ABC2's blog

9:30pm – Wednesday, December 12 on ABC2

Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work takes us on a year-long ride with the irreverent comedian and pop icon Joan Rivers, peeling away the mask of the legendary performer, laying bare both the struggle and thrill of living life as a groundbreaking female entertainer.

With unprecedented, unguarded access, the film captures intimate scenes shot in Joan’s 75th year – Joan at home, during holidays, performing stand up and acting in a play she wrote, gossiping with her fans, writing jokes and managing her career – interweaving them with home movies, stand up routines, book recordings, personal photographs and archival footage to create a lush visual landscape and cinematic backdrop for the narrative as it unfolds.

A unique look inside America’s obsession with fame and celebrity – Joan’s story is both an outrageously funny journey and a brutally honest look at the ruthless entertainment industry, the trappings of success and the ultimate vulnerability of the first queen of comedy.

8:45pm – Wednesday, December 12 on ABC2

In this UK series, four facially disfigured people take on a group of beauty addicts and challenge their perspective on life. Spending two weeks learning about each other’s life, together they go on a journey to figure out what’s more important; how a person looks on the outside or what’s on the inside.

Twenty-six-year-old hairdresser and beauty obsessive Corinne Harrison meets 26-year-old teacher Simon Moore. Corinne spends up to �3000 a month on her beauty treatments and has had two boob jobs leaving her with no sensation in either breast. She is considering a third breast augmentation and liposuction. Simon has Collins Syndrome, a condition which means his skull and jaw did not form properly in the womb, which has left him profoundly deaf.

In the first week Simon stays in Corinne’s world as she tries to persuade him that her beauty regime is normal and natural. He learns that Corinne is running away from her Jamaican heritage and that’s why she hates her nose and her hair. In the second week Corinne visits Simon’s world where he shows her how prepared he is to accept who he is and his family inheritance. Their journey concludes with a trip to Jamaica, where Simon hopes Corinne will learn to love her Jamaican side.

3:30pm – Wednesday, December 12 on ABC2

Everyone’s favourite little aardvark, Arthur, is back with exciting new episodes! Based on the books written and illustrated by Marc Brown, the animated series revolves around the adventures of an eight-year-old aardvark Arthur and his family and friends.

Based on a True Story, Part 1 & 2 – Wednesday, December 12 at 3.30pm on ABC4Kids There’s a new kid in town: Ladonna Compson, the Louisiana native with the gift of the gab. Ladonna charms Arthur and his friends with her amazing ‘true’ stories. But are her stories really fact…or fiction.

Flippity Francine / Muffy Takes the Wheel – Thursday, December 13 at 3.30pm on ABC4Kids When Muffy posts a goofy video of Francine on the Muffington Post, Francine worries she will become the laughing stock of the entire school. Can Francine regain her dignity or will she have to swap her cleats for clown shoes? / It’s the 1st Annual Lakewood Derby and Muffy’s revved up! But when she enlists her dad to help her make the winning car, he completely takes over. Can Muffy hit the brakes on this runaway project or will she be left in the dust?

9:30pm – Monday, December 10 on ABC2

Mia’s (Chloe Sevigny) professional side takes over and she springs into action, ordering Riley (Karla Crome) to clean the bedroom as she sets about chopping up John’s dead body and feeding it to the pigs. She calls Eddie (Peter Wight) and asks for his help. She can’t chop the body up easily and she also needs to get rid of John’s (Vincent Regan) truck.

Mia knows she will be indebted to Eddie now. The kids return to the smallholdings with Liam (Ben Crompton) and wonder why Riley’s so depressed.

Riley struggles to come to terms with what she has done, she is a complete mess and starts to self harm.

Levi (Reece Noi) is working for Eddie, running errands for him here and there. Mia goes to John’s house to plant his wedding ring and make it look like he’s left Penny (Erin Shanagher), but when she gets there, Penny is in labour and Mia helps deliver the baby. Mia finds out that Levi is working again for Eddie and is furious.

Taking solace in her relationship with Ben (Jonas Armstrong), she goes to his place that night.

8:30pm – Monday, December 10 on ABC2

In 2007, Louis Theroux spent a summer living with the community of the Westboro Baptist Church in the USA, famed for their offensive ministry.

Now Louis returns to find the family more hateful than ever.

When Louis first met the Phelps family, he accompanied the family as they travelled the country holding signs such as ‘God Hates Fags’ and ‘Soldiers Die God Laughs’. America hated them and they revelled in their notoriety.

Now Louis returns to find a very different community. More like a cult than ever before, they are convinced the world is about to end and are making even more outrageous gestures such as burning the Koran.

Louis is accepted back into the family, but he finds them more combative than before. They see him as part of the prophecy; the ‘mocker and scoffer’ sent by God to chide his elect.

