Rafferty's Rules was an Australian television drama series which ran from 1987 to 1990 on the Seven Network. Rafferty's Rules was one of the first programs undertaken by the Seven Network's then new in-house drama unit, going into production in May 1985 as "a 15-part courtroom drama". The program had started out as a pilot episode, recorded in early 1984 with the actor Chris Haywood in the lead role. When the pilot episode was remounted later in 1984, Chris Haywood wasn't available and the lead role was re-cast to John Wood. This second recording was eventually broadcast as the program's first episode.
Rafferty's Rules (Season 3)
Nine Tenths of the Law (Episode 1)
Writer: Tim Gooding
Air date: 1989-02-04
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: Michael wrestles with the concept of possession after the discovery of Aboriginal remains creates a conflict of ownership between the state and the Indigenous community.
Freedom (Episode 2)
Writer: John Upton
Air date: 1989-02-11
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: Michael is caught between a rock and a hard place when he is forced to decide the fate of a young boy whose doctors believe is sick, but whose parents are refusing further tests on religious grounds.
Those Who Can (Episode 3)
Writer: David Allen
Air date: 1989-02-18
Runtime: 47 min
Overview: Fulvio learns that his teacher and idol isn't quite the perfect magistrate that he thought after he takes over when Michael falls ill.
Sense of Duty (Episode 4)
Writer: Chris Roache
Air date: 1989-02-25
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: The courthouse becomes the centre of the fallout from a Secret Intelligence Agency training exercise.
One for the Road (Episode 5)
Writer: Nicholas Langton
Air date: 1989-03-10
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: Gibson faces his past after a series of alcohol-related prosecutions force him to confront the reasons he gave up drinking.
Confessions (Episode 6)
Writer: David Marsh
Air date: 1989-03-17
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: A series of sexual assaults has consequences for the courthouse when the police fit up suspects and Paulyne is attacked in her own home.
Horse Play (Episode 7)
Writer: Chris Peacock
Air date: 1989-03-24
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: Pauline finds that her personal life is mirroring her professional life when her former lover Gavin reappears and announces that he is getting married, just as she is defending a woman who refuses to accept that her marriage is over.
Truth's a Dog (Episode 8)
Writer: Justin Fleming
Air date: 1989-03-31
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: Paulyne accuses an insurance company of racism when they report a Lebanese man to the police after he claims his precious rings were stolen just days after taking out a policy.
The Great Divide (Episode 9)
Writer: Sue Castrique
Air date: 1989-04-07
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: Michael, Paulyne and Gibson find their ethics challenged when they deal with a man accused of raping his wife; however, it soon becomes apparent to all that the case is far more sinister than they ever could have imagined.
Quanity of Mercy (Episode 10)
Writer: David Allen
Air date: 1989-04-14
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: Rafferty is confronted with the limitations of the law when it comes to dispensing justice.
Peace of Mind (Episode 11)
Writer: Nicholas Langton
Air date: 1989-04-21
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: The courthouse finds itself becoming caught up in the deadly web of a cult. Michael is shocked when he goes on an early morning run and discovers the body of a young woman washed up on the beach.
Thursday the Twelfth (Episode 12)
Writer: Christopher Lee
Air date: 1989-04-28
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: Michael takes responsibility for a foreign woman after she shows up on his doorstep.
Friends and Neighbours (Episode 13)
Writer: David Allen
Air date: 1989-05-05
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: A heatwave frays tempers at the courthouse when everyone arrives at work to find the air-conditioning broken.
The Fleet's In (Episode 14)
Writer: Tim Gooding
Air date: 1989-05-12
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: The personal and the professional converge for Flicker when the anti-nuclear group his son is involved in begins protesting the arrival of nuclear warships.
Family (Episode 15)
Writer: John Upton
Air date: 1989-05-19
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: Rafferty's 6-year-old son goes missing.
Crispin's Day (Episode 16)
Writer: Michael Cove
Air date: 1989-05-26
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: The Bard comes into the courtroom when an elderly man reciting Shakespeare is arrested for busking without a licence.
Mum's the Word (Episode 17)
Writer: David Marsh
Air date: 1989-06-02
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: Michael's hopes of reuniting with his estranged wife are dashed when Joanne reveals that she has come to visit to end their relationship, and then their son falls ill.
Brief Candles (Episode 18)
Writer: Nicholas Langton
Air date: 1989-06-09
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: An unexpected tragedy forces Paulyne to re-evaluate her life; meanwhile she struggles to remain objective while defending a man accused of manslaughter over the death of a pedestrian.
The Deep End (Episode 19)
Writer: Michael Cove
Air date: 1989-06-16
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: New Legal Aid solicitor Lisa Blake starts work at the courthouse; however, she soon finds herself coming into conflict with Michael when she grandstands in the courtroom, then fails to fully prepare a case in mitigation for a defendant.
A Matter of Circumstances (Episode 20)
Writer: Sue Castrique
Air date: 1989-06-23
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: A journalist sets out to prove that corruption exists in Rafferty's court.
Waifs and Strays (Episode 21)
Writer: David Allen
Air date: 1989-06-30
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: Lisa continues to have problems settling in, with her abrasive nature putting Michael offside.
The Beast (Episode 22)
Writer: Nicholas Langton
Air date: 1989-07-07
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: Lisa begins to wonder whether evil does exist when she defends a sociopath.
Systems (Episode 23)
Writer: John Upton
Air date: 1989-07-14
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: The entire courthouse struggles to cope when Michael is forced to decide whether a man accused of murder has a case to answer.
Those Who Can't (Episode 24)
Writer: Chris Roache
Air date: 1989-07-21
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: Lisa defends a young man who seems to be heading for the same life of crime as his father once did, but she refuses to believe Ray Brown's claims that the father's intentions are anything but honourable.
Blood Relations (Episode 25)
Writer: Nicholas Langton
Air date: 1989-07-28
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: Michael's world is turned upside down after learning that he has a twenty-two year old daughter from a previous relationship.
Star Quality (Episode 26)
Writer: David Allen
Air date: 1989-08-04
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: Flicker's prosecution against a young policeman who has broken the law is complicated when he begins to recognise that something even more suspicious is going on.
Private Lives (Episode 27)
Writer: Michael Cove
Air date: 1989-08-11
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: More than one life is on the line after a former children's television performer is charged with propositioning young boys for sex in the changing rooms of a local swimming pool.
You Can Never Tell (Episode 28)
Writer: Tim Gooding
Air date: 1989-08-18
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: A criminal nicknamed 'The Hairy Bandit' is causing havoc and the courthouse is feeling the impact.
The Affair That Never Was (Episode 29)
Writer: John Upton
Air date: 1989-08-25
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: Michael's divorce from Joanne officially comes through, just as former Public Solicitor Paulyne Gray reappears in his life after a six month absence.
Curtains for Ringo (Episode 30)
Writer: Tim Gooding
Air date: 1989-09-01
Runtime: 46 min
Overview: Michael considers his attitudes towards both politics and rural life after his cousin comes to the city, having now been elected to Parliament and holding very different opinions to Michael.
Seasons
Episodes 15
Episodes 11
Episodes 30
Episodes 30
Episodes 30