lyninbyron I cannot wait for more of Rake! One of Australia's best comedy-drama-rampages through our bizarre legal system yet. I fear some of the storylines could be too close to the truth. Writer Andrew Knight is brilliant and I love his work. Congratulations to all involved and keep'em coming. I'll be glued to the Tv!

spokanegolfer It's a show that revolves around the life of Cleaver Green. Cleaver is an immature, drug addict, that lives for the moment! He has it all and if he could pull his tickety boo together, he could be well off. Instead he blows everything, partying his head off and waking up, black out drunk, sometimes days later. He speaks his mind and is quite easily annoyed by issues around him. He is an attorney by profession and turns the courtroom into a circus. I find myself hating him, yet rooting for him to win the case! If I ever got caught smuggling blood diamonds in my luggage, I would call Mr. Green for counsel. Cleaver evolves at some point in the 4th season. He plans for the future! He wants others to be happy and cares about what is happening in the world. In the end, he runs for politics as a Senator and will be a grand representative!

scutfargus-1 The lower rating is for the constant swearing (which most of the characters do). The protagonist, Cleaver Greene, is the worst offender of all; but based upon his character, this is what one might expect. Sometimes, a script filled with obscenities and profanities simply means that the writers lack imagination; but that is not the case here. In the original blurb, the emphasis is on the cases which Cleaver takes on; but the real emphasis of the show is upon the self- destructive Cleaver Green and those people associated with him. The cases, for the most part, are secondary to the characters. Whereas, Cleaver's actions and motivations tend to make sense; some of the secondary characters sometimes do things simply to "drama up" the plot. I have seen this occur in many Australian dramas. It is as if the writer decides, "What we need right now is a good adulterous relationship; followed by a lot of drama." Sometimes it works; and sometimes it feels quite forced. This is not to say that the series is poorly written; because the writing is generally very good, with the reservations noted. Whereas Cleaver is not always the most likable or sympathetic of characters, the actor who plays him does a tremendous job, so that, even if you sometimes don't like Cleaver, you still have concern for the things which he gets himself into (and the majority of his problems are self-caused). I have nearly completed the 3rd season; and it is quite funny (but it requires knowledge of the characters to appreciate most of the humor; so, it requires you watching the first two seasons). When humor comes from the characters and their actions and dialogue, that is generally the best humor. So far, the 3 seasons have their own story arcs, but without them seeing too artificial (as sometimes story arcs can seem). For those who are in it for the sex scenes, if memory serves there is no nudity or so little that I cannot recall it. Most of the Australian dramas are like this. If I were to guess, most of the top stars have it written into their contract not to do nudity. This is not a program I would allow children of any age to watch; but it is entertaining. It is certainly not what you would share in a church group.

rven3 The news that Series 4 of "Rake" is to begin on Australian free-to-air TV on 19th May this year has brought me out of the cupboard to comment on this series as a whole (so far.)Brilliant doesn't even begin to describe it. The names Peter Duncan and Andrew Knight as co-writers of much of the first 3 series' is generally a recipe for classy, tight writing. The concept, the delivery, the moral ambiguities, the lines nudged and then stepped over - it is all very, very Australian, and so typically modern Australia is it that perhaps it should not have been re-made with a US cast. The cast of this is universally brilliant, with Richard Roxburgh receiving a special mention from me, because any other actor may not have been able to walk that fine line between (almost) law-abiding citizen and absolute rogue, coming out after all his scrapes and gaol terms as someone we are prepared to forgive (almost) anything. The writing and acting of Cleaver Greene's relationship with his son is worth a special mention, in particular the odd turn this relationship takes in S.3 - just classic.I'll make mention also of the subject matter in Ep 5 of S.1, where Sam Neill guest stars with Heather Mitchell. It's the "family dog" episode, and on first viewing I thought, 'did I just see that, or did I imagine it?'. According to Charles Waterstreet, whose experiences as a Barrister in Sydney provided the inspiration for the character of Cleaver Greene, the case of the stolen DVD made by the good doctor and his wife was based upon a real life case. This is an instance of real life being far more outrageous than fiction.I can give this series - so far, at least - no less that 10/10.