Cirrus@Austlit

'A comedy drama which follows a group of girls who abandon the sidelines to start their football club's first all-girl team.'

Source: Production blurb.

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

Based upon the novels by Western Australian author Tim Winton, the series revolves around 12-year-old Lockie Leonard, a surf rat whose family moves to the most remote town on Earth, Angelus. Lockie's convinced that this is a total disaster. He has no friends, a new school, and a house that is truly in danger of disappearing into a swamp. But then Lockie spots the one thing that makes it all okay. This weird little town has the best surf he has ever seen.

'Set in the homicide squad of a large metropolitan city, this is a punchy one hour drama series about murder mystery and a group of young committed cops, focused on justice for the deceased. Jennifer Mapplethorpe, ambitious and intelligent; Simon Joyner, keen, cool, self-assured; Duncan Freeman, living high, ready to fall; and Matt Ryan, intense and driven. In Homicide, it's not always crooks and low-lives, most murders are committed by ordinary people - a moment of madness, a failure of communication, a desperate act. These Detectives follow a profession that makes blood, grief and drama just part of their normal day. Their day begins when your day ends.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive.

'A comedy about a modern wedding, where the bride plans an extravagant celebration, the groom can't believe his luck, the parents and ex-husbands and current wives squabble over who is going to pay for it all, and standing on the side, waiting for disaster to strike is the groom's best friend.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 27/10/2014)

An Australian-New Zealand co-production.

'When 14-year-old New Zealander Holly McKenzie arrives in the Australian seaside town of Woolich, her dreams of playing basketball with the RAMS, one of the best junior basketball teams in the district, are quickly shattered. Determined to prove her ability, Holly forms her own team—the OUTLAWS. With basketball as a backdrop, Holly's Heroes is a funny and light hearted exploration of being the new kid on the block, the importance of friendship, the value of teamwork, first love, and the rewards that come from participation and the simple love of sport. Holly learns that the feeling of belonging she achieves with her team is far more important than simply winning.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

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.

'Enter the world of Medical Defence Australia, a medico-legal organisation that exists to defend doctors and where necessary compensate patients. All cases at MDA combine elements of law and medicine so each case is managed by a doctor and a lawyer who agree on how to proceed. It's a unique organisation that delves into morally complex and emotion filled relationships between doctors and patients.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive (http://www.australiantelevision.net/mda/mda.html). (Sighted: 22/2/2013)

'The detectives of the Kingsway Major Crime Squad fight to preserve their Pacific Paradise. Crime knows no boundaries—from the Miami-like streets of Sylvania Waters, all dark glass and pontoons, to the towering cranes on the Container Wharves of Botany Bay, bordered by the white beaches and blue water between Monterey and Hungry Point. This is our world. It's tough. It's beautiful. Dangerous. A contradiction.'

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

'About a group of 20-somethings living in the urban environs of St Kilda. They have yet to make it, but know it's just a matter of time.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 28/11/2013)

'Alex and Evan take ecstasy at a party and end up in a hot and heavy 'pash' that's interrupted by Kelly. Repercussions set in, and their friendship suffers. Evan admits that he was in love with Alex but swears that he isn't anymore. Is he telling the truth?

'Meanwhile, Kelly buys a book about the Rules of Love and meets a new man, Miles. She tries so hard to be all the right things that Miles thinks she's a phoney.

'Will is preparing a secret for Sam. It's a beautiful, bright, home-made kite with the words 'Will loves Sam' emblazoned across it.

'Jason lets himself into Gab's apartment while she's sleeping. She demands that he returns his key, and then she also breaks up with Mac, determined to empower herself.

'Miranda gets the coveted role of Nina in Chekhov's 'The Seagull'. She's thrilled and throws herself into preparations. Meanwhile things are hotting up between Richie and his jogging buddy Brad. Sex is inevitable. When Richie comes home with love bites, it confirms Miranda's worst fears. She's shattered.'

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

'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 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.'