"Underbelly" (2008) TV series

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot Keywords:

Female Nudity | Murder

Awards:

11 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Caroline Craig	...	Jacqui James / ... (26 episodes, 2008-2009)
Rodger Corser	...	Steve Owen (13 episodes, 2008)
Gyton Grantley	...	Carl Williams (13 episodes, 2008)
Kat Stewart	...	Roberta Williams (13 episodes, 2008)
Roy Billing	...	Aussie Bob Trimbole (13 episodes, 2009)
Anna Hutchison	...	Alison Dine (13 episodes, 2009)
Asher Keddie	...	Liz Cruickshank (13 episodes, 2009)
Matthew Newton	...	Terry 'Mr Asia' Clark (13 episodes, 2009)
Peter Phelps	...	Joe Messina (13 episodes, 2009)
Frankie J. Holden	...	Garry Butterworth (12 episodes, 2008)
Jamie Cohen	...	Adam Rith (11 episodes, 2008)
Peter O'Brien	...	George Freeman (11 episodes, 2009)

Also Known As:

Underbelly Uncut (Australia) (rerun title)
Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities (Australia) (second season title)
Underbelly: The Golden Mile (Australia) (third season title)
Underbelly: The Mr Asia Story (New Zealand: English title) (second season title)

Runtime:

Australia:60 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:MA (some episodes) | New Zealand:R16 (season 1) | UK:18 | New Zealand:R18 (Season 2)

Filming Locations:

Australian Technology Park, Eveleigh, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)

Trivia:

Just days before its debut, a judge ordered the first series 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' trial ended on May 30, 2008, Tony Mokbel has returned to Australia and faces trial on several charges, so the ban continues in Victoria. In September 2008, Channel 9 was allowed to air only the first five episodes of the series in Victoria, but blurred the face of Tony Mokbel's character, suppressed his name, and edited several scenes related to the character and crimes. The full first series and its DVDs will likely not be released in Victoria until Mokbel's trial is complete.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Modern cars and license plates feature in some of the first episodes that were set in the mid-1990s.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Hole in the Wall: Actors vs Reality Stars (#1.5)" (2008/II)

The start of an epic saga.

OK, Underbelly is banned in part of Australia(Victoria) and I'm not going into any of the details, so just forget the hype surrounding this show and look at it for what it is.

For starters, it's only the beginning. This is a 13 part epic saga, which so far only 2 of the parts were played, and I'm already hearing a lot of complaints about this show that there either wasn't enough violence or that it just didn't lived up to the hype. Well I say those people probably don't follow the news, because if you knew anything about the past 10 years of crime in the Melbourne Underworld you would not only want to see more after just 1 episode, but you would have a little more respect and at least let the series play out before you start firing guns prematurely like a mad Alphonse Gangitano. Speaking of which, actor Vince Colosimo was outstanding in his role of the prince of Lygon street. If anyone says otherwise they should go back to watching "Home and Away", because they obviously cannot appreciate a brilliant Australian actor when they see one. You also have a tremendous ensemble of many established Australian actors with a few fresh faces.

With only seeing the pilot and with my knowledge of what is about to happen, I know this is going to be an epic saga and will be remembered I hope for being a gem in goldmines of the Australian film industry, and not for its controversy. Of course, so long as the poor Victorians get to see it. Lastly I won't spoil anything so long as you watch the news, so we should all know Carl Williams is the last man standing in the end. But right now he is just the "Underbelly".