Janet King

Great Australian Drama are words I don't often agree with these days. Upon switching the channel over to the ABC and stumbling across the final episode of this for just a few minutes I was hooked! I then went back and watched the first episode, then the second and could not stop - this is Great Australian Drama- it really is! If you like watching a drama where you think you have the guilty parties worked out then realize it cannot be them, and then you become suspicious of a few of them then this is for you - it will keep you guessing until the end and what an explosive ending it is! I don't like giving away too much but do yourself a favor and watch this, watch it for the great Aussie cast of fantastic talent and watch it for the really good script.

Great characters and interesting story line that follows the entirety of the season.

Janet King came several years after its predecessor 'Crownies'. Crownies was a show that really deserved a better fate. It was a very good production, and even if it was determined not to have gone past a second season, there were enough open story-lines at the end of the first season that truly should have been allowed to play out in a second concluding season. As for the delayed spin-off (Janet King), it's a good show, but lacks the warmth and charm of the first series. They kept all the five young actors to start off, but quickly dropped one then another, in the hopes of distancing the new series from the concept of the old.

What remains is of good quality, but less viewer friendly. It's unfortunate they decided to go completely away from the predecessor. Had they found a better balance between the two, retaining the best of both, it could have now overall been even better. As although the show now is by design very different, it's not necessarily that much better. It's now more mature and serious (less soap).. but unfortunately not as overall enjoyable to watch.

Obviously my esteemed fellow reviewer has an axe to grind. Describing it as pushing a "leftist, lesbian" agenda is utter nonsense. If the relationship were heterosexual, I seriously doubt that any such vitriol would be forthcoming. Yes, the initial police/courtroom/trial scenes had a couple of "reality" plot holes large enough to drive a tank through, but these are easy to forgive, given the extraordinary quality of this series. Perhaps if you require an absolutely, completely, utterly perfect drama series, you could make it yourself? If for no other reason than to show the rest of us how amazingly talented & absolutely NOT homophobic you must be.

Some of my favorite shows come to us from Australia or England. In this case I found "Janet King" (coming from Australia) to be a refresh take on the far too over populated legal drama series. In the US crimes are generally wrapped up in a single episode. This series doesn't do that. It moves the viewer through the season with the goal of solving the crime and saving the day happen at just the right time. Some shows build to such a climax during each episode. This series refrains from doing that. It's like a good book that keeps you interested and invested to the very end. Anyway, to me, "Janet King: The Enemy Within" is fascinating... and I'm totally hooked!!