★★★★★ 0/5

Underbelly: Tell Them Lucifer Was Here

Underbelly is back in business with a serious look at a true crime tale.

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Crims. Cops. Controversy. Acting showcases. The sinister, sometimes glammed-up underworld of society. They’re all hallmarks of the Underbelly brand, and they’re all apparent in Underbelly: Tell Them Lucifer Was Here.

Based on the 1998 murder of two Victorian policemen, Gary Silk and Rod Miller, Underbelly takes another true crime tale steeped in our memory and brings it to life on the small screen. But this time there are subtle shifts in Screentime’s crime brand.

The telemovie is a stand-alone 2 hour tale. Caroline Craig’s narration is absent, save for an opening introduction (there is no new narrator). Montages with driving music are almost non-existent.

In 1998 two masked bandits undertook a series of hits on restaurants in Melbourne, leaving a dire message: “Tell Them Lucifer Was Here.” A police sting known as Operation Hamada was set up to get them. But in the middle of a stakeout, two policemen Gary Silk (Daniel Whyte) and Rod Miller (Paul O’Brien) were killed on a lonely street in Moorabbin.

Victoria Police, which had been reeling from the acquittal of 4 men accused of the 1988 Walsh Street Police Murders, was determined not to see history repeat itself. Det. Insp. Paul Sheridan (Brett Climo), assisted by Det. Sgt. Graham Collins (Jeremy Kewley), was given the full backing of the force (and under Premier Jeff Kennett even that of the State government). Sheridan set up the Lorimer Task Force with a team of detectives including Det. Sgt. Dean Thomas (Todd Lasance). “Remember Walsh Street,” they were told.

A loose description of the vehicle used in the shooting led the force to a working-class man (Greg Stone) and his family.

More suspects including Nik the Russian (Don Hany) are interrogated by police. The young Det. Thomas is ambitious in his desire to solve the mystery.

Sgt. Sheridan is much calmer in his chase, wanting iron-clad evidence that cannot come undone via a skilled defence lawyer. When there is doubt about resolution and all seems futile he insists, “We’re protecting the uniform. The thin blue line between order and chaos.”

But the Lorimer Task Force is unable to bring justice to the families of Silk & Miller, including the widowing Carmel Arthur (Jane Allsop). It drags on for months, even years, to the frustration of Police.

Character actor Stone is outstanding as the surly, smiling bogan who becomes the centre of attention. Together with Jones they echo the dark humour of characters played by Kat Stewart and Gyton Grantley in the first series.

They are contrasted by a measured performance from Climo. Lasance and Kewley are also excellent in supporting roles. Allsop adds the emotional touch to the story by Peter Gawler. A cameo from Age journalist John Silvester (who co-wrote the Leadbelly book) will amuse.

The telemovie is tautly directed by Shawn Seet.

Due to a pending legal case in New South Wales there will be some minor changes to the version that airs in that state.

While Lucifer has few links to the organised crime of the earlier series, it stands in its own right. It feels like the Producers have consciously opted for a more serious, sobering approach than episodes renowned for style above content.

Two more telemovies will follow. Fingers crossed they are as good as this one.

Underbelly: Tell Them Lucifer Was Here airs 8:30pm Monday on Nine.

NB: due to a pending legal case some comments may be edited.

42 Responses

  1. brilliant! the best Underbelly yet. I am still sitting here getting over it. Very sad but brilliant. What a disgusting revolting family they are! shocked to think such vulgar bogans are still breathing in our City! scary.

    The actor who played the rotted tooth bogan killer Father! Brilliant! he made the movie. really sad for the police man’s wife and child. All very sad.

  4. Tonite’s episode was fantastic. Another great installment in the Underbelly saga.
    However, it does need the narration of Caroline Craig.
    Keep up the good work Chanel 9
    Five Stars ***** 🙂

  5. @Secret squirrel – your post is exactly how I feel about the franchise.

    Really enjoyed “Lucifer” – solid, serious and didn’t drag. The dubbed names stuck out a bit but didn’t detract from the film. Hopefully the standard is maintained for the next two films. If so I might just give the series proper another chance when “Razor” arrives.

  6. We are watching Underbelly, Lucifer was here, and my husband and i think it is a great. The acting is brilliant, thoroughly enjoying it. It is a shame it is true. Feel sorry for the policemens families. Well done.

  9. I’m not disappointed to see the T&A go, I am disappointed to see the narration go though, Caroline Craig is a good actress and she’s done a damn good job on all 3 Underbelly series, I hope she returns for Razor.

  10. i demand nipples!!!! and the occasional glint of a hairy brain. whats the use of underbooby if there are no gratuitous sex scenes, oh thats right. a narrative story line good acting. curses!

  13. The one benefit I can see from the telemovie format is that it allows the show to streamline the story. While the second and third season meandered all over the place in search of a point – at least the telemovies will tell one coherent story.

    Along with Razor, let’s hope these get the Underbelly franchise back on track after two dud seasons.

  17. I enjoyed the first Underbelly, started watching the second but couldn’t tolerate the ham acting from some, and thought “Nup” for the third. However, this seems like it might be a return to the look and feel of the first so I’ll give it a go.

  18. The book about this case “One down, one missing” is really very good. It’s written by one of the investigators and from memory a journalist. I look forward to watching this and I haven’t watched underbelly since I undertook my one man Matt Newton protest for series 2.

  19. Angry Face I assume FixPLay will just be the NSW version.

    I am looking forward to this movie. It was a gripping tale down here in Victoria particularly following Walsh Street. It is good to see the Underbelly franchise returning to real stories rather than the largely fictionalised stories in the 2nd and 3rd mini-series.

    Whilst I expect there will be less gratuitous sex, I expect very strong language. Reading the transcripts of police evidence after the trial showed the culprits struggled to complete a sentence without a 4 letter word.

  20. That’s quite a complimentary review David.
    After a good start I found the Underbelly series nosedived badly and wasn’t going to watch any more of them, but you may have convinced me to give it a go.

    MInd you, you also rave about MasterChef, so I consider your opinion occasionally suspect 😉

  21. What is the point in airing a censored version in NSW when someone outside NSW will just upload the full version to the internet anyway? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have the censored version in every state? That way there would be no full version to be leaked.

    I wonder how they’ll handle this with their catchup service Fixplay? IP addresses are not accurate enough for them to accurately tell what state someone is from. They can’t just geoblock NSW viewers and show them a different version, because some people outside NSW could have a NSW IP address, and some people inside NSW will have a non-NSW IP address.

  22. Yawn. But hype will win again and people will watch and say they love it no matter how bad it is. It’s almost uncool to not love Underbelly and everyone wants to be cool so they love it.

  25. It seems Channel 9 think that they can make some show and attach the “Underbelly” brand name to it and it will be a success!! It’s overkill…that’s what it is! Ratings went down for the last series and I think that they will continue to decline. I’m bored of Underbelly and I won’t be watching!

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