AustLit

'Lisa McCune stars as Dr Sam Stewart, the Sherlock Holmes of tropical medicine and the head doctor in the only medical clinic for the Great Barrier Reef Islands. Sam leads a handful of dedicated practitioners hoping to extract the hidden secrets from venom that have the power to cure some of the world's most fatal diseases. On a daily basis, her small team of medics deals with everything from deadly snakebites and jellyfish stings, to divers with the bends and tropical diseases that can spread like wildfire. But it's not all medical emergencies and dramas for the vendomdocs on Hope Island. Life's also an adventure — wind surfing, scuba diving, abseiling, and at night, kicking back at the Backpackers Hostel, and in the steamy, romantic tropical nights at the end of a long day, maybe even finding love.'

Source: Australian television Information Archive. (Sighted: 1/5/2014)

Two teenage aliens from a barren planet, Zoey and Kiki, take a forbidden trip to Earth, desperate to see its oceans for themselves. Landing in the small seaside town of Lightning Point, they befriend local girl Amber Mitchell and learn to surf. But their short trip to Earth starts to look permanent when their spaceship explodes. From this point, Zoey and Kiki must keep their secret from the locals, try to find a way home, and work out the secret past of Brandon Benedict--while worrying about boyfriends and surfing competitions.

Alexandra Wilson is a normal girl living in an average suburb. She can sing brilliantly (she's a songwriter at heart). She's funny and driven. Alex's band is her life, and her band-mates, expressive Amanda Tucci and realist JB Deekes, are her closest friends. There's also Marcus, their lead guitarist: he's a year older, and, well, rather attractive. Alex has two grounded parents, Anita and Jim, and one very centre-stage younger sister, Zoe. Life is very normal. But ...

Since birth, Alex has caused a succession of strange, somewhat magical events. Fortunately, she's been able to conceal, ignore, or deny them all. But then Kuru, a young man dressed in exotic robes, and Anala, a decorated adult elephant who has a tendency to vanish now and again, arrive on Alex's doorstep. Kuru explains that Alex is actually Princess Liliuokalani Parasha Khaled Persphone Amanirenas of Manjipoor.

Alex is not so sure about that! But the magical effects she seems to cause have recently blossomed. It's scary. Alex asks Kuru and Anala to leave, but they won't go anywhere. They are under the royal command of Omar, Chief Advisor to the former Queen Nefari, to bring the princess home to rule.

Manjipoor is an exotic, mystical kingdom that exists very close to our world--but not in it. The nation was born six hundred years ago when 'gifted' people (sorcerers, oracles, and witches) fled persecution and created their own territory, and later, for their protection, moved it to a parallel location by magical means!

Kuru's mission is made easier when Alex's parents accept him as an 'exchange student' and he is invited to stay at their home. He does his best to fit in at Alex's school. Alex keeps her identity as a princess a secret from everybody but Amanda and JB, but it's an ongoing problem concealing a wilful, sometimes-invisible elephant in her backyard.

Omar's recent revelation of the existence of Manjipoor's secret princess shocks and threatens Vashan, the last royal relative in a conflicted and dying dynasty, who fully expected to rule. Aided by his skilful servant Diva, Vashan acts--first subtly, then overtly--to prevent his cousin Alex from claiming her inheritance.

Back in 'The Old World'--our world--Kuru's persistence with Alex starts to have an effect. Alex begins to practise and accept her magic--and it often goes awry. It's not easy being a teenager with magical powers! Alex uses her magic to rectify some very teenage-related issues, as well as to bend the occasional rule, but she draws the line at using magic in her music or for the band. They've got to prove they're good enough without it!

Following an encounter in Manjipoor where Alex learns some of the history of her real mother, Queen Nefari, and is introduced first hand to Vashan's enmity, she awakens to the strong qualities developing inside her and the need for her in Manjipoor as a princess.

