Noice

This artice was first publshed in the Age on October 2, 2004

It came as no surprise to me that James Spader won the Emmy for Best Actor in a drama series for his role as Alan Shore in the revamped The Practice (Channel 7, 9.30pm, Monday and Tuesday). I've never been a fan of the show, but Spader is always compelling as you see this week when he defends a young drug dealer up on a murder charge and, despite his reputation as a cold bastard, is unable to hide the fact that he cares. I just wish producer David E. Kelley could resist the temptation to have Shore sexually harass a woman each week. Kelly's straining against what he clearly sees as political correctness has felt like a nervous tick for years now, and is, presumably why The Practice has been losing fans. This season should get them back.

I find it curious that a primetime drama like The Practice can dredge up a range of sexual perversions far too tedious to list here but a relatively chaste lesbian kiss on Neighbours (Channel 10, weeknights, 6.30 p.m.) can cause such an uproar. Given that there are numerous studies that suggest there is an increased suicide risk among gay teenagers, presumably because they are frightened and ashamed of people's reaction, I can only applaud Neighbours for not treating gay teenagers like freaks (and of course, for keeping a canny eye on the ratings). Shame on the lobby groups who try to insist that it is being gay that is dangerous, rather than homophobia.

And let's face it, Lana and Sky were just trying out something that was noice, unusual and different, as Kath does in the meat freezer with Kel when the new series of Kath and Kim returns (ABC, Thursday, 8.30pm). Kath and Kel are enjoying a vigorous resurgence in their sex life thanks to a second honeymoon in Rotorua, though first they have to get rid of Kath's first husband, Gary. Brett (Peter Rowsthorn) is my new favourite, becoming a wonderfully iconic figure of the quiet underachiever. Brett's keen to do overtime now he's got young Epponnee Rae and an even more demented Kim on his hand. And as for Sharon - well let's just say she's getting alot of pash rash. All in all it's a joy.

What makes Channel 10's Saturday Night of Crime unusual and different is the sheer number of shows screening back to back - all of them good. For the devoted, the timetable is Monk (7.30pm), The Handler, the new Joe Pantoliano vehicle, (8.30pm), Hack (9.30 pm), The Shield (10.30 p.m.) and, for the real die hards, the new series of the long running NYPD (11.30 p.m.). The Handler is not as impressive as Pantaliano's last series, the Emmy Award winning The Sopranos, but that show sets an impossibly high standard. Like Stingers, The Handler is about agents who work undercover, and Pantaliano plays Joe Renato, an FBI agent in charge of the men and women in the field - though next week we see him get his hands dirty and go undercover himself. It is disconcerting to see Pantoliano playing a guy on the right side of the law (well, kind of) and the actor seems to have taken on a physical transformation to make him look less weasel like and more trustworthy. His young trainee Lily (Anne Belknap) is a really terrific character. This week Darnell (Hill Harper) and Heather (Lola Glaudini) go undercover to infiltrate a band of bank robbers and Lily poses as a waitress to get the goods on a dirty judge in a case that gets personal for Joe. It's not exactly noice, but it's extremely watchable TV.

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