February 07 2011
TV Shooting
Away from puzzles, I’m a freelance journalist. More occasional these days, tied up with wordplay of varied kinds, but one of the best writing gigs I was thrown dealt with murder.
This is the story of Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rod Miller, two officers engaged in a restaurant stakeout back in 1998. But things went wrong, the duo going to detain a Hyundai in Moorabbin, only to fall victim to a surprise attack.
I cowrote One Down One Missing back in 2003, with Senior Constable Joe D’Alo, part of the murder investigation team codenamed Taskforce Lorimer. The case is staggering on several levels: the twists, the false trails, the heroes, the chilling discoveries.
As an outsider with a turn of phrase, it was a privilege to narrate such an epic case; Joe singled out my writing from an Inside Sport yarn about sailing on a Hobart race. Ten years on, I still can’t drive past the many secret landmarks of Melbourne without thinking of Lorimer moments. It’s that kind of story, and I can only hope tonight’s telemovie: Tell Them Lucifer Was Here goes someway close to capturing that enthrallment.
To my knowledge, you won’t notice any mention of the book in the credits, as this Underbelly franchise sought to work apart from the One Down version. Curious I know, and I must confess to being intrigued to see how the film tells the story, tiptoeing around the many vignettes and intimacies that only Joe’s direct involvement can offer the reader. Or to see how far the story strays from the actual case, if at all.
With a few sub-judice tweaks required in NSW, Lucifer is slated for 8.30 tonight on Channel 9, logged as the first in a sporadic series of one-off Underbelly case-files. Whatever the outcome, my thoughts remain with the Silk and Miller families, and I look forward to watching the story come alive. Again. If it’s anything like the original, prime your TiVo.
Comments
Anthony Douglas — 16 February at 10:37PM
I watched. And haven't read. What did you think of it?
Olivia D'Alo — 10 March at 01:37PM
Saw Joe's name here and there but he was replaced.
Some make believe scenes in the show but it wasn't far off the book!
DA — 10 March at 08:20PM
Good to hear from you, Olivia. Regards to all.