One Day in September & Sensing Murder

In retrospect the Seventies now seems an uneasy combination of innocence and experience. There are two documentaries tomorrow night set in that decade. One global - the kidnapping and eventual murder of nine members of the Israeli team during the Munich Olympic games on September 5 1972; the other local - the Easy Street murders of January 10, 1977.

For me the Seventies was Ug boots and Blue Light (police run) discos. In these documentaries it is all dancing, bikinis and long hair -before the killing begins that is. My point is this - documentaries set in this era get so excited by the nostalgic footage and music that they forget to press the edit button. One day in September (tomorrow, SBS, 8.30pm) falls into this trap and has Olympics footage at its disposal as well. It is fascinating stuff but, at an hour and a half, at least half an hour too long.

However One Day in September does show us the way history echoes in unpredictable ways. It was precisely because the Germans were trying to throw off the shackles of their military history that it had almost no security in place for the '72 Games. When faced with the horror of yet more Jewish people being slaughtered on their soil - irony officials were acutely aware of - one Minster offers to swap himself for the hostages. It was a shame his bravery and selflessness wasn't reflected in the larger picture. This includes several police changing their mind about taking part in the rescue operation, just as the hostages and their kidnappers arrive at the airport. Five gunmen are left to battle eight Palestinians, and the result was a massacre. One Day in September also includes the first interview with the only surviving Palestinian.

There is murder of a different sort on Channel 7 at the same time. Rebecca Gibney narrates Sensing Murder and she adds a lot of class to whatever she does. But she can't save this exploitative show. Sensing Murder is a 'documentary' in which two psychics try to crack the Easy Street murders. Reviewers were only sent the first segment of the show, so I did not get to see the two psychics uncover new evidence that will, apparently, lead to the pursuit of three new suspects. What I have seen is the re-enactment of Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett lives building up to, and including, the frenzied knife attack on them. There is particular emphasis on Armstrong who, as her sister says, has a great figure. Is the suggestion here that Bartlett's life is the lesser? Or that Armstrong's sexiness somehow invited what happened?

It is one thing to have violent re-enactments on CSI and Law & Order, but it feels like another thing altogether to have women many of us remember, or knew, being knifed, dragged down corridors and raped. If it is true that the psychics have bought police closer to solving this crime that's good news. But the show itself? That's bad news.

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