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Truth in the world of Miss Fisher

Underneath the whodunnits, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries delves deep into our social history, as Deb Cox explains.

12mffmOne one level ABC1’s Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries is a spirited whodunnit.

But as co-creator and producer Deb Cox explains, there’s also a deep social history running through the episodes, each of which is based on a novel or short story by writer Kerry Greenwood.

With its evocative backdrops, there are always parallels between the period 1929 setting and contemporary themes.

“We were very conscious of creating distinct worlds for each episode because you feel like you’ve made a journey,” Cox explains.

“This series we’ve tried to have a slightly more male-focus to balance out the feminine energy of Miss Fisher. One episode is set in a boxing tent on the St Kilda foreshore and another is based on football. I had assumed the early days of football were when the days were clean and it was all about honour. But the more you dig into it the more you find players might have been given cushy jobs so they could take as much time off to play football.

“So there were compromises.

“There’s a final line said by our coach that could be said by any key media football figure today. They all have to have some kind of relevance to today.”

Another episode is set in the world of the local film industry.

“It’s about the coming of the Talkies and the end of the Silent Era and the relationship between America and Australia,” she recalls.

“There was a Royal Commission into the film industry. It looked at what was going on and how to protect the industry in a small country where the dominant culture is coming from somewhere else.

“So the issues haven’t changed much.

“We have an episode in a Winery that looks at the attitude towards the Germans in Australia after the First World War. It’s set in a German-run Winery and it goes back to look at the history of a town that lost most of its young men in WWI and what the attitudes are in 1929 to a foreigner.

“Episode 7 is in a radio station that looks at media. Around that time radio stations were blossoming, just before the ABC created a national broadcaster.

“So newspapers were starting to feel threatened by radio. At one point they tried to ban radio from giving sports results. It didn’t work of course.”

The book ‘Unnatural Habits’ takes a religious theme.

“The church is part of the story, but we have to be careful. We’re not in the business of making accusations or sweeping statements about anything so we have to be careful about how we integrate the Catholic Church,” she says.

Miss Fisher has never been a religious person. It doesn’t matter if it’s Catholic, Protestant, whatever. She’s skeptical of the whole lot as part of her modern make up.”

The series starring Essie Davis continues to be a big hit for the ABC, enjoying bumper ratings on Friday nights and sales into foreign territories.

But recreating evocative settings on a public broadcaster budget isn’t easy and there are times when the production department has to dig deep to recreate with authenticity, or to erase telltale modern trappings.

“For the budget I think we get a lot on screen, because everyone’s pushing to do their best. Because it’s a period piece, the art department, costume, everyone is allowed to show off,” says Cox.

“This series we’ve had a night cityscape at the Polly Woodside (boat) and there’s a Christmas special that involves a chalet in the snow.

“So we try to do as much as we can without CGI and then we go for a lovely tableau. For example in episode 12 it’s the Polly Woodside  with the deck at night. But obviously the surroundings are modern so that will be our big CGI spend for that episode.”

Last season there was a series arc involving the disappearance of Miss Fisher’s sister, Jane. This season a new arc looks at police corruption.

“You often find with period shows that you cook up something based on a hunch and you find with research an amazing synchronicity with what really happened in the day,” she says.

“It’s very interesting what happened in the day with the commissioner of police in Melbourne. Inadvertently, you’re skating very close to the truth even though our characters are all fictitious.

“You feel as though you’re being authentic. Even though it’s fun and it’s heightened, and definitely tongue-in-cheek in terms of the tone, you discover the realities of what you’re doing.

“There’s some grist to it.”

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries airs 8:30pm Fridays on ABC1.

4 Responses

  1. ABC is beginning to make some very fine period shows. Ms Fisher’s Murder Mysteries were the first and I find them significantly superior to what we get on commercial channels. Dr Blakes mysteries continues the fine productions. And now the very rich Perangoon Road adds to the list. Well done ABC. These shows are comparable to the best of British TV

  2. The social history component of the show is what I love the most. The mystery storylines are great too. I can’t imagine anyone pulling off the role better than Essie Davis does.

  3. I’m enjoying the second series. They’ve done a better job using the characters and setting in the stories.

    A Christmas special with snow? Obviously targeting the UK market with that one.

    800k is solid rather than great, New Tricks got 1.07m on Saturday.

  4. This show is getting better every episode. I’ve noticed they do a good job of featuring many characters from many different backgrounds. Much better than a lot of Aussie soapies and series do.

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