AustLit

U.S. poet and journalist Mark O'Brien (1949-1999) contracted polio and subsequently lived in an iron lung for four decades. O'Brien's bid to lose his virginity provides the storyline for The Sessions.

'In one day successful city lawyer, Laura Gibson's world falls apart. Suddenly she realises she no longer knows her husband, her children, or where her all-consuming career is going. On a whim, Laura grabs at a position as magistrate in the small coastal town of Pearl Bay and with two bewildered kids in tow sets off to change their lives forever.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 18/9/2012)

A comedy of errors, Plead Guilty, Get a Bond explores the issue of how inaccessible a non-Aboriginal judicial system can be when applied to Aboriginal culture. Amy Winthrop is a young Aboriginal woman who has been charged with wounding her husband Freddie during a domestic argument. Everyone appears to expect her to simply plead guilty and receive a good behaviour bond. Her newly appointed and inexperienced Legal Aid Lawyer, Colin McKenzie, is outraged by this expectation, however, and persuades Amy to plead her innocence.

'Multiple flashbacks from a variety of subjective points of view tell the story of Nina, a photographer, and her search for identity in investigating the past of her mother, Georgia.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 3/5/2013)

The central character of the series is Michael Rafferty, a stipendiary magistrate in the small suburban court of the Sydney seaside suburb of Manly. The main business of the court is minor offences. Rafferty's personal life is also a feature.

Source: Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series

Set in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda in the late 1980s, A Matter of Convenience is a bitter-sweet comedy that explores the relationship between Valma and Joe. Verging on midlife, Valma wants a baby with her partner Joe, a gentle and well-meaning writer who has had absolutely no success in sustaining himself financially with his work and is not a good prospect as a reliable father. In order to live, he takes on a 'job from hell' at a chicken factory. Desperate to do something else, he accepts a proposition from a businessman called Alphonse, whose current money-making venture is arranging 'marriages of convenience' to help new immigrants fast-track themselves to Australian citizenship. Usually, Alphonse arranges 'marriages' between immigrant women and gay Australian men. This works well because the men are not interested in 'funny business' and are prepared to take on the role of husband for a large fee. Alphonse also later arranges the divorce. In his attempt to help Valma and Joe, however, Alphonse breaks his own rule, and the situation becomes critical when Joe's 'bride' turns out to be the young and gorgeous Fadya. To further complicate matters, the authorities decide to take an interest in Alphonse. Three immigration officers each contribute their own personal version of hell to the Valma-Joe-Fadya triangle.

Mini series exploring the transportation to Australia of Jewish refugees living in London, a group that the British government feared might include enemy agents. Imprisoned in a prisoner-of-war camp in New South Wales, the refugees were released in 1942, largely to make way for the first Japanese prisoners of war.

According to Moran, in his Guide to Australian TV Series,

In particular, the series follows Austrian cafe and concert hall violinist Alex Engelhart, who escapes from Nazi-occupied Austria to London. There he lives as he can and has a brief relationship with a young Jewish girl, Naomi Mendellson, a fishmonger's daughter. At the outbreak of war Alex is rounded up, as are many other refugees. Naomi's brother, born and bred in London, is also herded into the group who leave for Australia aboard the Dunera. After an unpleasant trip the group is sent to Hay. The Australian officer in charge, Colonel Alan Bury, relaxes camp conditions and the refugees, guards and even townspeople become a community. Meanwhile, after her father's death, Naomi follows Alex and brother Morrie to Australia. Alex teaches Morrie to play the violin while Alan learns the piano. However, a new guard inadvertently shoots and kills Morrie. Naomi arrives at the local railway station as the refugees are waiting for the incoming train.

Moran notes that the series attracted some criticism (on the grounds of inaccuracy, particularly the harshness of conditions on the voyage to Australia) from surviving members of the original 'Dunera Boys', but notes that 'the tone of The Dunera Boys is more celebratory than accusatory. The series concentrates on the incredible range of resources, skills, artistic accomplishments, religious beliefs, and intellectual capital that the group brought to Australia.'