On my shortest list of all-time favourite TV detective series. Cracker, Prime Suspect, Foyle's War, Silent Witness and Morse are all superb, but Phoenix remains in a class of its own. A single crime is the thread of a story spanning 13 episodes, leading the viewer through every step of the investigation; the false trails, the lucky breaks, the painstaking slog, the brilliant insights - and the all-too-plausible departmental intrigues. It had me hooked completely from the start, counting the days from one episode to the next. Nothing glossed over, no paranormal visions, no leaps of faith to help point out the killers - just gritty, meticulous police work, wonderfully scripted and acted. As far as Australian police TV drama goes, there's Phoenix, Scales of Justice and Blue Murder, then Janus and Wildside, then daylight.
16 Reviews
The best TV series I have ever watched
alfredsmith9 December 2008
I'm over the moon. The ABC has finally released the first season of "Phoenix" as a box set and it has just arrived. I have waited for this moment for years and after watching the first episode I now recall what made this series the cop drama benchmark that it truly is.
The story, which was based on a real-life bombing, actually moved along quite slowly but each hour went by so quickly that it seemed like a few minutes. Every character was fleshed out and whole, even those with small parts. Looking back, it is astonishing that the whole series is concerned with the investigation of one major crime. It was totally absorbing and so very life like. It was the first that compelled me to watch it every week. All other TV dramas I could miss a week or two, but Phoenix was mandatory viewing as far as I was concerned.
The story, which was based on a real-life bombing, actually moved along quite slowly but each hour went by so quickly that it seemed like a few minutes. Every character was fleshed out and whole, even those with small parts. Looking back, it is astonishing that the whole series is concerned with the investigation of one major crime. It was totally absorbing and so very life like. It was the first that compelled me to watch it every week. All other TV dramas I could miss a week or two, but Phoenix was mandatory viewing as far as I was concerned.
Ten Stars for SERIES ONE only
siekba14 June 2020
PHOENIX series one was brilliantly executed. Great plots, gritty cinematography, and perfectly realised characters by actors Paul Sonkkila and the rest of the cast.
Sonkkila conveyed a weary but understanding cynicism with a wonderful shift in voice and tone when speaking to his children over the phone. We see a man missing his children and his home, caught in a divorce proceedings he is powerless to prevent. He's married to his job.
Without Paul Sonkilla at the helm, Series Two has lost an important gravitas that replacement Peter McCauley doesn't provide. I don't know why Sonkilla left or wasn't wooed back to Series Two, but someone dropped the ring.
Sonkkila conveyed a weary but understanding cynicism with a wonderful shift in voice and tone when speaking to his children over the phone. We see a man missing his children and his home, caught in a divorce proceedings he is powerless to prevent. He's married to his job.
Without Paul Sonkilla at the helm, Series Two has lost an important gravitas that replacement Peter McCauley doesn't provide. I don't know why Sonkilla left or wasn't wooed back to Series Two, but someone dropped the ring.
The Truth is out there
Knowall-227 July 1999
To me this series was absolutely spell binding. It is based on actual events but cleverly disguised as a Police Drama. The story covers a bombing in a city and the subsequent investigation over several episodes. Dramatic licence is there but the program is believable and never over the top. The program used a former police officer arson expert as there technical adviser and as a former member of this police force, the jargon and officer behaviour was terribly accurate. If you are lucky enough to come across a re-run of this series, watch it. It is interesting from the start and the actual forensic science techniques used are true. One last comment, I'm not the bozo forensic chemist, just his assistant.
One of the most realistic police dramas I've ever seen
Pizzaowner27 June 2021
I can't believe this was made in 1992...what a treat and what a shame there are only two seasons.
It is absolutely outstanding.
Realistic, entertaining, well shot and excellent scripts.
Happily, unlike most modern police procedurals there isn't a sex scene every 15 minutes and the majority of the drama is split between police work and forensic examinations from a husband and wife team of skilled actors.
Absolutely brilliant and I gave it a 10...something OI have only ever done 3 times before.
It is absolutely outstanding.
Realistic, entertaining, well shot and excellent scripts.
Happily, unlike most modern police procedurals there isn't a sex scene every 15 minutes and the majority of the drama is split between police work and forensic examinations from a husband and wife team of skilled actors.
Absolutely brilliant and I gave it a 10...something OI have only ever done 3 times before.
