Blue Heelers

Blue Heelers final cast of 2006

Each episode featured a range of guest cast members, and over the run of the series hundreds of actors featured in these roles.[8]

As well as the main (regular) cast members, a number of well-known Australian actors frequently appeared as either recurring or semi-regular characters. These included Terry Gill as Superintendent Clive Adamson,[9] Neil Pigot as Inspector Russel Falcon-Price,[10] Jeremy Kewley as Mt Thomas journalist Tony Timms,[10] Frankie J. Holden as Snr. Det. Jack Woodley,[11] Catherine Wilkin,[12] Debra Lawrance,[9] Emily Browning,[13] Josh Lawson,[14] along with Suzi Dougherty as Dr. Mel Carter, Peta Doodson as Inspector Monica Draper, Beth Buchanan as Susan Croydon, Michael Isaacs as Clancy Freeman, and the late Reg Evans as Keith Purvis.

Many other notable actors also had one-off or recurring guest roles in Blue Heelers including Shane Bourne,[15] Hugh Jackman,[16] Gerard Kennedy,[17] David Wenham,[18] Marcus Graham,[19] Peter O'Brien,[20] Gary Sweet,[21] Vince Colosimo,[22] Alan Cinis and Alan Dale. John Stanton, Terry Norris, Norman Yemm, Terence Donovan, Robert Grubb, Ernie Dingo, and Brett Climo, were also recurring guest stars.

Blue Heelers creator/producer, Hal McElroy, conceived the idea of Blue Heelers when he heard that an eighteen-year-old friend was planning to become a police officer. Intrigued, he inquired as to why this young boy, fresh out of school, would want to become a police officer, as opposed to the many other opportunities he had open to him. McElroy soon discovered that, at the time, a staggering 60% of Australian police officers were under the age of 26.[24] This, coupled with McElroy's desire to create a country cop show, formed the basis of the programme. When this same young officer left the force only a year later due to the shooting death of his colleague, McElroy was even more intrigued to learn about the very fickle, yet rewarding job of policing the community.[7] McElroy continued his quest by asking ex-police officer Michael Winter to write down what it was like to be a city cop who transferred to a country town. These became the ideas that Blue Heelers was based around.[25] Michael Winter also conceived the name of the programme by recounting the common names for a country police officer: "tyre-biters"—referring to the fact that country cops are often involved in car chases—and "blue heelers"—referring to their blue uniforms and overall similar appearance and persona to a Blue Heeler dog, a protective and intuitive breed of Australian dog.[24] From the time that McElroy's idea was initially conceived, to the time the programme was ready to air, three years passed.

During the early development of Blue Heelers two completely different pilots were shot: one depicting the story from the perspective of a police officer and the other from the perspective of a criminal. When these were presented to the Seven Network, the network committed to 13 episodes of the first pilot. The pilot went on to become the official first episode of Blue Heelers, telling the story of a new cop in town, Maggie Doyle, and her beginnings in Mount Thomas. Hal McElroy chose to discard the second pilot, realising it was a fatal mistake to be "with the criminals as they plotted the crime". He also conceived his rule that the producers of the show "couldn't have a camera in a room unless there was a copper there as well" (a rule shared by long-running UK Police drama The Bill). Hence, the basis of the show being from a police officer's perspective became a firm reality.[7] (The only bending of this rule was with scenes featuring publican Chris; as she was billed with the main cast, she was given the same on-screen "rules" as the officers. In early episodes, before she worked at the station, this "rule" also applied to Wayne Patterson's wife Roz).

Hal McElroy gives his police adviser's opinion:

He had been posted to Yass (in New South Wales) and he really loved it up there because the routine was so simple and straightforward-most often you knew the victim and sometimes you knew the culprit, and someone in charge would give them a clip behind the ear and say 'wash the police car' or 'sweep the yard' and 'don't ever do it again', rather than sending a juvenile to jail.

