Murder Call

Murder Call

1997
Murder Call
Murder Call

Murder Call

7.1 | en | Drama

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

View More
AD

WATCH FREEFOR 30 DAYS

All Prime Video
Cancel anytime

Watch Now

Seasons & Episodes

3
2
1
EP20  Done to Death
Oct. 09,2000
Done to Death

The cleaner at an up-market beauty parlour makes a gruesome find — the proprietor strung up in a tanning booth and roasted like a pig-on-a-spit. Tessa and Steve's investigation uncovers a wealth of secrets and resentments harboured from birth.

EP19  House of Spirits
Oct. 02,2000
House of Spirits

Tessa and Steve investigate when a psychic conducting a séance in a storm-swept house is shot dead by the ghost of the man he was trying to contact.

EP18  Absent Friends
Sep. 25,2000
Absent Friends

While attending a school reunion, Tessa is called to a homicide on the school grounds. The victim is one of her friends — stabbed in a reenactment of a Muckup Day prank, leaving Tessa as either a suspect, or another possible victim.

EP17  Still Life
Sep. 18,2000
Still Life

At the opening night of his exhibition, artist Vincent Osborne's head is discovered inside his own death mask.

EP16  Scent of Evil
Sep. 11,2000
Scent of Evil

A woman is ripped to shreds by savage dogs on the grounds of an empty house. Steve and Tessa must determine whether her death was an accident, or if the dogs were trained to kill by someone with a grudge and a vicious streak.

EP15  Last Act
Sep. 04,2000
Last Act

A busker suffers from hallucinations while performing mime outside a train station. When he collapses and dies, Tootsie's autopsy points to poisoning.

EP14  Paid in Full
Aug. 28,2000
Paid in Full

A man's body is found floating in a spa, a large roll of cash stuffed into his mouth. Steve and Tessa discover that almost everyone who knew him had a reason to kill him.

EP13  Grave Matters
Aug. 21,2000
Grave Matters

As a crypt is opened for an interment, the funeral goers are shocked to discover the sarcophagus already occupied by the corpse of a young woman holding a rare orchid in her hand.

EP12  A Stab in the Dark
Aug. 14,2000
A Stab in the Dark

When horror novelist Sebastian Tombs is found lying dead with a knife in his back, Tessa and Steve must investigate the four people closest to him, each of whom has a strong motive for committing the murder.

EP11  Cut and Dried
Aug. 04,1999
Cut and Dried

Tessa and Steve investigate a murder where nothing is as it seems.

EP10  Booming Business
Jul. 28,1999
Booming Business

Tessa and Steve uncover a web of intrigue surrounding businessman Brian Hart's horrific death when he is killed as he commutes to work by train when a letter bomb concealed in a card explodes. Tessa and Steve are confronted by a bewildering array of suspects and motives to finally apprehend the person they believe to be the killer, only to realise at the last moment that they only have it half right.

EP9  Hide and Seek
Jul. 14,1999
Hide and Seek

Following the suspicious death of an elderly worker, Tessa and Steve must race against time to avert another tragedy growing from the ruins of the first.

EP8  Bad Business
Jun. 30,1999
Bad Business

Tessa and Steve investigate what appears to be a routine case, but soon uncover a dangerous web of blackmail and righteous fanaticism.

EP7  A Blow to the Heart
Jun. 16,1999
A Blow to the Heart

Tessa and Steve are called in to investigate a series of murders revolving around a prominent bio-chemistry lab.

EP6  Death Down Market
Jun. 02,1999
Death Down Market

When a woman is found murdered in a neighbourhood that is terrorised by a local gang, Steve and Tessa are called in to investigate.

EP5  Death in the Family
May. 19,1999
Death in the Family

A vagrant is found dead at an inner city underpass surrounded by the corpses of poisoned sparrows. When Tootsie diagnoses death by strychnine, Tessa, Steve and Thorne fear that someone is out there trying to purge the streets of the homeless. But the investigation takes a twist after Fisk finds $10,000 hidden in the vagrant's mattress.

EP4  Dying Day
May. 12,1999
Dying Day

Steve and Tessa investigate when a young woman is found hanging from a tree limb in a popular city park, and Tootsie's preliminary findings indicate it was not suicide.

EP3  Tongue Tied
May. 05,1999
Tongue Tied

A mutilited body is found near a church, with identical markings to the victims of a serial killer 15 years ago- Thorne's first case. Experiencing a sense of deja-vu, Thorne heads the investigation. Has the killer returned, or is this a copycat crime?

EP2  Evil Chances
Apr. 28,1999
Evil Chances

A sports teacher is found impaled at a boarding school and is found by Fisk's older sister. Tessa and Steve investigate, but Fisk is frustrated when his sister is interviewed, and he is excluded.

EP1  Dead Offerings
Apr. 21,1999
Dead Offerings

Tessa and Steve investigate when a young blind man is found dead in a swimming pool.

SEE MORE
SEE MORE
SEE MORE
7.1 | en | Drama | More Info
Released: 1997-08-11 | Released Producted By: Southern Star , Country: Australia Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

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

...... View More
Stream Online

The tv show is currently not available onine

Cast

Peter Mochrie , Geoff Morrell , Lucy Bell

Director

Producted By

Southern Star ,

AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime.

Watch Now

Reviews

jkuras2010 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
feralladybug I liked 'Murder Call'.It was a well crafted,workaday police procedural,except it had one flaw that drove me MAD.Each week Detective Tessa Vance (Lucy Bell) & Detective Steve Hayden(Peter Mochrie) would join forces to solve a grisly murder. Trouble was,the writers seemed to forget that the mark of any good TV police duo is balance- that each should have strengths and weaknesses that contribute to solving the case.Poor old Det.Steve NEVER got to solve the case.Instead of the two of them compiling the clues into a solid block of evidence,each case seemed to be solved by the same maddening plot device: in the final 10 minutes of the show Tessa would stare out to middle distance,have a flash of inspiration and then run to tell Steve of her brainstorm.I watched 2 series of this infuriating show and waited in vain for a single episode in which Steve would be the one to crack the case:he never did.The device got so bad,that every week at 10.20 pm(the show began at 9.30) I would say,"Only 10 minutes to go.Time for Lucy's puzzled expression." I knew it wasn't just me seeing this when a local comedy show parodied it for the very same reason.Clearly 'Murder Call' was in dire need of a good script editor to pick up on these things. A shame,as Mochrie,Bell & cast all gave charming,confident performances.It's too bad it's format wasn't re-tooled to iron out this issue.A good show killed by a lazy plot device.
kidboots 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 venetiansmade 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.
Intriguer 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.