AustLit

Animated adaptation of Blinky Bill, an original Australian bush (koala) character conceived by Dorothy Wall. Though often considered the third series of The Adventures of Blinky Bill, this series was televised with the title Blinky Bill's Extraordinary Balloon Adventure.

In this series, Blinky, Nutsy, and Flap travel around the world in a hot-air balloon, returning rescued circus animals to their natural environment and trying to avoid the pursuit of the angry circus owners.

Crimes are being committed within fairy tales. And this means that the fairy tales in our world are losing their happy (or unhappy) endings. Two police officers (no-nonsense Christine Anderson and bumbling Johnny Legend) are sent inside fairy tales to establish the Fairy Tale Police Department and restore the happy endings.

Australian Screen says of Fairy Tale Police Department, 'Despite the title, which suggests a sweet little cartoon, this is a robust and very original series and loads of fun for all ages. Fairytale Police Department is a zany cross between Twisted Tales and the X Files for kids. Female detective Chris Anderson, like X Files cop Dana Scully ..., is strong, capable and ambitious, while her bumbling, vain metrosexual partner Johnny Legend is always getting into in trouble. Other characters are also terrific with strong characterisations and great scripts.'

Source: Australian Screen (http://aso.gov.au/titles/tv/fairytale-police-black/notes/). (Sighted: 12/9/2012)

'Life is never simple for single mum Tori Konrad and her 14-year-old son Jake. Their quiet little horse-riding school just outside the city has suddenly been invaded by teenagers.

'There's Julia, a highly independent 16-year-old from Germany who has come to Outriders to stay with her Aunt Tori and hopefully recover from the trauma of her mother's recent death. Regina (she prefers Reggie) was asked to leave three different schools before her parents jumped at the opportunity of her taking up a working residence at Outriders. Vince is 17, going on 30. He's been in and out of foster homes for as long as he can remember. Before he arrived he'd hardly seen a horse, let alone ridden one. And then there's Shane, a country boy who is now resident stable hand, riding instructor and jack of all trades. He's hard working and uncomplicated, with a big heart and an even bigger sense of humour.

'It's an unlikely crew, but strangely the chemistry seems to work. Each offers something the others admire and slowly a bond between them forms. Reggie's enthusiasm balances Julia's caution. Shane's honesty counters Vince's street smarts. Of course, there's always a few hiccups and a fair bit of horseplay. But when danger threatens or troubles arise, you wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of Outriders.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 28/11/2013)

Flipper & Lopaka is an animated children's series loosely based on the original 1964 Flipper TV series. In this variant, Flipper saves a young boy, Lopaka, from drowning, and the two of them become friends.

In series one, Flipper and Lopaka defeat the schemes of Dexter, an evil octopus who seeks control of Flipper's underwater city of Quetzo. In series two, Quetzo is discovered by scientist Dr Troy, who threatens its very existence. And in series three, Flipper and Lopaka have to stop modern-day pirates from stealing an underwater treasure, Neptune's Statue, and thereby unleashing an ancient curse.

When Rodney and Jessica witness two aliens crash landing on Earth, they undertake to protect them by roping them into joining the world's most unsuccessful children's television program, Kid's Breakfast (nicknamed Pig's Breakfast). Disguised as characters on the program, Grob and Meeba (and their pilot Queegle) are forbidden to reveal their real identities: the media believe them to be eccentric actors who prefer to stay in character (and costume). But the situation is complicated by the fact that the crashed spaceship was a school bus, and Grob and Meeba, although genuine aliens, are also genuine teenagers.

'Every day is an adventure for the pilots at Big Sky Aviation. A high spirited bunch to start with, they can't help but relish the kind of job that sees them one day flying to a medical emergency on a remote property deep in the outback, the next on a tricky city mission and another soaring over some of the most beautiful tropical coastline in the world. BIG SKY is an action adventure series with heart, humour and nerves of steel.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 9/4/2014)