'On any single day, Cleaver Greene is described as many things. Whilst his ex-wife may call him 'unreliable", his son will call him "a mate". To his learned friends at the bar table he is "a real wag", to his jurors he is "hilarious", and to most judges he is "an outrage". To the Tax Office, he is "a defendant", to a certain brothel owner "a legend", and to his former cocaine dealer "a tragic loss".
'The clients he loves the most - the cases that thrill him - are those that appear to be utterly hopeless. There's something about being on the wrong side of conventional wisdom that feels right to him, be it at the bar table or the dinner table.
'He will do whatever it takes to defend and save life's truly lost souls. The big sinners. Its drug lords. Its cannibals. Its bestialites. And at the same time, he will struggle to save himself, to stop himself falling back into the abyss that has characterised most of his self-destructive adult life thus far.
'Despite his own hopelessness, his wit and charm have won him hordes of companions over the years. Most nights of the week, there is no shortage of invitations: dinner with a judge at the RMC (His Honour pays), or with some drug dealers in Chinatown (Manos pays), or with some of his copper mates at the Matador (no one pays).
'Any gaps in his diary will inevitably be filled by either all night sessions in chambers preparing for court or similarly lengthy sessions at his favourite brothel, simply referred to by those in the know as "the Club" (here, Cleaver is more than happy to open his own wallet). He tends to wake up bruised. Physically. Emotionally. Spiritually. Usually it's a combination thereof. He spends a nano-second wondering how his life came to this - living in a studio above a café in the Cross, without his wife and son, in love with a prostitute, defending hopeless cases. Then he gets up, puts on his dressing gown and a pair of brogues and goes downstairs for a coffee. Then it's out into the world - onto the battleground that is Cleaver Greene's day.'
Source: ABC Television website, http://www.abc.net.au/tv/
Sighted: 1 November 2010.
Rake
Peter Duncan
,
Peter Tolan
,
( dir. Cherie Nowlan
et. al. )agent
United States of America (USA)
:
Fedora Entertainment
Essential Media and Entertainment
Sony Pictures Television
,
2014
8287027
2014
series - publisher
film/TV
An American re-make of the Australian series of the same name. The re-make was not popular with audiences, and no further episodes were made after the initial thirteen.
For a full list of episodes, see Film Details.
R v Murray
Australia
:
ABC Television
,
2010
Z1905499
2010
single work
film/TV
'In episode one, Cleaver's lover/friend/confident Missy — a high class call girl — has left without a trace, and tax lawyer David Potter, is in hot pursuit. Scarlet, his best friend Barney's wife, confides in him that she wants to leave home, and his 15-year-old son Fuzz draws him into a conspiracy to cover up his activities with his new girlfriend. But on the work front, Cleaver is presented with a case he can't resist — to defend a cannibal.'
Source: Australian Television Information Archive (http://www.australiantelevision.net/) (Sighted: 05/12/2012)
Australia : ABC Television , 2010
R v Chandler
Australia
:
ABC Television
,
2010
Z1824629
2010
single work
film/TV
Australia
:
ABC Television
,
2010
R v. Floyd
Australia
:
ABC Television
,
2012
6487594
2012
single work
film/TV
Australia
:
ABC Television
,
2012
Rake [Series 3, Episode 1]
Australia
:
ABC Television
,
2014
8282855
2014
single work
film/TV
Australia
:
ABC Television
,
2014
Rake [Series 3, Episode 5]
Australia
:
ABC Television
,
2014
7625346
2014
single work
film/TV
'One man's meat is another man's misery. Cleaver is retained for a low rent tawdry sex offence. Royal Commissions that have decimated David's front bench mean that even barrel-bottom Cleaver Greene is getting briefs.'
Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 23/7/2014)
Australia : ABC Television , 2014
Rake [Series 4, Episode 7]
Australia
:
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
,
2016
10253194
2016
single work
film/TV
Australia
:
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
,
2016
'If politics has indeed become so absurd it's putting satirists out of business, then spare a thought for Richard Roxburgh.' (Introduction)
'In its fifth and final season, Rake’s Cleaver Greene is a key player in the Australian Senate – and the ideal anti-hero for the Trump era.' (Introduction)
'Achievements by the ABC to significantly increase levels of local drama, comedy, documentary, Indigenous and children’s content, as well as expand partnerships with independent production houses and creative talent, have in recent years been reversed.' (Introduction)
