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Blue Heelers

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Blue Heelers
File:Blueheelerscast.jpg
2004 Cast - Julie Nihill, Rachel Gordon, Martin Sacks, Samantha Tolj, John Wood, Ditch Davey, Geoff Morrell, Danny Raco, Paul Bishop and Simone McAullay.
Created byTony Morphett
StarringJohn Wood
Julie Nihill
Martin Sacks
Lisa McCune
Rachel Gordon
Paul Bishop
Tasma Walton
Jane Allsop
Grant Bowler
Country of originAustralia
No. of episodes510
Production
Running timeapprox 0:45
(plus commercials)
Original release
NetworkSeven Network
ReleaseJanuary 18 1994 –
June 4 2006

Blue Heelers (1994 - 2006) was a long-running Australian police drama series set in a Victoria Police station in the fictional small town of Mt. Thomas, Victoria. The show premiered in January 1994, and ended in June 2006.

Blue Heelers tied with Homicide as the longest running Australian primetime television series. (See: Records below).

Main cast

Recurring/semi-regular cast

Season Synopses

Template:Spoiler

Season 1

Blue Heelers first aired on January 18, 1994. The show aired on Tuesday nights at 7:30 PM. The first episode, "A Woman's Place" introduced us to Constable Maggie Doyle, who arrived for her first day of work at the Mt. Thomas police station. The other police present were Sergeant Tom Croydon who ran the station with an almost grandfatherly watch over his co-workers, Constable Wayne Patterson — an old love of Maggie's who was now married to the ambitious Roz, 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. Also around, and constantly providing information, gossip and advice was Christine "Chris" Riley who ran the Imperial pub.

Storylines of the first season included:

  • Roz assisting the cops,
  • Maggie becoming a trial lawyer for the police,
  • Tom's family problems, ending with the death of his wife Nell in a car accident,
  • Roz witnessing a murder, and subsequently returning to Melbourne,
  • The arrival in town of ambitious and contentious young cop Constable Adam Cooper,
  • and Maggie's relationship with her retired cop father Pat (Dennis Miller) and her boyfriend, Detective Sean Neale.

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

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

Season 2

Season 2 premiered in February 1995, and ran for 41 episodes. The storylines included:

  • Adam dealing with an HIV scare,
  • Chris and Adam beginning a relationship, despite their age difference,
  • Maggie getting a roommate, Gina Belfanti (Rachel Blakely), who quickly fell for Adam,
  • Tom's reunion with his troubled daughter Susan,
  • Maggie and Wayne going for their Senior Constable exams,
  • The introduction of Inspector Monica Draper (Peta Doodson) who kept a close watch on the Mt. Thomas station,
  • The arrival in town of Dr. Zoe Hamilton (Karen Davitt), a local doctor who became a secret admirer of Nick's,
  • and the growing sexual tension between PJ and Maggie.

The season ended with Gina being raped. The only witness, a mentally disabled man named Clancy Freeman (Michael Isaacs, who would recur until the 11th season), was uncertain of what he had seen, and so Maggie was used as bait to trap the rapist. In the aftermath, she and PJ shared their first kiss.

Notable guest stars included Robert Grubb, David Field as Maggie's brother Michael, Maxine Klibingaitis, Rebecca Rigg, Hugh Jackman, Libby Tanner, Kris McQuade, Janet Andrewartha, Kerry Armstrong, Terry Gill, Reg Gorman, Lois Collinder, Jon Concannon, Kristian Schmid and Gerard Kennedy.

Season 3

By the time the 42-episode third season began, Blue Heelers was hailed as the most successful Australian drama on television, also seeing significant changes in life at the station. Storylines included:

  • Maggie discovering her brother Robbie (now played by Brett Climo) was on drugs,
  • Wayne's death, paving the way for his untrustworthy replacement (Frankie J. Holden), who eventually was caught falsifying evidence and replaced by strong, independent Constable Deirdre "Dash" McKinley,
  • Tom dealing with his young daughter Anna (Alexandra Sangster)'s pregnancy,
  • PJ and Maggie - who had decided that their kiss meant nothing - were torn apart when Maggie fell for her professor Roman Kellerman (Geoff Paine). While PJ's suspicions about Kellerman proved correct, it severely affected his friendship with Maggie and he chose to leave the station. His charismatic replacement, Detective Johnny Kowalski (Jack Finsterer) proved to be no picnic - wooing both the women of the station. When PJ eventually returned, with Kowalski gone, relations between him and Maggie were strained. In the season finale, Maggie saved him from being prosecuted for the murder of a local woman - despite the false allegations of the woman's son Luke Darcy (Jonathon Brooks) - and the season ended with renewed hope for all of the cops.

