6.8 /10 1 Votes
Written by John Banas Original language(s) English First episode date 17 August 2011 Network Three Cast Holly Shanahan | 6.7/10 IMDb Country of origin New Zealand No. of series 1 Final episode date 21 September 2011 Genre Drama | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Directed by Mike Smith, Ric Pellizzeri Starring Dan Musgrove
Thijs Morris
Jamie Irvine
Holly Shanahan Similar Underbelly, Underbelly: The Golden M, Underbelly: Razor, Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, Underbelly: Squizzy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Underbelly NZ: Land of the Long Green Cloud is a six-part New Zealand television mini-series. The series originally aired from 17 August 2011 to 21 September 2011. It was the first Underbelly series to be created outside of Australia, and depicts events prior to and concurrent with Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities.
Contents
Plot
The series is an account of the rise and fall of New Zealand's 'Mr. Asia', Marty Johnstone (Dan Musgrove), who built the country's first ever drug cartel, the Syndicate. Set between 1972 and 1980, it traces Johnstone's development from small-time crook to international playboy with a global drug empire, and how he became the architect of his own demise. Closely aligned with Johnstone's tale is that of Detective Constable Ben Charlton (Jamie Irvine), who realises that changing criminal tactics will necessitate drastic alterations in New Zealand policing. Charlton also acts as the narrator of the series.
The six-part narrative can be seen as a prequel of sorts to the Australian series Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, which focuses on fellow Kiwi and Syndicate member, Terry Clark. However, events in the two shows do overlap, as both cover the period 1976–1980. Characters that appear in both shows include Clark, Johnstone, Andy Maher and Karen Soich, but none of the actors reprise their roles in the New Zealand series.
Production and airing
On 21 December 2010, New Zealand on Air announced it would contribute almost NZD$3.9 million to TV3 and production company Screentime for six one-hour episodes of Underbelly NZ, saying that the Marty Johnstone story was "a dramatic part of New Zealand's history - in some ways the end of innocence for us and our police force."
The mini-series began filming in April 2011, around the same time as Underbelly: Razor. All six episodes were scripted by screenwriter John Banas, known for his work on Australian crime shows such as City Homicide and Blue Heelers. Mike Smith directed four of the episodes, while series producer Ric Pellizzeri took the director's chair for the remaining two.
The show was originally set to debut on 10 August 2011 at 8:30pm, but NZ On Air asked TV3 to move its timeslot to avoid clashing with another local drama, Nothing Trivial, on rival channel TVNZ. Eventually, the show was moved to 9:30pm and broadcast delayed by a week.
On 22 September 2011, a day after the TV broadcast ended, the complete series was released as a two-disc set on DVD.
Cast and characters
Underbelly NZ: Land of the Long Green Cloud features 12 regular cast members, with others who recur through the series.
Dan Musgrove stars as the drug dealer, Marty Johnstone, also known as 'Mr. Asia', and Thijs Morris plays his right-hand man, Andy Maher. On the police side, Detective Constable Ben Charlton, the narrator of the series, is played by Jamie Irvine, and Holly Shanahan portrays his colleague, Detective Constable Caroline Derwent. Other members of the regular cast include Andrew Laing as DSS Laurie Mackenzie, Calvin Tuteao as Diamond Jim Shepherd, Damien Avery as Det. 'Goose' Gosling, Richard Knowles as DS 'Ding' Bell, Edith Poor as Bonnie Marie Jones, Gary Young as Chinese Jack, Joel Tobeck as Gary Majors, and Stelios Yiakmis as Big Ari.
The recurring cast includes:
Critical reception
The series was generally well received in New Zealand. Chris Philpott of Stuff.co.nz called it "an interesting, albeit familiar, story focusing on a riveting character on a fascinating journey, that was performed and produced to an extremely high standard." However, some criticised the show for emphasising style over substance, sacrificing character development for a fast paced story.