AustLit

'Set in the late 1920’s, MISS FISHER AND THE CRYPT OF TEARS honours the heightened exoticisms of the murder mystery genre as the Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher, lady detective, escapes the small screen and takes off on a global adventure - via romantic wayside stops in the Far East, glamorous sojourns in the mansions of London, and a battle to survive the rolling sands of the Arabian Desert long enough to find the missing treasure, solve numerous murders and break all aviation records as she wings her way home again!'

Source: Screen Australia.

'Shortly after arriving in Sydney, Australia, a brilliant heart surgeon visiting from China is drawn into a deadly game whereby he must kill a stranger or lose somebody close to him. Our hero unexpectedly finds himself at the centre of a deadly, complex game when he is delivered a box with a murderous message. As a doctor dedicated to preserving life, he refuses to play - he refuses to kill. Then those he loves most, his family, come under threat. Kidnap and murder are just the start. This is the thrilling story of a man fighting against impossible odds to bring his family to safety, using everything at his disposal to outwit his unknown opponents amidst terrible danger.'

Source: Playmaker Media.

'Ioan Gruffudd stars as brilliant forensic pathologist Dr Daniel Harrow in this major new 10-part Australian crime drama. He investigates the apparent suicide of a young woman whose grieving father suspects she was murdered.' (Production summary)

'1964-65. Singapore is a city at a crossroads. Political and racial tensions are at fever pitch as the British pull out, and a new nation is about to be born. The lights of Bugis Street have never burned so bright: bootleg copies of Motown songs boom out from street stalls; the Rolling Stones are in town along with tourists and American sailors fresh from Vietnam. They join British and Australian soldiers checking out the prostitutes and gambling dens en route to their own war in Borneo.

This is the city of Sam Callaghan, Patricia Cheng, the CIA’s Conrad Harrison and the clients of the Cheng Detective Agency. The agency’s cases range from the usual (straying spouses and petty fraudsters) to events with international implications and complications. Sam’s contacts from his military days are useful - but they start to drag him back into a dark world that he would prefer to leave behind.'

Source: 'About [Serangoon Road]' http://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/serangoon-road/ (Sighted 06/12/2013)

'Phryne, Dot and Dr. Mac happily accompany Aunt Prudence to a picturesque chalet to celebrate a white Christmas in July. The party arrives to find one of the residents dead — electrocuted while hanging festive lights. No more suspicious than the usual Miss Fisher investigation, until the body count starts to rapidly rise.

'Heavy snowfalls and harsh weather trap them all with a murderer in their midst — and any one of them the next victim. It's a race against time for Phryne and Jack to hunt down the culprit — and restore enough Christmas joy to take full advantage should they find themselves standing under that bunch of mistletoe!'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 26/2/2014)

'The gothic world of the Magdalene Laundries — a halfway house for pregnant and wayward girls, run by Catholic nuns — sets the scene for the tragic death of an escaping teenager. As Phryne becomes more suspicious of the goings-on behind the convent walls, she and Jack realise the threads of this crime lead higher up and closer to home than they ever suspected.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 26/2/2014)

'When Jack's ex-father-in-law, Deputy Commissioner George Sanderson, is implicated in the brutal murder of a prostitute, Jack is determined to clear his name. Despite strict instructions from Jack not to meddle in his case, Phryne decides to perfect her 'fan dance' in order to go undercover at the gentleman's club of the notorious Madam Lyon.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 26/2/2014)

Underbelly: Badness chronicles the spider web of criminality spun by Anthony Perish and the quest by a dedicated team of police to bring him and his associates to justice. A feared underworld figure, Perish managed to maintain an almost non-existent public profile, which was only revealed when his connection to the murder of Terry Falconer, a former inmate of Sydney's Silverwater jail, brought him to the attention of Strike Force Tuno, which was formed to find Falconer's killers. Displaying an extraordinary level of perseverance and determination, Strike Force Tuno, led by Detective Inspector Jubelin spent ten years gathering the evidence that would finally see Perish brought to justice.'

(Source: Inside Film website)

'The Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher has been chosen to refine a group of delinquent flower maidens for the annual flower parade. When the body of one of her charges washes up on the beach, though, she begins to question the worth of table manners and dancing lessons. In the midst of her investigation, Jane's mother unexpectedly resurfaces and Phryne has to face her fears about losing her ward.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 24/5/2013)

'As a young woman in Paris after the war, Phryne posed for the famous artist Pierre Sarcelle. Now, ten years later, Sarcelle's widow arrives in Melbourne asking for her late husband's paintings.

'When the widow suddenly disappears, Phryne discovers the connection between Mme Sarcelle and the death of an Australian war veteran who witnessed the 'accidental' death of Sarcelle at Montparnasse train station.

'As Phryne delves into this investigation, she remembers her own days in Paris and her first love. The two worlds collide as Phryne tracks down the murderer — but Jack is the man who gives her the courage to confront her past.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 24/5/2013)

'A young man with a blue tattoo lies cradled in Phryne's arms. Sadly, it's not another scene of glorious seduction. This time it's murder.