I loved it, and I said 'Hey this is great'. But all the writers said, 'No it's boring, we want that gritty, inner-city police stuff'. (We had Boys in Blue set up in Leichhardt in Sydney.) And I still remember the moment I was driving home up River Road and I thought, 'Then we can have two shows'. I said to this copper 'What are you called in the country? What is your nickname?' And he said they call highway patrol 'tyre biters' and coppers 'blue heelers'. And I thought 'That's the title!' So I rang [scriptwriter] Tony Morphett and said 'Let's do a show about young cops in the country. It's called Blue Heelers.

— Hal McElroy, [7]

By creating the programme, McElroy and Morphett hoped to close the gap between to police and the public. They hoped to show the human side of the policing and that, like other citizens, police officers have feelings, regrets, aspirations and fears.[3] They also hoped that the show would act as a tribute to the courage of police officers, who risk their lives everyday, never knowing if they would return home at the end of the day.[24]

Only about half of the footage for each episode was shot on location.[23] Most of the scenes, including scenes in the police station and pub, were filmed at the Seven Network studios in Melbourne.[23][26] Much of the filming on location was carried out in towns such as Williamstown,[26] and the more established parts of Werribee.[27] The scenes of the outside of the Mount Thomas police station were actually filmed at the old, disused Williamstown police station, which was then a private residence. Scenes at Mount Thomas High School were filmed at Williamstown High School. The town of Castlemaine was most often used as the backdrop for Mount Thomas, seen in almost every episode.[28][29] Although the Blue Heelers' pilot was shot in Castlemaine, the cast and crew very rarely returned there to shoot further episodes;[23] images of Castlemaine were usually just establishing shots. Chris Riley's fictional Imperial Hotel, for example, was actually the real Imperial Hotel in Castlemaine.[28][29] Mount Thomas' fictional Commercial Hotel was filmed at the Willy Tavern in Williamstown.[26] The second Mount Thomas police station, adopted during the programme's reform of 2004, was filmed at Newport Railway workshops. The Mount Thomas Hospital was filmed at the Werribee Mercy Hospital.[30] Sunbury railway station was commonly used as the Mount Thomas railway station.

After low ratings in 2003 and 2004, the producers and executives of Blue Heelers realised that there were apparent problems which could potentially lead to the series's downfall. In 2004 Blue Heelers lost the top ratings spot to McLeod's Daughters.[36] During 2003 and 2004, Australian television drama was also at its "lowest point in a decade" and many popular shows were cancelled.[37] As the show remained basically unchanged from its debut, ten years earlier, the production team decided that a revamp was in order.

At the beginning of season 11, the revamp began with new, more modern opening credits, using an electric guitar, rather than an acoustic. Later in that season, a live episode, "Reasonable Doubt", was broadcast in hope of offering a short-term ratings boost and encourage more long-term viewers. Although an immediate success, the live episode did not bring about a sustained increase in ratings.[36] Producers also hoped that a shift in direction, a change of mood and setting, and the addition of four cast members would cement Blue Heelers' long-term future.[36] They also wanted the show to remain relevant and more accurately reflect today's modern world:[38]

Mount Thomas was created in 1993 and the world has changed... It will now be more reflective of today's country towns, not the sleepy backwater it was. It wasn't an easy task but the creative team responded brilliantly and there's a real feeling of excitement again... The old girl can still dance. And dance to new tunes.

— John Holmes, [39]

The main plot, setting and character changes started in July 2004, with the airing of the episode "End of Innocence". In this episode, the main storyline was the bombing of the Mount Thomas police station. The blast killed popular main character Snr. Const. Jo Parrish (Jane Allsop) and recurring cast member Clancy Freeman, and injured the show's main protagonist,[40] Senior Sergeant Croydon. After the bombing it was revealed that Croydon's wife, the Reverend Curtis, was missing. It was later revealed she had been brutally raped and murdered.[36] These events brought about sweeping changes to the mood of not only Croydon, but also the mood of the entire show. The Daily Telegraph television writer Marcus Casey commented, "Mount Thomas has become a darker, grittier place, the people and cops in it transformed by an invasion of evil".[39] Consequently, the story changed its focus from the old Mount Thomas police station to the new one that was used until the show's cancellation in 2006. The Seven Network feared that in the modern post-9/11 world, a show about country police was no longer what audiences wanted.[41] Storylines of the proceeding five episodes focused on the bombing of the station and the 4 new main characters: Rachel Gordon as Amy Fox, Geoff Morrell as Mark Jacobs, Samantha Tolj as Kelly O'Rourke and Danny Raco as Joss Peroni.[36][39] Popular former cast member William McInnes also returned to the show, temporarily reprising his role as Nick Schultz. Producers hoped the new tone of the series, the new younger actors, and McInnes's role reprisal would lure back viewers who had stopped watching the programme.[39] This new style of programme that Blue Heelers was embracing was a sign of the show trying to keep up with other larger television shows, particularly the CSI franchise.[39]

