TV Pick of the Week: Killing Time

ROCK BOTTOM: David Wenham acts out Andrew Fraser's fall from grace in <i>Killing Time</i>. Photo / Supplied

In New Zealand, it seems the only real criminals we get to see on telly are on the CCTV footage on Police Ten 7.

In Australia, they've created an entire screen industry from ripped-from-the-headlines stories.

So much so that the arrival of yet another may be greeted with disinterest. Except that Killing Time offers a different spin through Melbourne's underworld.

It's the true-life story of Andrew Fraser, a high-flying lawyer who eventually ended up behind bars for drug trafficking, having picked up a $1000-a-day cocaine habit.

Before his spectacular fall from grace, he'd been the go-to guy for the city's criminal fraternity, as well as the likes of Alan Bond.

The show is named and based on Fraser's book about how his life unravelled. The 10-part drama stars the terrific David Wenham in the lead role, which swings between Fraser's eventual life on the inside in the noughties and how he first made his name from the 80s on.

In the first episode, we see the young and ambitious Fraser bringing in plenty of billable hours to his conservative law firm by representing the local drug-dealing and bikie gang fraternities, to the chagrin of his senior partners and well-to-do family.

New Zealand gets to see the series first as its planned screening across the Tasman late last year was held up because of a court case involving Fraser as a witness.

He gave evidence against former fellow inmate and serial killer Peter Dupas in a case which went to a retrial late last year and resulted in his third murder conviction and consecutive life sentence.

Out of jail since 2006, Fraser is still waiting for a decision on his claim to a $1 million reward for providing police with information that helped convict Dupas.

It's an issue which has been a hot topic in the Australian media, given Fraser's own criminal record and the income he's made from a series of tell-all books, which also touch on police corruption in Victoria.

Having Wenham relive his colourful life on television hasn't been easy, says Fraser. Although given the way his character is portrayed, you suspect he'll enjoy the attention once it screens in Australia.

"I don't think it would be possible to have a more confronting situation than to watch your life unravel before your eyes on TV," Fraser says in the publicity for the show.

"The accuracy of the portrayal of all characters is breathtaking. I might not be proud of what brought me undone, but I am certainly extremely proud of Killing Time."

KILLING TIME

When: Tuesday. 9.30pm
Where: Prime
What: Called to the bar, then locked up behind some

-TimeOut