The twelfth 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 2 February 2005 and aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30 PM. The 42-episode season concluded 26 November 2005.

Casting

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.

Main cast for this season consisted of:

• 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:...
  
   as 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...
  
   [full season]
• 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...
  
   as 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....
  
   [full season]
• 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:...
  
   as Senior
  Seniority
  Seniority is the concept of a person or group of people being in charge or in command of another person or group. This control is often granted to the senior person due to experience or length of service in a given position, but it is not uncommon for a senior person to have less experience or...
  
   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"...
  
   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....
  
   (Episode 458-484)
• 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'...
  
   as Senior Constable/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"...
  
   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....
  
   [full season]
• 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...
  
   as Senior Constable 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:...
  
   [full season]
• 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...
  
   as 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
  Amy Fox (T.V. character)
  Amy Fox is a fictional character in the long running television show Blue Heelers. She first appeared in 2004 and remained until the show was cancelled in 2006. Fox was portrayed by Rachel Gordon. Amy entered the show in season 11 after the bombing of the Mount Thomas Police Station.She is...
  
   [full season]
• 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...
  
   as Constable 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....
  
   [full season]
• 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...
  
   as 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....
  
   [full season]
• Charlie Clausen
  Charlie Clausen
  Charlie Clausen is an Australian actor most known for his role as Jake Harrison on McLeod's Daughters in 2003 and as Acting Sergeant Alex Kirby on the police drama series Blue Heelers, which he starred in for the majority of Season 12 and Season 13...
  
   as Leading Senior Constable/Acting
  Acting
  Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
  
   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....
  
   Alex Kirby [from Episode 461]
• Geoff Morrell as 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 (Blue Heelers)
  Mark Jacobs was a fictional character in the long-running Australian police drama series, Blue Heelers. He was portrayed by Geoff Morrell and appeared in the series from 2004 to 2005....
  
   (Episodes 458-489 )
• Matthew Holmes
  Matt Holmes
  Matthew Theodore Holmes is an Australian actor.-Early life:Holmes attended Newington College . He gained an Advanced Diploma in Acting at the Actors College of Theatre and Television....
  
   as 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:...
  
   Matt Graham
  Matthew 'Matt' Graham
  Matthew Graham is a fictional character in the long running Australian television police drama Blue Heelers. He joined the cast of Blue Heelers in 2005 after the farwell of Sergeant Mark Jacobs....
  
   (From Episode 490)
• /li>

Guest actors included 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...

, Val Jellay

Val Jellay

Val Jellay born 25 September 1927 is an Australian actressHer career began with dance lessons in 1931 when she was four years old and continues to this day applauded by hundreds of fans in Europe, Britain, Scandinavia and Australia....

, John Brumpton

John Brumpton

John Brumpton is an Australian actor who has appeared in a large number of local productions.-Writing career:He co-wrote the feature film Life and he won the International Critics Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival.-Theatre:...

, Joy Westmore

Joy Westmore

Joy Westmore is an Australian actress, best known to television viewers for her long-running role in Prisoner as friendly but highly ineffectual officer Joyce Barry....

, Pepe Trevor

Pepe Trevor

Penelope "Pepe" Trevor is an Australian actress, journalist and award-winning author who is perhaps best known for her role as young card sharp and trouble-maker Lexie Patterson in Prisoner.-Biography:...

, Margot Knight

Margot Knight

Margot Knight is an Australian actress, best known for playing two roles in two highly popular television serials. In Prisoner, she played inmate Sharon Gilmour in 1980 and junior prison officer Terri Malone in 1985...

, Tracy Mann

Tracy Mann

Tracy Mann is an Australian actress. Her film credits include Hard Knocks, The Scarecrow, and Fast Talking.Mann got her first big break playing Tina Harris in the 1970s television soap opera The Box. She is possibly best remembered to audiences for playing a character who ended up behind bars, deaf...

, 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...

, Paul Dawber

Paul Dawber

Paul Dawber is an Australian television actor and is probably most known for his 1987 stint on Sons and Daughters. He has also appeared on popular Australian police dramas such as Blue Heelers, Stingers and, more recently, City Homicide and Satisfaction ...

, Lynette Curran

Lynette Curran

Lynette Curran is an Australian actress best known for her roles in Australian television series and films. Between 1967 and 1974 she was a regular in soap opera Bellbird. She also acted in the film version of the serial, Country Town ....

, Elspeth Ballantyne

Elspeth Ballantyne

Elspeth Ballantyne is an Australian actress, born in Adelaide. Having started her career as a laboratory Technician, she then attended the prestigious drama school, the National Institute for Dramatic Arts...

 and Alethea McGrath

Alethea McGrath

Alethea McGrath is an Australian actress who played the role of Jocasta Nu in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. She is also widely known for her roles on television, playing Dot Farrar in Prisoner and two parts in Neighbours: Mary Crombie from 1989 to 1990 and Lilly Madigan in 1998...

.

Plot

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
  Sarah Chadwick
  Sarah Chadwick is an Australian television actress best known for her role on The Flying Doctors as Dr. Rowie Lang, and for her role as Marion in the 1994 film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Before she took up acting at the age of 25, Chadwick worked as a receptionist at the...
  
  ) and her quick dismissal by a still-bitter Tom,
• Tom going up against a gangster (Gary Sweet
  Gary Sweet
  Gary Sweet is an Australian film and television actor known for his roles in Alexandra's Project , Police Rescue, Cody, Big Sky, The Battlers, Bodyline and Stingers....
  
  ),
• PJ and Amy's conflict over a psychiatrist (Vince Colosimo
  Vince Colosimo
  Vincenzo Colosimo is an Australian AFI Award winning stage, television and screen actor. He has worked in both Australia and the United States.-Personal life:...
  
  ), suspected of being a serial killer
  Serial killer
  A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
  
  ,
• Amy confronting her uncle (Shane Porteous
  Shane Porteous
  John Shane Porteous is an Australian television character actor, TV screenplay scriptwriter, theatre actor, animation layout artist, and animation voice artist.-Biography:...
  
  ) 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
  Melbourne
  Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
  
   with Homicide, leaving his memories behind him, hoping to start new,
• 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
  Tara Morice
  Tara Morice is an Australian actress, singer, and dancer.Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Morice also lived in Sydney, Alice Springs and Adelaide as a child...
  
  ), 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
  Soldier
  A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
  
   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.

Reception

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

House (TV series)

House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...

saw a decrease in ratings, as well as a gradual mixing of critical reaction, which had initially proved mostly positive.

Awards

2005 Australian Film Institute Awards

Nominee: Best Television Drama Series

2005 Logie Awards

Winner: Most Popular Actor (John Wood)

Nominee: Most Popular Actress (Jane Allsop)

Nominee: Most Popular Personality (John Wood)

Nominee: Most Popular Australian Drama Series

Nominee: Most Popular New Female Talent (Rachel Gordon)

Nominee: Most Popular New Female Talent (Samantha Tolj)

After its revamp in 2004, Blue Heelers actresses Rachel Gordon and Samantha Tolj were both nominated for Most Popular New Female Talent; although neither actually won the award. Blue Heelers veteran, John Wood, won the award for Most Popular Actor.

Episodes

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

DVD release

Season Twelve Of Blue Heelers was released on Thursday, 4 November 2010

The Complete Twelfth Season
	Set Details			Special Features
	28 Episodes (1304 Mins.) Episodes: 429-456 + Live Episode 8 Discs 16:9 Widescreen Aspect Ratio English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)			Slipcase Packaging Photo Gallery
	Release Dates
	4 November 2010