Simultaneously, Alex, Amanda, Marcus, and JB improve as a band. They get gigs, and Alex's confidence as a singer increases. Alex finds the pull between both worlds conflicting. When Vashan becomes increasingly bold in his endeavours to undermine and overtake Alex, his actions precipitate a series of stunning revelations affecting the lives of Alex, Kuru, Anala, and Omar and the future of Manjipoor. Alex finds she must make a choice about where her real destiny lies ...

Source: Jonathan M Shiff Productions website, http://www.jonathan-m-shiff.com.au/
Sighted: 15/12/2009

Three young girls accidentally stumble on a tidepool on a secret island; when bathed in moonlight, the tidepool transforms them into mermaids, with great powers over water--but also a tendency to sprout a tail whenever they come into contact with water.

The original three mermaids--Emma, Cleo, and Rikki--separate at the end of season two, when the actress playing Emma left the show. In season three, another character, Bella, is added: Bella had become a mermaid in an unrelated incident some years earlier.

The mermaids also face various antagonists, ranging from rivals (e.g., the antagonist for season two, Charlotte, who manages to obtain similar powers from the moon pool) to those who wish to exploit the mermaids for their own profit.

As with Jonathan M. Shiff's other productions, the program is aimed largely at young teen audiences.

After stumbling on a secret super-computer, clumsy pizza delivery boy Scooter transforms himself into Secret Agent X-19, undertaking a double life of international intrigue.

The program draws its inspiration from straightforward spy films, such as the James Bond franchise, as well as their parodic counterparts, such as Get Smart, from which Scooter: Secret Agent draws its comedic tone. Simultaneously, the program makes extensive use of both stuntwork (including wire work) and special effects in order to provide Scooter with a a range of science-fiction gadgets.

Two students--easy-going and not terribly academically inclined Toby and unpopular teacher's pet Elizabeth--are hit by an unusual magnetic pulse that transforms them both into scientific geniuses. While Toby is uncomfortable with his new power and not certain how to put it to use, Elizabeth revels in hers, hoping to dominate the school.

Creator Jonathan M. Shiff notes (in the media kit for season one) that

'I wanted the series to be grounded in real teenagers and an authentic school environment - bringing the chaos of teenage emotions and friendship to the backdrop of science and adventure. Wicked Science is very much driven by Elizabeth's desire to catch Toby's attention and instead of witchcraft or magic it is science she uses as the tool'.

The production company also liased with Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) to create a study guide that would enable teachers to use Wicked Science as a starting point for classroom discussions of science, its place in society, and the specific scientific concepts explored in the series.

A Canadian-Australian co-production.

'Amid the excitement and thrill of the horse world growing up seems harder than ever … Stevie, Carole and Lisa are strong, dynamic young women. Each has very distinct and personal dreams for the future. All have one thing in common - a passion for horses. In forming the Saddle Club the girls promise to remain loyal to each other no matter what, but that promise may not prove to be as easy to keep as they think.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 20/8/2013)

'Jeremy is given a stone gargoyle figure and talisman for safekeeping by his boss, an occult bookstore manager. When Jeremy accidentally brings the gargoyle to life he enlists the help of his friends and an English priest to stop the gargoyle destroying his home town'.

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 15/6/2012)

Set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, Thunderstone follows Noah Daniels who, with his family, lives in the underground colony of North Col, after all life on the surface of the Earth is destroyed by the impact of the Nemesis Comet. Fascinated with the holographic animals that the North Col colonists use to teach their children about the Earth's extinct species, Noah is accidentally transported forward in time, to the colony of Haven. 'Thunderstone' is the name given to the remnants of the Nemesis Comet, which allow Noah to travel through time.

Season one involves Noah's travels through time, in company with Arushka (a nomadic girl from Haven), in an attempt to repopulate the Earth with animals. Season two revolves around Noah's attempts to completely destroy the Nemesis Comet before it strikes the Earth, thereby preventing the apocalypse. Season three involves Noah's experiments in wormhole technology, his plans to set up a space colony, and the attempts of guerillas from the future to assassinate Noah before he can (allegedly) murder his own parents.