Notable guest stars included Frances O'Connor, Marg Downey, Lee Kernaghan, Radha Mitchell, Terry Gill, Raelee Hill, Louise Siversen, Rhys Muldoon, David Wenham, Norman Yemm, Andrew Blackman, Frankie J. Holden, Anne Phelan and Andrew McKaige.

Season 4

The fourth season ran for 42 episodes. Storylines included:

  • Plague coming to Mt. Thomas, with Maggie nearly losing her life,
  • Adam confessing his unrequited love for Dash,
  • Chris's niece Leonie marrying Clancy Freeman,
  • Nick and Zoe growing closer,
  • the marriage of Adam to Stacey Norse (Kate Atkinson),
  • The introduction of two popular recurring characters: Jeremy Kewley as less-than-helpful reporter Tony Tims, and Neil Pigot as Inspector Russell "Rusty" Falcon-Price,
  • Chris becoming politically minded and running for local council,
  • Tom's daughter Susan taking up a posting at the school,
  • Adam facing the fact that his wife had lied and cheated on him,
  • Maggie attempting to protect her drug-addicted brother from the law,
  • Luke Darcy, PJ's nemesis, attempting to ruin his life once and for all,
  • The attraction of Tom to local solicitor Sally Downie (Catherine Wilkin),
  • and the sexual tension being consummated between PJ and Maggie, leading to them finally starting a secret relationship.

Two of the most popular episodes remain the two-parter "Gold" and "Fool's Gold", in which PJ and Maggie are trapped down a mine shaft and release their sexual tension. In the episode, "Fool For Love", Jane Allsop guest starred. She impressed the producers so much that they would later invite her back to the show in a main role as Jo Parrish.

Notable guest actors this season included Anne Phelan, Stefan Dennis, Vincent Gil, Alan Dale, Peta Brady, Brett Climo, Wendy Strehlow, Fiona Corke and Lesley Baker.

Season 5

The 41-episode fifth season saw the show move to Wednesday nights at 8:30 PM, allowing it to explore new storylines that weren't available in an earlier timeslot. Ratings continued to climb.

Storylines included:

  • Maggie and PJ hiding their relationship from their co-workers, which landed them in trouble when Organised Crimes specialist Detective Sergeant Ben Stewart came to town to help with a case, falling for Maggie,
  • Tom embarking on a relationship with Sally Downie,
  • Dash being diagnosed with cancer, and undergoing chemotherapy,
  • the cops fighting back against plans to downgrade the station,
  • a demoted Senior Constable Ben Stewart returning full time to Mt. Thomas,
  • the engagement and marriage of Nick and Zoe,
  • Adam breaking the law - by buying a stolen car - seeing him removed from the force.

The season saw Nick and Zoe leave Mt. Thomas after their wedding, with Nick being tired of being held back by his co-workers. In real life, William McInnes had lost patience with the relative lack of storylines he was being given.

Guest actors included Shane Connor, James Condon, John Clayton, Maggie Dence, Peter O'Brien, Grant Piro, Val Lehman, Monica Maughan, Anne Phelan, Dennis Coard, Carol Burns and Sean Scully.

Season 6

The sixth season of 42 episodes would be the peak of the show's popularity, along with the first episodes of the seventh. Storylines included:

  • The arrival of Constable Jack Lawson,
  • Ben dealing with his broken marriage and desire to see more of his children,
  • PJ and Maggie's relationship being exposed via a security video,
  • Chris taking a place on the local council,
  • Ben's daughter Emma attempting to get Ben and Maggie together,
  • Maggie dealing with the death of her brother Robbie, and her attempts to crack the drug ring that killed him,
  • Tom having to let go of his relationship with Sally,
  • Dash's promotion and subsequent decision to leave the force,
  • Maggie briefly starting an affair with Ben, but ultimately choosing PJ just as Ben was dealt a blow by his ex-wife's decision to move to the other side of the country with their children,
  • Jack getting involved with an ex-girlfriend, Molly (Petra Jared), whose wild antics saw him getting in over his head,
  • and the arrival in town of Constable Joanna Parrish.

