Blogs

Tuesday, 30 September 2008
8.30pm

Imagine if we really understood the secret worlds of our children's minds as they develop. What impact do parents, teachers and the outside world have? Why are some children resilient and others not? How, and in what way are Australian children unique? How do you give a child the best chance at life?

The Life At 1 series returns to ABC1 for an encore screening on Tuesday September 23 and Tuesday September 30 at 8:30pm.
Life At 1 is the first instalment in a landmark series that aims to unlock the secrets of a child's development by following 11 babies and their families for seven years or longer.

Friday, 03 October 2008
8.30pm

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2008, Taggart is TV's most enduring crime drama series.

This action-packed, gritty and sinister series has paved the way for a new generation of detective programs while continuing to evolve in style and content.

In a series of new one hour stories, the tight investigative unit - DCI Matt Burke (Alex Norton); DI Robbie Ross (John Michie); DS Jackie Reid (Blythe Duff) and DC Stuart Fraser (Colin McCredie) - investigate murders borne out of everything from corporate fraud to gangland drug warfare.

Tonight (Friday, October 3) an out of work gambler is found kicked to death in an alleyway. He has thousands of pounds hidden in his flat and the team suspect that he has been receiving insider information from a local horse racing stable.

When the glamorous wife of the stable owner dies while out riding, the team gets the bit between their teeth.

Wednesday, 01 October 2008
9.00pm

Diplomatic relations are strained when the Prime Minister makes a promise he can't fulfill.

The Hollowmen stars Lachy Hulme, David James, Neil Melville, Rob Sitch and Merrick Watts with Jacquie Brennan, Santo Cilauro, Stephen Hall, Nicola Parry and Graeme Blundell.

The Hollowmen will be repeated on ABC2 - Thursday, October 02 at 8:30pm

Friday, 03 October 2008
9.40pm

Back in Northern Ireland, tough cop Tommy Murphy is on compassionate leave, caring for his sick mother. Long-haired and unshaven, he is hardly recognisable when, walking home one day, he is followed by Chief Superintendent Warren. Warren pleads with Murphy to leave Ireland and go undercover once more. Murphy tries to resist, knowing that he is needed at home, but the lure of the dangerous world of the undercover cop is too much for him to resist.

Saturday, 04 October 2008
02:30pm

ABC TV continues its coverage of the 2008-2009 Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) season.

A highlights package will screen Saturday afternoons at 2.30pm on ABC1; the live matches will screen on Friday nights at 8pm on ABC2.

This week sees Sydney Uni take on Adelaide.

Wednesday, 01 October 2008
08:00pm

Hosted by the ebullient James O'Loghlin, The New Inventors highlights the brightest new inventions in Australia. Tonight's show features new ideas on how to create multiple identities with your mobile phone; safely secure a ladder from the ground before you begin to climb; and open a childproof gate without having to reach up. Deciding the winner of these three inventions are engineer James Bradfield Moody, science broadcaster Bernie Hobbs and designer Alison Page. Inventions featured on the program:

Invention 1: Swarm by inventor Christine Satchell from VIC.

Monday, 29 September 2008
06:30pm

This week on Talking Heads, Peter Thompson talks to the inventor of the multiple-channel cochlear implant, Professor Graeme Clark.

When he came up with the idea for a bionic ear Professor Clark ran into a wall of criticism. It was a goal that many thought could not, and even should not, be achieved. But Clark's was a very personal dream, and the cochlear implant is now a reality for more than 100,000 grateful recipients around the world.

Talking Heads will be repeated on ABC2 - Tuesday September 30 at 5:00pm.

Saturday October 4 - 9:15PM

PC Sally Armstrong (Ali Bastian) goes undercover at a city trading house to investigate the possible involvement of a group of traders in the disappearance of a missing twenty-one-year-old woman, Geraldine Lawson.

However, when Sally sees one of the traders meet with a woman who looks like Geraldine, it seems there is some sort of deal being arranged, so Sally stays on the job. DCI Jack Meadows (Simon Rouse) sends in a very eager PC Emma Keane (Melanie Gutteridge) as well, much to the chagrin of Sgt. Callum Stone (Sam Callis), who's been keeping Emma busy with more routine work of late!

Meanwhile, as other Sun Hill detectives investigate a counterfeit money case, they discover a woman posing as Geraldine, and the trader's secrecy starts to make sense.

Hoping to catch them out, Emma disobeys orders and goes off with one of the traders, just as the detectives discover Geraldine's body in the boot of a car...

Saturday October 4 - 8:20PM

DC Jacob Banks (Patrick Robinson) arrives at Sun Hill just in time to join the investigation of the murder of a private investigator, Harry Burroughs.

