characters other than Lisa McCune's were cast differently, and many smaller roles were removed. Holmes explained : "There were too many people in it. You didn't get a chance to get any traction with any of the characters. There were so many incidental characters, when you watched it, you weren't quite sure who to focus on. Now there's much more concentration on Verity, Ros and Dylan. The show is much more about them and their lives and how they deal with each other, with the background of the legal profession, rather than it being about the legal profession with these characters in it." Industry A-Lister Kerry Armstrong originally played Verity, who was initially a magistrate rather than a barrister. In early 2002, Channel Seven announced that Armstrong would not be continuing with the series, claiming that she wasn't right for the part and "refused to play the role differently". Months later Armstrong agreed with the rumours that the producers thought she was too old for the part of McCune's sister. She would later join the cast of another of 2002's new shows, MDA, which fared much better. Alyson Whyte had played Jane Hall's role of Prue Staley before moving over to take on the role of Verity. Lani Tupu played Verity's ex-husband in the pilot instead of William McInnes. Deidre Rubenstein played the role that would become Anne Phelan's, and Bud Tingwell was the DPP before Frank Gallacher. Ratings Whilst the program came off the back of a strong lead in All Saints – it also faced tough competition in its Tuesday 9.30PM slot; Rove Live and another Australian drama, Nine's Stingers. It debuted well in its first week (airing Tuesday and Wednesday) but plummeted dramatically in week 2 and never recovered. See also List of Australian television series References External links at AustralianTelevision.net Australian drama television series Seven Network original programming Television shows set in Victoria (Australia) Australian legal television series 2002 Australian television series debuts 2002 Australian television series endings