'Outraged by this brutal slaughter, Phryne promises to find out who is responsible. But Phryne doesn't yet know how deeply into the mire she'll have to go — bank robbery, anarchists, and the kidnap of her beloved maid Dot. Her investigations lead her into the arms of the delicious yet dangerous anarchist, Peter the Painter.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 24/5/2013)

Note: The character 'Peter the Painter' is based on a 'real' Latvian anarchist (a historical figure whose identity is disputed and whose actual existence is sometimes questioned). Also known as Peter Piaktow, Peter the Painter was said to have been involved in the Siege of Sidney Street (also called the Battle of Stepney) in London's East End in 1911.

'The Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher disembarks the Orient at Victoria Dock, returning to Melbourne after years abroad. Almost as soon as she checks into the Windsor Hotel, Phryne is embroiled in mystery: poisoned husbands, cocaine smuggling rings and illegal abortionists — not to mention erotic encounters with a handsome Russian dancer. Her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish Bath Palace off Little Lonsdale Street.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 24/5/2013)

'Mysterious sightings have been reported around inner-Sydney over the last week. A door to the past has opened, affording locals a glimpse of one of their city's most colorful eras...the 1920's. A time when notorious vice queens, Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh battled for supremacy over a nefarious world built on illegal drugs, gambling, extortion and prostitution. When brothels and sly grog shops flourished and gangs of thugs slashed their opposition into silence until the streets ran with blood.

'Welcome to the compelling world of Underbelly: Razor.'

Source: Channel Nine website, http://channelnine.ninemsn.com.au/ (Sighted: 18/08/2011)

'Delving into the extraordinary world of the Office of the Department of Public Prosecution and its young eager lawyers, who know the law backwards, but who have a lot to learn about life, Crownies, is a 22 x 1 hour drama, produced by Screentime Australia for ABC TV.

Crownies follows five young solicitors, fresh out of law school, as they face the pressures and endearing madness of modern single life - in a fast-paced workplace that highlights the moral dilemmas and big issues facing an apparently civilised society.

In a world that exists solely to see 'wrong-doers' brought to justice, and where the average age of the solicitors is 27, there is a big divide between these young solicitors and the barristers at the top. Yet they are the initial point of contact with the police, and it is they who do most of the liaising with the victims and the witnesses - and recommend what goes to court. They are hungry, committed, idealistic and hard-working, but their lives away from the office are riddled with aspirations, explorations, fragile relationships and partying.'

Source: ABC website

'Based on the novels of Australian author Kerry Greenwood. Our lady sleuth sashays through the back lanes and jazz clubs of late 1920s Melbourne, fighting injustice with her pearl handled pistol and her dagger-sharp wit. Leaving a trail of admirers in her wake, our thoroughly modern heroine makes sure she enjoys every moment of her lucky life.'

Source: Inside Film and Television website

'In the middle of the beautiful harbour of Sydney, on the eve of the biggest public live music party on the city's calendar, a body is discovered ravaged by an mysterious contagion and Chief Medical Examiner JIM immediately appeals for quarantine. But the party's too important to the city's coffers and Jim's fears spiral out of control when he learns that his children ELMO and NINA are both at the event. With the help of government spook HIRSCH, Jim takes the law into his own hands and closes off all access to the event. But instead of controlling the situation, a riot erupts that throws the entire city into bedlam. With the world collapsing around him, Jim discovers that not only has his wife DENNY infiltrated the deadly pandemonium to find their children, but the virus is no accident, and the people responsible for it are the last he'd ever suspect...'

Source: Press release (http://goalpostpictures.com/media/files/press_kits/Final%20PRESS%20KIT%20-%20Panic%20At%20Rock%20Island.pdf). (Sighted: 7/6/2012)

'The cops were bent and the crims were cool. And together they ran the most exciting street in Australia. Strippers, gamblers, gunmen, dealers, bouncers, bagmen - they all came to the Golden Mile.

'A smart and sexy young Kim Hollingsworth, smiling teenage Kings Cross identity Johnny Ibrahim, the Bayeh Brothers, Trevor Haken, Chook Fowler ... the Golden Mile was their playground, and they played like there was no tomorrow.

'Then, in 1995, 'tomorrow' came and the Wood Royal Commission cleaned out the Black Empire within the NSW Police. But it left behind a mess that took years of mayhem to bring under control.

'Underbelly: The Golden Mile is the story of the excesses of the empire, the collapse of the empire, the chaos that followed, and the ultimate victory of strong and honest police ... seen through the eyes of some of the most sexy, charming, corrupt and deadly people of the time.'

Source: Publisher's website.

'In 1995 model Caroline Byrne’s body was recovered from the Gap in Sydney: did she jump or was she pushed?'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 10/5/2013)

'A generation before Alphonse Gangitano and Carl Williams achieved notoriety, an even bigger crime wave rocked the country. Heroin hit the nation like a tsunami. Drug money flooded the underworld and with the new money came a breed of hard men and beautiful women. Two names stood above all others — blazing across the underworld and changing the face of organised crime in Australia forever — 'Aussie' Bob Trimbole and Terry Clark.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 8/7/2013)

In the not-so-distant future, Australia suffers permanent drought. Potable water is a sought-after contraband item and the fire department has risen to control every other branch of the emergency services, even the police. But in a world in which water is so scarce, what happens when a firestorm threatens metropolitan Sydney?