Guest actors this season included Kate Hood, Jason Clarke, Terence Donovan, Lisa Crittenden, Grant Piro, Norman Yemm, Robert Grubb, Margot Knight, Arianthe Galani, Jeremy Angerson, Louise Siversen, Lois Ramsay, Mary Ward and Roger Oakley.

Season 7

The first episodes of the 41-episode seventh season would be the most watched in Blue Heelers history, and also the start of the show's downfall in the public consciousness. Maggie, aided by PJ and her brother Mick, arrived at the point of cracking the drug ring she had been pursuing for a year and realised that she would have to go into witness protection. To do so, she staged a breakup with PJ and then awaited her escort nervously. PJ, however, realised that she was being tricked and arrived just seconds too late, to see Maggie shot down by a mysterious assailant. The episodes that followed, the "Who Killed Maggie Doyle?" arc, were the most-watched episodes ever. Arrested for Maggie's murder, PJ looked desperately to prove that he was being framed. Ultimately, in episode 263 "Out of the Shadows", he discovered the truth - it was her brother Mick.

Other storylines included:

  • The remaining cops dealing with Maggie's death,
  • Sergeant Tess Gallagher arriving in town to take Maggie's position, which hurts a depressed Ben (Especially as he had unwittingly given her hints on impressing the panel that unanimously won her the job),
  • Tess being drawn into the plight of three young neglected children, the oldest — Hayley (Emily Browning) — particularly drawing her sympathy,
  • The new doctor in town, Mel Carter (Suzi Dougherty) quickly learning to fit in,
  • and Jack's attempts to woo a local girl ending in tragedy with him being shot and left for dead. In the final episodes of the season, a paralysed Jack started a downward spiral which was only saved by a revolutionary procedure that was to be tested on him, and ultimately saved him.

Guest actors this season included Paul Dawber, Alan Hopgood, Olivia Hamnett, Kate Hood, Ian Rawlings, Andy Anderson, Dennis Coard, Roger Oakley, Betty Lucas, James Condon, Alex Papps, Mary Ward, Tommy Dysart, Maggie Kirkpatrick, Joy Westmore, Alyce Platt, Jeremy Angerson, Sean Scully, Zoe Bertram, Wendy Strehlow and Nicki Paull.

Season 8

Ratings in the 8th season began to decline ever so slowly, with many fans feeling that Maggie's absence and the slightly repetitive storylines were getting in the way of the show's feel.

Storylines included:

  • Tess and Jack beginning a relationship which ended when he was arrested and convicted for murder,
  • Tess falling for his replacement, Evan Jones — who joined the force to avenge his father's death,
  • Tess taking in neglected child Hayley Fulton, (Emily Browning)
  • Ben's continuing spiral of depression,
  • and Tom finding love in enchanting local reverend Grace Curtis (Debra Lawrance), whose sons were less than thrilled with the match.

Guest actors who appeared in this season included Carol Burns, Richard Cawthorne,Norman Yemm, Val Lehman, David Clencie, Simon Burke, Terry Gill, Alethea McGrath, Gary Sweet, Rhys Muldoon, Gary Day, Lisa Crittenden, Julia Blake, Alan Hopgood, Gerard Kennedy, Lesley Baker and Kirsty Child.

Season 9

Storylines for the 41-episode ninth season included:

  • Susan Croydon, pregnant, returning home only to lose her baby in a hit-and-run designed as a revenge plot on Tom,
  • PJ dealing with his mother's death,
  • Tess - having lost Hayley to her real family - letting out her feelings for Jonesy,
  • and Jo falling for PJ, which faced a snag when Ben's lawyer sister Liz (Kat Stewart) arrived in town taking PJ's heart with her.
  • After Liz left town, PJ and Jo ultimately became a couple and denied their feelings for each other at first but moved in together, forcing roommate Ben to deal with his new living situation,
  • Tom proposed to Grace, but the week of their wedding saw trouble in the form of her ex-husband, and their respective families,
  • Jo sat for - and succeeded in - her Senior Constable exam,
  • and Tess began a whirlwind affair with an old friend, attractive Dr. Josh Carmichael (Daniel Fredriksen) which ended with Jonesy distraught, and Tess married. However not before, Tess and Jonesy shared a steamy kiss in the locker room, in the episode 'All You Need Is Love'

