Forensic Files...anyone?

I'm not a huge TV junkie, but when I want to throw on something quick and easy to find, Forensic Files is always on.

1996-2016 - 20 years, 15 seasons, and 404 episodes.

The great voice of the late Peter Thomas narrating.

Isn't this one of the coolest bedtime snack series ever?

It's morbid, but it's also fascinating, as it's easy to get caught up into wanting them to catch the bad guy. Or, sometimes, they think someone is the killer, but it wasn't.

You never know what you're going to get with Forensic Files. Sometimes the shows are based on law, prisons, freak accidents (supposedly), and even crimes going back decades.

It's like the Forrest Gump of TV shows. Anybody with me?

 

Great show. Also great was the Autopsy Files show from HBO back from the 90s or early 00s. I think these two were the first of a now pretty big market of decent investigation shows.

 

When you hear Peter Thomas saying a name on that show, the end of the sentence is never going to be "Lived a long and wonderful life."

We get a channel called Escape on over-the-air TV, and it has that show, preceeded by American Greed, narrated by Stacey Keach. It's a bit melodramatic at times, but it's also fun to watch. Sometimes, though, I find myself wondering how many stupid Ponzi schemes people can cook up. I mean, if you watch the show, the perpetrators never have an exit strategy. Their hedge/insurance/stock/mutual fund runs out of money and then they go to jail. Why aren't they on a boat to Barbados before the FBI comes bashing into their office?

 

I love the show. Especially the early seasons. Some of those early episodes were down right scary.

 

Was that with Dr. Michael Baden? I loved that show. "Forsenic Files" was fun too.

 

Our subscription TV provider has (almost) every episode available on demand with no commercials. It's a very long slog, but we're working our way through them.
By almost every episode, there's at least 350 and they're adding some every week so soon will be every episode.

 

What a great show! It is often on in the background in my office while working. It is so easy to get hooked right from the intro.

 

Love it. I will admit that I saw Montel promoting it and decided to check it out. It's the kind of show that binge watching was invented for. Some of the stories are just amazing.


Dan

 

My 11-year old daughter, when she was about 9...well, we were on holiday and I woke up in the middle of the night and my little girl was watching. In some way I was mortified. Yet, the next day she kept singing the intro and then narrating a fake show intro. It made us laugh!

 

It's a brilliant show. Pretty sure I've seem basically all of them at least once. They used to play them nightly on the Crime & Investigation Network here in NZ. They probably still do but haven't looked lately.

 

That's the one.

 

I'm always shocked by how evil the criminals are on this show. Often, it's a wife poisoning her husband for the life insurance money, or a police officer pulling young women over to rape and murder them.

 

I can't sleep without the TV on, so this is what I tune into overnight. I find Peter Thomas' narration to be very relaxing.

 

I watch it too, usually at 2 or 3 am.

 

I've always loved Forensic Files, the format of the show is fantastic and Peter's voice is the perfect mix of ominous/relaxing...oddly enough

 

Are you kidding? One of the greatest true crime shows ever.

The company that owns the rights to all of the episodes for 'home video' distribution has a YouTube channel and has all of the seasons up there for free. Just have to sit through a commercial or several.

FilmRise Forensic Files YouTube Channel

 

Forensic Files is a good show, but Peter Thomas is what makes it great. Not only does he have a great voice, but you can tell he took his job seriously. He got you sucked into the mystery, and you had to stay tuned to see what happened.

 

Was very sad to hear that Peter Thomas died last year I believe. He IS Forensic Files IMO. It's his narration that really immerses you in the stories, and it doesn't sound over the top or sensational for the sake of it either.

 

I love the show too and agree that Peter Thomas really made it. I always notice his pronunciation. Sometimes I listen carefully and realize how many words I customarily mispronounce or slur. I think I have become a better speaker from listening to him over the years.

 

Actually, Forensic Files was on longer than the stated run . . . it actually started a few years before on another channel (Discovery, I.I.N.M.) as Medical Detectives. Same production company, same host, same format, but different title on another channel. But some of the cases were classic - like the woman who was murdered and buried in the snow, and her killer - her boyfriend - had been caught due to a cat named "Snowball" rubbing against his leather jacket. (And the forensics crew had a you-know-what time getting that cat's DNA.)

There was another show that dealt with such cases, an hour long and three cases per show, also originating from Discovery and ran a long time until the host (in this case, Gene Galusha, another calming and unforgettable voiceover) died: The New Detectives.

 

When we travel we tune in to Headline News and listen FF on XM. Love it

 

The case depicted in one episode of The Forensic Files ("The Skin Of Her Teeth") centered on the house across the street from mine. It began when some kids found a human skull in a small local lake, teeth extracted so identification would be more difficult. Brr.

 

Finally!! Not that I have watched FF, but I've wondered for years who belonged to that voice that is so familiar. I remember first hearing his voice over for the educational vocal tracks accompanying "film strips" in elementary school. Such a unique voice. RIP Mr. Thomas.