I would like to introduce you to a series that was shot from 1995 and the second installment in 1997.

Spellbinder

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-7aDtfy6-o

had us jumping into parallel universes and doing double takes when we went bush walking. It was directed by Noel Price and writing credits go to Ron Saunders, Mark Shirrefs and John Thomson, and the same winning team joined, minus the genius of Ron Saunders for the 1997 sequel Spellbinder: Land of the dragon Lord. Series one was shot in New South Wales and Poland and season two was shot in New South Wales, Poland and China.

IMDB is a great place to find out stuff and here is their synopsis for Spellbinder… When a prank at a school camp goes drastically wrong, 15-year-old Paul Reynolds is blasted into an alternative reality and has to try to find a way home.

Here is their synopsis of the sequel, Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord… When 14-year-old Australian teenager, Kathy Morgan, discovers a mysterious boat during a family vacation, she decides to investigate – little realising that the boat is actually a transdimensional craft which is able to transcend parallel worlds.

Casting for the first series included Zbych Trofimiuk from Sky Trackers and I have always had a love for the work of Heather Mitchell. In the second series she is the only character kept over from the first season and we see a young Ryan Kwanten before he was on Home and Away and True Blood.

I think this may have been Australia’s first taste of a very steampunk-esque style of show. Themes of learning to act responsibly have our lead actors pulling their hair out. Home being where your heart is, brought forth adventure and drama. It was science fiction with just enough fantasy to take the sharp edge off. I want me one of those power suits.

I’ll continue on with my nostalgia in future installments. Hope you don’t mind.

I spent time living on both Bribie Island and in Caboolture while I was growing up. The hottest thing on the calendar besides the Caboolture Show was the Abbey Tournament held at the Abbey Museum off Old Toorbul Point Road towards Bribie Island. (Basically, take the Bribie Island exit off the Bruce highway and follow the signs.)

Now you don’t have to be a history buff to enjoy yourself at this grand event; you can be a bogan or moron and still have a damn good day out.  It was, and still is, the place to be seen on the July school holidays.  I still run into my school friends every time I attend.

They have workshops, jousting, displays, stalls, food and so many costumes you’d be mistaken for thinking you’d stepped back in time. For the second year in a row there will be a birds of prey element to the festival.  There is ALWAYS something happening around you; and, considering the event is in its 22nd year, you can believe me when I say it runs smoothly, like a well-oiled wheel.

Hubby and I are major photographic buffs and this event is a brilliant place to get some awesome live action photos of some of the most incredibly talented and fearless re-enactors I have ever had the pleasure to see. Not to mention the fact that some of the attendees put a huge amount of effort into their costuming; it would be a shame to not acknowledge their work in photos.

Here is a clip by rikki71 from the last year I was in attendance, ‘The Knights Order of Lion Rampant Greatest Hits of Abbey 2009’

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HasX55__Ywg&feature=fvsr

The clip is amazing. I can tell you, though it’s cool on YouTube, you don’t actually get a true idea of the strength, skill, and pure force of those blows unless you’re there on the spot, cheering them on.

The wandering Minstrels and the Jesters are also a highlight for me–so colourful, and again, talented. You can learn to make chain mail, shoot a few arrows with the archers, and *Boo* at the black knight as he spurs his trusty steed forward on the path towards his opponent in the jousting. Allow the atmosphere to wash over you and take in the sights and sounds of the Abbey Tournament, July 9th and 10th 2011. Tickets are available at the gate, and gates open at 9am.

I just might see you there.

xBelx

I would like to introduce you to a series that was shot in 1994. Yes, that was the last millennium.

Sky Trackers

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-BTs7BzliU

had us reaching for the stars. It was directed by Mario Andreacchio, Steve Jodrell and Julian Mcswiney. Writing credits go to Robert Greenberg, Cameron Clarke, Tony Morphett, Jeff Peck, Deborah Cox, Jutta Goetze, Mac Gudgeon, Peter Hepworth, Sue Hore, Rick Maier, Jan Sardi and Steve J Spears. It was shot in both New South Wales and Victoria.

IMDB is a great resource, and normally I would be giving you their synopsis of the plot, but they only have one line… LUCKILY I managed to find this series on DVD and will now give you the blurb from the back… Sky Trackers follows the lives of Maggie, Mike and Nikki – three kids thrown together in the heart of Kaputar NSW. Maggie and Nikki are sisters whose mother, Marie is a senior CSIRO scientist responsible for environmental projects. Mike lives with his Dad, Tony, who is a famous astro physicist. Together, the group encounter a number of issues, sometimes with each other, sometimes out of this world. The one certainty is that Sky Trackers always come out on top.

