''Homicide'' was an Australian
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
police procedural
The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...
drama series made by production firm
Crawford Productions
Crawford Productions is an Australian media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, also known as Crawfor ...
for the
Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
. It was the television successor to Crawfords' radio series ''D24''. The "Consummate ''Homicide'' cast" includes the four characters that are the best known: Det. Snr. Sgt. David "Mac" MacKay (
Leonard Teale
Leonard George Thiele AO (26 September 192214 May 1994), professionally Leonard Teale, was a well-known Australian actor of radio, television and film and radio announcer, presenter and narrator known for his resonant baritone voice. He is be ...
), Det. Sgt. Peter Barnes (
George Mallaby), Inspector Colin Fox (
Alwyn Kurts
Alwyn Cecil Kurts (28 October 1915 – 4 May 2000) was an Australian drama and comedy actor of radio, television and film, best remembered for his role as gruff Inspector Colin Fox in the TV series '' Homicide''.
Biography
Kurts' father, David ...
) and Sen. Det. Jim Patterson (
Norman Yemm
Norman Yemm (23 March 1933 – 3 February 2015) was an Australian actor, opera singer and sportsman.
Screen career (Film and TV)
Yemm's film roles include ''Night of Fear'' and ''The Fourth Wish''
On the small screen he may be best remembe ...
).
Synopsis
The series dealt with the
homicide
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
squad of the
Victorian Police force and the various crimes and cases the detectives are called upon to investigate. Many episodes were based directly on real cases, although the characters (including the detectives) were fictional. 510 episodes were produced and aired from 20 October 1964 to January 1977 (12 years and 6 months), making it the longest-running Australian weekly
primetime
Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
drama in history.
With 510 episodes produced (the last episode is numbered 509, due to the pilot episode being numbered with an 'A' suffix, making a total of 510), for many years it held the record for most episodes produced in an Australian weekly primetime drama. When ''
Blue Heelers
''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian Police procedural, police drama series that was produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, ...
'' ended in 2006, the show equalled this record. However, ''Homicide'' ran on-air for longer than ''Blue Heelers'', and had a greater cumulative running time due to five feature-length episodes.
Cast and characters
Scripts
''Homicide'' scripts explored a number of major social issues, such as:
*pack rape (episode 21, "The Violators")
*prostitution (episode 23, "The Brand")
*loneliness, suicide and mercy killing (episode 31, "An Act Of Love")
*the occult (episode 34, "Witch Hunt")
*police shooting of criminals (episode 76, "The Snipers")
*road safety (episode 123, "No Licence To Kill")
*drugs (episode 128, "Freakout")
*the plight of pensioners (episode 208, "Everybody Knows Charlie")
*pollution (episode 314, "Fighting Fred")
*use of firearms (episode 405, "Time And Tide")
*‘poofter bashing’ (episode 411, "A Crime Against Nature")
*youth gangs (episode 434, "The Graduation Of Tony Walker")
*child abuse (episode 463, "The Life And Times Of Tina Kennedy")
*the dangers of hitch-hiking (episode 478, "Wipe Out")
Many of these episodes were introduced by Fegan speaking direct to camera, to highlight their significance and, presumably, to indicate they may not be suitable for younger viewers.
Scripts were frequently based on real murder cases, including:
*Episode 211, "I, Mick O'Byrne", based on the recent case of
Ronald Ryan
Ronald Joseph Ryan (21 February 1925 – 3 February 1967) was the last person to be legally executed in Australia. Ryan was found guilty of shooting and killing warder George Hodson during an escape from Pentridge Prison, Victoria, in 1965. ...
, the last man hanged in Australia.
*Episode 37, "Colour of Hate", based on the real-life murder of a young police constable. The victim's family later wrote a very appreciative letter to Crawfords in which they described the episode as ‘a fine tribute to our son’s courage and devotion to duty’. The letter was later read out by Teale in the documentary ''The'' Homicide ''Story'', who noted that it held a special place in the production team's files.
*Episode 39, "A Lonely Place", based on the case of serial killer
Arnold Sodeman, who strangled four girls between 1930 and 1935 when affected by alcohol. While Sodeman was hanged after a long legal battle, the episode doesn't indicate what happens to his fictional equivalent.
*Episode 180, "Dead or Alive", based on real-life
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
mass killer
Stanley Graham, who murdered seven people (four policemen and three civilians) in October 1941. Unlike the real case, where Graham was eventually shot dead by police, the fictional killer is captured alive, and the episode ends with detectives wondering if he will be sentenced to death or found insane.
Broadcast history
The first episode aired on 20 October 1964. The debut episode ("The Stunt") was not the first to be produced, with the pilot ("One Man Crime Wave") airing as episode 24A just prior to the departure of Lex Mitchell.
