Armed with his 1913 Bradshaw’s Handbook to the Chief Cities of the World, Michael embarks on six new railway journeys across spectacular Australia.
Social & External
Self - Presenter
Long-running travel programme
The history of the Labor Party in government in Australia from 1983 to 1993 under Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. The series is told entirely through the eyes of all the major players in government and the bureaucracy, including Bob Hawke and Paul Keating.
The ABC Of, a interview series, revisits the pasts of prominent Australians through moments drawn from the vast ABC archives.
History is taking to the seas and walking in the footsteps of Captain James Cook. 250 years after Cook began his epic exploration of the Pacific, Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, The Piano) journeys in his wake uncovering stories that resonate from those times on both sides of the beach. Sam begins with a disclaimer – he is merely an actor – but the story of Cook, and the impact he has had on the Pacific in the 250 years since his first voyage, has always fascinated him.
Bert Taylor travels around Australia's vast countryside.
Zoologist Jack Randall journeys into Australia's Outback to encounter extraordinary wildlife.
Railway adventures across Australia follows the exploits of Scott McGregor on his quest to find the famous, unusual and unique trains and stories at the end of the line.
The Earth’s continents are instantly recognizable. These iconic landmasses seem permanent and unchanging, yet they are merely the wreckage of a much larger long-lost supercontinent – Pangaea. In this stunning four part series Professor Iain Stewart uncovers the evidence for this ancient past. He reveals how the world around us is full of clues – in the rocks, the landscapes and even the animals. All of which tell us how the land we live on was created.
Follow the work of Gold Coast police officers from the newly created Rapid Action & Patrols Group (RAP). The elite taskforce is responsible for policing everything from bikie gangs and street violence to drug heists and organised crime.
Australia: The Story of Us is an extraordinary journey through the people, places and events that have shaped Australia, from the first footprints on our continent to the present day. Astounding visual sequences, amazing CGI and dramatic re-enactments bring these stories to life and show how we came to be the country we are today.
Tells the inside story of the challenges the Lebanese Australian community has faced in Australia and how they have fought to overcome them. This landmark documentary series hears from community leaders, police, families and individuals, as they combine to tell the compelling and dramatic story of a proud and resilient community, under intense pressure and scrutiny. The story begins in the 1970s when large numbers of Lebanese migrants flooded into Australia. Many were Muslim, most were traumatised by civil war, all were desperate to build a better future. Over the coming decades, these new Australians struggled to establish a new life in their adopted country.
Aerial Australia takes viewers on a breathtaking airborne odyssey across this diverse continent unveiling a tapestry of awe-inspiring landscapes that exist alongside the rich heritage of one of the oldest living cultures on Earth.
Take a road less travelled to the small towns and communities that make Australia special. Join Heather Ewart and guest presenters as they discover remarkable stories and inspiring people you'll never forget.
A journey through the Australian landscape and the unique stories of the land, deepening our connection with nature.
British comedian and travel enthusiast Griff Rhys Jones hops on some of Australia's most impressive long distance trains, travelling across the expansive outback and along spectacular coastlines.
Stephen Tompkinson's adventure begins in dramatic fashion when his maiden flight over South Australia's Flinders Ranges ends in a crash landing at 40 mph. But he presses on to the Barossa Valley, where a serene flight over the vineyards is followed by a far from calm cricket match against local winemakers - the outcome of which sends Stephen packing for Victoria and a spell on the mighty Murray River. Stephen's bid to win Australia’s biggest balloon competition continues. A childhood dream is fulfilled when he walks out onto the pitch of the Melbourne Cricket Ground during an Aussie Rules game - and trumped the following morning when his balloon flies through the ground's goalposts. His balloon truck gets a makeover and the city's Greek festival nearly ends in a diplomatic incident. Then heavy rain prevents him flying over Canberra - and to get back on track he risks a flight to 10,000 feet. Actor Stephen Tompkinson's attempt to win Australia's prestigious Canowindra Balloon Challenge concludes in this final episode. Stephen heads to Sydney, where he samples some of the city's culinary delights with MasterChef's Matt Preston, helps judge a drag competition, and receives some encouragement from the British High Commissioner to Australia. When the day of the race finally arrives, he meets his competitors at Canowindra. The teams have to hit three targets laid out over the countryside, but things start disastrously for Stephen when he misreads the wind and drifts off-course. Can he recover and win the challenge?
Based on the BBC factual series of the same name, Ambulance Australia follows NSW Ambulance service, from the NSW Ambulance Triple Zero Control Centre to paramedics on the road in series 1 and 2. Series 3 follows the Queensland Ambulance Service.
40 years after Azaria Chamberlain’s disappearance, Lindy Chamberlain and her children speak exclusively and in detail, about that harrowing night and the devastating years that followed. From the hatred and discrimination the family endured to Lindy’s years in prison, nothing is off limits in this powerful and moving documentary.
