Sea Patrol is an Australian television drama that ran from 2007 to 2011, set on board HMAS Hammersley, a fictional patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The series focused on the ship and the lives of its crew members.
Despite similarities in setting and content, this series is not a follow-on to the 1979 series Patrol Boat. At the start of the second season, Sea Patrol saw an upgrade from the to a newer boat.
The first season debuted on 5 July 2007 on the Nine Network, who invested $15 million into the programme.Murdoch, Alex. "TV Bosses Bank Local", The Courier-Mail, 9 October 2006 The second season of Sea Patrol, titled Sea Patrol II: The Coup, aired in 2008, while the third season, Sea Patrol: Red Gold, aired in 2009. The fourth season aired in 2010 in a new 16-episode format, with no main theme or continuous storyline running throughout, unlike the first three seasons.
The fifth season of Sea Patrol, "Damage Control", began airing in 2011 and consisted of 13 episodes. The Nine Network confirmed that this was to be the final season, due to reliance on government rebates that expire after 65 episodes. Completion of season five brought the total episode count to 68 episodes.
Premise All seasons of Sea Patrol have consisted of standalone episodes dealing with serious breaches of Australian law, such as illegal fishing, asylum seekers and other problems the RAN encounter on typical patrols. The premiere of each season usually introduces a larger event which is expanded on and connected as the season goes on, before being resolved in the finale. This format, however, with a storyline running throughout the season, was absent in season 4.
The first season's premiere began with the introduction of Bright Island, which was positioned as a type of mystery island, and the death of a marine biologist. Over the duration of the season, the CO and some of the crew became suspicious and later entwined in a conspiracy involving water containing a deadly toxin.
The second season, known as Sea Patrol II: The Coup, revolved around insurgents on the fictional Samaru Islands attempting to overthrow the current government, and a group of Eastern European mercenaries and smugglers who near-fatally stabbed Charge, tried to kill XO and are in cahoots with the insurgents and Samaruan constabulary.
The third season, known as Sea Patrol III: Red Gold, began with the death of Josh "ET" Holiday, fiancé of Nicole "Nikki" (Nav) Caetano and a crew member of HMAS Hammersley during the first two seasons. The investigation of this death ran throughout the season.
The fourth season, known as Sea Patrol IV: The Right Stuff, returned with most principal cast members, with the exception of Pete "Buffer" Tomaszewski, Nicole "Nikki" (Nav) Caetano, Billy "Spider" Webb and Commander Steven 'Steve' Marshall.
The fifth season, known as Sea Patrol V: Damage Control, was the final season and began with a suicide bombing in an overseas bar.
Cast and characters
Main cast Actor Character Rank Position Tenure EpisodesIan StenlakeMike "CO" Flynn, CSC, RAN Lieutenant CommanderCommanding officer Season 1–3001–068 Commander Season 4–5 Lisa McCune Kate "XO" McGregor, RAN Lieutenant Executive Officer Season 1–5 001–068 John Batchelor Andy "Charge" Thorpe Chief petty officer Chief Marine Technician Season 1–5 001–068 Matthew Holmes Chris "Swain" Blake, CV Petty officer Coxswain/Medic Season 1–5 001–068 Kristian Schmid Robert "RO" Dixon Leading Seaman Radio operator Season 1–5 001–068 Saskia Burmeister Nicole (Nikki) "Nav" Caetano, RAN Lieutenant Navigator Season 1–3 001–039 Jeremy Lindsay Taylor Pete "Buffer" Tomaszewski Petty Officer Boatswain Season 1–3 001–039 Jay Ryan Billy "Spider" Webb Seaman Boatswain's Mate Season 1–3 001–039 David Lyons Josh "ET" Holiday Leading seaman Electronics Technician Season 1–3 001–027 Josh Lawson Toby "Chefo" Jones Able seaman Chef/Assistant Medic Season 1 001–013 Kirsty Lee Allan Rebecca "Bomber" Brown Able seaman Chef/Assistant Medic Season 2–4 014–055 Nikolai Nikolaeff Leo "2Dads" Kosov-Meyer Leading seaman Electronics Technician Season 3–5 028–068 Conrad Coleby Dylan "Dutchy" Mulholland, MG Petty officer Boatswain Season 4–5 040–068 Danielle Horvat Jessica "Gap Girl" Bird Seaman Gap Year later Chef/Assistant Medic Season 4–5 040–068 Dominic Deutscher Ryan White Midshipman Junior officer Season 4–5 053–068
