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SBS ramps up the premieres

Rectify, Race Riots, Prison Songs, Danger 5 and Man On Mars -who says it's summer on SBS?

2015-01-02_1517Summer season a no-go zone? Not according to SBS.

From tomorrow it unveils a slew of new content that is worth a look.

This includes The Great Australian Race Riot, Prison Songs, Danger 5 and the return of Rectify.

There’s so much on it even means pitting premiere local content in head to head timeslots tomorrow night (which I’m not sure is especially helpful).

But it’s great to have new choices when almost everywhere else on Free to Air is sport or reruns.

Sunday January 4
The Quest for Bannockburn 7:30pm SBS ONE
700 years after one of the most significant conflicts in British history, Neil Oliver and Tony Pollard go in search of both the real and imagined Battle of Bannockburn. With the help of the country‟s greatest minds, 3D computer generated graphics and a good old fashioned spade, they‟ll spearhead a nationwide hunt to solve the mystery of one of Britain‟s defining historical moments. (Part 1 of 2) (From Scotland, in English)

The Great Australia Race Riot 8:30pm SBS ONE
Bestselling author, columnist, and raconteur Peter FitzSimons takes an explosive journey across Australia, reliving the country‟s forgotten race riots in a new three-part documentary series, The Great Australian Race Riot. In his inimitable style, FitzSimons exposes heroes and villains on a journey that spans more than 170 years, and the breadth of the country. Along the way, he demonstrates how mobs of every ethnicity have transformed our nation. FitzSimons sets out from the sands of Cronulla beach, site of Australia‟s most notorious recent race riot, to quickly reveal that this riot was no aberration. He visits original riot locations retracing both the social context and the path each mob takes. (Part 1 of 3)

Prison Songs 9:30pm SBS ONE
The inmates of a Darwin prison are shown in a completely new light in Australia‟s first ever documentary musical Prison Songs, as they share their feelings, faults and experiences in an extraordinary way – through song. Darwin Correctional Centre is the largest correctional centre in the Northern Territory. Originally designed to hold 115 prisoners when it opened in 1979, by 2014 it is overcrowded and bursting with more than 800 male and female inmates. 80% of the prisoners here are Indigenous Australians. Granted unprecedented access to film inside Berrimah before its decommission in late 2014, Prison Songs offers a rare glimpse into life in a contemporary Australian prison.

Danger 5 9:30pm SBS 2
Allied super-team Danger 5 reunite after years of far-flung obscurity to stop Hitler‟s ultimate quest for world domination in a 1980s excess-soaked universe of neon, ninjas, discos, dinosaurs, pizza and prom-queens! Join our heroes again as they resume their mission to kill Hitler and save Christmas in the action-adventure comedy.

Monday January 5
Man On Mars: Mission To The Red Planet 7:30pm SBS ONE
Until recently, the idea of sending humans to Mars was pure science fiction. Now the world’s largest space agency is gearing up for its most ambitious project yet – a manned mission 140 million miles across space to the Red Planet. From testing their rockets and experimenting on their astronauts to designing their life support systems, this documentary follows teams across NASA as they start work. How will they overcome the impossible? Is it actually do-able? And if they do land a human on Mars, will they ever be able to bring them back again?

Tuesday January 6
Hidden Killers Of The Edwardian Age 7:30pm SBS ONE
In a follow-up to hidden Killers Of The Victorian Age, Dr Suzannah Lipscomb reveals the killers that lurked in every room of the Edwardian home and shows how they were unmasked.

Wednesday January 7
Weekend Warriors 7:30pm SBS ONE
In this series we take a totally immersive look at life and death on the battlefield during some of the most famous battles in history, through the ultimate living historians – the Battle Re-enactors. (From the UK)

Cold War, Hot Jets 8:30pm SBS ONE
Wide Blue Yonder – With Britain emerging from the Second World War in financial crisis there was one innovation that provided hope for the future – its world class aircraft industry. We examine the British companies which pioneered the rapid development of the jet aircraft, and the heroic test pilots who risked life and limb in untried machines. We tell the story of how these men pushed the technology to its limits to sell the World an idea: the British Jet plane. (Part 1 of 2) (From the UK)