The revamp of the series resulted in a 25% ratings increase, bringing the series's weekly viewership to 1.6 million people.[42] Critical response after the event was reassuring, and it appeared that critics were approving of the drastic moves by Seven and Southern Star:

The recent shake-up at the old station has swept aside an unhealthy staleness that had settled on the place and there's some much-needed fresh energy provided by the new recruits, including Samantha Tolj as true-blue Aussie gal Kelly O'Rourke and Danny Raco as Italian stallion Joss Peroni.

— Debi Enker, [43]

In the hope that viewing would increase, an 11-episode season in 2006 was commissioned by the Seven Network.[44] However, the ratings spike begun in 2004 was not sufficient for the Seven Network to commit to continuing to produce the show. In January 2006, Seven officially announced that they had cancelled Blue Heelers, but would air a final shortened season of 11 episodes in mid-2006.[45] At the time the show was still drawing 1.2 million viewers per week on average, down from the 3.5 million it was drawing at its peak.[46] The announcement was front-page news on nearly all of Australia's major newspapers including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), The Melbourne Herald Sun, The Melbourne Age and Brisbane's Courier Mail.[47] Two different endings were shot for the final episode, which finished filming on 20 December 2005. The first ending wrapped up all the show's storylines, while the second left the show open for another season; the second version was used.[27]

For Blue Heelers' final season in 2006, it was moved from its primetime Wednesday-night timeslot, to a lower rating Saturday-night timeslot.[48] In the Saturday timeslot Blue Heelers competed with The Bill, a British police drama which had become quite popular in Australia on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Saturday Night AFL Coverage on Fox Footy Channel and Network Ten.[40] This move was slammed by leading cast member, John Wood.[40] Blue Heelers cancellation may also be related to Seven's AFL broadcast, which saw Seven invest $780m for the 5-year broadcasting rights of the game.[5]

2005-2011: Paramount Pictures released each season of Blue Heelers on DVD.

July 2013: The production company, Endemol Australia formerly Southern Star Productions stated there are no plans at this stage to re-release.

November 2015: Channel 7 said that there are still no plans to re-release Blue Heelers on DVD or Blu-ray.

May 2017: Via Vision Entertainment stated they would be re-releasing Blue Heelers on DVD.

2017-2018: Via Vision Entertainment released four collection boxset sets of Blue Heelers which featured all 510 episodes.

2018: Via Vision Entertainment released Blue Heelers: The Complete Collection.

August 2018: 7PLUS (Channel 7 Streaming Service) starting releasing all episodes).

Blue Heelers originally aired on Tuesday nights at 7:30 pm on the Seven Network, thus it was limited to a PG content level restriction. When the series was hailed as a success it began the transition from this timeslot to the 8:30 pm timeslot on the same day. After the move, writers could explore more diverse storylines, as the show was restricted to an M rating. The third and fourth season premiers aired on Monday nights during the 8:30 pm timeslot, but the show moved back to its original slot before the next episode. In its fifth season, Blue Heelers moved to the Wednesday night 8:30 pm timeslot, which it occupied for most of its run, until the end of its twelfth season. This move was made to make way for hospital drama All Saints.

Starting in 2004, the Seven Network aired Blue Heelers weekdays at 2:00 pm. All episodes aired with the final episode airing in 2007. This made way for the broadcast of early episodes of All Saints.

In February 2014, repeats of series 12 started airing and in May 2014, repeats of series 13 aired on 7TWO.

