''The FBI Files'' is an American television

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television show, television and feature film, film, which features Drama (film and television), dramatized Historical reenactment, re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of docu ...

series that originally ran from 1998 to 2006 on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

and produced by New Dominion Pictures. The show was cancelled in 2006. However, Court TV Mystery, Discovery, and its sister network,

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries, similar to corporate sibling HLN. It is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery's netw ...

, aired re-runs 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 Quest Red, ''The FBI Files'' airs every weeknight. It has also been shown on TV Denmark, Discovery Australia, and Netflix in Canada. More recently, New Dominion Pictures made all episodes of ''The FBI Files'' available on YouTube.

Synopsis

The show described actual

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

cases, with dramatic reenactments and interviews with agents and

forensic scientists Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...

who worked in the investigations. The show premiered on October 20, 1998, and 120 episodes were executive produced by Tom Naughton before the final episode aired on March 24, 2006. The series covered the

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

of Polly Klaas, the investigation and conviction of

John Gotti John Joseph Gotti Jr.Capeci, Mustain (1996), pp. 25–26 ( , ; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American '' mafioso'' and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of Gambin ...

, the Unabomber case, the

World Trade Center Bombing The 1993 World Trade Center bombing was a terrorist attack carried out by Ramzi Yousef and associates against the United States on February 26, 1993, when a van bomb detonated below the 1 World Trade Center (1971–2001), North Tower of the Worl ...

, 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 Stateline is a census-designated place (CDP) on the southeastern shore of Lake Tahoe in Douglas County, Nevada, Douglas County, Nevada, United States. It lies next to the border with California and is conurbated with South Lake Tahoe, California ...

), The murder of Christina Long, and many other well-known and less well-known

true crime True crime is a genre of non-fiction work in which an author examines a crime, including detailing the actions of people associated with and affected by the crime, and investigating the perpetrator's Motive (law), motives. True crime works often ...

stories. Unlike '' The New Detectives'', a somewhat similar true crime show, ''The FBI Files'' centers on

murders Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

bank robberies Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tel ...

s, 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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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, an actor known for roles on the daytime soap operas ''

The Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

'' and ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

'', co-hosted/narrated all the United States episodes and some international ones. 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 Palmyra Atoll (), also referred to as Palmyra Island, is one of the Line Islands, Northern Line Islands (southeast of Kingman Reef and north of Kiribati). It is located almost due south of the Hawaiian Islands, roughly one-third of the way be ...

. Peter Dickson narrated season 2 of the international version of the show. Among those were 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. Among those Susan Rae did was "Dishonoured" about the 1989 disappearance of USMC Capt. Shirley Russell, and the joint

– NIS investigation of her husband, former

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

Capt. Robert Russell and "When Seconds Count" about when a 12-year-old girl was abducted from her home in

Lodi, California Lodi ( ) is a city in San Joaquin County, California, United States, in the center portion of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. The population was 66,348 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History When a gro ...

. Among those Stephen Kemble did was "The Price of Greed" about the 1997

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Dunbar Armored robbery. Among those international versions Anthony Call did was "Omega 7" about the Omega 7 group and "Dangerous Cause" about the

Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña The Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (English: ''Armed Forces of National Liberation'', FALN) was a Puerto Rican clandestine paramilitary organization that, through direct action, advocated independence for Puerto Rico. It carried out more ...

group. Ben Ando also did some voice overs in the UK.

Episodes

Home media

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

References

External links