Notable guest actors this season included Ailsa Piper, Alan David Lee, John Orcsik, Leslie Dayman, Margot Knight, Justine Saunders, Jane Badler, Elspeth Ballantyne, Peter Sumner, Shaunna O'Grady, Kate Jason, Alethea McGrath, Marg Downey, Monica Maughan, Lois Collinder and Annie Jones.

Season 10

By the 42-episode tenth season, Blue Heelers was in a comfortable but not successful ratings pattern. Storylines included:

  • Ben recovering from alcoholism, and then beginning an affair with Inspector Falcon-Price's wife,
  • Jonesy proving ulterior motives behind Josh's marriage to Tess,
  • Jo and PJ drifting apart with them both moving on to other relationships but realising they love each other and start a full time relationship,
  • Ben falling for, and proposing to, Salvation Army Captain Marissa Craddock (Heidi Arena),
  • The arrival in town of Ben's daughter Maddie,
  • Tom dealing with his teenage step-son's problems,
  • Tess leaving town, pregnant with Josh's child, due to a natal condition,
  • and the arrival of Constable Susie Raynor, whose paralysed husband Brad (Matt Passmore) became wrongly suspicious of Ben and Susie's friendship, ending in a confrontation where Ben had no choice but to shoot and kill Brad in front of Susie.

Guest actors this season included Betty Bobbitt, Robert Grubb, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Richard Cawthorne, Lisa Crittenden, Maggie Millar, Betty Lucas, Paul Mercurio, Lynda Gibson, Ian Rawlings, Colette Mann, Ernie Bourne, Lyndel Rowe and Andrew Clarke.

Season 11

With ratings slipping fast, 2004 became the year in which the producers took a radical approach to shake-up their show. The 39-episode 11th season saw the ratings ascend dramatically. Storylines included:

  • the return to Mt Thomas of Luke Darcy, who terrorised PJ and Jo which ended in Luke Darcy's death and PJ as the main suspect, but proved not the killer,
  • Ben's engagement collapsing, and him having to face Susie over the events of the tenth season finale,
  • Jonesy and Susie embarking on a short-lived relationship, and
  • the engagement of PJ and Jo, which ended when PJ was haunted by Maggie's memory.

On 21 April, Blue Heelers aired a special event: a live episode. While Paul Bishop did not appear due to film commitments, this theatre-esque event drew large ratings and was the first step in drawing viewers back to the show.

This was followed by the overhaul of the show. Its 440th episode, "End of Innocence", aired on 6 July and saw a new family in town being suspected of ghastly crimes. The Baxter family terrorised Clancy, Jo, Tom and Grace, and shortly thereafter the terror became reality when the station was blown up and Clancy and Jo were killed. Soon after, Grace was found raped and murdered.

Nick Schultz, now in Homicide, returned to investigate, and soon learned that Tom had changed as a result of these events, and was now much harsher and determined to gain vengeance on the Baxters. Four new cops arrived on the scene - the smart Detective Senior Constable Amy Fox, family man Sergeant Mark Jacobs, and ambitious rival trainees, Probationary Constables Kelly O'Rourke and Joss Peroni (whose birthdays just happened to be on the same day). In episode 445, "Checkmate", Barry Baxter was sent to jail for the terror attacks, and Nick departed Mt Thomas leaving his colleagues to face their new situation. The ratings picked up significantly during this time.

Storylines over the second half of the season included:

  • moving into the new station and discovering the new power situation,
  • Jonesy finding a suspicious girlfriend, Donna (Samantha Healy), after discovering Susie with Ben,
  • Tom remaining a changed man after his wife's death,
  • Kelly being harassed by new Sgt. Roy Holland,
  • Joss beginning a relationship with a much older woman, Fay Tudor (Tottie Goldsmith), and
  • PJ and Amy facing tensions with one another.