Regular daytime repeat screenings began in the early 1970s running until the early 1980s, as
strip programming. Additionally, seven episodes were screened as specials, or part of specials:
* ep. 376 – "Initiation", as part of the HSV-7 nostalgia program "Those Were The Days"
* episodes 379 ("The Last Way Out"), 385 ("The Friendly Fellow"), 394 ("Patterns & Stripes Don't Mix"), 410 ("Bill"), and 463 ("The Life & Times Of Tina Kennedy") as part of the program's 30th anniversary celebration in 1994
* ep. 383 – ''Assassin'', shown in November 2005 as part of HSV-7's 50th year celebrations.
In the 1960s, the series was picked up, on a regional basis, by some of the
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
companies in the UK. Not all regions screened the show, which was scheduled in a late-night slot (usually 10:30pm or later), but among those that did were
Westward TV
Westward Television was the first ITV franchise-holder for the South West of England. It held the franchise from 29 April 1961 until 31 December 1981. After a difficult start, Westward Television provided a popular, distinctive and highly rega ...
,
Yorkshire TV
ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
,
Channel TV
ITV Channel Television, previously Channel Television, is a British television station which has served as the ITV contractor for the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey and broadcasts regional programme for insertion into the ...
,
Border TV and
Southern Television
Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was con ...
.
In 2004, the episodes "Flashpoint" (ep. 56) and "Stopover" (ep. 504) were screened cinematically by
Melbourne Cinematheque
The Melbourne Cinémathèque is a non-profit film society screening programmes year-round, dedicated to presenting the history of world cinema on the big screen in carefully curated retrospectives. It started out as Melbourne University Film Socie ...
. In August 2010,
WIN Television
WIN Television is an Australian television network owned by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television station covering the Wollongong region. The WIN Netwo ...
, as part of their late night "Crawford's Classic Drama" series, began sequential repeats from episode 1, but ceased in March 2011 at episode 33 (the pilot "One Man Crime Wave" was not included). Pilot is significant in that one of the actors in the show was Rona Newton-John, elder sister of Olivia Newton-John.
Technical specifications
Early episodes were in black and white with the bulk of material recorded on videotape in the studios of HSV7 using a
multicamera setup
The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, multi-camera or simply multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film cameras, film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set an ...
. Each episode also featured about ten minutes of location footage shot on 16 mm film. Total time per episode was 47 minutes. 134 of the episodes were filmed in colour.
The opening and closing theme music was the library piece "Victory" written by American composer James Reichert.
With occasional exceptions, the filmed segments - which often focused on dramatic shots of cars pulling in, gun battles, and fist fights - did not have synchronised sound. Dialogue for these scenes was recorded "post sync". This means that the dialogue was recorded on location but, due to the often low quality of audio recorded in this manner, the actor was required to record the dialogue in a sound-proof studio in the standard filmmaking process known as
Additional Dialogue Recording. Location recordings were used infrequently, and usually limited to brief dialogue snatches in enclosed spaces, such as the interior of a car.
Sound effect
A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. Traditi ...
s would be also dubbed onto the location-shot footage. Both pre-recorded sound effects recordings and the work of Crawford's
foley artist
In filmmaking, Foley is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to films, videos, and other media in post-production to enhance audio quality. These reproduced sounds, named after sound-effects artist Jack Foley, can be anythi ...
would be used.
Episode 56, "Flashpoint", which first aired on 19 April 1966, was shot entirely on location on film, and most of the dialogue of this episode was post-synched. Over the years the ratio of film to videotape was increased, and synchronised sound became the norm. When the series switched from black and white to colour in 1973, it necessitated shooting entirely on film, as the HSV7 studios were yet to be converted to colour video production.
If a script was amended, a Crawford Productions staff member who lived near the actor concerned would be required to deliver the new script to their house. Quite often this new dialogue had to be memorised for filming the next day.
The workload for the regular actors, especially for location work, was notoriously heavy. In 1967 the regular squad was increased from three to four to better share the load, which remained the standard team to the end. In 1972, when it was decided to transfer production entirely to film, the result was a massive increase in overtime demanded by the series. Teale and Kurts promptly quit, and Mallaby only re-signed with a 13-week "escape clause", which he eventually invoked. All cited the worsening workload, which was best expressed by Teale as he announced his departure from the show:
:"There has never been a dispute over basic pay rates; the dispute has always involved the massive overtime that Crawfords want me to work in the new year. In the end it became a simple choice between my marriage and ''Homicide''. I chose my marriage."
Feature film
Late in the show's run – between episodes 470 and 480 – a feature-length episode was filmed. This film was entitled ''Stopover'', with the title ''Homicide'' not used at all, and was shot entirely on film on new sets and on location at
Melbourne Airport
Melbourne Airport , colloquially known as Tullamarine Airport, is the primary airport serving the city of Melbourne, and the second busiest airport in Australia. It opened in 1970 to replace the nearby Essendon Airport. Melbourne Airport is ...