As the family’s behaviour becomes even more extreme, some of the younger members of the Church have fallen away. Louis catches up with those who made the decision to leave the family, knowing that in doing so, they will never see their parents again.

Although Louis finds the Phelps family more vengeful, more hateful and more controversial than ever, he also finds a family heading towards uncertain times, losing its members as it binds its youngest ever more tightly.

8:30pm – Sunday, December 9 on ABC2

Freddie Mercury (1946-1991) was one of the most charismatic, complex and fascinating characters in British rock music. The story of Queen is a well known one but this new film focuses on Freddie Mercury and the solo projects he worked on outside of Queen.

Using extensive archive footage of interviews with Freddie Mercury, concerts, video shoots and personal material, much of it previously unseen, along with new interviews with friends and colleagues, a portrait emerges of a man who was very different to his flamboyant onstage public persona. A generous, caring, thoughtful man with a selfdeprecating sense of humour and a genuine passion for music. Freddie Mercury touched the lives of millions through his career both with Queen and as a solo performer and this new program will delight and inform his legions of fans.

8:30pm – Saturday, December 8 on ABC2

The Alps in winter – the top American skier is hurt, so Coach Eugene Claire (Gene Hackman) sends for two replacements, one being David Chappellet (Robert Redford). David is a tough, undisciplined loner from Colorado who has never had anything of value but his skis.

David’s first big race is the Lauberhorn but he’s given the 88th starting position and refuses to run. Claire believes in David’s value to the team and in the next big race Claire gets him a lower starting number. David turns a fantastic performance and meets Carole (Camilla Sparv), a ski manufacturer’s assistant, at the postrace party.

David becomes the U.S. team’s best hope after top downhill racer Johnny Creech (Jim McMullan) is injured in a pre-Olympic race. This is David’s chance to become immortal, or return to anonymity.

9:30pm – Friday, December 7 on ABC2

What happens when you take a tour group of eager Western men to Odessa in the Ukraine and give them a short period of time to meet a wife in contrived and awkward situations.

Organised by a company that specialises in dating tours, men from the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Japan fly to the Ukraine, get on a bus, and travel from one destination to another meeting young, beautiful, single women at every stop of the journey. But there are language barriers, cultural differences and age gaps to face along the way.

Michael, who has never had a date in his life before travelling to Odessa, eventually loses track of how many girls he has ‘had an appointment with’. Meanwhile Ramon, a charming intelligent doctor, spends the whole trip with just one girl he met on the second day of the tour. Will his plan work.

For some women, these Western guys are a tool that will allow them to marry ‘up’ and live in a better place or at the very least, to buy an expensive pair of shoes! But most of the guys are not saints either.

3:05pm – Friday, December 7 on ABC2

Maya the Bee is a fun-filled, 3D animated adventure series following Maya, a young bee who has left her hive to discover the beauty and mysteries of nature.

As she explores the meadow where she lives, she meets other insects, plays to her heart’s content and shares her joy with her friends.

Constantly amazed by her discoveries, Maya’s enthusiasm is contagious.

Episode one: Judge Beeswax – Friday, December 7 at 3.05pm on ABC4Kids When Judge Beeswax discovers that Maya lives outside of the hive, he banishes her from the hive and the meadow, believing her life-style is a threat to the other bees.

But during the attack of the wasps, Maya and her friends will prove that she has a role to play in the community.

Episode two: Willy’s Bottle – Saturday, December 8 at 3.05pm on ABC4Kids Maya and Willy discover an abandoned soda bottle in the meadow. As Willy flies into the bottle to taste the delicious and sweet liquid, the bottle rolls down a slope, taking Ben’s ball with it.

Willy and the ball disappear into the heart of the forest so Maya and Ben decide to look for them.

9:00pm – Thursday, December 6 on ABC2

In 1960s Cuba a man is exiled for criticising Castro’s regime. Pushed out to sea with nothing but a pile of cabbages, Augustus must conquer his fears to return home.

Michael Workman: Mercy is hilarious, moving and thought provoking comedy about family, love and strength.

In his first six months as a comedian Michael Workman had already won the national Raw Comedy competition and been flown to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to perform.

In the following year he wrote a full length show called ‘The Ogre’ which he performed in Sydney and Perth to critical acclaim. He then toured the country performing at comedy clubs to packed houses, honing the ‘skills’ he needs to do his ‘job’. Upon his return to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2011 with his first solo show ‘Humans are Beautiful’ he won the coveted Best Newcomer Award, putting him on the comedy map.

That same year, Michael performed ‘Mercy’ in the 2011 Sydney Fringe, and it became the only stand up comedy show to receive an Award for Excellence that year. Workman continues producing surreal and hilarious comedy. He is defined by his clever and often absurd humour, which has set him apart from his contemporaries.