The 11th season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers

Blue Heelers

Blue Heelers is an Australian police drama series which depicted the lives of police officers stationed at the fictional Mount Thomas police station in a small town in Victoria.- Overview :...

 premiered on the Seven Network

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

 on 4 February 2004 and aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30 PM. The 39-episode season concluded 5 November 2004.

Overview

The programme suffered along with the Seven Network

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

s 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 wrong 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, 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; 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). 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

Soap opera

A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 style that Blue Heelers had embraced, ratings remained high for the rest of the season.this season saw the old opening credits be taken out in order to put the new version with a whole new modern tone for the start of season 11 and 12,13

Main cast

Actor	Character	Episodes
John Wood John Wood (Australian actor) John Wood is a Gold Logie Award-winning Australian actor, best known for his role as Senior Sergeant Tom Croydon in the Seven Network's long running police drama Blue Heelers.-TV career:...	Senior Sergeant Tom Croydon Tom Croydon Thomas Arthur Croydon is a fictional character in the long running Australian television police drama Blue Heelers. He is one of two characters to appear in all thirteen seasons, 1994 to 2006, and is an original character...	39
Julie Nihill Julie Nihill Julie Nihill is an Australian actress.-Biography:After early roles in 1980s soap operas such as The Young Doctors, Prisoner and Sons and Daughters and the miniseries Bodyline .Nihill was cast in the role for which she became a household face: as bartender and local councilor Chris...	Christine 'Chris' Riley Chris Riley (Blue Heelers character) Councillor Christine Bridget "Chris" Riley is a fictional character in the long running police show Blue Heelers played by Julie Nihill. She is one of only two characters who were in the show from 1994 to 2006. She is good friends with Tom Croydon and his late wife Nell....	39
Martin Sacks Martin Sacks Martin Colin Sacks is an award-winning Australian actor, chiefly known for his 12-year role on Blue Heelers from 1993–2005.-Career:...	Detective Detective A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...  Senior Constable Patrick Joseph 'P.J.' Hasham Patrick Joseph 'P.J.' Hasham P.J. was a fictional character in Australia's police series Blue Heelers.He was an original character in 1994 and left in 2005.He was portrayed by Martin Sacks....	39
Ditch Davey Ditch Davey Ditch Davey is an Australian actor.He was born Kristian Lind, but legally changed his name to Ditch when he was 18. Ditch came about because his older sister could not pronounce Christian, so instead she ended up calling him 'Ditchin'...	Constable Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...  Evan 'Jonesy' Jones Evan 'Jonesy' Jones Evan 'Jonesy' Jones is a fictional character from Blue Heelers. He was introduced in 2001 and remained until the show ended in 2006. He was portrayed by Ditch Davey....	39
Simone McAullay Simone McAullay Simone McAullay is an Australian actress.She auditioned for the Actors Centre in Sydney from where she graduated in 2000. From 2003 to 2006, when the programme was canceled, she played the role of Senior Constable Susie Raynor on Blue Heelers.In 2007, she has played a guest role on Home and Away...	Constable Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...   Susie Raynor Susie Raynor Susie Raynor is a fictional character in the long-running television show Blue Heelers. She first appeared in 2003 and remained until the show's cancellation in 2006.-Description:...	39
Paul Bishop Paul Bishop Paul Bishop is an author and a detective in the Los Angeles Police Department with the current rank of Detective III. He is also a writer with numerous published novels and produced episodes of episodic television and feature film scripts...	Sergeant Sergeant Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....  Benjamin 'Ben' Stewart Benjamin 'Ben' Stewart Benjamin 'dog' Stewart was a fictional character in the long running police series Blue Heelers. He was portrayed by Paul Bishop.He came into the series in the middle of season 5 as a guest before coming back to the series as a full time cast member of the show and stayed from season 5-season 11...	33
Jane Allsop Jane Allsop Jane Claire Allsop is an Australian actress, best known for her role as Jo Parrish on Blue Heelers.-Personal life:...	Senior Constable Joanna 'Jo' Parrish	22
Geoff Morrell	Sergeant Sergeant Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....  Mark Jacobs Mark Jacobs Mark Jacobs may refer to:* Mark Jacobs , former CEO of Mythic Entertainment* Mark Jacobs * Mark Jacobs , character on the Australian television show Blue Heelers* Mark Jacobs...	17
Rachel Gordon Rachel Gordon Rachel Gordon Rachel Gordon Rachel Gordon (born 10 May 1976 in Brisbane, Australia is an actress.Gordon is a 1996 graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney. Since her graduation, she has combined stage acting with various roles in Australian television and films.In late...	Detective Detective A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...  Amy Fox	17
Samantha Tolj Samantha Tolj Samantha Tolj is an actress.Her father is Croatian and mother is Anglo Celtic Australian.Tolj began professional acting guest starring on Stingers, MDA, and a bit part in an episode of Blue Heelers...	Probationary Constable Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...  Kelly O'Rourke Kelly O'Rourke Kelly O'Rourke was a fictional character from Blue Heelers. She came into the show in 2004 after the bombing of the Mount Thomas Station and stayed until the show finished in 2006.She was portrayed by Samantha Tolj....	16
Danny Raco Danny Raco Danny Raco is an Australian actor and director, known for his television work.Raco was born in Rome, Italy. He got his start playing Marco Vialli on the teenage soap opera Heartbreak High from 1998 to 1999. In 2001, he joined the cast of a primetime soap opera, Home and Away, playing Alex Poulos...	Probationary Constable Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...  Joss Peroni Joss Peroni Joss Peroni was a fictional character who appeared in Blue Heelers between July 2004 and June 2006. He was portrayed by Danny Raco....	16

