The Brokenwood Mysteries - First Episode
When fishermen reel in a dead body in small town Brokenwood, Detective Mike Shepherd can't help but crack a joke: "I love a catch. Probably the one they wish had got away." In this excerpt from very first episode 'Blood & Water', new cop in town Shepherd (Neill Rea of Scarfies fame) pairs up with Detective Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland from The Almighty Johnsons) to try to figure out what happened to drunk ol' Nate Dunn (Chris Sherwood). The detectives became a permanent team as the Prime TV series continued, working on deaths that plague the area.
The Brokenwood Mysteries
Described by co-star Neill Rea as the "little show that could", The Brokenwood Mysteries has screened in over 15 countries and and involved a long run of fictional murders. Each feature-length episode of this Prime TV crime drama is a standalone murder mystery, set in a small Kiwi town. Neill Rea (Scarfies) stars as veteran detective Mike Shepherd, who works alongside Detective Kristin Sims (played by Fern Sutherland from The Almighty Johnsons). Backing up the pair are Detective Sam Breen (Nic Sampson from Funny Girls) and Russian pathologist Gina Kadinsky (Cristina Ionda).
Duggan: Sins of the Fathers
Duggan - Sins of the Fathers is the second of two telefeatures starring a brooding, charismatic John Bach as a city detective, drawn into a Marlborough Sounds murder mystery. Marion McLeod conceived the show; Donna Malane and Ken Duncum were nominated for an NZ Television Award for this script. The turquoise waters of the Sounds (shot by Leon Narbey) make for an evocative setting where Duggan, drawn by the irresistible allure of explosions and an unsolved case, investigates the murder of a convicted rapist. The late Michele Amas plays pathologist Jennifer Collins.
Michele Amas
Dunedin-born Michele Amas was an actor for over 30 years, and a poet for at least 10. Amas graduated from drama school Toi Whakaari in 1984. Alongside dozens of theatre credits, she made numerous TV appearances: she was cheeky but "incredibly strong-willed" pathologist Jennifer Collins in Duggan, who has a soft spot for detective Duggan; mother of the teen hero in series Holly's Heroes; and long-suffering assistant to the school principal in black comedy Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby. Amas also directed short film Redial, which competed at the 2002 Venice Film Festival. She passed away on Boxing Day, 2016.
Mike Gill
Pathologist and climber Mike Gill accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary on many adventures, often doubling up as participant and cameraman. In 1961 he was part of the first team to climb Nepal’s Ama Dablam; he later helped film Ed’s missions jet-boating up the Ganges, climbing the Kaipo Wall and grand traversing Mt Cook. A founding member of the Himalayan Trust, Gill wrote Himalayan Hospitals about its humanitarian work.
Rebecca Gibney
Within two years of acting in kidult TV adventure Sea Urchins, Kiwi Rebecca Gibney had set up shop in Australia. There she would find fame — and a long list of awards and nominations — thanks to a television CV which includes Wanted (which she also created), Packed to the Rafters, The Flying Doctors, mini-series Come in Spinner, and 21 Halifax tele-movies as forensic psychiatrist Jane Halifax.