A loving husband and pillar of the community, Harry seems to have no enemies. But then Bob Flanagan (Dominic Carter), an insurance fraudster, comes across their radar, having sent Harry threatening phone calls. Then, Harry's files reveal a case of betrayal, where a wife discovers her husband has an illegitimate son, and divorces him.

Also, Harry was working a case that had him trawling bars late at night looking for a missing young woman. Were any of these cases related to Harry's murder, or was the answer closer to home?

Meanwhile, PC Emma Keane (Melanie Gutteridge) is feeling that Sgt. Stone (Sam Callis) is deliberately picking on her.

Bottle Top Bill and his best friend Corky (a horse) are made from everyday bits and pieces; the kind of things children might throw away without thinking. This Australian series is designed to entertain and encourage children to develop their imagination and creativity using things they can find around the home.

EP 53: THE WHALE SONG - Friday, October 3 at 8.20am
Bill and Corky are having a wonderful time watching the whales migrate past their favourite beach. When their friend Ned drops by the beach to say hello, Bill tells him to turn the music down and Ned accidentally drops his music player into the sea. The awful noise upsets the whales and sends them swimming off in all directions.

EP 54: THE TOOTH FAIRY - Monday, October 6 at 8.20am
Have you ever met a dragon with a toothache? Bill and Corky do when they find Rumble the dragon has a sore tooth. They have to get Rumble to a fairy dentist, but he doesn't like dentists and keeps running away.

Thursday, 02 October 2008
8.30pm

The story continues for the children of The Life Series-now they are three - as they reveal what it takes to give a child the best chance at life.

Over two episodes, Life At 3 measures our group of children against the latest scientific findings on two of the hottest topics in child development - obesity and bad behaviour. The Life Series is made in conjunction with a long-term study -Growing Up in Australia - in which 10,000 children have been placed under a sociological and scientific microscope. Join us on the greatest journey of all - life.

Wednesday, 01 October 2008
9.30pm

Don (Wayne Hope) reluctantly begins his appointment with the psychologist Jasmine (Robyn Butler) about his Irritable Bowel Syndrome. She gently unearths Don's struggle with his business and unwittingly reveals just how fruitless his enterprises are.

Back at the office, while Ray (Kim Gyngell) listens to a recording of Janet Wilson's local orchestra, Leslie arrives unannounced with Lloyd (Geoff Paine) to invite Ray to her graduation.

Potential dog wash franchisees, Noel (Dennis Coard) and Coralie (Robyn Arthur), arrive to be talked through the Don's Dirty Dog Wash.

Fuelled by his frustration about Leslie's graduation, Ray pitches them the business with uncharacteristic gusto.

Very Small Business will be repeated on ABC2 – Thursday, October 02 at 9:00pm

Sunday, 28 September 2008
7.30pm

In this series final episode of Doctor Who: Journey's End, the entire universe is in danger as the Daleks activate their masterplan.

The Doctor (David Tennant) is helpless, and even the Tardis faces destruction. The only hope lies with the Doctor's secret army of companions, but as they join forces to battle Davros himself, the prophecy declares that one of them will die.

Also stars Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones, and John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness.

Tuesday, 30 September 2008
8.00pm

Australian's best-known scientist and his satirical mate continue their unique adventure investigating Australia's northern frontier. Being a palaeontologist Tim views the world through very different eyes. While John sees a pile of rocks on the side of the road, Tim finds extraordinary evidence of the beginnings of life on earth, ancient stromatolites dating back 1.4 billion years.

As the temperature and humidity build, the pair race against the start of the wet season. With a bit more rain the red dirt roads of the Savannah Way will soon become impassable quagmires. They cross into the Northern Territory aiming to reach Borroloola and the safety of the bitumen road. But there's no guarantee they'll make it.

Sunday, 28 September 2008
8.40pm

Witchcraft is the talk of Midsomer when tensions flare between former friends Aloysius Wilmington (Stuart Wilson) and Ernest Balliol (Ronald Pickup). Ernest, who runs a store selling magical artefacts, is a firm believer in a cult called the Temple of Thoth, but Aloysius has upset him by writing a book claiming the dark mythology was his own drunken creation.

Desperate to prove the cult is real, Ernest wants to locate a medieval text about the Temple in Aloysius's library. Aloysius's nephew Simon (Dominic Rowan) is cataloguing the collection, whilst also stealing some valuable editions to pay off his debts to antiquarian bookseller Hugo Cartwright (Michael Fitzgerald).

Isolde Balliol (Rachel Pickup), Ernest's daughter, tries to charm Simon into helping them, while his son Tristan (Tom Goodman-Hill) shoulders the burden of caring for their mother, who is losing her mind.