Inspired by a real life bombing of a police car, the series is, in short, about solving this one crime.
gsc0133717 July 2006
This series is edgy, gritty and above all real. There are no magic answers. Resolution doesn't happen in 48 short minutes. The plot, the character development, the acting - all are first rate. Perhaps the best comparison is something like "Hill St Blues". Although "Phoenix" is something unique, make no mistake. I saw this as it was first broadcast. The wait for each week's new episode was interminable. Simply outstanding! This is as good as Australian television - heck, television anywhere - gets!. I've not seen anything quite like it since. Save, perhaps, "Cracker". Lookout also for the follow up series "Janus".
Spot on
petgor31 January 2023
The story is straightforward. Two police officers investigating a potential crime are blown up by a car bomb, and the police have to investigate and apprehend the perpetrators who have committed other crimes. The two words to describe what happens next, are "slow burn". This is one of those only rare stories where forensics are as important as the actual investigation. As one would hope, the viewer needs to get to know all of the characters as intimately as possible, and this exercise of turning the characters into a team is done very well and very slowly. By the end we know each of the characters. The one female is very well acted and is totally believable. Instead of herself becoming, so to speak, one of the boys she retains her femininity and becomes a very useful part of the team. There is a moral side to the story which means that the detective in charge, must prepare for the trial and face inevitable criticism for seeming to cut corners.
A very unexpected ending whereby all of the work of the investigators and forensics gels and for me, gets an unexpected, grown up result.
My only reason for not giving it 10 stars was because as usual, and its my age, I couldn't always hear what the actors were saying.
A very unexpected ending whereby all of the work of the investigators and forensics gels and for me, gets an unexpected, grown up result.
My only reason for not giving it 10 stars was because as usual, and its my age, I couldn't always hear what the actors were saying.
Got cheated
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Outstanding!
dsimp130 December 2008
I agree with others who have praised this series. I watched it on TV when it was first screened and when it was rerun I fortunately caught most episodes.
Unfortunately at the time I did not have a VCR to tape them and include in my collection. I bought an episode from the ABC but it cost over a hundred bucks, so I didn't buy any more. I wish they would rerun it again so I can record them all however I fear the PC brigade from the Left are firmly in charge at the ABC now so I doubt that will happen.
The script, acting & camera work were spot on and I still recall how enjoyable it was, watching it for the first time each week.
If anyone made or has copies my email is: dsimp@dsimp.com
Unfortunately at the time I did not have a VCR to tape them and include in my collection. I bought an episode from the ABC but it cost over a hundred bucks, so I didn't buy any more. I wish they would rerun it again so I can record them all however I fear the PC brigade from the Left are firmly in charge at the ABC now so I doubt that will happen.
The script, acting & camera work were spot on and I still recall how enjoyable it was, watching it for the first time each week.
If anyone made or has copies my email is: dsimp@dsimp.com
I'd Love to see Phoenix again, and share the experience with friends!
windowboi13 February 2004
There are few series that I EVER became seriously addicted to, and PHOENIX tops the list! I saw in in the mid-90's when it was broadcast on public television (Knowledge Network) in British Columbia Canada. I stopped watching any American crime dramas that i had been interested in after watching Phoenix. The quality and detail were so far above the type of programming at the time. People now are all caught up in the whole 'CSI' experience and i see that these productions still pale to Phoenix. The concept of one crime and it playing out over a whole season had not been seen by myself before. The idea that you might miss an episode and REALLY miss something was so real! I totally loved the grittiness of the show. The scenes of profanity and violence, and yes nudity too... were a bit shocking compared to US television; but it was all done with context. I have tried watching other Australian series simply on the high regard I have for Phoenix and Phoenix II. I think this is listed elsewhere as 1991 and 1992?
I would love to see it again! I saw the ABC price for the series and almost cried.
I would love to see it again! I saw the ABC price for the series and almost cried.
An almost perfect snapshot of its era
mgpenguin1 March 2002
The weakest times of this series appear and quickly vanish in the first couple of episodes of the second series; two series were made, and the first is, in some respects, the better of the two: the labyrinthine narrative moves at a slightly quicker pace, while still allowing ample room for character development - this is not to detract from the second series, however - once it gets going it is every bit as good as the first (although lacking a couple of the core characters).
