by Linda Kay

Directed by: Ben Lewin

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains spoilers for this episode!

Synopsis: The original unaired pilot for this Australian courtroom drama series finds newly appointed Stipendiary Magistrate Michael Aloysius Rafferty (Chris Haywood) arriving in town to take up his position at Manly Local Court where he proves right away that he plans to pass down judgments by following the law while also offering humanitarian solutions.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): The first scene shows Rafferty driving overnight to Sydney with his unnamed calico tabby cat riding along in his combie. He passes a scary looking hitchhiker and comments to the cat that he can spot a guilty face from a mile. He then picks up a female hitchhiker who notes they appear to be far from home. Rafferty explains that he’s off to Sydney so the cat can get the best medical advice. The hitchhiker lights up a marijuana cigarette, offering a toke to Rafferty who refuses. However the smoke makes him sleepy as he drives. The cat can barely be seen in the back of the car but her yowls are quite loud, implying she does not approve of the passenger’s use of certain substances.

The next morning Rafferty is passed out in the van with the cat standing over him.

A traffic warden appears in the windscreen and motions for Rafferty to open the window, which he does once he is sure he has hold of the cat. Rafferty sees a man making deliveries nearby and offers the warden some money to get himself and the cat some milk, possibly mistaking the policeman for a milkman.

Later Rafferty runs into the hitchhiker working in a restaurant and she asks if the cat is responding to treatment all right. He says the cat was just asking about her and would like to see her again. After his first day of work, Rafferty watches himself on television while holding his cat, pointing himself out to his kitty. Afterwards he notes that he is sharing one of the biggest moments of his life with a cat.

Chris Haywood was not available to play the lead role in the series once it was picked up and going forward the role of Rafferty was playing by John Wood with a different cat actor playing the part of his ginger and white tabby cat Rhubarb. We will cover this series in future posts.

Final Mewsings: Cats are not fans of second hand smoke, no matter what kind.

Many thanks to Ben Saddington for letting us know about the cat in this series.

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