Underbelly

I really can't say enough good things about this show. Each season we are introduced to a whole new cast of characters and series of events spanning over roughly a decade for each series. The show does a beautiful job of spanning over several years without feeling like anything is rushed or left out. Each episode feels like a mini saga of it's own, with new challenges and conflicts facing the characters that it focuses on. We watch characters grow from amateurs to professionals in a matter of episodes and it all feels very real. Also, as we see at the beginning of each episode, it is all based on real events. A quick search on the Internet will reveal that almost all characters and events are very close to their real counterparts. I could go on about the attention to detail in the story lines and the the top notch acting all around but you should just watch and see for yourself.

Note: I'm writing this review having just finished watching season 3 of Underbelly, which is unfortunately the last season available to me on Netflix here in the U.S.

Just wanted to respond to some people's comments on how bad Underbelly is, well it completely hooked me in! I was quite hesitant at first because I often don't go for Aussie dramas, but saw half of the first episode by chance and am officially addicted.

Others have been saying it's like watching an episode of Neighbours, well maybe that's because so many of the actors in it had their starts in Neighbours or Home and Away. That's not to say the acting is as bad as in these soap operas. I was pleasantly surprised with the actor's abilities and portrayals of the characters. I was impressed with how many of the actors looked very similar to the people they were portraying.

As a rule although I love many an Australian actor I usually hate the writing/production. Underbelly has changed all of that for me and I'll be revisiting some other Aussie dramas that previously I've written off. The acting is great, the soundtrack is really great, the writing makes the whole story easy to follow. I'm seriously impressed and can't wait to see the last few episodes. I've got the book and the mini series is fairly accurate, but it's important to remember that this is a dramatization and not a doco so some differences are to be expected. roberta is a crack up. alex dimitriades as Mr T, hooooooooot. Dino Dibra, wasn't until I looked on here and saw he was on h&a that I figured out who on H&A and why he was so familiar, very impressive. you *SHOULD* watch it.

Watching the first four seasons of Underbelly was like a fast ride full throttle. Everything about the fast cutting, the pacing, the music, the freeze frame identification of new characters with whimsical captions, was an exhilarating ride, reminding me of a 13 hour MTV video. This series had a STYLE like nothing I had ever seen before! The slightly skewed reality resembled European films I have seen. As each season appeared, I felt they could not get any better, but they did. I particularly enjoyed the different locations and the new faces from Australia's remarkably handsome pool of talent. Chelsie Peyton Crawford's portrayal of the chain smoking brassy platinum blonde tart with no heart in Razor was tour de force. She wrote the book on common trollop. The sets were good, lots of location shooting, which made you feel as if you were right there, and watching the Sydney Harbor Bridge construction progressing in Razor gave the series added authenticity.

My only complaint was too much nudity and graphic sex, which would rule it out for US network viewing and lose out on a lucrative market. They should have saved the more graphic sex and skin for extended edition DVD's.

Unfortunately, Season 5 ran out of steam. Where was the music? Where was the fast editing? Where was the location shooting? Where was the full tilt boogie band feel? The slightly off-kilter reality? I watched two episodes and turned off to do the housework which had been neglected while bingeing on the first four seasons. Did the director change? Was the budget cut? Suddenly the best thing and most refreshingly different series in years has turned into a routine cop show. Whatever the reason, they should have stopped while they were ahead.

The connection between Sopranos and this series is not far-fetched. Like that show it shows a life of crime and how these gangsters deal with their family. After having seen five episodes more depth is shown and it gets real clear that things will get very nasty indeed. The acting by the cast is superb. And it was good to see Calvan Mulvey (Heartbreak High) return in a much more mature role. What I liked especially in this show that it doesn't exactly choose sides. It is not just about the police getting the bad guys. They also show that even the gangsters have their morals and aren't entirely evil as most people would have us believe. But it doesn't glamorize the life of crime either. When necessary it does show the impact of the crimes committed. Excellent show!