their time. Eaggerpointsto how the 1960s were ‘sort of what
the 1920s were for women’:
Therewas also a big movementin the 1960s.Whenthe [birth-
control]pill cameabout,there was the liberationin women’s
fashion,politicalawareness– so it felt like it was also a good
decadeto base a femaleprotagonist like that, who could
represent a modern woman.
Butthenewseriesis alsotruetotheoriginalin anotherway:
stayingin linewithGreenwood’sunderlyingvisionforthe
character.‘Miss Fisher has a bedrock of politics that is Kerry’s,’
says Cox.
She’s a trainedlawyerwho workedfor legal aid for a long time
beforeher writingtook over. She’s a feminist,environmentalist,
rabble-rouserdaughterof a Melbournewharfie– and lots of
fun. She trustsus to honourwhat matters to her, which also
includeshistoricalauthenticity.
Whenwe contemplatedthe 1960s,we consultedKerry,
just as we’d done with our earlieroriginalstory ideas and our
feature-filmconcept– both for her input and her approval.
She loved the idea of a long-lostniece and the 1960swere her
own heyday,so she was very happyto supportour new venture
and trust us to devise stories she might have written herself.
Askedif therewasanyadditionalpressureduetothe
seriesbeinga spin-offratherthana directadaptationofthe
originalbooks,Eaggerresponds,‘Wehavea verypassion-
atefanbasewithMiss Fisherandtheoriginals,sothere
were certainlypeoplegoing,“We want more!”’With the film
confirmed,however,she is keen to highlightthat the situation
is ‘notan“either–or”’.Ms Fisher’sModernMurderMysteries
doesn’texistinsteadoforin placeofa fourthseasonofMiss
Fisher’sMurderMysteries– it is simplya newchapter added
toa sprawlingstoryworldthatis alreadythere.
‘What’sbeen terrificis that a lot of the sceptics,when
they’veactuallywatchedthenewseries,reallyenjoyit for
whatit is,’Eaggeradds.‘It’sveryvibrant;a lotofpeople really
love the fashionand the designof the 1960s.’
WhileepisodesofMiss Fisher’sMurderMysterieswereoften
drawndirectlyfromthebookstheywerebasedon,it is worth
notingthat,aswithmostadaptations,creativelicencewasalso
taken.Withtwentybooksin theseriesbutoverthirtyepisodes
in theshow,it wasnecessarytocomeupwithnewplotsand
storylinesthatstayedtruetoGreenwood’scharactersand
world,butdidn’tcomedirectlyfromhertext.‘Wedidcreate
episodesfrom scratch[for] the first series,then forg[ed]further
intonewmaterialastheseriesprogressed,’saysCox.‘Bythat
stage,though,wehada verycloseandrobustrelationshipwith
Kerry,andweunderstoodinnatelyherprioritiesandvalues.’
Theseskillsandlessonswere,evidently,carriedoverinto
thecreationofMs Fisher’sModernMurderMysteries. Despite
notfeaturinganycameosofcharactersfromtheoriginalshow,
anddespitebeingsetin anentirelydifferentera,theSeven
seriesdoesfeellikea continuation,asthoughit is pickingup
whatitsABCpredecessorhadputdown.It feelsauthenticand
non-gratuitous,whichis actuallya remarkableaccomplishment.
Atthetimeofwriting,it is uncertainwhetherMs Fisher’s
ModernMurderMysterieswillberenewedfora secondseason,
or whetherthere will be any films to follow afterCryptof Tears.
But,whenthereis strongfaninterestin a series,therewill
surely be a temptation to milk that for all it’s worth.Miss Fisher
has fans worldwide.The upcomingfilm has also been slatedfor
releasein theUS,^12 andthereis a Mandarin-languageremake
of the series alreadyin the works.^13 TheSevenspin-offhasset
upa formatthatwould(relatively)easilyallowforfurtherinstal-
ments:Cousins,great-great-grandmothers,secrethalf-nieces
onceremoved!MissFishersforeveryera!Butthisoutcome
seemsunlikely.Evenif fundingwereeasytocomeby,Eagger
andCox– and,byextension,EveryCloud– seemveryaware
ofthedelicatebalancebetweenmeeting fan demand and
maintaining integrity and quality.https://7plus.com.au/ms-fishers-modern-murder-mysteriesElizabethFluxis anaward-winningfreelancewriterandeditor.
She was a judgefor the 2019VictorianPremier’sLiterary
AwardforanUnpublishedManuscript,andis a pasteditorof
Voiceworks. Her fictionhas appearedin multipleanthologies
and publications,and her nonfiction essays and feature articles
have been widely published. mEndnotes(^1) See‘Labassa’,NationalTrustwebsite,https://www.national
trust.org.au/places/labassa/, accessed24 May 2019.
(^2) See ‘MelbourneIs Hometo Australia’sMost FabulousFemale
Detectives’,Film Victoriawebsite,https://www.film.vic.gov.au/
showcase/melbourne-is-home-to-australias-most-fabulous
-female-detectives, accessed24 May 2019.
(^3) ‘MissFisherthe Movie’,Kickstarter,https://www.kickstarter.
com/projects/468758721/miss-fisher-the-movie/, accessed
24 May 2019.
(^4) See, for example,‘ConfirmMissFisher’sMurderMysteries
Season4’, Change.org,https://www.change.org/p/confirm
-miss-fisher-s-murder-mysteries-season-4-abc-tv-every-cloud
-productions-essie-davis-nathan-page, accessed24 May 2019.
(^5) See, for example,Kayti Burt, ‘MissFisherSeason4: Will ThereBe
AnotherSeason?’,Denof Geek!, 12 February2019,https://
[http://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/miss-fishers-murder-mysteries/](http://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/miss-fishers-murder-mysteries/)
264002/miss-fisher-season-4-will-there-be-another-season,
accessed24 May 2019.
(^6) See EbonyBowden,‘ABC’sMissFisher’sMurderMysteries
Set to Becomean ActionMovieTrilogy’,TheSydneyMorning
Herald, 17 November2016,https://www.smh.com.au/
entertainment/tv-and-radio/abcs-miss-fishers-murder-mysteries
-set-to-become-an-action-movie-trilogy-20161117-gsr3sa.
html, accessed 24 May 2019.
(^7) ibid.
(^8) ‘MissFisherthe Movie’,op.cit.
(^9) Don Groves,‘It’s a WrapforMissFisher& theCryptof Tears’,
IF.com.au, 26 November2018,https://www.if.com.au/its-a-wrap
-for-miss-fisher-the-crypt-of-tears/, accessed24 May 2019.
(^10) RoadshowFilms,releasescheduledatedJune 2019.
(^11) DonGroves,‘SevenOrdersMissFisher’sMurderMysteries
Spin-off’,IF.com.au, 26 July 2018,https://www.if.com.
au/seven-orders-miss-fishers-murder-mysteries-spin-off/,
accessed24 May 2019.
(^12) Don Groves,‘NorthAmericanDealsforMissFisher& theCrypt
of Tears,MsFisherTelepics’,IF.com.au, 13 February2019,
https://www.if.com.au/north-american-deals-for-miss-fisher
-the-crypt-of-tears-ms-fisher-telepics/, accessed24 May 2019.
(^13) ‘ProductionUnderwayon ChineseRemakeofMissFisher’s
MurderMysteries’,IF.com.au, 15 April 2019,https://www.
if.com.au/production-underway-on-chinese-remake-of-miss
-fishers-murder-mysteries/, accessed 24 May 2019.
http://www.metromagazine.com.au | © ATOM | Metro Magazine 201• 43