Guest actors included Charles "Bud" Tingwell, Nicki Paull

Nicki Paull

Nicola Paull is an Australian actress. Though predominantly known for her work on television, she has also appeared in films and on stage, as well as performing as a voice-over artist and narrator....

, Bernard Curry

Bernard Curry

Bernard Curry is a Sydney-based Australian actor, best known for his role in soap operas Neighbours and Home and Away.-Career:...

, Lesley Baker

Lesley Baker

Lesley Baker is an Australian actress, singer, dancer and comedienne.She is best known for her roles as hulking husband basher Monica Ferguson in Prisoner and Angie Rebecchi in Neighbours.-Filmography:...

, Eliza Taylor-Cotter

Eliza Taylor-Cotter

Elizabeth Jane "Eliza" Taylor-Cotter is an Australian actress, best known for her role as Janae Timmins in long-running soap opera Neighbours.-Biography and Career:...

, Danny Adcock

Danny Adcock

Danny Adcock is an Australian actor, best known for his work in television and theatre.His television acting roles include Matlock Police as the killer of Michael Pate's character, Division 4, Homicide, Patrol Boat, Sons and Daughters as Joe Parker, Prisoner as male warder Geoff Carlson, A Country...

, Alan Hopgood

Alan Hopgood

Alan Hopgood is an Australian actor and writer.He is a graduate of the University of Melbourne. Hopgood's first very successful play was And the Big Men Fly in 1963. It was adapted for TV by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1973...

, Danijela Duspara, Frankie J. Holden, Simon Westaway

Simon Westaway

Simon Westaway is an Australian actor who has appeared in many television series, films and theatre productions. He is most remembered as portraying Domenic "Mick" Gatto in the crime series Underbelly. He currently hosts Channel Seven's Surf Patrol. He has three children: Jackson, Bella and Ruben...

 and Jeremy Lindsay Taylor

Jeremy Lindsay Taylor

Jeremy Lindsay Taylor is an Australian actor. He finished his education at Newington College in 1991 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in drama and sociology, from the University of Newcastle...

.

Plot

Storylines included:

• the return to Mount Thomas of Luke Darcy, who terrorised PJ over the years which ended in Luke Darcy's death and PJ as the main suspect, but the killer was later proved to be Luke's own sister Kayla,
• 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.

Note: Lisa McCune did not refilm any scenes, old scenes were just "cut and pasted" to form the new scenes.

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
  Sam Healy
  Sam Healy is an Australian actress most known for her work portraying Jazmina Hillerman on All Saints, an Australian hospital drama. She has also acted on other Australian series Blue Heelers and McLeod's Daughters...
  
  ), 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
  Tottie Goldsmith
  Tottie Goldsmith is an Australian actress and singer.-Biography:Goldsmith is the daughter of Melbourne restaurateur and nightclub owner Brian Goldsmith and British-born actress Rona Newton-John. Her great grandfather was German physicist and Nobel Prize winner Max Born...
  
  ), and
• PJ and Amy facing tensions with one another.
• Ben's Depression gets to him. while Susie has rejected cuz she has feeling for another man Evan 'Jonesy' Jones which causes him to leave the force. in Reality he quit the show to do some theater work he hasn't in a long time. His final Episode was Away games

Reception

the show started a revamp this season killin off a cop and a handicap man and blowin up the station and also adding 4 new cast members plus new opening credits for the modern tone set for the season and a (Live) episode. also a (brief) return of Nick Schultz for five episodes 441-445 all about the bombing of the station and cop a being in the blast with a handicap man.
Show had an average of 1.4 Million until the Revamp began which spiked up the rating to a weekly 1.6 Million Rating

Awards

Episodes

DVD Season	Episode #	Title	Director(s)	Writer(s)	Original airdate (Aust.)

DVD release

Season 11 Parts 1 and 2 was released on 5 August 2010 2010.

The Complete 11th Season (Parts 1+2)
	Set Details			Special Features
	TBA Episodes (TBA Mins.) Episodes: TBA 10-Disc Set 16:9 Widescreen Aspect Ratio English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)			Slipcase Packaging Photo Gallery
	Release Dates
	5 August 2010