Recurring cast Actor Character Tenure Daisy Betts Sally Blake 5 episodes Commander Steven 'Steve' Marshall Season 1–3 Dr. Ursula Morrell Season 1 Goran D. Kleut Vjek Season 2 Carly Walsman Season 2 Lang Calwell Season 3 Ray Walsman Season 2 Captain Jim Roth, CV Season 2, 5 Tye Harper Seaman John 'Jaff' Jaffah Season 1 Eugene Gilfedder Finn McLean Season 2 Mirko Grillini Emile / Malcom 'Mal' Scarpia Season 3, 5 Peter Season 4 Steve Coburn Season 4 Ray Tiernan Zhenya Season 2 Zan Season 2 Sean Taylor Wessel Berkelman Season 4 Madelaine Cruise Season 5 Richard 'Rick' Gallagher Season 1 Anthony Edwards Viktor Season 2 Harry Edwards Season 4 Commander Maxine "Knocker" White Season 4, 5 Matt Robsenn Season 3 Andrew Buchanan Campbell Fulton Season 2, 3 Lieutenant Commander Jack Freeman Season 2 Simone Robsenn Season 3 Carl Davies/Sgt Wild Season 1, 5Graham Moore Warrant Officer Ed Gray/Technician/Agent Smith Season 3, 4, and 5 Lieutenant Darryl Smith Season 1 Federal Agent Gregory 'Greg' Murphy Season 1 Federal Agent Martina Royce Season 1 Federal Agent Alicia Turnball Season 1 Renai Caruso Madeleine Cruise Season 5, 6 episodes Jessica Napier Simone Robsen Season 3, 5 episodes
Guests Actor Character Tenure Anna Hutchison Jodie 1 episode Benjamin McNair Richard Logan 1 episode Bob Morley Sean 1 episode Brett Swain Carl Buckland 1 episode Brooke Harman Jessica Taylor 1 episode Clayton Watson Fraser 1 episode Geoff Morrell Lieutenant Commander Jack Freeman 1 episode Jack Finsterer Karl Butherworth 1 episode Jerome Ehlers Peter 1 episode John Brumpton Malachi 1 episode Jonny Pasvolsky Clarkson 1 episode Ling-Hsueh Tang Xiao-Xiao 2 episodes Matthew Le Nevez Jullian Wiseman 1 episode Michael Dorman Travis 1 episode Nicholas Bell Jack 1 episode Osamah Sami Salim Shokor 1 episode Rel Hunt Captain Craig Bolt 1 episode Ryan Johnson Darryl 1 episode Steve Bastoni Steve Coburn 1 episode Steve Le Marquand Karl Strauss 1 episode Sullivan Stapleton Geoff Kershaw 1 episode Tasma Walton Jila 1 episode Tim Campbell Harry Edwards 1 episode
Production Origins "Every hour of every day in all weathers young men and women of the Royal Australian Navy Patrol Boat Service battle the elements and the odds to defend Australia's borders and enforce its economic zone. They provide security, support, and relief for the world's largest island". Each episode of Sea Patrol, from the third season begins with the words "Honour – Honesty – Courage – Integrity – Loyalty", which are the Royal Australian Navy Values.
This series shows the gender and cultural diversity of the Navy, and deals with contemporary issues such as illegal fishing, boat people, drug-running, immigration, and people-smuggling, and have an underlying mystery that runs throughout the series.
Ships
For the first season of Sea Patrol, the fictional HMAS Hammersley (PTF 202) was portrayed by two real s: was used for filming in Sydney, while was used for six weeks of filming off Dunk Island in Queensland. Hammersley serves under the fictional naval command structure of "NAVCOM", and was decommissioned during the final episode of the first season. HMAS Kingston (PTF 205), a second fictional Fremantle-class boat, is mentioned in several episodes and appears in the ninth episode: Kingston shares her pennant number with real patrol boat .
