Blue Heelers season 1

Blue Heelers
Season 1
File:Bh cast1994.jpg Original cast of Blue Heelers
No. of episodes	45
Release
Original network	Seven Network
Original release	10 September 1993 – 22 November 1994
Season chronology

The first season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network on 10 September 1993 and aired on Tuesday nights at 7:30 PM. The 45-episode season concluded on 22 November 1994.

The show was a success, and by the end of its 45-episode first season the PJ-Maggie shippers had quickly amassed.

Casting

Main cast for this season consisted of:

• John Wood as Sergeant Tom Croydon [full season]
• Julie Nihill as Christine 'Chris' Riley [full season]
• Martin Sacks as Detective Senior Constable Patrick Joseph 'P.J.' Hasham [full season]
• Lisa McCune as Constable Margaret 'Maggie' Doyle [full season]
• William McInnes as Senior Constable Nicholas 'Nick' Schultz [full season]
• Grant Bowler as Constable Wayne Patterson [full season]
• Ann Burbrook as Roz Patterson [until episode 30]
• Damian Walshe-Howling as Probationary Constable Adam Cooper [from episode 34]

Ann Burbrook was originally cast as Maggie Doyle and Lisa McCune as Roz Patterson but the two swapped roles to avoid being typecast in the future.

William McInnes was originally cast as PJ Hasham and Martin Sacks as Nick Schultz but the two swapped roles because McInnes "looked more like a Schultz".

Roz was written out of the show before season's end, because the producers thought that they could do more with another police character, rather than a civilian. This allowed for the introduction of Adam Cooper to the group.

Semi-regular cast members for this season include:

• Peta Doodson as Inspector (formerly Senior Sergeant) Monica Draper
• Beth Buchanan as Susan Croydon
• Michael Isaacs as Clancy Freeman
• Suzi Dougherty as Dr. Mel Carter
• Axl Taylor as Len the barman
• Dennis Miller as Ex-Sergeant Pat Doyle
• Nick Waters as Acting Inspector → Inspector Ted Faulkner
• Helen Trenos as Celia Donald
• Dale Stevens as Senior Constable Rose Egan
• Jennifer Botica as Detective Senior Constable Hilary Edmunds

Notable guest stars for the season included Radha Mitchell, Gerard Kennedy, Kate Keltie, Anne Phelan, Petra Jared, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Lois Collinder, Raelee Hill, Libby Tanner, Lois Ramsay, Ian Smith, David Wenham, Rex Hunt and Janet Andrewartha.

Plot

At the start of the season, we meet young city constable, Maggie Doyle, who is arriving at her posting in the small country town of Mount Thomas. At Mount Thomas police station we also meet the officer in charge, Sergeant Tom Croydon, who runs "his" station with an almost grandfatherly watch over his co-workers. We also meet Constable Wayne Patterson, who we find had a short romance with Maggie while they attended the Victoria Police Academy together; much to Maggie's surprise, he is now married to Roz Patterson. We also meet Senior Constable Nick Schultz, a sarcastic and yet good-hearted cop, and Senior Detective Patrick Joseph "P.J." Hasham, a charismatic and somewhat chauvinistic detective who soon found himself very interested in Maggie. At the local pub, The Imperial, we meet Chris Riley, a local woman who knows all the ins-and-outs of Mount Thomas.

During the season, we see Roz assisting the Heelers and later getting a job at the station as the administration officer. We also see the extent of Roz and Wayne's marriage problems which, when brought to a head when Roz witnesses a shooting over the telephone, results in the end of their marriage and Roz leaving Mount Thomas and returning to her home in Melbourne. This marriage dissolution is a result of many pressure which Roz and Wayne are placed under as a result of Wayne's dangerous job. This includes his being shot and left for dead by two criminals and Roz's somewhat intense jealousy for Maggie. Roz's absence opens up a place for ambitious and contentious young cop, Constable Adam Cooper, whose "breaking-in" at Mount Thomas is anything but smooth, particularly with Wayne who develops quite a disdain for him. Keeping with the theme of family problems, we see how Tom's family problems, including problems with his two daughters, develop. These are only made worse with the death of Tom's wife, Nell, as a result of a car accident. Tom, as a superior police officer, has to learn to deal to separate his personal and professional lives. He is increasingly finding it harder and harder when he has to deal with his friends and family when it is them that have committed offenses. PJ has to deal with an old flame, Hilary Edmunds, when she arrives in town as part of the livestock squad, investigating farming issues in Mount Thomas. Maggie also finds romance in Mount Thomas with shifty detective, Sean Neale, and she has trust issues when she discovers that her beloved boyfriend may in fact be a criminal. Maggie also discovers she has relationship problems with her father, Sergeant Pat Doyle. It is also revealed that Nick is carrying a huge secret: his wife and daughter, as well as half of his family, were killed in a car crash. This is revealed to be the reason Nick joined highway patrol and the reason for his stance against vehicle offences such as speeding and drink driving.

Reception

The show quickly had an average Rating of 2.5 Million and going to 3.5 million at its peak

The writers and Southern Star didn't expect the show to really go anywhere but it quickly amassed to being a #1 Hit series for a number of years up unto 2003-2004 where the drama shows were beginning to fall down in ratings because The CSI franchise became more popular than Drama shows sense 2001. Which cause the shows cancellcation in 2006 the show had 510 episodes out of the thirteen seasons and 12 years sense it aired.

