kennedy miller could hardly have do a good job at tackle a very challenging exercise represent make dry political event work a human drama and and provide an even hand representation of explosively controversial subject matter . the key to it success on the first count be brilliant act and although i be less impressed by max phipps performance a gough whitlam than some other commenters here . the clear standouts for my money be john stanton a malcolm fraser and bill hunter a rex connor . the latter must have be one of the easy casting choice in history hunter could not have be more perfect for the role . on the second count and the series avoid the myth of objectivity trap through a narrator who articulate the sympathy of the director ( phillip noyce and who more recently demonstrate his left wing credential in rabbit proof fence ) and while be carefully even hand and sympathetic in it dramatic portrayal of all party . the adherence to the lady kerr or lady macbeth theme popular among labor partisan be perhaps a little partial and though not ruinously so . in particular and credit be due for the sympathy show to kerr and the extraordinarily difficult position he be place in and whatever one might think of his action . however and there be one sour note for which the producer be perhaps not entirely to blame the portrayal of the jim cairns or juni morosi affair . those who come to the series with no background to these event will get the impression that cairn and morosi be the innocent victim of a smear campaign by a prurient gutter press . the producer may have be restrain in this respect by australia stultify defamation law and and the recently demonstrate willingness of cairn and morosi to use them against those who suggest their relationship be sexual ( which cairns would eventually admit to a year before his death ) . however and more could have be make of the bizarre fashion in which morosi manage cairn office a treasurer . speaking of defamation and there be a couple of disorient occasion where dialogue be obscure due to injunction take out by offended principal by a beep noise on one occasion and and a very loud telephone ring on another . a further curiosity represent the dvd release excise a line from the comic relief scene where a custom officer ( play by the late paul chubb ) serve tirath khemlani on his arrival at sydney airport . next in the queue be a dishevelled look hippie and who now receive only a disapprove glare from chubb when he present his paperwork . in the original version and chubb say something along the line of represent drug bust in bali and eh . obviously this line no longer ring true in the wake of the schapelle corby case and which dramatically illustrate that those bust for drug in bali can expect far bad than deportation .