AustLit

A co-Australian and German television series, Dance Academy revolves around Tara Webster, a young woman who has grown up on property in outback Australia all the while dreaming of becoming a dancer. When she makes it into the National Academy of Dance, Tara realises that her life is about to change forever. As the series progresses, she also comes to realise that she is not alone in this journey.

Best friends Jason and Lee, on a quiet boating trip in Vancouver, Canada, find themselves transported through a vortex to Stormworld, a mysterious world with three suns and mind-distorting storms. Since visitors are not uncommon in Stormworld, they find themselves incorporated into The Settlement, one of three principal settlements on Stormworld.

Stormworld is a complex example of world-building. For example, the program concentrates heavily on the effects of the ecosystem on the planet's inhabitants: as a hot-climate archipelago on a salt-water ocean, Stormworld has a dearth of fresh water, which subsequently becomes a highly valuable resource for the planet's inhabitants. Similarly, the program focuses strongly on the planet's economy (a barter system based on the rare and exotic artefacts that travellers bring through the vortexes with them), on inter-community rivalry among the three main settlements (the democratic Settlement, the patriarchal and hierarchical Arkoddians, and the piratical Drogue), and on the dangerous and mysterious weather patterns peculiar to Stormworld (such as the Winders--horizontal lightning--that are attracted to mental activity).

Series One of East West 101 focuses on two men whose destinies are irrevocably intertwined. Malik is driven by a hunger for justice. He was twelve when a masked gunman held up the family shop. Malik refused to hand over the money and his father was subsequently shot and injured. He later joined the police force and has been looking for the shadowy figure who pulled the trigger. When he finally finds him, Malik's belief in the justice system is challenged by a powerful desire for revenge. As he hunts down the truth, it is revealed that one of his colleagues, Crowley, had a part to play in the original investigation. Crowley is a man whose vision has been blighted by pain and prejudice. His son, Paul, was found dead of an overdose on drugs sold to him by a Lebanese dealer. When the drug dealer who sold Paul the heroin is found murdered, Internal Affairs come asking questions.

In Season Two, East West 101 expands to seven episodes as the Major Crime Squad investigate crime and murder in all quarters of multicultural Sydney. But overarching all is the quest for Detective Zane Malik to find the truth behind a car bomb attack which kills two men. The Major Crime Squad form a joint task force with the NSO (National Security Organisation) to deal with the crime. There is paranoia in the city and fallout on the Muslim community. Malik knows that in order to stop the circle of hate, he must solve the crime. Was the bomb really an act of extremists, as the media suggest, or a sophisticated killing by a career criminal? Malik doggedly pursues the truth until he, too, becomes a target. Inspector Patricia Wright questions his motives but her vision is clouded by personal issues that she wants to keep hidden from the squad. Crime has touched her own family.

Season Three : The Hero's Journey. 'In [this] third season of East West 101, the Major Crime Squad investigates a 36 million dollar robbery in Australia and its connections to the murder of 17 people in Afghanistan. Is the robbery to fund an act of terror by military trained radicals, or the work of sophisticated criminals? For Detective Zane Malik the case has savage personal and professional ramifications. Malik is obstructed in his quest to find those responsible by the interference of newcomer Detective Neil Travis. Travis has fought in Iraq and his attitude and approach to the investigation cause conflict with Malik. In the hunt for an elusive foe, ultimately both men are forced to confront what makes a man a hero, or a coward...'

(Source: East West 101, SBS website)

'Dean Gallagher, 34, and Chase, 26, are brothers. Competitive alpha males, they argue over everything, agree on nothing, but defend each other from outsiders no matter what. They’re members of Rescue Special Ops. Experienced paramedics in peak physical condition, they're skilled in abseiling, rock climbing, surf and sea rescue, 4WD driving and fire brigade procedures. They're the first to be called in for any natural or man-made disaster, salvage or rescue operation.'

Source: Screen Australia.

'The Strip is the hub of the Gold Coast. Its allure attracts those who have it, those who want it, and the criminals who will take it if they can. Keeping an eye over the Strip is the elite Paradise CIB, headed by Inspector Nelson Steele. Detective Tully, a local, is partnered with Detective Cross, a tough cop from the south, trying to patch up a broken marriage with DPP Prosecutor Marcia Cross. They are supported by plain clothes Constable Mackay, a forensics investigator who moved across to the CIB unit, and fast talking rookie, Moretti. Everyone wants a piece of Paradise. Especially the crooks.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 13/6/2013)

'Double Trouble revolves around twins separated at birth. When Yuma and Kyanna meet up in the central Australian town of Alice Springs, they realise they could be long lost twins. They decide to trade places, with Kyanna heading to a beachside house in Sydney and Yuma trekking out to a remote Indigenous community. It's supposed to be only for a night, but then things get tricky, and the fun starts.'

Source: http://caama.com.au/productions (Sighted 09/11/2010).

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.

'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)

A short-lived television series about idealistic young police officers in an inner-city Sydney area, Young Lions did not rate well, and was not renewed for a second season.

'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)

'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)

'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)

When fifteen-year-old Katrina moves to Perth to live with her mother, a veterinary scientist at the local zoo, she begins acting oddly. Realising she can 'mind-meld' with Garang, the zoo's ferocious female tiger, she finds her senses of smell, hearing, and sight improving, including her night vision. Upset and bewildered by his sister's odd behaviour, her eleven-year-old brother Jamie teams up with the youngest daughter of the zoo manager to try and solve the mystery. But not everyone's intentions are honorable, as one of the zoo's scientists plans to manipulate the genetic quirk that Kat and the tiger share, hoping to use it to recreate extinct species.

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.

'High Flyers traces the lives of a group of ordinary kids, sharing their disappointments and triumphs as they discover their collective talents in an extraordinary children's circus. When Luke and Phoebe move to the country, first impressions of their new home aren't encouraging. New school, no friends, in the middle of nowhere — who needs it? But when they discover it has its own circus for kids, the dramas, adventures, relationships and backflips unfold.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 6/6/2014)

The gift has the power to grant you anything you desire, but once you realise what it does, you must pass it on.

In this sequel to David Ogilvy's Escape from Jupiter, the colonists are preparing to return to a newly established mining colony on Ganymede, Jupiter's moon. The journey is rendered more dangerous by instability and tensions among the crew members, a malfunctioning computer, a stowaway, and the various dangers of space itself (such as asteroids).

As with Ogilvy's previous work, the focus is strongly on the child protagonists, rather than the adult characters.

A small group of children live on Io, one of Jupiter's moons, where their parents operate a research and mining outpost. When one of Io's volcanoes explodes, the outpost begins to break apart, and the group must flee. Finding a derelict space station in orbit around Jupiter, they convert it into a workable spaceship and begin the slow and dangerous journey back to Earth.

The program was followed by a sequel, Return to Jupiter. Escape from Jupiter was never released in its entirety on either VHS or DVD, but a two-hour 'film version' was released.

A cut-down version of the television series Escape from Jupiter, designed for release on video and later DVD.