Season 2 • Episode 13
LatestJock Brennan announces that the Major Crime Squad is to be disbanded. As the bitterly disappointed detectives plan to track down the last crook, Ian uncovers the mystery that has plagued forensic from the first burglary.
Phoenix is an Australian police drama television series. Phoenix screened as two thirteen-part series on Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1992 and 1993. The first series of Phoenix in 1992 recounted the investigation of the bombing of the Victorian state police headquarters, loosely based on a real case in the mid-1980s, the Russell Street Bombing. It was aided by extensive research into police techniques and was lauded as one of the most realistic depictions of police investigation techniques, including both surveillance and forensics, as well as having an involving storyline. The series was notable for its dark visual tone and for its no-holds-barred attitude to violence and language. It spawned a second thirteen-part series, Phoenix II, in 1993 as well as a spin-off series, Janus, in 1994 devoted to the machinations of court cases. The series was created and produced by Tony McDonald and Alison Nisselle and screened by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The ABC have released Series 1 and 2 on DVD as a 4 DVD box set.
Direction
Tony McDonald's documentary-style surveillance sequences still feel illicit.
Writing
Alison Nisselle's scripts—cop shop banter that actually sounds like humans.
Practical Effects
Pre-digital forensics: actual chemists doing actual science, no blue lights.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The ABC initially balked at the surveillance footage aesthetic until McDonald convinced them it was cheaper than traditional coverage. Budget constraints became the show's signature look.
Phoenix arrived during a wave of Australian true-crime television that questioned police culture rather than celebrating it—years before The Wire made that standard.
AU
