This dense, complex, and compelling Australian legal drama stars Marta Dusseldorp as Janet King, a Senior Crown Prosecutor who returns to work from maternity leave and immediately becomes embroiled in a controversial case involving a high-ranking senior police officer tangled up in international child pornography. She butts heads with the Chief Superintendent (Vince Colosimo) over a murder case that lacks conclusive evidence (she is proven correct by new evidence) and then finds herself targeted by a vindictive judge—and her family terrorized by a car bomb—when her investigation into the pornography ring leads back to Australian police and judicial officials. In a clever dramatic turn, King bends the rules to take charge of a case that she is too personally involved in to be objective, demanding police action on her hunches and theories—the very behavior she criticized in others earlier. Meanwhile, the show delves into office politics and professional sabotage in the workplace, the collision of prosecutors and the police over the prosecution of crimes, and the media obsession over unverified scandals, all the while King balances work with her new responsibilities as a mother of twins. Intelligent and inventive, Janet King plays more like a miniseries (with its interwoven cases) than a traditional legal drama. Presenting all eight episodes from the 2014 first season, extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette and a photo gallery. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)
Janet King—Series 1: The Enemy Within
Acorn, 3 discs, 474 min., not rated, DVD: $49.99 Volume 31, Issue 5
Janet King—Series 1: The Enemy Within
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