''Phoenix'' is a

Logie Award 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 ...

-winning Australian

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

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 ...

series broadcast by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

from 1992 to 1993. It was created by Alison Nisselle and Tony McDonald. The first series recounts the investigation of the

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

ing of a Victorian police social function, loosely based on the real life

Russell Street Bombing The Russell Street bombing was the 27 March 1986 bombing of the Russell Street Police Headquarters complex in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The explosion killed Angela Rose Taylor, the first Australian policewoman to be killed in the line ...

in 1986. It was followed by a second series, ''Phoenix II'', based on a series of violent aggravated burglaries ("ag burgs") against wealthy senior citizens. The series was filmed in Melbourne, Victoria and was characterised by its dark, noir-ish visual tone and non-linear editing, reminiscent of the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

crime dramas '' Scales of Justice'', '' Blue Murder'' and '' Wildside'', which all also dealt with corruption in the police force. The show was lauded for its realistic depiction of police investigation techniques, aided by extensive research by the show's writers. It won several Logie Awards, including Most Outstanding Miniseries Logie in 1993 and 1994, as well as several Australian Film Institute Awards, and the Television or Film Theme of the Year Award at the APRA Music Awards of 1993. The series spawned the 1994 spin-off ''

Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...

'', with Simon Westaway reprising his role as Sergeant Peter Faithful.

Cast

''Phoenix'' (1992)

Starring *

Paul Sonkkila Paul Sonkkila (b. Australia – d. April 2016, Australia) was an actor of stage and screen who trained in Australia and in London. He had a long career in theatre, but is remembered for his cinematic roles in ''The Interview'' (1998), '' The Yea ...

as Jock Brennan (13 episodes) *

Sean Scully Sean Scully (born 30 June 1945) is an Irish-born American-based artist working as a painter, printmaker, sculptor and photographer. His work is held in museum collections worldwide and he has twice been named a Turner Prize nominee. Moving fro ...

as Ian "Goose" Cochrane (13 episodes) * Andy Anderson as Lochie Renford (13 episodes) *

Peter Cummins Peter Cummins (born 2 June 1931 in Melbourne) is an Australian retired character actor of stage and screen and chorister who was especially prominent in the 1970s and appeared in some of the most famous Australian films of the period. He was pa ...

as Superintendent Wallace (13 episodes) *

Simon Westaway Simon Westaway (born 22 December 1958) is an Australian actor who has appeared in many television series, films and theatre productions. He is most remembered as portraying Sergeant Peter "Noddy" Faithful in the crime drama series ''Phoenix'', ...

as Sergeant Peter "Noddy" Faithful (13 episodes) *

Nell Feeney Nell Feeney is an Australian actress who played Janelle Timmins on the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'' from November 2004 to July 2007, returning briefly in 2015. She had also appeared in the soap the previous year as Joanne Blair. She wa ...

as Megan Edwards (11 episodes) *Susie Edmonds as Carol Cochrane (12 episodes) *Tony Poli as Lazarus "Laz" Carides (10 episodes) Also starring *

Kevin Summers Kevin Summers (born is an Australian actor and playwright who has worked in theatre, film & television for over four decades. Career Television Summers' is best known for his multiple character roles in numerous soap operas and serials. His cre ...

as Colin Toohey (8 episodes) *Dominic Sweeney as Wheels (9 episodes) *David Bradshaw as Senior Detective Andrew "Fluff" Saunders (5 episodes) *

George Vidalis George Vidalis is an Australian actor who has appeared in many television series and films. George is best known for his role as Manolis in the comedy series Acropolis Now. George has appeared in such television series as Blue Heelers, Underbell ...

as Mick (12 episodes) *Todd Telford as Dennis (5 episodes) * Patrick Ward as Blazo (4 episodes) *Nicholas Politis as Nick (9 episodes)

''Phoenix II'' (1993)

Starring *

as Sergeant Peter "Noddy" Faithful (13 episodes) *Stuart McCreery as Senior Sergeant Adrian Moon (13 episodes) *David Bradshaw as Senior Detective Andrew "Fluff" Saunders (13 episodes) *Jennifer Jarman-Walker as Senior Detective Cath Darby (13 episodes) *

as Superintendent Wallace (13 episodes) *

Vikki Blanche Vikki Blanche (born 1966 or 1967) is an Australian actress and director. She made her television debut in the children's series '' Home'' in 1983, followed by a role in the ABC drama ''The Keepers''. Shortly after graduating from the National The ...

as Chris Faithful (9 episodes) *Susie Edmonds as Carol Cochrane (9 episodes) *

as Ian "Goose" Cochrane (13 episodes) Also starring *

Peter McCauley Peter McCauley (born 8 March 1950) is an actor from New Zealand who has appeared in many television series and movies, mainly in his home country. Career McCauley graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 1973 with a Certific ...

as Inspector Lew Murdoch (12 episodes) *

David Roberts David or Dave Roberts may refer to: Arts and literature * David Roberts (painter) (1796–1864), Scottish painter * David Roberts (art collector), Scottish contemporary art collector * David Roberts (novelist), English editor and mystery writer ...

as Detective Robert Howie (10 episodes) *Keith Agius as Docket (13 episodes) *Bob Halsall as Boomer (13 episodes) *Russell Fletcher as Kermie (6 episodes) *Greg Scealey as Fish (7 episodes) *

as Jock Brennan (3 episodes)

Episodes

''Phoenix'' (1992)

''Phoenix II'' (1993)

Awards and nominations

Logie Awards 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 ...

*1993: Most Outstanding Series (won) *1994: Most Outstanding Achievement in Drama Production (won)

Home release

The series was released in 2009 by the ABC on DVD in two volumes, each containing 13 episodes across 4 discs. However, it has since gone out of print. Presently (Feb 2023) available for viewing in Australia on ABC TV iview.

References

External links

* {{Logie Award for Most Outstanding Drama Series on Australian Television 1990s Australian crime television series 1990s Australian drama television series Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Television shows set in Victoria (Australia) 1992 Australian television series debuts 1993 Australian television series endings 1992 Australian television seasons 1993 Australian television seasons APRA Award winners

Cast

''Phoenix'' (1992)

''Phoenix II'' (1993)

Episodes

''Phoenix'' (1992)

''Phoenix II'' (1993)

Awards and nominations

Home release

See also

References

External links