William in New Series Starting Feb 5
Magistrates to star in new series
January 23, 2007 - 9:54AM
A new observational-reality series will do for police and the court system what RPA did for the medical system, says actor William McInnes, host of The Code: Crime and Justice.
The Code, which premieres February 5 on Channel Nine, follows cases handed from Victoria's police to the Magistrate's Court from beginning to end.
The court access given to the show by Victorian chief magistrate Ian Gray is unprecedented for
Australian TV and was granted largely due to producer Craig Graham's positive record after more than a decade of RPA.
"They have a lot of elements in their favour," says McInnes, the former star of Blue Heelers and SeaChange.
"They've got the template of RPA and the success and reputation of that show, which gives it a head start."
While the Seven Network's Border Security: Australia's Frontline was the country's favourite series last year, RPA is regarded as an enduring trailblazer for the classy end of its genre.
The Victorian Police hasn't been without its criticism in the past and would have thought carefully about exposing its foibles to such a mainstream audience.
But McInnes says The Code could pull back a curtain on the day-to-day trials of police and other legal professionals,as Border Security has done for customs workers.
"(Police and the courts) are opening themselves up to show the good and the bad of it all," says McInnes, who will play a former Australian Prime Minister later this year in the ABC mini-series Curtain.
"What it really shows is we're all human beings.
"This shows people that police officers and those in the court, the judges and lawyers, and those on trial, are all just people like us trying to make the system work."
The Code promises to be told without airs and graces, and is apparently intent on not providing a free plug for the authorities.
It is more ambitious than its contemporaries given the potential length of court cases and producers being restricted to using only those cases captured first hand by their minimalist field crews.
In one episode, a suburban siege shows the matter-of-fact precision needed by police to safely negotiate the life-and-death situations they often deal with.
In another, there is a case of mistaken identity, when police rush into a home to find what they believed to be a dead body is actually a shop mannequin.
McInnes describes a young man charged with driving under the influence of alcohol as "breath-takingly funny".
Up to three storylines will be followed each episode, narrated by the deep drawl of McInnes.
Producers are yet to commit to a series length, with roughly 13 episodes planned.
The first episode, to air in the vital Monday 7.30pm timeslot leading into Eddie McGuire's new game show 1 vs 100, is still being edited.
"They really open things up for scrutiny, and in a sense, demystify what goes on," McInnes says.
"It also empowers the police and courts."
McInnes says the show makes no moral judgment on individual cases.
"There's no tsk tsk about it and this thing doesn't go out of its way to artificially create characters," he says.
"It just shows what's happening. The glory of that is the interesting characters that just pop up."
The police officers he once portrayed as Sergeant Nick Shultz on Blue Heelers also struck a chord when he saw scenes recorded during a siege at Pakenham in Melbourne last year.
"They were so matter-of-fact," he says of the officers.
"They've got a set way of dealing with things and they just go about doing it.
"One of the really reassuring things about (the show) is the feeling you get about the Australian character. It's amazing in all forms of crisis."
The Code: Crime & Justice, premieres on Channel Nine, Monday, February 5 at 7.30pm.
Source: Article, Sydney Morning Herald January 23, 2007
January 23, 2007 - 9:54AM
A new observational-reality series will do for police and the court system what RPA did for the medical system, says actor William McInnes, host of The Code: Crime and Justice.
The Code, which premieres February 5 on Channel Nine, follows cases handed from Victoria's police to the Magistrate's Court from beginning to end.
The court access given to the show by Victorian chief magistrate Ian Gray is unprecedented for
Australian TV and was granted largely due to producer Craig Graham's positive record after more than a decade of RPA.
"They have a lot of elements in their favour," says McInnes, the former star of Blue Heelers and SeaChange.
"They've got the template of RPA and the success and reputation of that show, which gives it a head start."
While the Seven Network's Border Security: Australia's Frontline was the country's favourite series last year, RPA is regarded as an enduring trailblazer for the classy end of its genre.
The Victorian Police hasn't been without its criticism in the past and would have thought carefully about exposing its foibles to such a mainstream audience.
But McInnes says The Code could pull back a curtain on the day-to-day trials of police and other legal professionals,as Border Security has done for customs workers.
"(Police and the courts) are opening themselves up to show the good and the bad of it all," says McInnes, who will play a former Australian Prime Minister later this year in the ABC mini-series Curtain.
"What it really shows is we're all human beings.
"This shows people that police officers and those in the court, the judges and lawyers, and those on trial, are all just people like us trying to make the system work."
The Code promises to be told without airs and graces, and is apparently intent on not providing a free plug for the authorities.
It is more ambitious than its contemporaries given the potential length of court cases and producers being restricted to using only those cases captured first hand by their minimalist field crews.
In one episode, a suburban siege shows the matter-of-fact precision needed by police to safely negotiate the life-and-death situations they often deal with.
In another, there is a case of mistaken identity, when police rush into a home to find what they believed to be a dead body is actually a shop mannequin.
McInnes describes a young man charged with driving under the influence of alcohol as "breath-takingly funny".
Up to three storylines will be followed each episode, narrated by the deep drawl of McInnes.
Producers are yet to commit to a series length, with roughly 13 episodes planned.
The first episode, to air in the vital Monday 7.30pm timeslot leading into Eddie McGuire's new game show 1 vs 100, is still being edited.
"They really open things up for scrutiny, and in a sense, demystify what goes on," McInnes says.
"It also empowers the police and courts."
McInnes says the show makes no moral judgment on individual cases.
"There's no tsk tsk about it and this thing doesn't go out of its way to artificially create characters," he says.
"It just shows what's happening. The glory of that is the interesting characters that just pop up."
The police officers he once portrayed as Sergeant Nick Shultz on Blue Heelers also struck a chord when he saw scenes recorded during a siege at Pakenham in Melbourne last year.
"They were so matter-of-fact," he says of the officers.
"They've got a set way of dealing with things and they just go about doing it.
"One of the really reassuring things about (the show) is the feeling you get about the Australian character. It's amazing in all forms of crisis."
The Code: Crime & Justice, premieres on Channel Nine, Monday, February 5 at 7.30pm.
Source: Article, Sydney Morning Herald January 23, 2007
posted by WilliamWatch at 7:51 PM
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