Season one has been released in its entirety on DVD, but neither season two nor season three have been made commerically available.

'Inspired by true events, Stingers reveals the shadowy and ambiguous world of undercover cops — people with covert lives and constantly changing identities. They are police who defeat crime from within the criminal world — always without a badge and frequently without protection. The series follows the lives of the operatives as they befriend and betray those on the other side of the law. For these select few, it is a deadly way of life.The undercover cops of Stingers are a unique breed. They must juggle their own lives — love, laughter, family and humanity — with the tension of the criminal personas they adopt in their passion for justice.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 7/6/2013)

'A fast-paced television drama set within the fascinating environment of a State Coroner's office complex. Each day a team of highly trained professionals deal with the questions of deaths, murders, accidents, suicides, fires, drownings and even the odd natural cause. We see their battles with grieving families, slow or meddling authorities and organized crime, from the initial inquiry through to the courtroom appearances and the Coroner's final verdict and recommendations for trial or reform.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive (http://www.australiantelevision.net/statecoroner/statecoroner.html). (Sighted: 8/3/2013)

'Paul and Brett Bates are given an audience with the President of the Global Union to voice their opposition to Praxis' adversarial stand against the aliens and are granted an immediate suspension of all attack preparations. Malakat tells Shersheba and Mera that he was responsible for the creation and release of the Red Virus on the Ocean Planet. Hauser discovers that Ilona is a spy from the Ocean Planet when she walks in on her making a report back to Malakat. Realising its potential for good, Neri retrieves the ankh back to her island. Hauser tells Cass and Winston about Ilona and asks for their help in 'understanding' the aliens. Mera locates a hidden passage in her cell inside the pyramid which gives her access to a source of water. Shersheba rebukes Malakat for his arrogance and controlling behavior reminding him that she will be the one in power when Earth is conquered, Malakat in response stops advising her on what actions to take. Feeling the need to do something, Shersheba takes a vial of the red virus and released it into the ocean.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 12/6/2013)

An American/Australian co-production, this series was a revival of the original 1964 - 1967 series Flipper.

The show's production is sharply divided between seasons one and two on one side and seasons three and four on the other.

Seasons one and two aired in first-run syndication in the US, as American television networks turned away from funding comparatively expensive one-hour dramas in the late 1980s and 1990s. These two seasons were made in Australia and took advantage of local directors and other crew, but, notably, the script-writers were exclusively American (as far as they have been traced).

For seasons three and four, Flipper left first-run syndication and aired in the US on the new network PAX TV (now Ion Television). These two seasons were also made in Australia and directed by Australians, but for the first time, they also used Australian script-writers: of the writers who have been traced for seasons three and four, all of the season three writers and the majority of the season four writers are Australian.

For full information on the script-writers, see the list of episodes on the film details page of this record.

Ocean Girl follows the adventures of Jason and Brett Bates, who move with their mother (a reasearch scientist studying whale song) to an underwater research station near Port Douglas. There, they accidentally meet Neri, a young girl with super-human strength, the ability to breathe underwater, and an affinity for communicating with whales. As the series progresses through four seasons, the Bateses (and the audience) learn more about Neri's arrival on Earth, her home planet, and the ecosystem of their own home planet.

Ocean Girl, one of the earliest productions to come out of Jonathan M. Shiff Productions, is creator Jonathan Shiff's first science-fiction program; his name has subsequently become synonymous with children's science-fiction and fantasy television programs, through such shows as Cybergirl and H2O.

Ocean Girl is ecological science fiction, in that it uses the genre of science fiction to explore the consequences of exploiting Earth's resources. For example, as the program progresses, Dr Dianne Bates (mother of protagonists Jason and Brett) shifts from her early role as cetologist to a more active role as environmental protectionist, in response to the increasing threat of building large underwater constructions in the delicate ecosystem around ORCA. Similarly, season four shows the devastating effects of a 'Red Virus' on the oceans of Neri's home world.