In Australia, there are over 40,000 men and women currently behind bars. Many of them have done very bad things. They have shattered countless lives, destroyed families and been responsible for unspeakable criminal acts. What did they do? How did they get here? And what are their lives like now?
Eva is an unconventional psychologist who guides a group of lesbian and bisexual women in group therapy to deal with their affective and sexual conflicts. Middle-aged women, residents of Madrid and living a second adolescence.
Follow the cast in their journey to Gili Trawangan, a tropical island in Indonesia, where they open a pop-up restaurant for 10 days. Viewers can see the heartwarming struggles the actors go through to start their business, enjoy the gorgeous island backdrop, and laugh at the humorous situations that arise throughout the show.
The world is full of unknown, incomprehensible and therefore very attractive things that children encounter every day. In order to give them the opportunity to learn about the world themselves, but at the same time to do so without risk to their health, "The ABCs of Safety" was created. In short, fascinating stories, young viewers, together with the Smesharikis, will get to know the basics of safety and learn different tricks, remember important and useful rules of conduct on the road, in transport, on the water and much more...
This major landmark series looks in detail at the fascinating relationship between predators and their prey. Rather than concentrating on ‘the blood and guts’ of predation, the series looks in unprecedented detail at the strategies predators use to catch their food and prey use to escape death. Sir David Attenborough narrates.
Paris, 1761. Brilliant young Parisian police commissioner Nicolas Le Floch works under Monsieur de Sartine, the Royal Lieutenant General of Police. Louis XV's kingdom is plagued by conspiracies and murders. With the help of his faithful subordinate Bourdeau, Nicolas solves mysterious disappearances and sorts out awkward scandals.
Testees is a Canadian television series, created by Kenny Hotz and written and produced by Kenny Hotz and Derek Harvie. Testees originally aired on Thursdays at 10:30 PM EST on FX and ran from October 9, 2008 to December 18, 2008. and debuted on October 14, 2008 on Showcase in Canada. The show is filmed in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario. Testees is now showing on FX in the UK, I.Sat in Brazil and Comedy Central in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. After one season, Testees was not renewed by FX.
Spain… on the road Again is a 2008 American food and travel series produced by PBS. The show features Iron Chef Mario Batali, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman, and Spanish actress Claudia Bassols. Each episode covers a different region of Spain as the foursome explore the country's culinary traditions and history. Before the series premiere on PBS, Paltrow and Batali promoted their tour and series on the September 17, 2008 episode of Oprah.
Raccontami is an Italian television series.
In November 2010, British millionaire Shrien Dewani and his new Swedish wife Anni travelled to Cape Town for their honeymoon trip of a lifetime that soon turned into horror. The newly-wed couple were hijacked at gunpoint during a taxi journey back to their hotel from dinner and the next morning the 28-year-old bride was found dead, having been shot. The murder of Anni quickly became one of the world’s most talked-about headlines. For years, the truth about who was responsible for her death remained unclear, with the public constantly torn between the Dewani family, whose representatives maintained their son Shrien’s innocence, and Anni’s family, desperate to find out what happened that night and why Anni had to die.
The Message was a surreal comedy series which spoofs current practices in the television industry. It originally aired in 2006 on BBC Three. It consisted of six episodes, and was not renewed after the first season.
Hedeby is a sleepy village in the rich, agricultural province of Sörmland. On the face of it, not much has changed during the centuries. The count lives outside the village in his large ...
Escape the humdrum of the city and experience the picturesque countryside for a romantic getaway. China is home to countless beautiful villages and diverse ethnic cultures which are spread across the east, west, south, north and central regions. In this program, we follow the footsteps of famous TV hosts, stars and cultural scholars as they visit five distinctive villages.
Shin Do Young is an announcer who instigates the jealously of all women around her because of her superior looks, great abilities, and great background. But Do Young has a deep, dark secret. She was actually abandoned at an orphanage when she was young but luckily she was adopted by a nice couple.
From epic landscapes and unforgettable culture, to the often trying times that come with international travel, Departures chronicles the unforgettable friendships, personal successes and sometimes crushing disappointments that befall travellers Scott Wilson and Justin Lukach on their journey. Departures is as much about the journey as it is the destination.
The second season of "Poetry Sans Frontiers" continues to convey the spirit of poetry through the form of documentary "video prose poetry", so that people from different countries, different nationalities and different languages can feel that no matter how the world changes, we can all stand together in the name of poetry.
Akari Kanzaki has just joined an all-girls academy in hopes of entering the University Satellite, an elite sports training facility. She wants to win the title of Cosmo Beauty - a title held years ago by her mother. It's not an easy task for her as fear, doubt and peer pressure get in her way, but friends, rivals and fans slowly encourage her to overcome her obstacles and become the best of the Battle Athletes.