock of his life when, alone in a bedroom with a ladyboy companion, he discovered there was more to this beautiful woman than he had anticipated. Before long he was seeking more and more ladyboys for company. Scott is now engaged to Paeng, a former prostitute who has given up her previous life to be with him.

Ex-pat Englishman David lives in Bangkok and is playing the ladyboy dating game. He’s already had more than 16 encounters with ladyboys, but has tired of easy and sleazy company, and is now looking for love.

David is on his third date with ladyboy, Annie. It’s a fledgling relationship, subject to mistrust and jealously. Will this relationship be another flash-in-the-pan, or will it develop into something more stable.

Both David and Scott say they are straight. They insist that if they were gay, they would be attracted to men, whereas ladyboys are ultra-feminine – they just happen to have an extra body part.

6:15pm – Friday, January 18 on ABC2

Cloudbabies is a 52 x 10 minute CG animated series following four enchanting, childlike characters – Baba Pink, Baba Blue, Baba Yellow and Baba Green – whose job is to look after the sky and their sky friends – Sun, Moon, Rainbow, Fuffa Cloud and Little Star.

They live together with Bobo White, a mischievous little imp, in a house on a big fluffy cloud. Every morning, they jump on their Skyhorsies and begin their day’s work of looking after the sky.

Episode 1: Fly Away Home: Friday, January 18 at 6.15pm on ABC4Kids The Skyhorsies are left in Bobo’s care – however when he tries to ride Bluehorsey, the horse throws him onto the gate of the corrall and all the Skyhorsies escape into the sky. Will Bobo be able to get all the Skyhorsies to return.

Episode 2: Right Colour To Be: Saturday, January 19 at 6.15pm on ABC4Kids Bobo is keen to help the Cloudbabies paint but they are busy looking for a raincloud to water the garden.

Bobo enlists Little Star and the two of them find Sun who is very willing to be painted purple. The more he paints Sun, the more violet the sky becomes.

The Cloudbabies return and need Sun to make the flowers grow, however Sun is painted all purple.