"Underbelly" (2008)TV series

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Drama

Cast

Rodger Corser	...	Steve Owen (13 episodes, 2008)
Caroline Craig	...	Jacqui James (13 episodes, 2008)
Gyton Grantley	...	Carl Williams (13 episodes, 2008)
Kat Stewart	...	Roberta Williams (13 episodes, 2008)
Frankie J. Holden	...	Garry Butterworth (12 episodes, 2008)
Jane Harber	...	Susie Money (10 episodes, 2008)
Martin Sacks	...	Mario Condello (9 episodes, 2008)
Les Hill	...	Jason Moran (8 episodes, 2008)
Robert Mammone	...	Tony Mokbel (8 episodes, 2008)
Kevin Harrington	...	Lewis Moran (8 episodes, 2008)
Simon Westaway	...	Mick Gatto (8 episodes, 2008)
Eliza Szonert	...	Trish Moran (7 episodes, 2008)
Madeleine West	...	Danielle McGuire (6 episodes, 2008)
Damian Walshe-Howling	...	Andrew 'Benji' Veniaman (6 episodes, 2008)
Ian Bliss	...	Mr. L (6 episodes, 2008)
Petra Kalive	...	Antonella Moran / ... (6 episodes, 2008)
Osvaldo Maione	...	Ron Bongetti (6 episodes, 2008)
Gerard Kennedy	...	Graham Kinniburgh (6 episodes, 2008)
Neil Melville	...	Todd McDonald (6 episodes, 2008)

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:MA | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Docklands, Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)

Trivia:

Just days before its debut, a judge ordered it not be aired in the Australian state of Victoria, saying it would likely influence potential Melbourne jurors in Evangelos Goussis' trial over the murder of Lewis Moran. The DVDs of the series were released on May 8, 2008 (the day after the last episode aired) and were not allowed to be sold in Victoria for the same reason. Though Goussis's trial ended on May 30, 2008, it is unlikely that Victorians will be able to see series anytime soon as Tony Mokbel has returned to Australia and still faces trial on several related charges.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Series are set in Melbourne, Victoria. Victorian Number plates have three letters followed by three numbers, all cars in Underbelly have QLD variation of number plates where numbers are followed by letters.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Singing Bee: The Celebrity Singing Bee: '70s Night (#2.1)" (2008/II)

A feces sandwich amongst salmon steaks

Melbourne, Australia has a rich criminal history. The last two decades have seen the city lashed by bloody underworld wars. Just as Michael Jenkins documented and dramatized Sydney's colorful criminal underbelly in the brilliant "Blue Murder", another set of filmmakers, who cut their teeth on bland soaps, have attempted to do the same for Melbourne in "Underbelly". The result is a pathetic effort. From the appallingly melodramatic script to the clichéd, uninspired, hackneyed direction, this dramatic balls-up takes amazing, incendiary subject matter and murders it with misdirected key performances and truly abysmal writing. Comparing it to "Blue Murder" or other superior Australian crime material like "Police Crop" or "Scales of Justice" is like comparing a feces sandwich to a salmon steak. On top of the terrible performances by good actors such as Vince Colosimo and Kevin Harrington, the feeble, MTV-style stylistics are crucified further by a wrong-headed music track and an editing structure that mistakes style for substance. It is a depressing experience seeing such potentially powerful and rich subject matter destroyed by collective indecision and ineptitude. The violence is watered down to the point where it has no impact and the frequent nudity simply underscores the major missteps that contributed to this farce. Essentially, this is "Home and Away with Guns", so proceed with zero expectations. Director Tony Tilse should be taken and shot for the crime of dramatic manslaughter.