And characters are indeed what makes this at least the best police series ever made in this country (and there have been many), if not the best police series anywhere. Often in this genre characters are reduced to a few quick punchlines and mild caricature. Here, the realist stylistic trajectory taken by the series' creators requires that character development takes place to a level much more at home in the feature film - it being a linear continuing narrative there is not only room for this but it makes it all the more involving, no matter how slowly the overall narrative seems to be moving; these characters are not black-and-white good-and-evil cops of the other police series of the era or contemporary series - these police are more akin to police in film-noir, bureaucrats in kafka or characters in late 1990s legal dramas (although these seem to be drifting back towards black-and-white) - they are individualists, morally ambiguous - while they realise they exist within a system that's restrictive (and not always there for a good reason), they also know what they're trying to achieve and how they can manipulate it to get what they want. Even the sidebar characters (note particularly Bill Hunter's character in one episode of the first series) are well developed. Both series are very much driven by personal concerns; this is not about orthodox legal justice, this is about revenge. The first series, in the wake of a direct, violent attack on the police themselves, is particularly intense in this respect. Narrative is never predictable - the twists and turns of the second series as things seem to get increasingly serious are a high point - the constant re-starts of the investigation keep the interest alive. This realist, unpredictable narrative as well as deep, developed, and ambiguous characters makes for compelling television; adding to this is the fact that it draws its visual stylistic largely from shock-tactic road safety ads which hit screens in Victoria in 1989. That the first series was at least tacitly based on the investigation of a real bombing (which took place outside the Melbourne City Watchhouse in 1986, killing a young female constable in very similar circumstances to the female victim in Phoenix I) gives it all the more resonance for local residents who remember.
The changed political climate between 1991 (the first series) and 1993 (the second series) is also evident; a conservative state government coming to power in 1992 at the height of a recession means the investigations in the second series are hampered almost to the point of collapse by budget cuts and penny pinching by bureaucrats; while the series itself appears to have gone in the opposite direction - from the trembling, average quality (but not without a certain charm) telecine, sparse, tight narrative and cheap sets of the first series to sharp, immaculate images, an endless supply of locations and a considerably larger cast in the second series, room is given to develop the milieu of early 1990s, run-down melbourne in a more effective way, offsetting the less resonant narrative surrounding aggrevated burglaries.
Also of note is the excellent soundtrack by well-known jazz musician and composer Paul Grabowsky.
For students of the police procedural, Phoenix is well worth a look: it is probably the best - best written, most interestingly shot, deepest in terms of social insight and most representative of its period - ever produced in Australia, if not anywhere. Even the excellent Wildside rarely comes close - it is too prone to fits of commercially-conscious melodrama.
N.B: It is occasionally re-run by the ABC late at night; unfortunate, however, is that to buy it on VHS (or any video format; duplication is done exclusively by request) costs AUD$1100.
And characters are indeed what makes this at least the best police series ever made in this country (and there have been many), if not the best police series anywhere. Often in this genre characters are reduced to a few quick punchlines and mild caricature. Here, the realist stylistic trajectory taken by the series' creators requires that character development takes place to a level much more at home in the feature film - it being a linear continuing narrative there is not only room for this but it makes it all the more involving, no matter how slowly the overall narrative seems to be moving; these characters are not black-and-white good-and-evil cops of the other police series of the era or contemporary series - these police are more akin to police in film-noir, bureaucrats in kafka or characters in late 1990s legal dramas (although these seem to be drifting back towards black-and-white) - they are individualists, morally ambiguous - while they realise they exist within a system that's restrictive (and not always there for a good reason), they also know what they're trying to achieve and how they can manipulate it to get what they want. Even the sidebar characters (note particularly Bill Hunter's character in one episode of the first series) are well developed. Both series are very much driven by personal concerns; this is not about orthodox legal justice, this is about revenge. The first series, in the wake of a direct, violent attack on the police themselves, is particularly intense in this respect. Narrative is never predictable - the twists and turns of the second series as things seem to get increasingly serious are a high point - the constant re-starts of the investigation keep the interest alive. This realist, unpredictable narrative as well as deep, developed, and ambiguous characters makes for compelling television; adding to this is the fact that it draws its visual stylistic largely from shock-tactic road safety ads which hit screens in Victoria in 1989. That the first series was at least tacitly based on the investigation of a real bombing (which took place outside the Melbourne City Watchhouse in 1986, killing a young female constable in very similar circumstances to the female victim in Phoenix I) gives it all the more resonance for local residents who remember.
