Rake

but have rectified that with desperate anticipation driven out of absolute addiction.

It is magnificently written, cast, structured and performed.

What makes it most riveting to those of us blessed with living in and around the actual locations and situations, is that lots of the stories are absolutely true (given a few exaggerations here and there) with "only the names changed to protect the guilty".

I can't imagine how they got filming permission for the scenes in the actual NSW parliament, when the story line revolved around the rottenness of our recently evicted government.

If only the real party hacks were as funny as their corruption is real. Maybe we could actually forgive them. Instead they are dull, boring, incompetent and corrupt, very little amusement value there.

Hard to imagine anyone ever playing the role of Cleaver Green to the hilt the way Richard Roxborough has. Having seen the dull, American rendition, makes Richard's performance only shine the more brilliantly.

I hope there are many more series in the pipeline. This show is honestly the best I have seen in decades. Right up there with Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones. And a whole lot funnier! :)

The news that Series 4 of "Rake" is to begin on Australian free-to-air TV on 19th May this year has brought me out of the cupboard to comment on this series as a whole (so far.)

Brilliant doesn't even begin to describe it. The names Peter Duncan and Andrew Knight as co-writers of much of the first 3 series' is generally a recipe for classy, tight writing. The concept, the delivery, the moral ambiguities, the lines nudged and then stepped over - it is all very, very Australian, and so typically modern Australia is it that perhaps it should not have been re-made with a US cast. The cast of this is universally brilliant, with Richard Roxburgh receiving a special mention from me, because any other actor may not have been able to walk that fine line between (almost) law-abiding citizen and absolute rogue, coming out after all his scrapes and gaol terms as someone we are prepared to forgive (almost) anything. The writing and acting of Cleaver Greene's relationship with his son is worth a special mention, in particular the odd turn this relationship takes in S.3 - just classic.

I'll make mention also of the subject matter in Ep 5 of S.1, where Sam Neill guest stars with Heather Mitchell. It's the "family dog" episode, and on first viewing I thought, 'did I just see that, or did I imagine it?'. According to Charles Waterstreet, whose experiences as a Barrister in Sydney provided the inspiration for the character of Cleaver Greene, the case of the stolen DVD made by the good doctor and his wife was based upon a real life case. This is an instance of real life being far more outrageous than fiction.

I can give this series - so far, at least - no less that 10/10.

I was overjoyed to hear this show is back, and stunned to realise I'd forgotten about it (although it's been a year without a season).

Being reminded of its existence, let alone the prospect of another season, was enough to cause uncontrollable grinning.

I love everything about it. The production values, the writing, the casting, the acting, it's all superb. But what I love most about it is the show's timbre; its aim and stance; its beautifully human angle. Many bonus points also for the regular moments of absolute hilarity.

After watching the first episode of the second season, I can't wait for next week... this will get the long months waiting for the final instalment of Breaking Bad off to a good start.

This TV series tries not to lecture too much in order to recognize that people who are good at their jobs can have many other flaws. In other words, this series is very engaging because it has characters who are not wooden or black and white. Most characters in the show are somewhat dysfunctional and yet they have decent core values. And the most dysfunction is the main character who happens to be an excellent lawyer dealing with very difficult to defend cases or sometimes guilty people.

The acting and the dialog is superb. Every single episode that I have seen has been well written and that is not always the case even for many great TV shows. This show also manages to incorporate comedy, drama and suspense very well.

I love it and I wish that there were more episodes.

Not being Australian and completely unfamiliar with Australian TV, I came to Rake without any expectations or preconceived notions. I find the show is hilarious and mesmerizing at the same time, in no small part due to Roxburgh's performance. He's terrific as a cad with a heart of 14K gold plated brass.

In some ways, Rake is reminiscent of, but doesn't imitate, the great Robbie Coltrane series, Cracker, with both lead characters brilliant in their professional lives, yet exasperatingly self-destructive train wrecks once they're off the clock.

The show's been Americanized by Fox, starring Greg Kinnear (an actor of whom I'm a big fan), but I'm avoiding the Fox series because I've been told the edge of the Australian original was sanded down for American audiences. But, it's the sharp edge that I enjoy. If you can get your hands on the OZ version of Rake, you ought to watch it. It's really good TV.