By TANIA PHILLIPS
THE Code
ABC TV, Sunday, 8.30pm
IN THE past few weeks it’s been hard to watch the ABC without seeing a promo for the political thriller The Code.
Aunty has been doing her best to make sure that everyone knew it was on – even running an extensive ad for the show an hour out from its premiere (between the news and Doctor Who).
Was she making sure we watched something that they were really proud of, or had a lot of money been sunk in and investments needing to be protected? Being the ABC it was never about ratings.
However just a few minutes into this six-hour series, if the promotion wasn’t about pride, it should have been. For while Anzac Girls failed to live up to the hype it was afforded, The Code was everything it said on the packet.
From the pen of Shelley Birse, whose writing credits include Rush and Wildside, GP, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Satisfaction, Blue Water High and Love is a Four-Letter Word, this is a suspenseful political thriller with a stellar cast that treads new ground. It is nice to see such a powerful piece of television not on pay TV for a change, but out on free-to-air.
Starring Dan Spielman, Ashley Zukerman, Aaron Pedersen, David Wenham, Aden Young, Lucy Lawless, Adam Garcia and Dan Wylie, this intelligent blend of political intrigue and espionage also stars the city of Canberra.
Usually the understudy to Melbourne or Sydney, the nation’s capital shines in this 21st century spy thriller.
Filmed in and around the city, including Parliament House, our nation’s capital is made to look both beautiful and threatening, a sleek modern city where, under its calm facade, lurk plenty of secrets and lies.
The other star is the internet, the main characters are an internet journalist and his high-functioning autistic computer hacker brother. The two become embroiled in something that puts them both in danger.
The use of on-screen graphics (a little reminiscent of the Marvel movie Ironman) is smart and an interesting tool to keep the viewer up with what is happening.
This is fast-paced, sophisticated, well-written and extremely well-acted – Lucy Lawless, as a teacher from the western side of Broken Hill, was almost unrecognisable until a little of her Kiwi accent bled through and both Spielman and Zukerman give outstanding and rather heart-felt performances as the two brothers caught over their heads and out of their depth in something neither can understand yet.
The Code is further proof that the Australian industry is full of amazingly talented and creative people and we really don’t need to rely on reality shows to fill our screens.
– Tania Phillips