In the final episodes of the season, a series of attempts on Tom's life saw him suspect Tarni Baxter (Melissa Andersen), the jailed Baxter's daughter. Although there was no proof against her, the closing moments of the season finale saw a crazy-with-rage Tom attempting to drown Tarni in a river.

While some critics and fans were concerned at the new soap opera style that Blue Heelers had embraced, ratings remained high for the rest of the season.

Guest actors included Charles "Bud" Tingwell, Nicki Paull, Bernard Curry, Lesley Baker, Danny Adcock, Alan Hopgood, Frankie J. Holden, Simon Westaway and Jeremy Linday Taylor.

Season 12

The 12th season ran for 42 episodes.

While the first half of the season, with several high profile guest stars, maintained the high ratings of the previous season; the second half of the year - which saw the show up against ratings success House saw a decrease in ratings, as well as a gradual mixing of critical reaction, which had initially proved mostly positive.

The season also saw the departure of Geoff Morrell and Martin Sacks, who chose to take time off to spend with their families. Sacks's departure left Julie Nihill and John Wood as the only remaining original cast members; and the only cast members to have been on the show since before 2001.

Storylines for season 12 included:

  • Tom being suspected of murder, while only Kelly stood by him,
  • Nick returning to town briefly to find evidence against Tom, however ultimately realising it was someone framing him,
  • The arrival of Mark's friend Acting Sergeant Lindy Schroeder (Sarah Chadwick) and her quick dismissal by a still-bitter Tom,
  • Tom going up against a gangster (Gary Sweet),
  • PJ and Amy's conflict over a psychiatrist (Vince Colosimo), suspected of being a serial killer,
  • Amy confronting her uncle (Shane Porteous) who sexually abused her as a teen
  • the arrival of Leading Senior Constable Alex Kirby (Charlie Clausen), who immediatedly fell for Susie, causing conflict,
  • The start of Susie and Jonesy's engagement but to have it all end because Susie had an affair with Alex,
  • The escape from jail of Barry Baxter, threatening Tom's family and seeing a siege situation,
  • PJ leaving the station to take a job in Melbourne with Homicide,
  • Tensions between Joss and Alex almost resulting in Joss' dismissal from the force and an extension of his probationary period,
  • Jonesy taking up detective work with Amy and attempting to prove his worth,
  • Joss becoming determined to show Amy that he, also, has what it takes to be a detective,
  • Mark beginning an affair with his neighbour (Tara Morice), finally resigning from the police force and leaving to start a new life with her,
  • Kelly's new neighbour becoming an obsessive stalker, and terrorising Kelly,
  • the arrival in town of former soldier turned police officer Constable Matt Graham, who is forced to deal with his wartorn past after events in town bring back painful memories.
  • the investigation into several rapes, with ties to a prominent plastic surgeon (Peter O'Brien),
  • and the surprising arrival in town of a boy who is searching for his father - who turns out to be Acting Seargent Alex Kirby.

Guest actors included Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Val Jellay, John Brumpton, Joy Westmore, Pepe Trevor, Margot Knight, Tracy Mann, Danny Adcock, Paul Dawber, Lynette Curran, Elspeth Ballantyne and Alethea McGrath.

Season 13

After the falling ratings of 2005, the network commissioned an abbreviated 13th season of 11 episodes, taking the show's episode tally to 510. On January 13, 2006, the network ended months of speculation when they officially cancelled the series. The news was broken by television critic Robert Fidgeon on radio station 3AW, and was shortly followed by the official announcement 1.

For its final season, Blue Heelers was moved to the lower-rated Saturday night timeslot, which also saw it up against popular British police program The Bill. This move was slammed by cast member John Wood 1.

The season premiered on April 1, 2006, with the show's 500th episode - Only The Lonely. The network chose to discount the pilot as an episode, advertising the season premiere as episode 499, and promoting the next episode - "Boss" - as the 500th. This episode focussed largely on Tom Croydon battling the news that he has prostate cancer. Ratings for these episodes were low, a standard which continued throughout the season.

Storylines for the final season included:

  • Alex dealing with his role as a father to son Rory,
  • Tom dealing with prostate cancer, and Inspector Falcon-Price's subsequent taking over of the station,
  • Falcon-Price's attempts to prove Tom is not up for the job,
  • Separate romances for Joss - with a pickpocket victim - and Kelly - with a rival lawyer - and their jealousy of each other,
  • Joss's growing gambling debts and the consequences, including being beaten up and becoming homeless,
  • The arrival in town of Joss's concerned mother,
  • The stabbing of Alex,
  • The return to town of ex-Constable Adam Cooper (Damian Walshe-Howling),
  • and the closing of the Mt. Thomas police station.

