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This series acquired a past before it got a present: it was halted in mid-production by ABC drama head Penny Chapman, who disliked the design and lighting. The revamp must have worked because the movie-length debut looks very good and sounds even better, with wicked dialogue aplenty from an excellent cast.
Harvey McHugh (dominant newcomer Aaron Blabey) is a bottomrung public servant, loves his mum, goes to confession and would like to follow in the steps of his late father, "15 years in Land Tax, never took a sickie". But in this beady-eyes glare at bureaucracy, Harvey is a magnet for the bizarre. He uncovers scams involving pensions and consumer camel meat, survives a murder attempt and adopts a horse disgraced by a memorable act in front of the princess royal.
Philip Quast, Monica Maughan, Ronald Falk and Daniel Rigney are among others in a blackly amusing 12-part series whose creator, former public servant John Misto, insists contains more fact than fiction. As one who long ago spent a curious time authorising abalone exports for a state department, I take his point.