When the first season was being filmed, it was predicted that later seasons would replace Hammersley with the newer . Subsequent seasons have used an Armidale class ship, also named HMAS Hammersley, with the hull number 82. For Season 2, footage from two ships was conflated to represent Hammersley: 42 of the 86 days of the series filming were spent aboard , with later pick-up filming aboard .
Locations Cairns, Queensland Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, Broadbeach, Queensland HMAS Waterhen, Navy Base, Sydney, New South Wales Dunk Island, Queensland Mission Beach, Queensland Cowley Beach, near Innisfail, Queensland Tamborine Mountain, Queensland Tumbulgum, New South Wales HMAS Penguin
Episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedDVD release Season premiere Season finale Region 4 1 13 5 July 2007 4 October 2007 17 October 2007 2 13 31 March 2008 23 June 2008 6 November 2008 3 13 18 May 2009 27 July 2009 1 October 2009 4 16 15 April 2010 29 July 2010 19 August 2010 5 13 26 April 2011 12 July 2011 4 August 2011
Reception Before Sea Patrol aired, it was one of the most highly anticipated programmes in Australia, partly due to the episode budget of over A$1 million, twice that of other Australian dramas. Sea Patrol also marked the return of Lisa McCune to television acting.
Sea Patrol received mixed but generally positive reviews. The first season received an average 1.5 million viewers, which dropped during the early part of season two before returning to 1.5 million viewers for the final five episodes.
Marieke Hardy, for The Age, commented "I don't really get Sea Patrol... the general gist of it leaves me somewhat cold", and further claimed that the scripts were not well written and that the actors were not given the opportunity to shine.
Michelle Over, a reviewer for militarypeople.com.au, scored the first episode a disappointing 6.5 out of 10. Over also predicted that the series would begin jumping the shark at episode 5, primarily due to a lack of quality scripts and an unlikeness to the real life of a Navy officer.
Shortly after the series began, the Royal Australian Navy created "The Real Sea Patrol", an interactive website about the activities and personnel on board the Australian patrol boat , designed as a promotional and recruiting tool to capitalise on the series.
Awards and nominations Logie Awards Year Nominee Award Result 2008 Lisa McCune Most Popular Personality on Australian Television Nomination 2008 Lisa McCune Most Popular Actress Nomination 2008 David Lyons Most Popular New Male Talent Nomination 2009 Kirsty Lee Allan Most Popular New Female Talent Nomination
Media information Broadcast history
DVD releases SeasonDate Released# Of Episodes# Of DiscsSpecial FeaturesSea Patrol – The Complete Series 1 17 October 2007 13 4 Slipcase PackagingSea Patrol II: The Coup – The Complete Series 2 6 November 2008 13 4 Slipcase PackagingSea Patrol III: Red Gold – The Complete Series 3 1 October 2009 13 4 Slipcase PackagingSea Patrol IV: The Right Stuff – The Complete Series 4 19 August 2010 16 4 NoneSea Patrol V: Damage Control – The Complete Series 5 4 August 2011 13 4 NoneSea Patrol: The Complete Series 1-524 November 20116820Custom PackagingSea Patrol: The Complete Series 1-54 December 20136820Repackaged (Slipbox with 5 Keep Cases)
Internet download From 1 April 2008, full episodes of Sea Patrol were offered as free download, as part of ninemsn's catch-up TV service. This download required a third-party player, advertisements were contained in the downloaded files, and the episodes were programmed to be unplayable after the season finished airing. Due to geo-locational IP blocking, the ninemsn service may not be available outside Australia.
The second season of Sea Patrol was released on the Australian iTunes Store on 25 June 2008.
The first season of Sea Patrol was made available in the United States on the streaming video website Hulu in 2009 and the second season was made available in 2012 . In early January 2013, season 3, 4, & 5 was released on Hulu.