Murder Call

Murder Call was an Australian television series, created by Hal McElroy for the Southern Star Entertainment and seen on the Nine Network between 1997 and 2000. The idea to the series was born by the books of Tessa Vance by Jennifer Rowe: Suspect/Deadline and Something Wicked. Both books were integrated as episodes in the TV series.

With a young high-tech '90s feel and just a touch of '40s retro charm, Murder Call follows a classic clue - puzzle plot, combining mystery, action and suspense, spiked with humour, romance and a touch of the bizarre.

The series dealt with the cases confronted by an unconventional team of homicide detectives, Tessa Vance and Steve Hayden. Backing them up was:

• The boss - Inspector Malcolm Thorne
• Pathologist - Dr Imogen Soames
• Forensic officer - Dr Lance Fisk (he got a Ph.D)
• Crime scene photographer - Constable Dee Suzeraine

Murder Call was filmed in Sydney and unlike a lot of shows based in Sydney, often shot the less spectacular side of the city. The exterior of the Homicide station was filmed at Ashington House (formerly AFT House/Delfin House), on O'Connell Street in Sydney.

The Cast

• Detective Tessa Vance (Lucy Bell)
• Detective Steve Hayden (Peter Mochrie)
• Dr. Imogen "Tootsie" Soames (Glenda Linscott)
• Sergeant Lance Fisk (Geoff Morrell)
• Constable Dee Suzeraine (Jennifer Kent)
• Detective Inspector Malcolm Thorne (Gary Day)

Notable Guest Stars

Season One

• Jeremy Callaghan - Ezra Simms
• Kieran Darcy-Smith - Filix Kiver
• Judith Wright - Laurie Baker
• Jessica Napier - Brodie Cochrane
• Melissa George - Petra Salinis
• Paula Forrest - Susan Frickberge
• David Franklin - Jonah Balzan

Season Two

• Dee Smart - Malena Soeteman
• Norman Kaye - Vic Popov
• Anne Tenney - Nerida Hertzberg
• Elizabeth Alexander - Hilary Windsor
• Essie Davis - Judy St. John
• Barry Otto - Otis Farrow
• Christine Stephen-Daly - Sonia Black
• Kate Fischer - Gabby Minogue

Season Three

• Rose Byrne - Sarah Watson
• Matt Doran - Joel
• Douglas Hedge - Dr. Edgar Travers
• Zoe Carides - Dr. Constance Young
• Michala Banas - Kylie McDonald
• Nicholas Bishop - Marshall Bowdon
• Kimberley Joseph - Andrea Thatcher
• Bridie Carter - Jessica Millay
• Ling-Hsueh Tang - Emma Trimble

Episodes

Murder Call ran for three seasons and produced 56 episodes. For more information see List of Murder Call episodes.

External links

• Australian Television's Murder Call section
• A Murder Call review
• Murder Call at the National Film and Sound Archive
• Murder Call at the Internet Movie Database
• Murder Call - "Black Friday" at Australian Screen Online