Written, produced and directed by Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy and Rob Sitch

?Current affairs is not about facts. Facts are a pain in the arse ? they get in the way of a good story.?

This is a defining statement from executive producer Brian Thompson (played by the late Bruno Lawrence) that underscores this landmark comedy series that goes oh-so-close to rivalling Yes Minister as the greatest ?reality? comedy/satire series of all time. The fact that it is an Australian series, and is produced by a relatively unknown group of individuals (who have continued their success) is a testament to the talent involved.

It also reinforces the need for a strong (fully financed) and independent broadcaster like the ABC that has the courage and innovation to promote and encourage such talent.

Rob Sitch plays Mike Moore ? a lily-livered, self-centred worm who is blind to all but his own ego ? who is the presenter of a fictitious current affairs show entitled Frontline. The production ?team? is staffed by characters covering a whole range of industry oddballs ? glory seeking and ignorant presenters; hard-nosed reporters who have lost all sense of humanity; cloying office workers keen to oil the celebrities? narcissism; plus die-hard support production and administrative staff ? all overseen by a cynical and hard-nosed executive producer. Some of this crew have the moral fibre to display some ?humanity?; but the vast majority are blind to simple morality due to their egos, that are driven by the sense of personal glory (or better paid jobs!) that this industry engenders. It is a wonderful microcosm of values ? and so believable!

Series I is a neat, self-contained set of 13 episodes that culminates in an hilarious Logies Night. The episodes are:

? The Souffl? Rises

? The Desert Angel

? City of Fear

? She?s Got the Look

? The Siege

? Playing the Ego Card

? We Ain?t Got Dames

? The Art of Gentle Persuasion

? The Invisible Man

? Add Sex and Stir

? Smaller Fish to Fry

? Judge and Jury

? This Night of Nights

As the slick provides synopses for each episode within the cover, I will not dwell on the storylines. All I need to say is that the producers pulled no punches in making the series topical ? a number of the subplots had strong allusions to actual events at the time of release that some return viewers might still remember.

The series is so cynical ? yet serious ? in a weird sense. Public servants who have seen Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister are in a peculiarly strong position to see the roots of the storyline behind the comedy ? a strong undertone of reality that sharpens the effect immensely. ?This could well have happened? is an immediate emotion generated from each episode. As a former ?circus? member myself, I could envisage all aspects of the plotline to be ?oh-so-true!? Frontline clearly delivers the same hidden message to those people who are the slightest bit cynical of the commercial networks? current affairs programs (and I?m sure that ?Aunty? ABC is unlikely to be ?squeaky clean? either!)

The series is filled with cameos from well-known entertainment and political figures who appear under their own names (brave in itself!). These people all appear quite happy to add to the overall ?reality? of the series and on the whole are quite capable (I never thought I would enjoy an appearance by John Hewson in anything!).

THE EXTRAS

There are no extra features on the package, which is a little unfortunate for such a groundbreaking series. Interviews with, or biographies, of the creators of this series would have been quite intriguing; as would be the inspiration behind the series itself.

CONCLUSION

Frontline ranks alongside Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister as one of the greatest comedy series based on an occupation or industry of all time. The series combines the cynicism, callousness and egotism of the characters; combined with the morality of ?chequebook journalism? that one has always imagined existed in the current affairs ?game?. The only ?losers? in this series are ones with any degree of moral fabric ? yet, occasionally, they are allowed to win the odd battle ? this evens out the plot outcomes quite satisfactorily. At the same time, the ?nasty? taste left by some of the actions of the Frontline team linger well after viewing.

One of the principal beauties of this series is that it is a complete stand-alone package ? it doesn?t leave viewers up-in-the-air awaiting (or needing) the next series; though I, for one, can?t wait for the next release ? there are a couple of episodes that I regard as my favourites! The series seems as topical as it was ten years ago ? those who saw it on its initial release will get as much enjoyment from reliving the experience, as will the inevitable new devotees this DVD will create.

Frontline is highly recommended to all comedy lovers, conspiracy theorists, and followers of ?reality? shows alike. This is top shelf comedy with an interesting and justifiable dark edge. It is world class. I could be really cynical and say ?Forget that it?s Australian ? it?s REALLY GOOD!?