The 2 hour series finale, One Day More, aired on June 4 and a Sunday Night at 8.30 in a Prime Time-slot. The finale focused on Tom's attempts to reconnect with his family, and recover from his illness, whilst dealing with the fact that the Mt. Thomas police station may be closing down. It also featured the return of former cast member Damian Walshe-Howling.

Guest actors for the season included Roy Billing, Jacinta Stapleton, Elly Varrenti, Marcus Graham, Ian Roberts, Bernard Curry, Spencer McLaren, Kane Alexander and Joshua Lawson.

Two alternate endings were filmed for the finale, which wrapped filming on December 20, 2005. One ending was left open ended, to serve as a lead-in to a possible 14th season. The other ending wrapped up all the show's storylines. This second ending was used. 2

Records

The show's 510th episode makes Blue Heelers the equal record holder of longest weekly primetime drama series in Australian history, tying with Homicide.

It should be noted that this record covers only the number of episodes aired. Homicide remains the longest running show in terms of years (and months) on air at 12 years and 6 months, having beat Blue Heelers by one month. Also, Homicide had two 90 minute episodes, two 120 minute episodes, and a 150 minute episode, making its overall on-air running time longer.

DVD releases

File:BlueHeelers DVDs.jpg
Blue Heelers DVD release.

Seasons of Blue Heelers have been released on Region 4 DVD. However, the "Seasons" as defined by the DVD releases are markedly different to the original seasons. It appears that the episodes are being released according to what year the episodes were produced as opposed to the year they aired.

Season Releases

DVD Name Release Date (Australia) Additional Information
Season 1 November 2 2005 Includes season 1 episodes 1 - 17.
Season 2 December 1 2005 Includes season 1 episodes 18 - 45 and season 2 episodes 46 - 54.
Season 3 February 16 2006 Includes season 2 episodes 55 - 86 and season 3 episodes 87 - 96.
Season 4 April 6 2006 Includes season 3 episodes 97 - 128 and season 4 episodes 129 - 139.
Season 5 June 8 2006 Includes season 4 episodes 140 - 170 and season 5 episodes 171 - 181.
Season 6 August 10 2006 Includes season 5 episodes 182 - 211, and season 6 episodes 212 - 223.

Southern Stars Marketing Coordinator has Today released a statement exclusive to the Bring Back Blue Heelers Petition Site. In this statement Southern Star said that plans to release the remaining seasons of Blue Heelers to DVD are still being finalised, but they hope to have them released sometime during the year(07).


It was announced in January 2007 that each already released season of Blue Heelers would now be released in an 11 Disc Box Set (compared to the previous 2 part season box set, with each box set containing 5-6 discs) on 15th of February 2007

Logie Awards

The Logie Awards have awarded the following honours to Blue Heelers:

