First comes the illusion of loyalty; where politicians publicly back others in the party but privately go around backgrounding journalists and white-anting someone who is in the way of their own ambitions.

Witness the endless number of political stories that mention phrases like "party sources" or "key figures within the party".

That's people keen to pour a bucket of raw sewage on someone in their party while also wanting to remain anonymous lest some of that sewage splash back on them.

But things change when they lose their seat, lose pre-selection or their leader - who they backed wholeheartedly a few weeks earlier - leads them into the abyss of defeat.

Once that happens, then they feel emboldened to come out in public and say whatever the hell they want.

And it doesn't matter whether it contradicts something they'd already said publicly before - because it always contradicts something they said publicly before.

This is the moment when political journalists start rubbing their hands with glee; they get plenty of real drama and don't even have to convince the pollies to talk. They're keen to come out and give each other a kicking.

So what we get is the famous ABC documentary series like Labor in Power, The Howard Years and The Killing Season, with pollies and advisers lining up to show that loyalty really only matters if you're in the team.

The latest addition to this collection of drama-filled political documentaries is the three-part series Nemesis. It looks at the Liberal Party under the leadership of Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison.

The interviews were conducted by investigative journalist Mark Willacy and the series takes a different approach to those that have gone before it.

Rather than provide a voice-over to explain the timeline to the viewer, Nemesis just relies on the words of those who were there.

"Over the last 12 months I have sat down with the key political players from the Coalition - from backbenchers to cabinet ministers to prime ministers - and conducted more than 60 on-camera interviews," Willacy said.

"I've been stunned by how candid they've been and how much they've revealed about pivotal events, including crucial moments and often frank and sometimes furious exchanges behind closed doors.

"Audiences are in for some big surprises and quite a few shocks as the story of the nine years of Coalition government is unravelled."

I'm sure an experienced journo like Willacy couldn't have really been that "stunned" about what they told him.

In situations like the Liberal Party of recent years with all its turmoil and infighting, it would be pretty much expected that some of the big players would tip a bucket on their colleagues.

Turnbull has made no bones about his dislike of both Abbott and Morrison, so it was doubtful that he'd keep quiet.

And stacks of recent MPs and ministers have been quite vocal about Morrison's stumble-plagued leadership and his ability to deny he ever stumbled - even though you saw him do it with your own eyes.

I can't say for certain all of this happens, because the ABC wasn't making previews available.

That's both annoying and understandable. Annoying because it means I have to wait until Monday to watch it.

But understandable because, as a journalist, Willacy would want to keep any choice phrases uttered by the pollies under wraps.

Offer up previews of the series and it's a guarantee other journos would pinch all the best quotes under the guise of writing about the TV series.

Then, by the time Nemesis airs, everyone who is interested has already heard the most explosive stuff and is likely underwhelmed by whatever is left behind.

And so, like other political geeks, I'll be watching this series on Monday night.

So there's no point in anyone ringing me while it's on, because I'm not going to be picking up.