The eleventh season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network on 4 February 2004 and aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30 PM. The 39-episode season concluded 5 November 2004. The core of the main cast remained from previous seasons, with only Caroline Craig as Tess Gallagher departing. There were also several new additions to the main cast, with Geoff Morrell as Mark Jacobs, Rachel Gordon as Amy Fox, Samantha Tolj as Kelly O'Rourke, and Danny Raco as Joss Peroni all being introduced. Like the previous season, the eleventh season was released on DVD as a two part combination set on 5 August 2010.
Overview The programme suffered along with the Seven Networks as a whole, its ratings in a dire state. 2004 became the year in which the producers took a radical approach to shake up their show. The 39-episode 11th season saw the programme start the year closer to the low end of the weekly top 50 - and sometimes out of it altogether. However, when storylines heated up towards June/July, the numbers did too, and the programme enjoyed an amicable ratings performance thereon in 2005. On 21 April 2004 Blue Heelers aired a special event: a live episode. While Paul Bishop did not appear due to film commitments,Miller, Kylie. "Heelers try new trick", The Age, 15 April 2004. this theatre-esque event drew large ratings and was the first step made in attempting to draw viewers back to the show. The broadcast hit nearly 1.6 million viewers in April, helping Seven to narrowly win the No. 1 spot for the night;"Live Heelers Bang On", Herald Sun, 23 April 2004. but, it failed to resurrect the numbers for the show as Seven had hoped.
This was followed by the overhaul of the show. Its 440th episode, "End of Innocence", aired on 6 July 2004 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 happen to be on the same day).Byrne, Fiona. "New Blood for Blue Heelers", Herald Sun, 25 April 2004."Cop drama boosted by new blood", 29 April 2004. In episode 445, "Checkmate", Barry Baxter was sent to jail for the terror attacks, and Nick departed Mount Thomas leaving his colleagues to face their new situation. The ratings picked up significantly during this time.
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. This season saw the old opening credits replaced with a new version adopting a more modern tone for the start of seasons 11, 12, and 13.
Casting
Main John Wood as Senior sergeant Tom Croydon Julie Nihill as Christine "Chris" Riley Martin Sacks as Senior detective Patrick Joseph "P.J." Hasham Paul Bishop as Sergeant Benjamin "Ben" Stewart Jane Allsop as Senior Constable Joanna "Jo" Parrish Ditch Davey as Constable Evan 'Jonesy' Jones Simone McAullay as Constable Susie Raynor Geoff Morrell as Sergeant Mark Jacobs Rachel Gordon as Detective senior constable Amy Fox Samantha Tolj as Probationary constable Kelly O'Rourke Danny Raco as Probationary constable Joss Peroni
Recurring Jonathan Brooks as Luke Darcy Heidi Arena as Marissa Craddock Marcus Eyre as Detective sergeant Paul Donald Adam Palmer as Senior detective Eddie Turnbull Jeremy Kewley as Tony Timms Natasha Pincus as Deniz Gulmez Peter Stefanou as Dr. Mehmet Gulmez Peta Doodson as Inspector Monica Draper Adam May as Ellis Corby
Guest stars Charles "Bud" Tingwell as Charles Shaw Nicki Paull Bernard Curry Lesley Baker Eliza Taylor-Cotter Danny Adcock Alan Hopgood Daniela Duspara Frankie J. Holden Simon Westaway Luke Hemsworth Jeremy Lindsay Taylor
Reception
The season had an average of 1.4 million viewers until the halfway through, where it spiked up to a weekly 1.6 million viewers.
Awards
Episodes
DVD release Season 11 Parts 1 and 2 was released on 5 August 2010. BUY Blue Heelers - Season 10 DVD The Complete 11th Season (Parts 1+2) Set DetailsSpecial Features TBA Episodes (TBA Mins.) Episodes: TBA 10-Disc Set 16:9 Widescreen Aspect Ratio English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) Slipcase Packaging Release Dates 5 August 2010
References
General Zuk, T. Blue Heelers: 2004 episode guide, Australian Television Information Archive. Retrieved 1 August 2007. TV.com editors. Blue Heelers Episode Guide - Season 11, TV.com. Retrieved 1 August 2007. Specific