Rake is an Australian TV show about an attorney, Cleaver Green, played by Richard Roxburgh, who is - no other way to say it - a complete mess. He's in terrible tax trouble and has been for a while, and has come up with every excuse as to why his records aren't available, so he keeps delaying. Meanwhile his secretary is stealing from him, which he knows, and they come to an agreement that she can only steal 10% instead of the usual 30.
Green is divorced, and his main squeeze is a prostitute who later leaves the profession and winds up married to a politician. As far as his friends, he creates complete chaos in their lives just by showing up. When he finally gets permission to re-enter the home of Tom and Scarlet, he destroys their child's birthday party when he gets into a fight with the clown.
On top of all of this, Green is an excellent attorney and really has some challenging cases - cannibalism is one; in another, a terrorist sets off a bomb and his wife is accused of buying the materials to make it, but she claims they are for her beauty business. "Hydrogen peroxide," the Judge says. "Bleaching hair," she says. "It seems like an awful lot," the Judge says. "Well, I don't want to be vulgar, Judge, but there are other places on a woman's body that have hair," says Green.
At one point, he has to defend his own loan shark (who has had him beaten up several times).
I recently found out that the U.S. did this series with Greg Kinnear. No way. I like Greg Kinnear but he doesn't have Richard Roxburgh's edginess and mercurial delivery or energy. Also I don't think some of the language - so prominent in the dialogue - would be permitted on American TV. Roxburgh is fabulous; the character needs to be not only super-smart but outrageous, and he brings it.
The scripts are very well written, and I love the dialogue.
Great series.
Green is divorced, and his main squeeze is a prostitute who later leaves the profession and winds up married to a politician. As far as his friends, he creates complete chaos in their lives just by showing up. When he finally gets permission to re-enter the home of Tom and Scarlet, he destroys their child's birthday party when he gets into a fight with the clown.
On top of all of this, Green is an excellent attorney and really has some challenging cases - cannibalism is one; in another, a terrorist sets off a bomb and his wife is accused of buying the materials to make it, but she claims they are for her beauty business. "Hydrogen peroxide," the Judge says. "Bleaching hair," she says. "It seems like an awful lot," the Judge says. "Well, I don't want to be vulgar, Judge, but there are other places on a woman's body that have hair," says Green.
At one point, he has to defend his own loan shark (who has had him beaten up several times).
I recently found out that the U.S. did this series with Greg Kinnear. No way. I like Greg Kinnear but he doesn't have Richard Roxburgh's edginess and mercurial delivery or energy. Also I don't think some of the language - so prominent in the dialogue - would be permitted on American TV. Roxburgh is fabulous; the character needs to be not only super-smart but outrageous, and he brings it.
The scripts are very well written, and I love the dialogue.
Great series.