When twelve-year-old Jemma accidentally taps into a disused telecommunications satellite, she uses her new network to form a worldwide crime-fighting syndicate.

Mission Top Secret was another production by New Zealand-born television producer Roger Mirams, whose previous contributions to Australian children's television included The Terrific Adventures of the Terrible Ten, The Magic Boomerang, Adventures of the Seaspray, The Lost Islands, Secret Valley, Professor Poopsnagle's Steam Zeppelin, and Runaway Island.

Typically for a Roger Mirams' production, Mission Top Secret focuses on the independence and capability of the child protagonists, with adults limited to the roles of either advisor (Sir Joshua Cranberry) or villain (Neville Savage).

Although the program is listed in certain places (e.g., the Internet Movie Database) as an Australia/Spain/United Kingdom/New Zealand/The Netherlands co-production, the scripts were all by Australian writers, with the exception of the four episodes scripted by French television script-writers Jean-Jacques Gaffie and Benjamin Legrand.

A character-based television drama series about the lives of police officers in the fictitious Australian country town of Mt Thomas, this series began with the arrival of Constable Maggie Doyle (Lisa McCune) to the Mt Thomas station in the episode 'A Woman's Place'. Doyle and avuncular station boss Senior Sergeant Tom Croydon (John Wood) were the core characters of the series until the departure of Lisa McCune.

Immensely popular for a decade, Blue Heelers was cancelled in 2006 after thirteen seasons. The announcement was front-page news in Australia's major newspapers including The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney's Daily Telegraph, The Herald Sun and The Age in Melbourne, and Brisbane's Courier Mail.

On June 8, 2006 Ross Warneke wrote in The Age:

'It's over and, to be perfectly blunt, there's no use lamenting the demise of Blue Heelers any more. When the final movie-length episode aired on Channel Seven on Sunday night, 1.5 million Australians tuned in, a figure that was big enough to give the show a win in its timeslot but nowhere near big enough to pay the sort of tribute that this writer believes Heelers deserved after more than 500 episodes.It is unlikely there will be anything like it again. At almost $500,000 an hour, shows such as Blue Heelers are quickly becoming the dinosaurs of Australian TV.'

Children's adventure television series about children who live on fictional Circe Island, a fishing community and communications base off the coast of Western Australia. The first series featured episodes in which the children outwitted adults, particularly the character Hermes Endakis. The series later emphasised environmental issues, particularly in the second series, where the children try to stop a big corporation from destroying their island.

Inspired by A. B. Paterson's classic poem and set in a fictional Snowy Mountains township called Paterson's Ridge, this turn-of-the-nineteenth-century adventure concerns wealthy cattle-station owner and widower Matt McGregor and his three children, Colin (the town preacher), Rob (played by Guy Pearce), and Danni (the tomboyish youngest daughter). Unresolved sexual tension comes in the shape of Matt's independent, free-spirited childhood friend, the recently widowed Kathleen O'Neil, who returns to Paterson's Ridge with her son after having spent many years in England.

A mixture of live-action, puppetry, animation, and documentary, Lift Off centred on a group of children who lived in the same neighbourhood and whose imaginations made their environment a world of fun and excitement. However, the program also explored issues such as pain, loneliness, jealousy, and anger. The program was aimed at three-year-old to eight-year-old viewers (as defined by Harvard University developmental psychologist Howard Gardner), and was linked to school curricula through the Curriculum Corporation of Australia.

'Hurricane Billy Smith, a black Texan oil rigger, comes to the Gold Coast to tell his sister, Sally Mae, that their mother has died and to take Sally Mae back to the States - but she has disappeared. His search for her leads him into adventures involving an Australian Mafia-style drug and prostitution ring before he finally learns the truth about her.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 30/1/2014)