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Clip description
A prosecutor (Kenric Hudson) interrogates robbery and murder suspect George Lister (Owen Weingott) in court.
Curator’s notes
This courtroom scene grounds the story in a particular moment in Australia’s history and makes clear the title, ‘The Decimal Point’. The prosecutor suggests one of Lister’s motives for his crime is the impending introduction of decimal currency in Australia. Australia’s switchover from pounds to dollars took place on 14 February 1966 and the episode is set in 1964.
Concluding each episode in court was a feature of early Homicide episodes that was later dropped. These scenes probably owe something to an earlier Crawford and HSV7 production, Consider Your Verdict (1960–64). Contemporary police procedural dramas that conclude most episodes in the courtroom include the US series Law and Order (1990–current).
By contemporary standards, the scene is visually quite plain and static, with a barely visible set, no establishing shots and little variation in its camera angles. It is dialogue driven, pitting a seasoned prosecutor against a wily criminal, and inviting the audience to consider the tactics each is using in an attempt to come out on top.