Awards

Main article: List of awards and nominations for Blue Heelers

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Australian air date
1	001	"A Woman's Place"	Mark Callan	Tony Morphett	10 September 1993 (1993-09-10)
2	002	"Doing It Tough"	Gary Conway	Peter Kinloch	25 January 1994 (1994-01-25)
3	003	"Why Give People Rights?"	Paul Moloney	John Upton	1 February 1994 (1994-02-01)
4	004	"Wives"	Judith John-Story	Anne Brooksbank	8 February 1994 (1994-02-08)
5	005	"Waiting for Apples"	Alister Smart	Graeme Koetsveld	15 February 1994 (1994-02-15)
6	006	"Apprehended Violence"	Gary Conway	Greg Haddrick Tony Morphett	22 February 1994 (1994-02-22)
7	007	"Life After Death"	Paul Moloney	Ted Roberts	1 March 1994 (1994-03-01)
8	008	"Domino Effect"	Judith John-Story	Tony Morphett	8 March 1994 (1994-03-08)
9	009	"Diary Entry"	Julian McSwiney	Tony Morphett	15 March 1994 (1994-03-15)
10	010	"Visions Splendid"	Gary Conway	John Upton	22 March 1994 (1994-03-22)
11	011	"Abandoned"	Paul Moloney	Anne Brooksbank	26 March 1994 (1994-03-26)
12	012	"Damaged Goods"	Judith John-Story	Howard Griffiths	5 April 1994 (1994-04-05)
13	013	"Armed and Dangerous"	Steve Mann	Peter Kinloch	15 April 1994 (1994-04-15)
14	014	"Reunion"	Gary Conway	Tony Morphett	19 April 1994 (1994-04-19)
15	015	"Family Ties"	Alister Smart	Ysabelle Dean	26 April 1994 (1994-04-26)
16	016	"Theft"	Chris Langman	Anne Brooksbank	3 May 1994 (1994-05-03)
17	017	"Meat is Hung, Men are Hanged"	Steve Mann	Everett De Roche	10 May 1994 (1994-05-10)
18	018	"Conduct Unbecoming"	Gary Conway	Ray Harding	17 May 1994 (1994-05-17)
19	019	"Good Cop, Bad Cop"	Alister Smart	Tony Morphett	24 May 1994 (1994-05-24)
20	020	"The Final Season"	Chris Adshead	Tim Gooding	31 May 1994 (1994-05-31)
21	021	"Payback"	Steve Mann	Judith Colquhoun	7 June 1994 (1994-06-07)
22	022	"Sex, Lies and Videotapes"	Gary Conway	Patrick Edgworth	14 June 1994 (1994-06-14)
23	023	"Men in Her Life"	Riccardo Pellizzeri	Tony Morphett	21 June 1994 (1994-06-21)
24	024	"A Bird in the Hand"	Richard Sarell	Ysabelle Dean	28 June 1994 (1994-06-28)
25	025	"Missing"	Steve Mann	Anne Brooksbank	5 July 1994 (1994-07-05)
26	026	"Day in Court"	Mark Piper	Justin Glockerla Stephen Measday	12 July 1994 (1994-07-12)
27	027	"Nowhere to Run"	Riccardo Pellizzeri	Susan Hore	19 July 1994 (1994-07-19)
28	028	"Consequences"	Richard Sarell	John Upton	26 July 1994 (1994-07-26)
29	029	"A Matter of Trust"	Steve Mann	Anne Brooksbank	2 August 1994 (1994-08-02)
30	030	"Necessary Force"	Mark Piper	Tony Morphett	9 August 1994 (1994-08-09)
31	031	"Bitter Harvest"	Riccardo Pellizzeri	Justin Glockerla Alan Hopgood	16 August 1994 (1994-08-16)
32	032	"Crazy Like a Fox"	Alister Smart	John Lord Tony Morphett	23 August 1994 (1994-08-23)
33	033	"Old Dogs, New Tricks"	Steve Mann	Rachel Lewis	30 August 1994 (1994-08-30)
34	034	"Labour of Love"	Mark Piper	Ysabelle Dean	6 September 1994 (1994-09-06)
35	035	"Escape Route"	Chris Martin-Jones	Judith Colquhoun	13 September 1994 (1994-09-13)
36	036	"Adverse Possession"	Riccardo Pellizzeri	John Coulter Justin Glockerla	20 September 1994 (1994-09-20)
37	037	"The Folly of Youth"	Steve Mann	Susan Hore	27 September 1994 (1994-09-27)
38	038	"Face Value"	Mark Piper	Hugh Stuckey	4 October 1994 (1994-10-04)
39	039	"Suspicion"	Chris Martin-Jones	Anne Brooksbank	11 October 1994 (1994-10-11)
40	040	"Without Intent"	Riccardo Pellizzeri	Peter Gawler	18 October 1994 (1994-10-18)
41	041	"Family Matters"	Steve Mann	David Allen	25 October 1994 (1994-10-25)
42	042	"The First Stone"	Mark Piper	Tony Morphett	1 November 1994 (1994-11-01)
43	043	"Skin Deep"	Chris Martin-Jones	Ysabelle Dean	8 November 1994 (1994-11-08)
44	044	"Luck of the Draw"	Riccardo Pellizzeri	Cassandra Carter	15 November 1994 (1994-11-15)
45	045	"Damage Control"	Gary Conway	Judith Colquhoun Michaeley O'Brien	22 November 1994 (1994-11-22)

DVD release

The Complete First Season
	Set Details			Special Features
	Episodes 1 - 17 17 Episodes (765 Mins.) Episodes 1 - 17 6-Disc Set Full Frame English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)			Slipcase Packaging Photo Gallery 24 Pics (On Disc 1)
	Release Dates
	Australia
	2 November 2005

References

General

• Zuk, T. Blue Heelers: 1994 episode guide, Australian Television Information Archive. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
• TV.com editors. Blue Heelers Episode Guide - Season 1, TV.com. Retrieved 1 August 2007.

Specific