Blue Heelers has also screened on Hallmark Channel in Australia in various timeslots.

In New Zealand Blue Heelers screened on TV One in a popular timeslot. However, following the on-screen death of Maggie Doyle, ratings fell, and the show was moved to a 9:30 pm slot on Friday. Following that, the show moved to a late night Thursday slot where the rest of the episodes played out, with the show beginning anywhere between 11:30 pm and midnight. It aired its final episode on TV One on 20 March 2008.

Debuted on RTÉ on 15 September 1995 and continued every Friday afternoon at 4:30 pm. In 1998, the show moved to Thursday's around 1.00am on RTE 2. In September 2001, season 5 debuted airing weekday mornings at 10:30am on RTE 1. The 5 episode per week output meant the show quickly caught up with the Australian broadcast, and in 2004, RTÉ dropped back to single weekly episodes airing late night Thursday's, typically around 1:00 am. RTÉ began airing the final season on 30 May 2008 in a late night Saturday timeslot, and the final episode screened on 30 November 2008. RTÉ began re-airing Blue Heelers weekly from episode one, commencing on 24 June 2009, usually around 4:00 am Sunday mornings. RTÉ screened all episodes in their original unedited state. The drama proved very popular in Ireland and rated very well.

Blue Heelers aired briefly in the United States of America in the early 2000s on the short-lived cable channel Trio (carried primarily by DirecTV). No episode after number 76 was ever shown in the United States, and when Trio changed their programming in 2004, Blue Heelers was dropped from the schedule.

Blue Heelers was broadcast on Showcase in Canada, last airing on 15 May 1998.[65]

Blue Heelers is broadcasting on IRIB. All episodes were dubbed in Persian.

In Italy Blue Heelers was broadcast on Italia 7 Gold (now called 7 Gold), from the 1st to the 6th season. All episodes were dubbed in Italian.

In the United Kingdom the series was broadcast on most stations on the ITV Network. Many companies tended to screen the show as hour-long episodes in the afternoon (occasionally with necessary edits to suit the time slot, usually regarding profanity).

Carlton Television and Westcountry Television were the first to aired Blue Heelers in half-hour episodes originally on Mondays to Wednesdays, starting from 3 January 1995, however the series then switched to airing hour-long episodes. Central Television started in February 1995 with a late night 23.40 slot on Tuesdays before following other regions with a typically 14.20 slot. Central were one of the most consistent ITV regions to broadcast Blue Heelers, completing series 6 by early 2002.
When the three Carlton owner station stated a uniformed schedule during 2002 Blue Heelers reverted to two-part half-hour episodes; with the final batch of episodes shown in the regions were from Season 7 finishing on Wednesday 20 November 2002.

Blue Heelers also aired on Anglia Television, Meridian Television and Channel Television, typically Mondays at 2:20 pm, during the summer school holidays it was broadcast daily in a morning slot, until late 1998. Granada and border also screened the series from 1995 in the hour long format but by 1998 dropped the series. Ulster Television (UTV) began airing Blue Heelers in early 1995. The show initially screened 3 times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons at 1:50 pm. They then moved it to the 2:20 pm slot later in the series. A few episodes also ran at 11:40 pm on Thursday nights, as they were considered unsuitable for daytime viewing. UTV cancelled Blue Heelers in 1998.

Scottish Television began aired hour-long episodes from 1995, airing on Fridays, and then later on Tuesdays from mid 1996, until episode 106, when the series was replaced by Murder She Wrote. The series then reappear on most Saturday afternoon during 1998 until December when the series was dropped.

HTV, Yorkshire Television and Tyne Tees Television all chose not to import the show. When the English ITV contractors reformatted as one company in late 2002, regionally-run programmes such as Blue Heelers (which were at different points of the series in each region) disappeared from screens. No ITV region ever screened the series in full. The show also aired on UK cable channel Carlton Select in the late 1990s, first screening the early episodes daily and then in a weekly slot Fridays at 20.00 as episodes became more recent. Episodes to the later part of the 1997 season were shown before the series was dropped.