Hard Copy Season 3, Episode 1: Number One with a Bullet

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Number One with a Bullet

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The Cherry Pops: Part 1

Benny has landed his dream job as News Editor of The Bullet, but he's about to discover that there's a world of difference between the old newspaper and Prince's expectations for the new one. Prince is looking for sensational, salacious stories, and if that means bending the truth, well, so be it. Facing their first deadline, will Benny be able to swallow his scruples and come up with the goods?

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The Cherry Pops: Part 2

Prince has persuaded his old friend Baz to take a sabbatical from the tabloid he Chief Subs on in England to help set up The Bullet. Baz blasts in like a tornado, full of energy and ideas. But will his laddish take on Tabloid resonate in an African market? As Prince's vision begins to crystalise it becomes increasingly clear that he and Baz are not exactly on the same page.

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Trust

Prince's flamboyant style has been chewing up cash and it is clear that they are going to need a capital injection if the paper's gonna outlast the Launch Party. The banks won't speak to him, the venture capitalists want too much and the last thing Prince wants to do is go running back to Modise. Calling on a shady connection from his past life, Prince puts plans in place to launder dodgy money to float the paper.

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To Catch a Rat: Part 1

When Kim is approached by the victim of a confidence trickster, it seems the perfect opportunity to launch The Bullet's first charity appeal. Noxee struggles to find her niche in the office, and Grant declares war on an elusive rodent.

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To Catch a Rat: Part 2

The Bullet's first charity drive is a resounding success, but the journalists are being played by the con man they believe is a victim. When Prince suspects something, he refuses to trust his staff and sows the seeds of resentment. Noxee continues putting out Princes fires, and Grant's battle with the rodent assumes epic proportions.

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Hell Hath No Fury

When a disgruntled advertiser threatens legal action, Prince seizes on the opportunity to beat her in a public forum and so dissuade future litigants. The staff set about goading her into a law suit, but Dorothy's new position as Press Ombudsman puts a spoke in their wheels. A job from his Publisher offers Ivan a way out of The Bullet, a decision he finds surprisingly hard to make.

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Hard Day's Night: Part 1

When a teacher was accused of Sex-for-Marks it was big news at The Bullet, but now that he's been cleared, no one seems to care. He comes to newsroom looking for redress, but gets the cold shoulder; it's just not news. Only when he pulls out a gun do people sit up and start taking him seriously.

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A Hard Day's Night: Part 2

When a desperate man takes the Bulletin staff hostage for the night, the journalists have to bring all their information gathering skills to bear if the are to survive the night and get out alive.

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The Blue Man

When a famous Kwaito star gets nabbed robbing a bank Benny and Ivan lock horns over how to handle the story. Meantime Prince has met Sharnya and the obvious mutual attraction soon has him climbing the walls, quite unable to make a clear decision on the matter. In the power vacuum that arises, old grudges boil to the surface and threaten to de-rail the grand opening of Grant's cyber-cafe.

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In Plain Sight: Part 1

The Bullet has taken an interest in a serial rapist, offering a reward for information leading to his arrest. But things turn scary when he takes an interest right back at them, singling out Kim as his point of contact. Noxee tries her best to make Sharnya feel at home in her new job as Marketing Manager, but she's consumed by jealousy, and an ill-fitting new suit sends Ivan into a speed-walking frenzy.

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In Plain Sight: Part 2

Kim is showing signs of obsession with her serial rapist story and Benny wants to pull her off the story. It's getting dangerous: everything points to the fact that she's going to be his next victim. The Bulletin insists on police protection, but that in itself carries an inherent risk.

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Sleeping Dogs

Prince has always believed that the car crash which killed his mother back in 1986 was no accident. When advanced cancer brings an apartheid-era Eastern Cape police boss home from exile to face the music, he believes he may finally get to the truth behind the mystery. But no one's talking except to say: you don't want to know the truth.

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Hubris

Prince is flying high as the newspaper hits its sales target of 100,000 and he is nominated as Media Personality of the Year. But believing your own hype is a dangerous thing and, as Zolani points out, pride comes before a fall. Sparks fly between Kim and Benny as they work together on a story about love and sexuality.

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The Caretaker: Part 1

With Prince in hospital, the Bullet flounders until Ivan takes hold of the reigns as caretaker editor. But Prince has left a legacy of a controversial story and Ivan is not sure he wants to put the paper at risk on his first day in the job. Kim hasn't been sleeping well and the everyday violence that surrounds her is starting to make her wonder if she's still wants to be living in South Africa.

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The Caretaker: Part 2

Ivan is starting to enjoy his new position at the helm of the Bullet, and the staff grudgingly admit that he has a knack for it. Noxee's allegiance to Prince is tested when Ivan hints that, should he become full time editor, he'll recognize her skills by offering her the position of financial manager.

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Down, Not Out

Prince returns from hospital without warning, determined to wrest back control of the paper. When he discovers the Daily Mirror has been taking pot-shots at him in his absence, he is incensed and declares war on the rival publication. But Prince is in no state to fight, and the weaker he feels, the more belligerent he becomes.

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The Leak: Part One

Prince's suspicion that one of his staff's journalist is leaking stories to a rival newspaper piques the interest of crime author Hugo Baskin, who is spending a week at the Bullet's newsroom as research for his next novel. With Prince's blessing, Baskin sets about interviewing the staff in the time honored tradition of Hercule Poirot.

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The Leak: Part Two

Interviewing the staff in an attempt to pinpoint the source of a leak in the newsroom, crime author Hugo Baskin discovers that every-one at The Bullet has a something to hide, a secret to keep and that nothing is as it seems.

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The Measure of a Man

Benny is Kim is resolutely unimpressed by Kim's attempts to write a salacious piece about a womanizing Australian cricketer, pushing her to lengths she never imagined. Prince pulls a fast one on his competitor to gain control over the printing press, and Ivan believes he's being haunted by his old friend Douglas.

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Love You Like Crazy

Zolani Modise wants to sell the paper. It's a great offer and the right time for he and Prince to cash in their chips. To his surprise, Prince realizes doesn't want to sell. The office is full of Sex Addicts and Stalkers and with his birthday is approaching, Grant resolves for once and for all to lose his virginity.

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Scorcher

A scorching hot day puts everyone on edge and the news staff are at each other's throats. To make matters worse, it's a slow news day and Benny has no lead story, until he stumbles onto a mini urban race war between a Street Trader and a Shop Owner. Ivan is seems immune to the heat, strangely detached from the chaos which surrounds him as he goes about tying up lose ends.

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The Show Must Go On

Ivan is face-down on his desk, and only when his replacement Chloe arrives does anyone realize he's not drunk. Prince is adamant that the best thing for the staff to do is to knuckle down and bring out tomorrow's edition, but suddenly the demands of the tabloid pale into insignificance as people start to wonder if they themselves are to blame.

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The Sting: Part 1

When JoDex Media offers Noxee a high-paying job, it seems the perfect opportunity to move onwards and upwards. But it would mean parting ways with Prince, and that is something she's not quite ready to do. Kim's tokolosh puff-piece turns in a page-two Tik story, which leads her and Benny into dangerous waters.

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The Sting: Part 2

As Kim and Benny prepare to sting the commandant they lose a vital piece of evidence in a break-in and are suddenly unsure whether to proceed. Dorothy learns of Modise's financial troubles and finally has the leverage to reek revenge.

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The Sting: Part 3

No edition of The Bullet on the streets means Prince is working overtime to assure the staff and advertisers that all is well at the Bullet. But his focus is split: Dorothy has backed Modise into a corner, and he's determined to make the problem go away.