ABC2's blog

2:10pm – Thursday, June 30 on ABC2

Thursday,30 June 2011 In today’s episode of Angelina Ballerina, Angelina decides to bring her little sister, Polly, for ‘show and tell’ day at her school. But looking after a baby is not easy, and a rather frayed Angelina is late.

Angelina bumps into her friend Sammy at the school gates, where Polly takes a fancy to his bright yellow yo-yo and knocks it out of his grasp. His prized possession rolls away, but he thinks Polly has it, and runs after Angelina to get it back but Polly is nowhere to be seen.

Will Angelina find Polly before her teacher, Miss Chalk finds out?

9:30pm – Wednesday, June 29 on ABC2

The True Story is a documentary series that looks behind the gloss and glamour of cinema legends to discover the truth behind some of the world’s most famous films. The first series looked at the real stories and characters that inspired Indiana Jones, James Bond, Escape from Alcatraz, The Untouchables and The Amityville Horror. This time the series explores the truth behind some of the biggest blockbusters of all time: Jaws, Titanic, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jurassic Park and Gladiator.

The first episode takes the viewer on a swashbuckling adventure to the high seas. Starring Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean tells the incredible story of an 18th-century pirate battling a band of cursed former crewmates lead by the undead Captain Barbossa. Featuring interviews with historians, treasure hunters and the movie screenwriters, The True Story reveals how the adventures of real pirates 300 years ago inspired the film, including those of history’s most notorious swashbuckling antihero – Captain Blackbeard.

7:30pm – Wednesday, June 29 on ABC2

With the scores level pegging at 2-all, actor Will Mellor and presenter Kirsten O’Brien fly to France for this week’s World’s Toughest Driving Test.

High in the Alps on the French/Swiss border, in the breathtaking ski resort of Chatel, they’ll be learning to drive and then ultimately racing, the gravity-defying and mountain-climbing Snow Groomer, a machine packed with over 400 horse power.

Mentor and judge Jean-Louis, puts Will and Kirsten through a gruelling three-day training regime to prepare them for race day when they must battle it out for victory. But, with a week packed with crashes and blunders, and Will dislocating his knee, it will be an uphill struggle just getting to the starting line.

Desperate to beat rival Will, Kirsten has another battle to fight – her anxiety.

Racked with fear, can Kirsten keep her cool and her emotions in check.

So, it’s all to play for in this penultimate driving test. Faced with driving their most challenging vehicle yet, Will and Kirsten know that whoever wins this week takes the lead in next week’s final showdown.

9:00pm – Tuesday, June 28 on ABC2

On a quest to seek the truth behind the world’s greatest mysteries, self proclaimed ‘expert’ Leigh Hart embarks on a journey to the most challenging, dangerous and remote environments on the planet.

Tonight, the Mysterious Planet team go in search of one of the world’s most mythical monsters – Loch Ness.

After countless hours of precious research in Scottish taverns around the famous body of water, Leigh and his New Zealand cohorts eventually head out to the mysterious Loch.

As far back as the 7th century, people have reported seeing a Loch Ness monster on the famous waters.

Unleashing their state of the art technology the Mysterious Planet team search long and hard for the legendary monster. But the Scottish Highlands are not ready to give up their treasured folklore so easily.

For hundreds of years people have reported catching a glimpse of a huge sea creature in the lake while others claim they have photos of it.

Can Leigh Hart explain these mysterious sightings.

The legend is so great that highly credentialed experts such as Leigh have been intrigued by the phenomenon. After a few days of thoughtful study Leigh comes up with his own unique theory that explains what people have been witnessing for centuries.

However, there is always drama in any of Leigh’s expeditions, and there’s commotion when the Mysterious Planet team manage to cut off electricity to the local village before completing their mission.

9:30pm – Monday, June 27 on ABC2

In an age of plunder and greed the richest gold strike in American history draws a throng of restless misfits to an outlaw settlement where everything – and everyone – has a price. Welcome to Deadwood…a hell of a place to make your fortune.

Tonight, Cy Tolliver (Powers Booth) is looking for an underling to represent him in his dealings with George Hearst (Gerald McRaney), mimicking Al Swearengen’s (Ian McShane) approach.

Hearst tries to discern Silas Adams’ (Titus Welliver) loyalty to Swearengen, and whether he can win it away. In the end, all Hearst offers is a message that Captain Turner (Alan Graf) is ready to take on Dan Dority (W Earl Brown).

Swearengen debriefs Adams on his meeting. Dority, riled that he’s been called out, is ready to fight. But Al wants to think first.

Meanwhile, Bullock draws his gun to fire the signal for Hostetler (Richard Gant) at the hardware store and ‘drunk’ Steve (Michael Harney) to sign simultaneously their agreement on the livery.

Al, unable to figure Hearst’s angle, sends Dority off to fight. Dority prepares, greasing himself up. Johnny Burns (Sean Bridgers) offers to shoot Turner if Dan signals something is going wrong, but Dority won’t have it.

As Turner prepares, Hearst and Turner recollect past fights, Hearst insinuating he should make the fight an object lesson for everyone watching.

Dority and Turner charge towards each other and a long and brutal battle.