Rectify 9:30pm SBS ONE
In the series return of Rectify, Janet and Amantha sit with a badly beaten and unconscious Daniel in an Atlanta hospital, fearing he won‟t survive the brutal attack he suffered. Tawney prays for Daniel‟s recovery, but a conversation with her mother-in-law leaves Tawney feeling guilty about her close friendship with Daniel. Ted, Jr. struggles to recover from an earlier encounter with Daniel, while hiding the bruises from Tawney. Sheriff Daggett investigates Daniel‟s beating, despite the likely fallout from colleagues and citizens who feel Daniel got what he deserved. Meanwhile, in his coma, Daniel hallucinates he‟s back on death row, visiting with Kerwin, and wonders if it wouldn‟t just be simpler if he, like Kerwin, were dead. (From the US)

Thursday January 8
Lygon St: Si Parla Italiano 8:30pm SBS ONE
A number of key Italian immigrants were responsible for changing the culture and landscape of Lygon Street, in post-war Melbourne. Now in their ’70s and ’80s, these important players come together for an afternoon of discussion and celebration over a delicious lunch.

Friday January 9
World’s Most Dangerous Roads 7:30pm SBS ONE
Madagascar – Humans have built roads in some of the most dangerous and inhospitable places on Earth – from the Andes to the Himalayas. What possesses us to explore and traverse these life-threatening parts of our world? Six British celebrities travel along some of the planet’s most extraordinary highways, taking in the breathtaking landscapes and the fascinating characters who live, work and travel along these routes. (From the US)

Saturday January 10
Don’t Tell My Mother 8:55pm SBS 2
This episode, Diego Bunuel takes a wild ride from the materialistic riches of Moscow to the silent spiritualism of Siberia as he explores the world‟s biggest country. (From France, in English & Russian)

No Limit 10pm SBS 2 dbl ep
The series follows Vincent Libérati, an agent plagued with an incurable disease, who accepts an offer from a mysterious secret organisation to perform missions on French soil in exchange for an experimental treatment, which brings him closer to his temperamental teenage daughter Lola, his ex-wife Alexandra and his suspicious cop sister Juliette. (S.1,Ep.1) (From France, in French)

There’s also a Tarantino season with Kill Bill 8:30pm Friday and an Oscars winners season with The Hours 8:30pm Saturday.

10 Responses

  1. @ herald, I reckon you need to see season 1 of rectify to follow it, the dialogue is almost poetic and has very small moments in it that reverberate in future episodes. S1 is on sbs on demand, last time i checked and on dvd and i guess downloadable. I would recommend the show though.

  2. @APM – yeah saw the promos for those and thought “You beauty!” or “Mint” or whatever people said in the eighties. Especially looking fwd to Heavy Metal as I haven’t seen that for decades. Hope it’s as good as I remember it.

    I’m certain that both Scanners and American Werewolf in London have been on FTA but not for a while. Not sure about The Blob.

  3. speaking of SBS, this month SBS 2 are at it again with horror marathons like they did with halloween in October, this time their movie focus for Wednesday’s is the 1980s.

    but not just horror, other types like for example it’s Flash Gordon at 8:30 this week. I saw an ad where they showed quick clips of these titles they’ll be playing soon –

    Scanners, American Werewolf in London, The Blob as well as Evil Dead 2 again. played at 8:30 and 10:30. that’s pretty rad of them! pretty sure those first 3 titles either haven’t been on FTA or it’s been a while.

    schedule is on the SBS website somewhere. they will also be showing non horror titles – Red Dawn (seen on GO) Rivers Edge, Flash Gordon and Heavy Metal (this week)

  4. Whilst the “the silly season” is still going around on most of the commercial networks, good old SBS is is going to have a red hot summer. A lot of we viewers haven’t forgotten “the silly season” terminology with regard to summer tv programming

  5. You’ve got to hand it to SBS, they’ve got some great content starting soon. I’m particularly looking fwd to Rectify. I wouldn’t say it was great but I really liked the pacing and atmosphere.

    It’s a shame more people don’t consider checking out what they have to offer.

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