Forensic Files

Season 12 e.tv (*194) 18:00 Doccie

“Unless you’re dealing with criminals who are caught red-handed, forensics is the only way to solve criminal cases,” said Peter Thomas before passing away in 2016. He was the narrator of police doccie series Forensic Files (1996-2011) and while the crimes have stayed the same throughout the 14 seasons, the techniques used to apprehend baddies have improved thanks to technological advancements. Putting together the show was no small feat either.

1 The production team were so thorough with their research that the show has been used by the US Department Of Justice to train new agents.

2 The seasons all have different episode counts because the experts weren’t always available (they often worked multiple cases at a time) or the show being denied access to the stories by local law enforcement.

3 Of the 400 half-hour episodes, there were only five episodes that featured the same perpetrator, which the narrator at the time said was an “extra- ordinarily high percentage”.

4 There are six hour-long specials made by network TLC after it sold the rights to Court TV in 2000 – they were broadcast in 2001 under Forensic Files’ original title Medical Detectives.

5 The show filmed in the expert’s office and laboratory if possible, adding film noir-style lighting. They also had their own adjustable lab set.

6 The way that Forensic Files filmed its crime re-enactments was so popular that it was adopted by the CSI action show franchise (2000-2016), which Peter jokingly referred to as “just bigger-budget versions of us”.

7 And until 2016, case updates were added to the DVD boxsets.