The changed political climate between 1991 (the first series) and 1993 (the second series) is also evident; a conservative state government coming to power in 1992 at the height of a recession means the investigations in the second series are hampered almost to the point of collapse by budget cuts and penny pinching by bureaucrats; while the series itself appears to have gone in the opposite direction - from the trembling, average quality (but not without a certain charm) telecine, sparse, tight narrative and cheap sets of the first series to sharp, immaculate images, an endless supply of locations and a considerably larger cast in the second series, room is given to develop the milieu of early 1990s, run-down melbourne in a more effective way, offsetting the less resonant narrative surrounding aggrevated burglaries.
Also of note is the excellent soundtrack by well-known jazz musician and composer Paul Grabowsky.
For students of the police procedural, Phoenix is well worth a look: it is probably the best - best written, most interestingly shot, deepest in terms of social insight and most representative of its period - ever produced in Australia, if not anywhere. Even the excellent Wildside rarely comes close - it is too prone to fits of commercially-conscious melodrama.
N.B: It is occasionally re-run by the ABC late at night; unfortunate, however, is that to buy it on VHS (or any video format; duplication is done exclusively by request) costs AUD$1100.
Just the best!
mahrae26 May 2002
Of all the TV series I have watched - which include most western productions (including American and British) - this is by far the best. Brilliant direction, acting, cinematography and editing. The storyline, while based on an actual event where two police officers are killed by a bombing, is just outstanding. It is uncontrived, honest and so real that you can just feel it. In my humble opinion there can be little doubt that this series is, to date, the zenith of television production in Australia - and the equal of anything in the world (and that says a lot coming from a New Zealander!).
The only disappointment is that this series has never got the awards and critical acclaim outside of Australia that it deserved. While this series was produced in 1992, it is only being matched in quality by series produced a decade later. Current series that come close to the quality of Phoenix include "Criminal Intent" and "Special Victims Unit".
The only disappointment is that this series has never got the awards and critical acclaim outside of Australia that it deserved. While this series was produced in 1992, it is only being matched in quality by series produced a decade later. Current series that come close to the quality of Phoenix include "Criminal Intent" and "Special Victims Unit".
Superb: the most believable police drama I've ever seen.
Mephisto-2429 March 2001
Based on a true story, this Australian mini-series is one of the few police dramas I've ever seen which conveys how complicated, frustrating and slow the process of solving a murder can be... and yet manages to be a gripping drama. As an added bonus, it features one of the best depictions of real (sane!) scientists ever put on television - a husband-and-wife team of forensic experts who manage to retain their integrity as scientists despite the political demands of the job. It also boasts an excellent soundtrack, as well as strong performances from all of the cast. Catch it if you can.
Greatest show ever!!!!!!!!!!
dazza_drums12 February 2006
I would have to say that Phoenix was the best mini-series ever committed to television.I must have watched it a million times and still find it invigorating as when i first watched it,with it's grainy vision and halting camera work this was not just another cop show,but at true piece of television magic.A member of my wife's family personally knows the technical adviser for the series and i have been able to glean many facts regarding this fantastic series.It is a shame that it can't be purchased on DVD as my copies on VHS are becoming well worn,and considering i had to place an ad in the herald sun to find someone who could let me purchase a copy it must be hard for the fans to keep hold of the memories.Hopefully someone at the ABC will have the good sense to re-release this as a box set on DVD,and keep the memories fresh for a long time to come.
A true cop show
heags426 December 2001
I have only seen 'Phoenix' as a repeat (currently been shown @ 11pm Monday nights on ABC). I thought that the first series was brilliant, but on Monday, the second series premiered. I noticed that Paul Sonkila and Andy Anderson were among the notable absentees - obviously as officers-in-charge of the Major Crime Squad, they were held accountable for the many complaints regarding the bomb investigation. It now seems that Phoenix has lost its first series quality. Am I reading to much into the first episode, or were Sonkila, Anderson and others smart enough to get off a sinking ship?
Brilliant!
rainbow-1313 August 1999
This is one of the finest series I've seen. Concentrating on the main thread, each episode has different themes, which all come together at the end. Brilliant! Sadly, the second series went off the rails and, yet again, they killed off great potential. Worth anyone watching - you need to watch carefully, but it's so gripping that's no problem.
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