Forensic Files (TV)

DATE: First aired in 2000

IDENTIFICATION: Half-hour documentary-style television series that outlines the background and forensic procedures used to solve real crimes and other mysteries.

SIGNIFICANCE: Forensic Files was among the first major television series to examine forensic procedures employed in specific criminal investigations, and its success contributed to increased attention to forensic science among the general public.

In the late 1990s, the use of forensic sciences in criminal investigations captured the imagination of television viewers in the United States. Both reality-based, documentary-style and fictionalized programs helped to change the public perception of forensics from dry science to glamorous endeavor.

History

Originally airing under the title Medical Detectives on cable television’s TLC (The Learning Channel) on the heels of the O. J. Simpson trial in 1995, the show that became Forensic Files was picked up by cable network Court TV (now truTV) in 2000. Airing five nights each week, it rapidly gained popularity. The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) used episodes of Forensic Files as a summer replacement series in 2002—the first time an original cable show had been aired on a broadcast network during its cable run. By 2007, the series was attracting more than a million viewers each week to Court TV and had become the cable network’s top-rated show. It also was airing—under various titles, including Forensic Files and Medical Detectives—in more than 140 countries worldwide.

Although at least one previous television crime series, Quincy, M.E. (1976-1983), had developed some interest in the forensic sciences among the public, that show was fictional and focused primarily on the main character, a medical examiner, rather than on scientific principles. In contrast, Forensic Files was among the first to examine forensic procedures in a documentary television format, and it became a catalyst for the development of popular fictional drama series featuring forensics, such as CSI: crime scene Investigation and its spin-offs.

Forensic Files was produced by Medstar Television in association with Court TV Original Productions. Medstar produced health-related materials for a variety of private and public forums, including the Discovery Channel, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and TLC. Paul Dowling, the show’s executive producer and cofounder of Medstar Television, was quoted as noting that the premise of Forensic Files is to demonstrate that science can “beat the bad guys.” The show ended its run in June 2011 after 406 episodes.

Format

In each episode, Forensic Files focused on a single criminal case—often a murder—and demonstrates how forensic procedures were used to solve the crime. The material was presented typically in the form of a chronology of events, from initial investigation through court or other legal resolution. Cases were culled from a variety of sources, including magazine and newspaper stories and suggestions from scientists and investigators, and were usually selected based on their intrigue value.

The show primarily followed an interview format, with commentaries from various parties on the case at hand, including family members of victims, detectives, anthropologists, journalists, medical examiners, and criminologists. Although the show was billed as a documentary and the episodes generally depicted relatively little action, the producers used music, reenactments of actual events, computer animation, and other dramatic devices to give the series the ambiance of a crime mystery. The crime reenactments were typically shot in a different videographic style and frequently depicted alternate explanations of the crime that were eventually disproved. Most of the cases presented did not involve high-profile crimes, but they often contained bizarre elements that enhanced the show’s “whodunit” aspects.

Although Forensic Files often highlighted cases that were in the news, many of the crimes examined on the show were initially considered “cold cases”—cases that had long gone unsolved—until newer forensic technologies were used to crack them. In fact, forensic advances were often a key plot element in the program, and occasional hour-long Forensic Files specials were aired that focus on high-profile investigations such as the 1932 abduction and murder of the son of famed aviator Charles A. Lindbergh and the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In addition, the show often focused on cases in which persons who had been convicted of crimes were eventually exonerated thanks to cutting-edge forensic techniques. Criminal investigations were the primary fare of Forensic Files, but the program occasionally explored other realms of forensic investigation, including accidents, civil cases, suicides, and mysterious health issues, such as Legionnaires’ disease and outbreaks of disease caused by hantaviruses.

Contrast with Fictional Programs

Unlike fictional crime dramas, which frequently exaggerated the capabilities of forensic science, Forensic Files examined real-life forensic techniques in the context of common usages. For example, the show rarely focused on (deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis and other techniques that have since become part of the mainstream lexicon but were sparingly employed in real life. Such procedures were often extremely costly, and results may not have been available for months, as many forensics laboratories were seriously overburdened. Well-known forensic procedures such as and fingerprinting were frequently featured on Forensic Files, but the program also highlighted more unusual and exotic techniques such as forensic zoology, botany, and psychology.

Although Forensic Files depicted more of the gritty reality of forensic investigation than did fictional dramas such as CSI, some critics argued that, like other crime shows, it created an overly glamorous picture of forensic work. Critics also asserted that Forensic Files served to bolster the false assumption that is infallible, as it failed to acknowledge the true limitations of the science. In 2024, Content Partners, a Los Angeles Company, acquired 400 episodes of the show along with the international rights to the distribution of Forensic Files II.

Bibliography

Dowling, Paul, with Vince Sherry. The Official “Forensic Files” Casebook. New York: iBooks, 2004.

Evans, Colin.The Casebook of Forensic Detection: How Science Solved One Hundred of the World’s Most Baffling Crimes. Updated ed. New York: Berkley Books, 2007.

Noguchi, Thomas T., with Joseph DiMona. Coroner. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983.

Ragle, Larry. Crime Scene. Rev. ed. New York: Avon Books, 2002.

Ramsland, Katherine. The Forensic Science of “C.S.I.” New York: Berkley Books, 2001.

Ward, Jeff. "Forensic Files, Lehigh Valley-Produced 'True Crime' Show, Acquired by Los Angeles Company." WFMZ News, 20 May 2024, www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/forensic-files-lehigh-valley-produced-true-crime-show-acquired-by-los-angeles-company/article‗5147c2c6-e6b1-11ee-81d2-572230f9f029.html. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.