Rake

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.

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! :)

I tripped over this show on my way to the US remake, which caught my attention because of the presence of the always-likable Greg Kinnear. I'm very glad I tried the Australian original first. The US version is derivative and downright dreary; the original sparkles, with both razor-sharp satire and equally sharp-edged drama.

Rake manages to fuse comedy, courtroom trickery, human drama and even some odd moral allegory. All these facets are apparent in the first show, when Greene must defend a cannibal (brilliantly played by Hugo Weaving) - who just happens to be a free-market economist, and who (like most free-market economists) sees nothing wrong with what he has done. In the next show, Greene tries to get an innocent woman convicted, then is forced to switch and get a guilty one acquitted. Then he defends a bigamist, who just happens to be a model husband - more than once.

Greene's approach to the defence in each case is both clever and believable, in a way that most courtroom fiction is not. It reminds me of the best of Rumpole, with that series' ability to feel sympathy even for the guilty, and its reliance on astute legal trickery to make things come out 'right' in the end. Not to mention its ability to make us question just what 'right' means, in each case.

Rake has immediately leaped onto my list of top ten TV shows *ever*. It's as funny, vulgar and painfully real as the brilliant British sitcom Still Game. Yet it's equally compelling dramatically. It definitely has things to say, but it slips these points in subtly, slyly, when you're not looking.

Jack Lemon (speaking about The Apartment) said his ideal role was one that was both comedy and drama. That describes Rake perfectly. Richard Roxburgh may not be the equal of Lemon (who is?), but he comes through superbly as Cleaver Greene. The other roles are similarly well-handled, many of them by actors who will be very familiar to fans of Australian cinema.

The US version of Rake seems like a quality production, and I may give it another try, though I admit I was unable to get through the first episode. The show seems predictably gutless, unable to embrace the moral ambiguity of the Greene character. Kinnear ends up playing a dysfunctional loser, where Roxburgh scintillates as exactly what he should be: a rake - an utterly likable rogue, a womanizer, a vagabond. A man who has no choice but to live by his own rules, and who adheres to no moral code but his own.

I don't register a 10/10 rating very often, but in this case I felt like it was barely high enough. My advice: track down this show by whatever means necessary, and see it immediately.

UPDATE: Rake is back for a 4th season. There's no question that the original brilliance has dimmed just a bit. The first season focused on legal shenanigans. Successive seasons have become more of an improbably Rake-ish soap opera. They're still a load of fun, but maybe in the 8-9/10 range. Still, the approach remains unique, and it's always a pleasure to see Roxburgh chewing up the scenery as the quintessentially Australian anti-hero, Cleaver Greene.

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.

While the cases in this series are over the top, believe it or not the main character in this is based on real person. Charles Waterstreet a Sydney barrister whose life is apparently every bit as colorful as the series would have you believe . Real life is stranger than fiction. Especially at the New South Wales bar, apparently. Waterstreet is mate of Richard Roxborough the star of the series who plays him in it. A younger and more handsome version as Roxborough smilingly says in one interview. The point is if you enjoy this series you should google waterstreet and find out more about him. As for me while something tells me he is the kind of guy who creates chaos in the lives of people around him, there is something about him that I find admirable and engaging. And this comes across in the show. PS love the show.