Cirrus@Austlit

Three alien reporters are sent to learn about the habits and behaviours of planet Earth.

'Beat Bugs is an animated series, revolving around the lives and adventures of five charming and funny child-like bugs who live in an overgrown American-style backyard.' (Production summary)

Animated series about the Nekton family, deep-sea explorers.

For a full list of episodes and authors, see Film Details.

'Luke is smart, funny, shy and highly imaginative – but has no friends at school. In fact, he feels like he’s not even of the same species as the other kids in his class. But that isn’t surprising, because he’s not.

'Luke’s father (whom he has never met) came from a distant planet - which makes Luke half human, half alien. He’s an ‘alienoid’. Which explains a lot, thinks Luke.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Playlab).

'Australian teenage twins Samantha and Ben Haselton discover what ‘culture shock’ is all about when they spend the summer with some eccentric, aristocratic and accident-prone relatives who live in a remote German castle.'

'Funny, fast and furry - the WOODLIES are kobolds (small troll-like creatures) that are nuttier than a squirrel's lunch, on a mission to protect their forest from Uglies (the Woodlies call all humans Uglies) and get their paws on the greatest stash of food they can find!

'Big job when you're not much bigger than a squirrel ...

'Fearless FIREHEAD, gentle SEVENPOINTS and Curious NINEEYES are a mischievous crew with two rules. Rule number one? Never be seen by Uglies. Rule number 2? Never be seen by Uglies while stealing their food or sabotaging their weird Ugly plans.

'But when streetwise MIA and her nature-loving dad WELLIE take over a run-down campsite nearby, they bring with them disasters in the form of clumsy campers, greedy developers and a mean cat with a real taste for Woodlies!

'Think that's bad? A gang of renegade Woodlies known as the SWAMP RATS, led by WHITETAIL and his obnoxious cronies - FOULTOE and GNARLYBUTT, are determined to take over the forest and all the food in it. And they're not about to let a bunch of do-gooder Tree Saps get in their way ...

'As if that's not enough, nature itself serves up a menu of freezing blizzards, searing droughts and loads of creatures ready to make the Woodlies their next main course!

'So when NineEyes breaks the number one rule and becomes friends with Mia, it seems like things couldn't get any worse. Is this the end for the Woodlies?

'One thing's for sure... life's about to get a whole lot more interesting!'

Source: Flying Bark Productions (http://www.flyingbark.com.au/?portfolio=the-woodlies). Sighted: 12/4/2012

While on an archaeological expedition with their parents, Josh and Ling, exploring beneath the temple, find a golden Chinese dragon. Two thousand years earlier, the dragon lent his pearl to the emperor, to help defend the kingdom. But the pearl was buried with the emperor and, without it, the dragon remains entombed. Josh and Ling hope to dig up the pearl and free the dragon, but there are others who crave the pearl's power for their own purposes.

The production is a Chinese-Australian co-production. As a treaty co-production, the film is simultaneously considered a fully Chinese film and a fully Australian film.

Three students (one Australian, one German, and one Singaporean) become close friends while studying at a Singaporean boarding school. Disappointed by their inevitable separation at the end of the school year, they are delighted when a fortuitous combination of mobile phones, computers, and a thunderstorm transports them bodily into an Internet chatroom and, from there, into each others' houses. The three spend their days moving freely between Australia, Singapore, and Germany.

The program's official website describes it as 'a vibrant, engaging, contemporary comedy-drama aimed at "tweens" throughout the world.'

Source: Official website (http://www.agurlswurld.com/about/). (Sighted: 23/2/2012)

A 3D animated series based on the Bananas in Pyjamas television program.

'Follows the wild adventures of three young friends - Zigby the Zebra, McMeer the Meerkat and Bertie the Guinea Fowl. Based on the internationally successful children's book series by [British] writer Brian Paterson...'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 17/8/2012)

At thirteen CJ is already a hot DJ - the only trouble is most of her gigs are in her own bedroom. She can spin discs like no-one else, mix and scratch tracks like a pro - but in the deader than dead end of town where she lives, almost nobody wants to know. With her spiky hair and spikier attitude, CJ is little Miss Alternative struggling in a sea of normality - but there's no way she's going to let that get her down.

Source: Screen Australia record.

'CJ and Lesley visit Si who's playing in a street basketball match with Lyle. Si asks CJ to fill in for him as he needs to practise for a flute exam.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 22/5/2014)

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.

'Seven 15 year-old surfers have been selected from around Australia and overseas to take part in an intensive 12-month residential school program at Blue Water High. At the beachside school they join other pupils in a normal year's academic work as well as receiving special coaching in surfing. At the end of the year, two of the seven will qualify to surf the pro-circuit and win a three-year sponsorship contract. The series is a race into the finals for the wild card, a race to get through the year, and a race to grow up. The seven teens, forced to live, study and train together—at the same time become best friends and greatest competitors.'

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

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.

A series of short dramas from children, adapted from the works of Australian and New Zealand authors. Not all of the episodes contain speculative-fiction content, though the majority do.

In 'The Giant's Tooth', two children assist a young giant who has lost his tooth.

In 'Pumped Up', a young boy's grandfather designs a pair of basketball boots that enable the wearer to perform feats of great physical strength and dexterity.

In 'Ben and the Alien Invasion', a young boy and his talking wart save the world from an alien invasion.

In 'Bull Harris and the Purple Ooze', a group of friends outsmart the class bully with the help of a mysterious miniature brain.

In 'The Mystery of the Talking Tail', a young boy helps a demanding talking tail find a new home.

In 'Rose Meets Mr Wintergarden', a young girl helps a reclusive old man re-enter life.

In 'Skating on Sand', a young girl overcomes rocky terrain and sibling rivalry to teach herself how to roller blade.

'Set in the picture-postcard community on Sydney's northern beaches, SNOBS is the story of unlikely friends - Abby, the daughter of a wealthy, middle class traditional family and Marian, a boy from a group of modern day nomads who have come to be known as Ferals - the arrival of whom upsets the peace of the community and is the catalyst for conflict, adventure and intrigue.'

Source: Screen Australia.

'In England a recently bereaved widow and her two children discover that they've inherited a property in Australia. With some reluctance they head to Australia to claim their inheritance only to discover that the profitable sheep station they've imagined is in fact a rather out of the way wildlife park full of Australian native animals. What's more it has human occupants as well - a distantly related trio of grandchildren who have been bequeathed lifelong rights to live on the property. As well, there's an Australian born Vietnamese animal handler who's somehow the only one who has real expertise in dealing with native Australian animals.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 23/5/2014)