1995 - Winner - Most Popular New Talent - Lisa McCune

1996 - Winner - Most Popular Actress - Lisa McCune

1997 - Nominee - Most Popular Actor - John Wood

1997 - Nominee - Most Outstanding Actor - William McInnes

1997 - Winner - Most Popular Actor - Martin Sacks

1997 - Winner - Most Popular Actress - Lisa McCune

1997 - Winner - Most Popular New Talent - Tasma Walton

1997 - Winner - Most Popular Television Show

1998 - Nominee - Most Popular Actor - John Wood

1998 - Nominee - Most Outstanding Actor - William McInnes

1998 - Winner - Most Popular Actor - Martin Sacks

1998 - Winner - Most Popular Actress - Lisa McCune

1998 - Winner - Most Popular Television Show

1999 - Winner - Most Popular Actor - Martin Sacks

1999 - Winner - Most Popular Actress - Lisa McCune

1999 - Winner - Most Popular Television Show

1999 - Nominee - Most Popular Actor - John Wood

2000 - Winner - Most Popular Actor - Martin Sacks

2000 - Winner - Most Popular Actress - Lisa McCune

2000 - Winner - Most Popular Television Show

2000 - Nominee - Most Popular Actor - John Wood

2000 - Winner - Most Popular New Talent - Jane Allsop

2001 - Nominee - Most Popular Television Show

2001 - Winner - Most Popular Actor - Martin Sacks

2001 - Nominee - Most Popular Actor - John Wood

2002 - Winner - Most Popular New Male Talent - Ditch Davey

2003 - Nominee - Most Popular Actor - John Wood

2003 - Nominee - Most Popular Australian Program

2004 - Nominee - Most Popular Australian Program

2004 - Nominee - Most Popular Australian Drama Series

2005 - Nominee - Most Popular Television Show

2005 - Winner - Most Popular Actor - John Wood

2005 - Nominee - Most Popular Actress - Jane Allsop

2005 - Nominee - Most Popular New Female Talent - Rachel Gordon

2005 - Nominee - Most Popular New Female Talent - Samantha Tolj

2006 - Nominee - Most Outstanding Actor - John Wood

2006 - Nominee - Most Popular Drama Series

2006 - Winner - Most Popular Actor - John Wood

Gold Logie Awards

The Gold Logie is the award for Most Popular Television Personality of the year. In 1996, Lisa McCune - who quickly became the darling of the Australian television audience - was nominated for it, and from 1997 to 2000, she was the winner of the award. She was further nominated in 2001. In the twelve months prior to the 2001 awards ceremony she had appeared in just two episodes of Blue Heelers, and the miniseries The Potato Factory. On this occasion she lost out to Georgie Parker of All Saints.

John Wood was nominated for the award every year from 1997 to 2006. From 1997 to 2000, he lost to McCune, then - in 2001 and 2002 - to Parker. From 2003 to 2005, he lost to television host Rove McManus. In 2006, nominated amongst a diverse field of nominees, Wood finally won the Gold Logie.

Overseas reception

The series has had international success including various regions of the United Kingdom where the series was broadcasted on some stations on the ITV Network. Many companies tended to screen the show as hour-long episodes in the afternoon whereas Central Television started with a late night 11.40pm slot before following other regions with a typically 2.20pm slot. Carlton Television for a period showed the episodes in two halves as was common with other Australian soap operas in London such as A Country Practice. Several regions including Yorkshire Television and Tyne Tees Television chose not to import the show and concentrated on Shortland Street instead. When the ITV contractors reformated as one company in 2002, regional programmes such as Blue Heelers disappeared from screens.

ITV Regional Scheduling

ITV Region
Programme Schedule Pattern
Start Date
Days Screened
End Date
Central Television 1995 Tuesdays 23.40 then ??? ???
Yorkshire Television (YTV) Never bought Never screened Never screened
Granada Television ??? ??? ???
Television South (TVS) ??? ??? ???
Television South West (TSW) ??? ??? ???
Channel Television As TVS As TVS As TVS
Thames Television Tuesday 3 January 1995 14.50 Mondays to Wednesdays at 14.50 from January 1995 for half episodes. Then switched to 14.20 on Mondys for hour long episodes then ??? ???
Anglia Television ??? ??? ???
Tyne Tees Television Never bought Never screened Never screened
Scottish Television (STV) ??? Hour-long episodes, airing on Fridays after Home and Away, and then replacing A Country Practice on Tuesdays. Dropped after episode 106 for more repeats of Murder, She Wrote. ???
Grampian Television ??? ??? ???
HTV ??? ??? ???
Border Television ??? ??? ???
Ulster Television Began broadcasting early 1995 Always in original hour long format - screened 11pm approx weekly. Showed all episodes(510), completed in December 2006

Irish broadcaster RTE aired Blue Heelers on Friday afternoons, before moving it to a Thursday night/Friday morning timeslot where it airs every week, typically about 1:00am. RTE has aired the series since 1994, in the original unedited version directly from Australia. It proves very popular in Ireland and rates very well. Episode 457 as of Dec 06.

The show also aired on UK cable channel Carlton Select in the late 90s, stripping the early episodes daily, and then in a weekly slot Fridays at 8pm as episodes became more recent. They showed episodes through the later part of the 1997 season, before dropping the series. It's entirely possible the channel intended to bring the series back after a break, however it ceased broadcasting in 2000.

See also

External links

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