What's on TV: Tuesday, August 13
My Crazy Birth Story (premiere)
7Flix, 8.30pm
Seachange's Miranda (see below) might have managed a relatively quick and uncomplicated birth, but that's not the case for the mothers featured here. In this low-budget American reality series, women reflect on deliveries that did not go according to plan, with three tales of dramatic arrivals in the opener. Falon and Rob, the parents of two young daughters, thought that they knew what they were in for, but then Falon's contractions started fast and hard. Mexican food store manager Erica was pleased that one of her regular customers was pregnant and gave her a gift hamper. But she did not expect such drama in front of her deli section. US air force officer Tia has an extraordinary tale involving the trip to Germany that she decided not to cancel, despite her pregnancy. The crazy birth stories are recounted with gusto and augmented by cheesy flashback dramatisations.
Seachange
Nine, 8.40pm
Last week's return to Pearl Bay after almost two decades had charm, energy and promise. The relocation from Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula to Brunswick Heads in NSW was accomplished with ease and some familiar faces reappeared: uptight lawyer Laura Gibson (Sigrid Thornton), shonky businessman Bob Jelly (John Howard), his estranged wife, Heather (Kerry Armstrong), and caravan park manager Kevin (Kevin Harrington).
There was also a bunch of engaging new faces: Brooke Satchwell, now playing Laura's daughter, Miranda, Dan Wyllie as slightly reluctant pub owner Joe Russo, actor and director Wayne Blair as local radio DJ Riley, and Darren McMullen as Findlay Knox, a marine biologist with a six-pack. After Miranda's delivery of baby Joe in the world's quickest and cleanest birth, and her immediate bounce back to work, the second episode sees the series' initial energy sagging a bit. Perhaps in an attempt to evoke the kind of whimsy that originally distinguished the show, the town is under the influence of a particular, peculiar local phenomenon known as a shimmery moon, a time when strange things can happen.
Bob is trying to get his hands on some shady money provided by his former prison acquaintances. It's now in the custody of policewoman Anna (Katrina Milosevic). Meanwhile there's a tag-team relay going on between Laura, Anna and Miranda as childcare becomes an issue. Romances are brewing, plots thickening and we can only hope that this revival continues to display the winning energy that marked its return.
Miriam's Deathly Adventure
ABC, Tuesday, 9.30pm
At age 77 and not exactly fleet of foot, Miriam Margolyes has nevertheless rejoined the sizeable troupe of English entertainers that enjoys exploring the world and taking us with them. However, while she might not be agile, Margolyes is forthright, curious, thoughtful and open-minded, even if one encounter here provokes her to exclaim, "What a load of bollocks!" In this two-part series, her aim is to probe her fear of death and examine the options. She begins in a nursing home in Nottingham before heading to the US, where she meets people in Loma Linda who reject the notion of ageing and dying. Then she attends Radfest (Revolution Against Ageing), a conference in San Diego. It's an instructive tour and worth the time, if only to see the look on her face during the sex magic session.