Frontline season 2

With the ratings down, Brian is fired from his job as executive producer. Although Emma has the skills to take over the role, she soon realises that as a young woman she has no chance in securing it, particularly when Brian's sexist temporary replacement takes all the credit. Meanwhile, Jan (Genevieve Mooy) organises the network's new promo – "One Big Family" – but events behind the scenes reveal that relations between the network's staff are anything but harmonious.

• At the end of the credits of this episode the screen says "In memory of our dear friend Bruno Lawrence (1941 - 1995)" as a tribute to Bruno Lawrence.

When lower-income audiences start tuning out, Jan and the show's new executive producer, Sam Murphy (Kevin J. Wilson), attempt to change Mike's image to make him a more down-to-earth guy. Elsewhere, Marty tries to stop Frontline from doing an exposé on a dodgy investment he is personally involved in.

When a humble professor publishes a book of statistical analyses, the media (and Frontline) attempt to make it into a debate on racism, and Sam manipulates Mike into passionate feelings on the issue, while the Frontline staff ignore their own racial prejudices. Elsewhere, Brooke attempts to make a heart surgeon look like a hero.

• The main storyline is a direct parallel to a contemporary book The Bell Curve.

Mike starts tiring of his job, so Sam gives him an official-sounding but easy role as "International Story Co-Ordinator". A series of big stories are ruined when A Current Affair happens to do the same ones each night, leading Sam and Mike to pursue an office mole.

When Stu (Pip Mushin) captures a brutal beating on film, but does not intervene to help the man, Frontline becomes the centre of a debate about journalistic integrity. Meanwhile, Mike attempts to get a debate about euthanasia underway, and Brooke grows frustrated with developments in Emma's love-life.

After getting soundly beaten in the ratings by A Current Affair when they run an Angry Anderson charity special, Frontline attempts to launch their own special hosted by Jon English. Sam assures Mike that their special will be nothing like A Current Affair's, while ensuring that the audience are manipulated at every step during the production.

When the team get inside information on an attack at the Serbian embassy, Frontline gets exclusive graphic film of the attack. As they avoid the police and the public, Sam and Marty attempt to incite racial violence through a series of live debates, while an oblivious Mike tries to find a way to ease the racial tension.

When a tragically scarred woman agrees to sell her story, the price is too high. But Sam comes up with a plan to raise the money.

Mike's concerns about his role with the show are amplified when Brooke is given a series of nature documentaries. To calm him down, Sam forces Marty to take Mike along on a stakeout.

With the show's ratings down, the network hires Larry Hages (Harry Shearer), an American consultant, who implements a series of changes in how Frontline is produced.

Mike is accused of being a lightweight, so he sets out to have a strong opinion by joining an environmental protest.

Marty and Sam bail out a neo-Nazi alleged murderer, but their attempts to pay him for his story run into trouble when they go up against the network's new legal adviser. Mike is asked to appear on a celebrity game show special, causing the producers to worry that he will look stupid.

Mike is stunned when he learns that Frontline is being used for cross-promotion, promoting both the network's new soap opera and the business interests of the network's owner, Lloyd Walsh (Paul Cronin). When Walsh is suspected of breaking Australia's cross-media ownership laws, he decides to appear on Frontline to defend himself. Mike argues to Sam that the interview will be a puff piece, so Sam counters that Mike is free to do his own research and ask his own questions, confident that Mike is not up to the task. However, Mike enlists the help of an old ABC colleague to come up with some hard-hitting questions for the interview.

• This is Kevin J. Wilson's last episode.
• This is also Genevieve Mooy's last episode. In the third season, the producers decided to go with a more down-to-earth publicist, who could conceivably be friends with the on-air talent.