Crownies

Crownies is an Australian television Dramedy series that first screened on ABC1 in 2011. The series involves a group of solicitors fresh from law school, working with Crown Prosecutors, or 'Crownies', who are the public prosecutors in the legal system of Australia, working for the Office of the Department of Public Prosecution. The series is filmed in Sydney, New South Wales, but the story is set in a (fictional) unnamed state (although several Sydney suburbs are mentioned by name).


 * All Lesbians Want Kids
 * Apologises a Lot: Richard is constantly apologising "profusely" to Judge Walker, usually because he's brought in uncooperative witnesses. She lampshades it in one episode, while she's forcing him to copy by hand a list of prior convictions that he'd given her without a chance to properly format them, while dealing with a sprained wrist. He then informs her that his wrist was sprained in a bike accident on the way to her lecture two nights ago. She reveals that the ambulance that picked him up also dented her Prius. He apologises. Profusely.
 * Artistic Licence Law: Tatum, while we appreciate your... zeal in simply making shit up on an iPad and attempting to pass that off as evidence, the fact that it works (despite the very very well founded objection from defence counsel) in open court says rather bad things about the Local Court of New South Wales.
 * Asshole Victim: In the
 * In a non-homicide example, the climate change-denier who was punched in the face by a scientist that he had been harassing for months. Richard's sympathies clearly lie with the accused, though he still manages to get him found guilty.
 * Bed Trick: A borderline case. A woman dresses up very provocatively for a blind date set up by a friend, with someone whose been told is an attractive dentist called Phil. Around the time she's expecting him, an average-looking campaign worker who has been going door-to-door stops by. Before he can get a word in, she asks "Are you Phil?" Distracted by the Sexy, he impulsively answers "Yes." She proceeds to sleep with him, even though he's nowhere near as attractive as she was led to believe Phil is, and never makes an effort to pretend to be the man she was expecting beyond lying about his name - the implication is that she never gave him a chance to talk after that. When the real Phil shows up, she reports the campaigner to the police and then to the Crown Prosecution Serivce. Though Richard acknowledges the man's actions could constitute rape by fraud, most of the characters are just dumbfounded by the fact that the woman slept with him for no reason beyond "He said he was Phil." Whether or not the man was charged is left unrevealed by the end of the episode.
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: Quite a few of the more senior staff members have... quirks. This does not affect their competence in the law generally.
 * Butt Monkey: Richard.
 * Conviction by Contradiction: A teacher accused of having sex with a student claims that a note the student had in her possession was written to his wife years earlier. Conveniently, the note happens to mention a brand of alcopop that didn't exist at the time.
 * Creepy Child: Max Gardiner.
 * Embarrassing Tattoo: In a Ripped from the Headlines example, one of the minor cases involved a tattooist who tattooed a giant penis on a friend's back while they were both drunk.
 * Failed Attempt At Drama: Richard angrily confronts the tennant he has been trying to evict. The Crowning Moment of Awesome is a little diluted by his riding off on a bicycle a moment later.
 * The Internet Is for Porn: Tracey unwisely clicks on a link Tatum sends her. She ends up opening a porn site that she can't close down and which reappears every time she starts up her computer. She ends up smashing her computer so she can get a new one.
 * "It's Not Rape If You Enjoyed It": Discussed by two of the prosecutors in the first episode.
 * Mafia Princess: Tatum. Throughout high school she was known as "the gangster's daughter".
 * Mistaken for Gay: Tatum initially assumes that Richard is gay. Admittedly, his expertise regarding wedding dresses does not help.
 * Mistaken for Pregnant: Tracey finds Janet's sonagram on Erin's desk and leaps to the wrong conclusion regarding Erin.
 * Office Golf: Ben does this.
 * Parking Payback: In the first episode, Ben's grandfather parks in an able bodied surfer who parked in a disabled spot. This one does not end well, as Ben's grandfather ultimately recieves a beating that results in his death.
 * Professionals Do It on Desks: In the first episode, Ben and Julie sneak into the office after the Christmas party to have sex on Ben's boss's desk.
 * Throwing Down the Gauntlet: Richard does this to Tatum by pulling off a pair of imaginary gloves.
 * Throw the Dog a Bone: Richard gets two in episode nine: he finally impresses a judge who he has a terrible history with (mainly because of uncooperative witnesses) to the point where the accused is sentenced to 20-27 years (Richard's goal was 25, for the accused's impulsive murder of a postman, but the judge added two years for tampering with the mail). This is quickly followed by a passionate sexual encounter in his office chair with the psychiatrist whose testimony got the aforementioned conviction. (Though this does cause a hitch when it ruins Conrad's suit and Tatum comes close to letting slip that he's not really gay).
 * What Did I Do Last Night?: Erin in the first episode.
 * Worth It: Richard gets Steve Coburn, a prominent climate change professor, found guilty of assaulting James Watt, a skeptic who had been harassing him for months, showing up at all of his lectures and repeating the same fallacious arguments against global warming. Dr. Coburn gets a $1000 fine and declares that it was worth the satisfaction.