. Lawson, White, Deegan and Redford are the detectives in the film. The story involved an international rock band that was held at the airport following the fatal overdose of a band member. Guest stars included
Jon English
Jonathan James English (26 March 1949 – 9 March 2016) was an English-born Australian singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He emigrated from England to Australia with his parents in 1961. He was an early vocalist and rhythm guitarist for ...
as the band's lead singer, and
Tony Bonner
Anthony Frederick Bonner (born 23 November 1943) is an Australian television, film and stage actor and singer. Bonner became famous in the 1960s children's television series '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'', later moving on to lead roles in the ...
as the band member who overdosed. The film never received a cinema release but was shown on television as a special in 1976. It is officially listed as episode 504, with episodes 502 and 503 also being feature-length.
Awards
''Homicide'' won multiple awards for its scripts, including three
AWGIEs, two
Logies
The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...
, one
Penguin
Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...
and one Sammy Award:
AWGIEs:
:1970: John Dingwall – Best Script for a TV Drama Series for episode 208, "Everyone Knows Charlie"
:1975: Peter Schreck – episode 434, "The Graduation Of Tony Walker"
:1976: Keith Thompson – Best Script for Telemovie for episode 504, "Stopover"
Logies:
:1973: Fred 'Cul' Cullen – Best Script for episode 385, "The Friendly Fellow"
:1974: Fred 'Cul' Cullen – Best Script for episode 414, "Twelve Bar Blues"
Penguin:
:1975: Australian Film Commission Second Prize for episode 434, "The Graduation Of Tony Walker"
Sammy:
:1976: Keith Thompson – Best Writer (TV Play) for episode 504, "Stopover"
Significance
''Homicide'' was the first major dramatic television series to be produced in Australia, the domestic television market having been previously dominated by
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
and
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
imports. In 1964, any Australian-made product tended to be quiz shows, children's series, music/variety series and one-off plays, with local drama production sporadic at best, with only a handful of typically short-lived series on commercial television such as ''
Autumn Affair'', ''
Emergency
An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...
'' and ''
The Story of Peter Grey
''The Story of Peter Grey'' was an Australian television daytime soap opera produced by the Seven Network and first broadcast in July 1962 . James Condon starred in the title role as a church minister, with other cast members including The ...
'', along with several mini-series on ABC such as ''
Stormy Petrel''. Foreign imports were preferred because they were both cheaper and (especially for US series) more plentiful than local productions. ''Homicide'' proved that there was a market for home-grown dramatic programming and was highly successful from the start – its initial ratings were in the 30s, and regularly rated in the high 40s and even low 50s (modern cop show ratings tend to be in the 20s at best). In addition, the series was produced at a tenth of the cost of an overseas program and easily outrated them. In 1971, it was the top rated show in the country. Another Crawfords police drama, ''
Division 4
''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes.
Synopsis
The series was one of the first dramas to follow up on the enormous success o ...
'', was second.
The series also proved itself to be a virtual training ground for Australian television and film production. During its 12-year run, almost everyone in the industry – actors, directors, scriptwriters, producers, camera crew, etc. – worked on the series at some point in their careers, and guest roles were filled by many notable actors, both established and emerging. For these reasons, as well as for inspiring a series of popular cop dramas that followed, it remains one of the most important programmes in the history of Australian television.
In 1994, a special tribute to the series aired titled ''Homicide: 30 Years On'', hosted by ''
Blue Heelers
''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian Police procedural, police drama series that was produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, ...
'' stars
John Wood and
Lisa McCune
Lisa McCune (born 19 February 1971) is an Australian actress, known for her role in TV series ''Blue Heelers'' as Senior Constable Maggie Doyle, and in '' Sea Patrol'' as Lieutenant Kate McGregor RAN. She has won four Gold Logie Awards.
McCun ...
, which included interviews with surviving cast members and guest stars (both Fegan and Teale had already died at that time). In 2007, ''Homicide'' was chosen for an
Australia Post
Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation, is the government business enterprise that provides postal services in Australia. The head office of Australia Post is located in Bourke Street, Melbourne, which also serves as a post o ...
stamp to celebrate 50 years of television in Australia.
DVD release
''Homicide'' has been released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
in a series of box sets since December 2012. Each box set contains 26 episodes on 7 discs. Twenty box sets and a bonus disc of The Homicide Story have been released, representing the complete series run.
See also
*
City Homicide
''City Homicide'' is an Australian television drama series that aired on the Seven Network between 27 August 2007 and 30 March 2011. The series was set on the Homicide floor of a metropolitan police headquarters in Melbourne. The main characte ...
*
List of longest-running Australian television series
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Homicide (Tv Series)
Seven Network original programming
1960s Australian drama television series
Television shows set in Melbourne
1964 Australian television series debuts
1977 Australian television series endings
1960s Australian crime television series
1970s Australian crime television series
Black-and-white Australian television shows
English-language television shows
Television series by Crawford Productions
1970s Australian drama television series