Crime Investigation Australia

Crime Investigation Australia was an Australian true-crime series that first premiered on Foxtel's Crime & Investigation Network in August 2005.[1] The series was also rebroadcast on the Nine Network, and made its debut there on 14 August 2007.[2] The host of the series is Steve Liebmann.

Crime Investigation Australia
GenreCrime/Factual
Presented bySteve Liebmann
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes36
Production
Executive producerGraham McNeice
Running time60 minutes; some episodes 90 minutes (including commercials)
Release
Original networkCrime & Investigation Network (Pay TV)
Nine Network (free-to-air)
Picture format576i (SDTV)
Audio formatStereo
Original releaseAugust 2005 (2005-08) –
2009 (2009)

Production

The series was produced by Graham McNeice who resides in Moore Park, NSW. In a 2008 interview, McNeice said the impetus for the series was to provide an element of local content to a channel (Foxtel) that is dominated by American and European crime stories.[3] Foxtel announced that the series would be "rested" for 2010, however, it never returned.

The series included interviews from victims, families, investigators, lawyers, and journalists. The crimes were further reviewed using original media and police audio and video footage alongside re-enactments and interviews shot in the same locations where the crimes took place.[4]

Episodes

Series 1
  1. No More Grannies – The Granny Killer
  2. Kid for Ransom/Tears for Daniel
  3. Death in a Heartbeat/The Body in the Bag
  4. Ivan Milat: The Backpacker Murders
  5. Contract to Kill/The Mornington Monster
  6. The Moorhouse Horrors/The Call Girl Killing
  7. The Killer Punch/The Will of Death
  8. The Anita Cobby Murder
  9. Snowtown: Bodies in the Barrels
  10. The Kimberley Killer
  11. The Wanda Beach Murders/The Beaumont Children Mystery
  12. The Greenough Family Massacre
  13. The Disappearance of Donald Mackay
  14. The Body in the Sports Bag
  15. The Assassination of John Newman
  16. The Butchered Boys

Series 2
  1. The Killing Fields of Truro
  2. No Mercy: The Killing of Virginia Morse
  3. The Night Caller: Eric Edgar Cooke
  4. Headless Body: The Kim Barry Murder
  5. The Gonzales Family Murders
  6. Thrill Kill: The Janine Balding Murder
  7. Hunt for a Killer: The Claremont Murders
  8. The Devil Inside – John Ernest Cribb
  9. The Predator: Leonard John Fraser
  10. Evil Heart: The Murder of Donna Wheeler/The Disappearance of Trudie Adams

Series 3
  1. The Girls Who Knew Too Much (Juanita Nielsen and Sallie-Anne Huckstepp)
  2. Bloodsport – The Bondi Gay Murders
  3. A Killer Amongst Us – The Norfolk Island Murder
  4. Night of Terror: The Bega Schoolgirls
  5. Murder of Innocence – Sian Kingi
  6. Date with a Serial Killer: Rodney Cameron
  7. Cop Killer – The Winchester Assassination
  8. Michael Kanaan: Shoot to Kill
  9. Buried Alive: Luckman and Reid
  10. Mystery of the Homestead Murders

Reception

The show was generally well received. Michelle Nagy in her Editorial Review of the program writes:

”Crime Investigation Australia presents an impressive package, using re-enactments, montages of real evidence, locations, maps, photos and real footage – not to mention leading Australian anchor Steve Liebmann, who lends weight and integrity to the series."[5]

Similarly:

“...McNeice's films skilfully dramatise the stories behind these cases, though in disturbing the past he sometimes creates a sense of dismay... McNeice, with his just-the-facts method, unashamedly gives us criminality, violence, gritty realism, horror and psychopathology. There is no apology and no shame here, which is what makes it such riveting TV."[6]

A recent review by David Knox explains that:

"...it shies away from emotive, sometimes even racist, sensationalism of other players. CIA has also triggered viewers to come forth with new information – surely a measure of success for any in this genre."[7]

Another review states:

"Crime Investigation Australia has all the hallmarks of a pay-TV documentary – lots of stock footage, dodgy re-enactments, eerie music and talking heads – but nevertheless tells an engaging tale."[8]

The re-enactments featured on the show are often explicit, as for example the Anita Cobby episode in which the moment of the murder is replayed over and over again. There are also inaccuracies and anachronisms, for example in the Beaumont Children Mystery episode where the hairstyles and hair lengths of the child actresses playing Jane and Arnna Beaumont do not match photographs of the real children and Jane is wearing a 2006-era pink "Speedo" female child's swimsuit instead of a period-accurate little girl's swimsuit.

Revival

In 2018, Channel 7 began re-broadcasting old episodes as Crime Investigation Australia: Most Infamous.[9] The new series is hosted by Matt Doran. Doran re-read the scripts from the original series verbatim and shots of Liebmann were replaced with shots of Doran.

DVD releases

The series is currently available in four sets:

  • Series 1 – 5 DVD Boxed Set became available in late October 2007. Running time is approximately 670 minutes and rated MA 15+.
  • Series 2 – 5 DVD Boxed Set. Running time is approximately 250 minutes and rated MA 15+.
  • Boxed Set (Series 1 and 2).
  • Series 3 – 4 DVD Boxed Set became available in early October 2011. Running time is approximately 619 minutes and rated MA 15+.

See also

References
  1. Foxtel details programs for Summer and beyond knowfirst.info Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  2. Media Releases eBroadcast.com.au Archived 27 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  3. QUT interview Archived 2 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  4. "CRIME INVESTIGATION AUSTRALIA SERIES 3". Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  5. Editorial Review citysearch.com.au Retrieved 25 September 2009.
  6. "Cold blood runs hot". 21 March 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  7. "Crime Investigation Australia". TV Tonight. 24 March 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
  8. Editorial Review citysearch.com.au Retrieved 25 September 2009.
  9. Knox, David (26 August 2020). "Returning: Crime Investigation Australia: Most Infamous". TV Tonight. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
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