Murder Call

I just picked up "Deadline" by Jennifer Rowe at a garage sale and on the cover it proclaimed "Introducing "Murder Call"'s Senior Detective Tessa Vance. I was instantly transported back 10 years. Even when it was first on television the station mucked about with the times - often it was on at 9.30 or later. But I persevered. It was so unlike any police show before or since. It was very "noirish" - the sets were often suffused in amber, the venetians

made the shadows slanted, the rooms were often dark - exactly like a 1940s detective movie. Lucy Bell's beauty was in keeping with the theme - dressed in Armani suits (or was it Gucci??) she had a blonde loveliness that set her apart.

It was advertised "Detective Steve Hayden (Peter Mochrie) solves crime by the book but Detective Tessa Vance (Lucy Bell) uses intuition" and each episode usually ended in a voice over from Tessa putting all the clues together and then calling Steve (usually in the small hours of the morning) with her solutions - which were always right!! The gruff Det. Inspector Malcolm Thorne was played by Gary Day, who cut his teeth on "Homicide" one of Australia's first police drama series. There was also Geoff Morrell as Lance Fisk in forensics, Glenda Linscott as "Tootsie" Soames - she did the autopsies and Jennifer Kent as Dee Suzeraine, the police photographer. They were all great and perfect in their roles. In the tradition of "Midsomer Murders" there was never just one murder - the crazy killer always had several people to dispose of.

I wish I had this series on DVD - I'd even settle for VHS!!!

Highly Recommended.

As usual, an excellent series from Aussie. They out do the yanks every time. Great acting, very few slip ups, good filming, with good storylines. Same again please. It's a shame money had to cut the series. Money always speaks, unfortunately.

It's a shame Murder Call lasted for only two series. The lead actors were great, the stories enthralling, the locales and production values fantastic. And the theme song was very catchy!!! It was, at the time, the Nine Network's most-expensive program (if my memory serves me correctly).

Why it didn't last any longer than two years is beyond me. But then again, it was in a difficult time-slot on Tuesday nights. Ratings, schmatings!

Australians have a knack for producing quality dramas. Think, Flying Doctors, Police Rescue, Water Rats, A Country Practice, All Saints.

It's a pity our sitcoms aren't as well-made!

I enjoyed this series (two seasons) and admired the crisp direction and technical aspects. The characters are well defined and the acting is serviceable. However, the dialog seems to be written at a grade-four level, lacking both grown-up wit and any sophistication or dynamics in the vocal interplay that distinguish these murder shows from one another. That's probably the result of the scripts being written solely to advance the plot; the characters sometimes act in a ridiculous manner, making logic-defying choices that no trained cop would make. But it is reservedly wonderful to see a series where the female plays Sherlock, solving crimes while her Watson partner scratches his head.

I was so disappointed to see that Season 3 was the last Season. The characters and actors were terrific. This really could have gone somewhere, but like the reviewer before me stated, there needed to be an even distribution of strengths and weaknesses in the solving of the murders. They gave a good deal of character development, without getting too involved with their personal lives, which I appreciated. They kept the language clean and maintained integrity in each episode.

I loved the fact that in each episode, they began with a murder. The music for each beginning murder was really well scripted and the theme music of murder call was classy.

I will follow up on the real life actors and actresses to see what they are doing now. I really enjoyed their roles and the particular murders presented in each episode. They were creative and not copied from other movies or series, and I have seen plenty!

I will really miss this show.

Joyce