The FBI Files

For other uses, see FBI Files (disambiguation).

The FBI Files
Title card
Created by	Tom Naughton
Starring	James Kallstrom Anthony Call Susan Rae Stephen Kemble
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	120 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	60 minutes (approx. 45 minutes)
Production company(s)	New Dominion Pictures
Release
Original network	Discovery Channel
Original release	October 20, 1998 (1998-10-20) – March 24, 2006 (2006-03-24)

The FBI Files is an American television docudrama series that originally ran from 1998 to 2006. It was carried by the Discovery Channel cable network and produced by New Dominion Pictures of Suffolk, Virginia. The show was cancelled by the Discovery Channel in 2006; however, Escape (TV network), Discovery Channel and its sister network, Investigation Discovery, air re-runs, although until October 2012, Investigation Discovery only showed episodes from seasons 5,6, and 7. As of October 2012, the network now airs episodes from the earlier seasons (although not necessarily in chronological order), with updated information about the cases at the end of most episodes. Up to late September 2012, WE tv showed episodes from seasons 1-4, but the network had removed the episode introductions by Jim Kallstrom. In the UK on Channel 5, The FBI Files airs most Saturday nights before QuizCall. It has also been shown on TV Denmark and Discovery Australia. All seven seasons have been released on DVD.

Synopsis

The show described actual FBI cases, with dramatic reenactments and interviews with agents and forensic scientists who worked in the investigations. The show premiered on October 20, 1998, and 120 episodes were produced by Discovery Channel Producer Tom Golden before the final original episode shown on March 24, 2006. The series covered the kidnapping and murder of Polly Klaas, the investigation and conviction of John Gotti, the Unabomber case, the World Trade Center Bombing, the Sara Tokars murder case, the several prison escapes by Christopher Jeburk, John Birges's biggest bomb in history (Harvey's Casino in Stateline, Nevada), and many other well-known and less well-known true crime stories. Unlike The New Detectives, a somewhat similar true crime show, The FBI Files centers on murders, narcotics, bank robberies, kidnappings, etc., where the FBI is called in to assist police departments.

Hosts and narrators

James Kallstrom, a former head of the FBI's New York City office, hosted the show. Among other high-profile cases, he investigated the crash of TWA Flight 800. Allison Erkelens was head writer for the series' production company, New Dominion Pictures, from 2000 to 2005.

Anthony Call co-hosted/narrates all the United States episodes. Susan Rae and Stephen Kemble were the narrators on several international versions of the show.

Lucy Longhurst narrated the international version of the episodes "Murdering Cowboy" that was about the convicted felon Claude Dallas and "Deadly Paradise" about the "Sea Wind Murders" on Palmyra Atoll.

Peter Dickson narrated the international version of the episodes "A Model Killer" that was about the slain serial killer Christopher Wilder (aka- "The Beauty Queen Killer") and "Cat and Mouse" about the 1985 search for South Carolina's convicted serial killer Larry Gene Bell.

Episodes

Main article: List of The FBI Files episodes

Criticism

Commentary is often characterized by over-dramatic descriptions of the struggle between good and evil, with the tendency to gloss over details which might show law enforcement in an embarrassing light. In one notable episode titled "Flight from Justice: The Story of D.B. Cooper" the story focuses on a copycat hijacking perpetrated by Richard McCoy, Jr. while largely ignoring the yet unsolved D. B. Cooper case.

DVD releases

Timeless Media Group has released all seven seasons of The FBI Files on DVD in Region 1.

DVD Name	Ep#	Release dates
DVD Name	Ep#	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
The Complete First Season	13	January 6, 2009	NBA	NBA
The Complete Second Season	18	April 21, 2009	NBA	NBA
The Complete Third Season	18	June 19, 2009	NBA	NBA
The Complete Fourth Season	18	September 15, 2009	NBA	NBA
The Complete Fifth Season	18	February 6, 2015^[1]	NBA	NBA
The Complete Sixth Season	20	February 6, 2015^[2]	NBA	NBA
The Complete Seventh Season	18	January 29, 2015^[3]	NBA	NBA

External links

References

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