Special

8:30pm – Tuesday, December 18 on ABC1

To celebrate the festive season Maggie Beer invites some special guests to the ultimate Australian Christmas feast in the beautiful surroundings of her own property in the Barossa Valley.

“I’m simply a country cook who lives in the Barossa where I’m surrounded by fantastic product. This gave me the idea for a feast where I would think of my special local food producers and link their products to my favourite dishes, and then have the producers come to the table underneath my gum trees to celebrate.” Maggie’s menu is inspired by her own family Christmas celebrations. There are two absolute traditions on the Beer family table. Yabbies from the dam, served outside and eaten using fingers, and a goose in the centre of the table. Maggie adds a perfectly glazed ham, slow-roasted lamb, pork, char-grilled beef, some fish and oysters, all accompanied by a variety of salads.

Top this off with a special surprise recital while three stunning desserts and a variety of local cheeses are served in the ‘top shed’ and this is a feast not to be missed.

8:30pm – Tuesday, December 11 on ABC1

Get ready for a mouth-watering Christmas as Nigella brings a truly Italian festive feast to the table, with big fresh flavours and a sumptuous spread. The essence of Italian food, like Nigella’s style of cooking, is simplicity and informality – just what you need at this busy time of year.

In this special episode of Nigellissima, she shows how easy it is to bring the spirit of Italy into the kitchen and onto the plate using ingredients available in any supermarket. With her passion for Italy and Italian cooking, Nigella’s mouth-watering dishes have their roots in tradition but take us into fresh territory; light of touch but bursting full of taste.

10:15pm – Sunday, December 9 on ABC1

Sunday Arts on ABC1 has a new timeslot, a new host, and a new attitude to match with a special summer season of ground-breaking arts programs.

This summer join ABC1 for a new season of arts offerings on Sundays from 10pm, presented by renowned playwright and theatre director Wesley Enoch. Over 14 weeks, Sunday Arts Up Late will present an eclectic program of cutting-edge arts content including feature-length documentaries, short-run series and one-off specials.

Katrina Sedgwick, Head ABC TV Arts says, “This new arts timeslot for our summer season allows us to engage with some of the finest, most provocative and challenging arts films from Australia and around the world. We are also thrilled to have the very talented Wesley Enoch on board as a new face to our arts line-up.” Currently Artistic Director of the Queensland Theatre Company, Wesley has held positions at theatre companies across the country including STC, MTC, Belvoir St, Malthouse Theatre and The Aboriginal Centre for Performing Arts. He has written a body of work that includes The 7 Stages Of Grieving (cowritten with Deborah Mailman), Little White Dress, Black Medea, and Grace And The Story Of The Miracle At Cookie’s Table, for which he won the Patrick White Playwrights’ Award (2005). Wesley Enoch is a proud Noonuccal Nuugi man.

The season begins with a multi-award winning feature film directed by Matthew Akers, Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present. This documentary is a mesmerising portrait of the pioneering and controversial Yugoslav performance artist Marina Abramovic, centred around her blockbuster 2010 show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

9:00pm – Thursday, December 13 on ABC2

Australia’s most visually compelling comedian returns to the stage in Frank Woodley: Bemusement Park. Frank Woodley weaves physical comedy, whimsical songs, stand up and hilarious slapstick into a fantastic half hour of entertainment.

The star of the much loved Woodley on ABC TV returns to where fans love to see him most – on stage doing live stand up in his unique song singing, limb flinging Woodley way.

After 20 years as one half of the much loved, Lano and Woodley, Frank said good bye to their twenty years on stage in 2006 with a national tour that took in 34 markets and sold more than 125,000 tickets.

Since hanging up his hat, Frank has been busier than a bee (bees are allegedly flat out). His smash hit solo show ‘Possessed’ played across Australia and the Edinburgh Festival with packed houses and rave reviews. In addition, his animated short, ‘Chicken of God’, received an AFI nomination and he won the coveted Herald Angel Award at the Edinburgh Fringe for his role of Candide in the Malthouse Theatre production of ‘Optimism’. Other TV appearances include Spicks and Specks, Good News Week and Thank God You’re Here.

Wednesday November 21 at 7.30pm on BIO

This explosive film examines recently discovered letters written by Wallis Simpson that reveal her secret love, and chart her fear as she found herself becoming trapped into marrying Edward VIII. Wallis Simpson found herself at the centre of a national scandal when she was seen to ensnare Edward VIII and lure him from the throne of England. But in this explosive film, biographer Anne Sebba sifts through a newly discovered cache of never-before-seen documents that contains 15 secret letters written by Wallis Simpson herself around the time of the abdication. These extraordinary personal missives have the power to rewrite both history and our perception of Wallis. They reveal she was deeply in love with another man, and chart her fear, desperation and loneliness as she found herself becoming trapped into marrying the man who should have been king.

Tuesday November 20 at 9.30pm on BIO

Every year, thousands of babies are born on the borderline of what doctors call ‘viability’. Before the 25th week of pregnancy (up to four months early), they can measure less than six inches and weigh a few hundred grams. They go straight on to ventilators and are injected with drugs and nutrients to stay alive. Only one in a hundred babies born at 23 weeks will survive without disability and fewer than ten per cent leave hospital alive. This documentary tells the heart-rending stories of these children and investigates the harrowing ethical decisions that are made, featuring unprecedented access to the doctors and parents as they are forced to decide whether treatment should be continued or whether death is preferable.

9:30pm – Tuesday, December 4 on ABC1

The final First Tuesday Book Club for 2012 is a one-hour special to announce what Australians think are the 10 Aussie Books to Read Before You Die.

Presenter Jennifer Byrne and regular panellists, Marieke Hardy and Jason Steger, are joined by author and actress, Judy Nunn, and director of The Wheeler Centre, Michael Williams, to count down the 10 top Aussie books as voted for by First Tuesday Book Club viewers.

There has been an overwhelming response to the campaign, with thousands of Australian readers sending in their votes, resulting in an eclectic mix of books. Who will take the crown? Will it be an Aussie classic or a new release? What can be revealed is that the results will definitely be a surprise!

8:30pm – Tuesday, December 4 on ABC1

Inspired by his journey through Spain and the Spanish passion for celebrations, Rick Stein hosts a festive gathering and shares his take on great Spanish dishes to cook for Christmas and New Year.

Rick believes that no-one celebrates Christmas in greater style than the Spanish. The celebrations last for over a fortnight and the dishes they prepare are delicious alternatives to the usual Christmas fare.

Having seen how his Spanish friends prepare for the festivities in their own homes both in Spain and the UK, Rick cooks for a special Christmas party in London. He shares the dishes that inspired him most and that complement the Spanish love of celebrations. Even the Spanish ambassador attends.

This is a Christmas feast with a difference… Rick’s menu includes: Clams with Serrano Ham and Oloroso Sherry; Lamb-stuffed Aubergines with Moorish spices; Chicken with Saffron and Pine Nuts, and Orange Caramel Creams.

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.

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.