Casting was important with this series. It looks to me like they were trying to find fresh blood to start a new chapter in Aussie TV: Steve Jacobs, from East West 101; Anna Maria Monticelli, The Girl From Tomorrow, Home and Away and White Collar Blue; Paul Sonkkila from The Girl from Tomorrow. Tomorrow’s End look to be the skeleton that allowed the fleshing out to happen with the young new actors to grace our screen: Petra Yared, Zbych Trofimiuk and Emily-Jane Romig.

This series really let you know it was more than okay to be a girl and know without a doubt what you wanted to do with the rest of your life, even if it was something most ‘normal’ girls wouldn’t want to be doing. Boys are okay, but only if they don’t get in the way of your plans. Hormones be damned.

The book of the same name, based on the series sucked me in just as much as it did on the TV screen.

I’ll continue on with my nostalgia in future instalments. Hope you don’t mind.

I would like to introduce you to a series that was shot in 1992 and a second series shot in 1993. Yes, that was the last millennium.

The Girl From Tomorrow

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVS376aIVqQ&feature=related

was ahead of its time for YA TV. Directed by Kathy Mueller and series writing credits go to Mark Shirrefs and John Thomson. It was shot, around areas in New South Wales.

IMDB is a great place to find stuff out and here’s their synopsis of The Girl From Tomorrow: Alana, a teen-aged girl from the year 3000, finds herself trapped in 1990 with a criminal from the year 2500. Alone, and confused, she befriends a spirited girl named Jenny Kelly. Together they attempt to track down the time capsule which brought her there, while evading Silverthorn, the villain into whose hands it appears to have fallen.

It was so good they brought it back in 1993 for a second season; anyway, as per the IMDB, here is the synopsis for The Girl From Tomorrow: Tomorrow’s End… Realizing that they have polluted the time stream with their experiments, the scientists from the year 3000 resolve to return Jenny and Silverthorn to their respective times and then destroy the capsule before it can do any more harm. Troubles in the year 2500, however, lead to Alana and her guardian, Tulista, returning to a devastated future. They must return to 2500 and change whatever it was that went wrong in order to cause The Great Disaster to reach Australia.

You probably thought the graphics and special effects were a little lame, and not worth jumping up and down about, but the simple fact was, nobody had that kind of technology in a YA program at the time. Budgets just didn’t stretch that far.

Not only was this groundbreaking for the special effects side of things, but the stories were intelligent. For what felt like the first time on Aussie TV  we were allowed to imagine stuff and we were encouraged to dream of future technologies. Liberation for the above-26-geek-crowd really got started here.

I’ll continue with my nostalgia in future instalments. Hope you don’t mind.

Continuing my Blasts from the Past, I would like to introduce you to a series that was shot in 1992. (Yes, that was the last millennium!)

Clowning Around httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWwG7bW5wpM&feature=related a drama that was made all the more poignant because the lead role was a boy, rather than a girl. It was directed by George Whaley and writing credits go to Shane Brennan, Tom Cavanaugh and David Martain. It was shot in both Western Australia and Paris.

IMDB is a great resource, here’s their synopsis of Clowning Around… In and out of foster homes for most of his life, 14-year old Sim wants nothing more than to be a professional circus clown. His new foster parents, however, have other plans for him. But Sim won’t let go of his dream and sets off on a series of exciting adventures taking him from Australia to Paris. With the support of friends collected on the way, Sim learns the art of clowning is more than just clowning around.

The names run thick and fast in this series. Practically TV royalty. Ernie Dingo from the great outdoors, Noni Hazlehurst, and Steve Jodrell from City Homicide. We also see the partnership from Elly and Jools of Rebecca Smart and Clayton Williamson again, but their chemistry is totally different in this series. As an added little gem in their crown was an uncredited appearance by one Heath Ledger.

Issues of abandonment and being shuffled around like you belong in the ‘too hard basket’ gave kids in similar situations something to identify with. There were such amazing moments of heartbreaking drama and old fashioned comedy that was innocent without treating the audience like they were stupid. It was really the first series that had us accepting that families came in many forms, and not every mother wants to be a mother.

I’ll continue with my nostalgia in future instalments. Hope you don’t mind.