"Murder Call" (1997) TV series 1997-1999

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Creator:

Hal McElroy

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

30 September 1998 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Crime | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Partners | Criminal Investigation | Killer | Female Detective | Coroner

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Lucy Bell	...	Det. Tessa Vance (31 episodes, 1997-2000)
Peter Mochrie	...	Det. Steve Hayden (31 episodes, 1997-2000)
Geoff Morrell	...	Det. Sen. Serg. Lance Fisk (31 episodes, 1997-2000)
Glenda Linscott	...	Dr. Imogene 'Tootsie' Soamses (31 episodes, 1997-2000)
Jennifer Kent	...	Const. Dee Suzeraine (31 episodes, 1997-2000)
Gary Day	...	Det. Insp. Malcolm Thorne (31 episodes, 1997-2000)

Runtime:

50 min (56 episodes)

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:PG (some episodes) | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

French & Saunders Productions

Quotes:

Det. Steve Hayden: Maybe he's a drag queen ... or a rock star. Mick Jagger wears makeup ... he looks dead.

Wrongly done by!

I found the Australian cop show Murder Call an intriguing one to watch. Although Murder Call had a small cast, it often had great scripts and captivating "who done its". The show, which stared Peter Mochrie as Detective Steve Hayden and Lucy Bell as Tessa Vance, ran for three seasons – from 1997 to 1999 (although some of its last episodes were shown in 2000).

Homicide detectives, Steve and Tessa solved crimes which were all out of the ordinary. Their strategies in solving these crimes were on a contrary, as Steve was a by-the-book cop, whilst Tessa had an unusual method, using her intuition to solve the crimes (which got her results).

Like many shows on TV, the chemistry between the two main characters in Steve and Tessa was great to watch. And also like many other TV shows, the pair never got together in a romantic sort of way. Although, in the very first episode, "Ashes to Ashes", it was made obvious that the pair cared about each other, when they were locked in a cool room together. Thinking that they were going to die, Steve and Tessa huddled together in an attempt to stay warm. Of course, in the end, they were fine. And their nosy colleague, Constable Dee Suzeraine (played by Jennifer Kent) wanted to know all about their 'experience'. "Come on, Steve. We're talking last moments on the planet here. How'd the two of you keep warm?" It was sad to see an interesting show get axed, and while it didn't have many fans, Murder Call continues to be a favourite of mine.