Peter Mochrie
Det. Steve Hayden
Murder Call (1997)
Season 1
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.
Released Aug. 10, 1997
Episode 60 min
None+
Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Keywords: tmdb.australia, tmdb.murder-investigation, tmdb.homicide-detective, imdb.female-police-officer, imdb.oceania, imdb.partners, imdb.forensic-pathologist + 22 more, imdb.crime-scene-photographer, imdb.male-female-police-partnership, imdb.police-partner, imdb.police-protagonist, imdb.two-word-title, imdb.coroner, imdb.homicide-detective, imdb.australia, imdb.sydney-australia, imdb.police-station, imdb.photographer, imdb.autopsy, imdb.investigation, imdb.police-detective, imdb.australian, imdb.killer, imdb.forensic, imdb.female-detective, imdb.police, imdb.criminal-investigation, imdb.murder-investigation, imdb.based-on-book
Watch Providers: Amazon Prime Video, Tubi TV, fuboTV, Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Production Companies: Southern Star
Network: Nine Network
S1E1 - Ashes to Ashes
A man out for an early morning surf gets more than he bargained for when surf blows a corpse out of the water and into his face. It appears to be a routine investigation, natural causes being indicated... but complications arise when Tessa and Steve find they cannot identify the victim, and no-one steps forward to claim him. Surely someone should be missing a well-groomed man in his fifties?
Aug. 11, 1997, midnight
S1E2 - The Burial
Late night. A voice recites limericks on a moonlit beach. Suddenly, all goes quiet. A grey dawn, and a dog and its owner, the stern Major Richter, make a gruesome discovery - a human head attached to the very dead body of Adrian McCafferty who is buried up to his neck under the sand. Adrian drowned when the tide came in and covered him. Tessa and Steve learn that there was a beach party last night. Adrian was buried as part of a joke. Is his death simply a stupid party prank gone wrong, or is there something more sinister to discover?
Aug. 18, 1997, midnight
S1E3 - Cat and Mouse
Wheelchair bound Spinner congratulates himself on finishing a piece of artwork by pouring a cold beer and logging on to his favourite internet games forum. His pleasure is short lived, however, as a shadow falls across him and a lead pipe takes him out of the game... permanently. Tessa and Steve arrive on the scene to find the killer has taken the time to send the message ""Spinner Resigns"" over the internet to the victim's games partner. The murder takes on new importance when Dee reveals she knows the victim. While Dee tries to come to terms with her friend's murder, Steve and Tessa struggle to put together the pieces of the puzzle.
Aug. 25, 1997, midnight
S1E4 - Dead Clean
While investigating a series of bizarre murders, Steve and Tessa are drawn to the local community centre, a drop in for former mental patients. With a handful of suspects, but no real clues, Steve and Tessa must race against the clock to find the killer before he strikes again.
Sept. 1, 1997, midnight
S1E5 - Who Killed Cock Robin?
To the outside world former football star Robin Cochrane was a picture of charm, but when he is found poisoned by a chemical solvent, Tessa and Steve are forced to put together a picture of the not so pleasant private life of Robin Cochrane.
Sept. 8, 1997, midnight
S1E6 - Hot Shot
When Maddie Herman, a paparazzi photographer who made her living out of the gossip and innuendo of the lives of others is found murdered, Steve and Tessa have no shortage of suspects. But when the case takes a sudden twist, Steve and Tessa realise that someone is leading them on a merry chase, until the trail leads the team back to a very surprising suspect.
Sept. 15, 1997, midnight
S1E7 - Black Friday
Steve and Tessa are called in to solve the murder of Trevor Parkin, his body was found one Friday afternoon in a zoo - he was wearing a gorilla costum. The more they discover about the deceased, the deeper the mystery, and although all the witnesses are helpful, there is no suspect, and no clear motive..or is there?
Sept. 22, 1997, midnight
S1E8 - Last Stop
Abel Jago sits dead in an armchair before his valuable toy railway, on which the train of cars make their rounds. The railway engineer left a short farewell letter to his wife Ellie before committing suicide. Tessa however soon has doubts about Jagos suicide and when the autopsy results come in, it is revealed he was poisoned with cyanide.
Sept. 29, 1997, midnight
S1E9 - Something Wicked
Tessa and Steve are confronted with a conspiracy of silence while investigating the death of a man with a history of abuse.
Oct. 6, 1997, midnight
S1E10 - Drop Dead Gorgeous
Steve and Tessa are baffled when former football star Wayne Pascall is found stabbed to death in a lift, with a missing woman's handbag next to his body.
Oct. 13, 1997, midnight
S1E11 - Dead and Gone
When Krystyan Balzan is found dead at the bottom of the stairs in his house, Steve and Tessa believe he came home unexpectedly and disturbed a robbery in progress.
Oct. 20, 1997, midnight
S1E12 - Wages of Sin
Steve and Tessa investigate the death of a woman found in an area notorious for prostitutes. When they learn the woman was a pregnant nun and not a prostitute, their investigation takes a new turn.
Oct. 27, 1997, midnight
S1E13 - An Eye for an Eye
When a mummified body is found in an empty house, it is identified as that of Karen Diskin, the daughter of police inspector Snowy Muldoon, who went missing two years earlier.
Nov. 3, 1997, midnight
S1E14 - Blood Heat
The brutal murder of a video store owner initially appears to be linked to a protest demonstration until other suspects emerge.
Nov. 10, 1997, midnight
S1E15 - Fall From Grace
Tessa suspects an apparent suicide is really an elaborate scam designed to cover a woman's disappearance.
Nov. 17, 1997, midnight
S1E16 - Heartstopper
When the general manager of a department store is found dead during the store's opening, the owner and employees become the main suspects in the investigation. Steve is haunted by a face from his past, and Tessa pursues the case alone.
Nov. 24, 1997, midnight
Network: Nine Network
Episode Runtime: 60 min.
Season Runtime: 60 min.
Released: Aug. 10, 1997
Last Air Date: Oct. 9, 2000, midnight
Status: Ended
Certification: NR
Rate this show
Add {Movie} to static lists