8:00pm – Sunday, June 26 on ABC2

Sunday,26 June 2011 After last week’s disastrous presentation, Philippe Starck wanted to send all the students home, but instead he let them all stay – considering them to be equally as bad as each other.

On tonight’s episode of Design For Life, Philippe gives them the same brief as last week but under strict instructions that they must now all work alone. With only a week to prove themselves, the students waste no time getting on with the project, some choosing to fine tune their original ideas, others choosing to pursue a new concept.

Helen is the last to form an idea, a lamp with a shade that turns into a bat, she has only two days to pull it together. Ana Marie is quietly confident with her inventive pot plant design while Trevor moves away from his original homeless shelter design, instead opting to design an ergonomic chair for schoolchildren. Isla pursues her idea of helping the elderly with a product that will assist their mobility, while Mike attempts to fine tune his magnetic dinner service, sending his rough sketches out for professional feedback.

On presentation day, Philippe listens intently to the ideas, reserving his comments. But when the students leave, he is frank in his discussions with Jasmine and Eugeni as to which projects he likes. With only four spots available to stay in the competition, Philippe is looking for the products that can be moved into the design and prototype stage.

When the students rejoin to hear the verdict, Philippe doesn’t hold back and tells them what he really thinks of their projects. Some he finds ambitious, others pointless and one that he finds just kooky. Which products will be refined into working prototypes?

8:30pm – Saturday, June 25 on ABC2

Saturday,25 June 2011 The residents of a New York tenement building band together to ensure that the son of Nick Romano does not follow in his father’s footsteps…to the electric chair.

Born into poverty and raised in the slums, Nick Romano is the product of a marriage between a waitress in a sleazy saloon, Nellie, and her now-dead gangster husband. In his struggle to survive, Nick is watched over by the Judge, a whiskey-soaked ex-jurist who is secretly in love with Nellie, and by honky-tonk singer Big Flora.

When Nick falls in love with a lawyer’s daughter, their affair is sidetracked by Louis Ramponi, a drug dealer who gets Nellie hooked. After Nick fails in an effort to kill Ramponi, the Judge murders the mobster with his bare hands and rescues the romance as Nellie enters treatment for her drug addiction.

Directed by Philip Leacock, Let No Man Write My Epitaph stars James Darren, Shelley Winters, Burl Ives, Ella Fitzgerald, Jean Seberg and Ricardo Montalban.

7:30pm – Saturday, June 25 on ABC2

The remaining five trucks head further east as they arrive in Forth Worth, Texas while Team Ragin’ Cajuns make the long and lonely drive home.

Expectations for Team Austin Daily Press to ‘kill it’ in their home state are high, but they’re not so sure.

The culinary school drop-outs are mixing up their menu to suit the bold flavours of the Lone Star state over in the Grill ‘Em All food truck.

When chef Tyler Florence offers a bit extra seed cash, even French-American Spencer starts happy.

Things are running smoothly for everyone until they are all given a giant side of beef that they have to carve and incorporate into their truck menu instantly.

This elimination is the most intense yet.

9:30pm – Friday, June 24 on ABC2

Cromwell (James Frain) tries to bribe Darcy (Colm Wilkinson) into betraying Robert Aske (Gerard McSorley), but when he won’t, the fate of both men is sealed. They are both executed.

On the King’s orders Brandon (Henry Cavill) begins his unpitying persecution of the Northern rebels, and Henry learns that Cardinal Pole (Mark Hildreth) has condemned him as a heretic and an adulterer. Henry orders Sir Francis Bryan (Alan Van Sprang) to go to Paris and request that the French King hand Pole over or face a revival of hostilities.

Despite their long friendship and his deep loyalty to Henry, the heartless and unforgiving persecutions of men, women and children fill Brandon with dread and loathing and he turns to prayer.

Meanwhile, Jane’s continued pregnancy is a source of delight to her and her King who makes plans for her coronation after the birth of – what he is convinced will be – his son.

Jane’s labour is agonisingly long and preparations are made to deliver the baby by section – in which case the mother is likely die. To his great relief, Henry is spared the choice between mother and child by the news that the child has come, and it is a son.

The kingdom goes into a convulsion of celebrations and the child is quickly baptised ‘Edward’. Finally, after three Queens and numerous pregnancies, Henry has a male heir.

Henry’s joy is quickly tempered by news that Jane has fallen into a fever following her long and painful labour, and his beloved, uncrowned Queen dies soon after.

9:15pm – Friday, June 24 on ABC2

After days of travelling on foot, Riese and Fenrir have almost reached the township of Vidar, where, according to the stolen ledger, scores of children were sent.

But despite being so close to their goal, Fenrir balks when they reach the gates, sensing danger. Riese insists they press forward.

Once inside the town, the princess and the wolf sense a presence unlike any they’ve felt before. It doesn’t feel like an animal, but it is certainly not human.

Still uneasy on the throne with Riese the heretic at large, Amara grills her confidante, Trennan, on Riese’s whereabouts. Trennan’s back is to the wall, and he has no choice but to tell the false empress that there has been no word from Herrick because the trail is silent.

Rand, certain that recent reports of a heretic at large must concern his champion, turns his armies away from their battles and points them toward Vidar.