A crossover episode between Bluey and Homicide: in the wake of Bluey's (ultimately non-fatal) shooting, the Russell Street homicide department get involved, in the form of Don Barker (Det. Sgt. Harry White).
'Tip-offs are usually welcomed by police, but Bluey is far from happy when an anonymous note tells the authorities who killed Noel Allan Cornish. However, even Bluey couldn't possibly foresee the disaster that would follow in the wake of such information. Department B is rocked to its very foundation.
'Much against his better judgement, Bluey becomes involved in checking out the tip .. and he pays the absolute penalty.
'With Bluey out of the way, Monica finds running the Department, keeping Gary in check and handling the Assistant Commissioner is more than she can cope with. Not even Truscott's help is assistance enough to forestall the day of reckoning looming for Department B.
'Gary, with no restraining hand over him, all but runs amok. In the best Bluey traditions, he tosses away the book and goes in boots and all. His rough, tough approach to the investigation stamps him a worthy "Son of Bluey".'
Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).
The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):
'JENNY: IN HER EARLY TWENTIES, JENNY LIVES UP TO TRUSCOTT'S ASSESSMENT OF HER - "A SEXY YOUNG BIT". BUT IN REGARDS SEX, SHE'S MORE LANDROVER THAN ROLLS ROYCE - HANDLES THE GOING BEST WHEN THINGS ARE A BIT ROUGH. MORE YOUR R THAN RR. SHE'S A FUN KID WHEN SHE'S IN THE MOOD FOR FUN. SHE'S A WILDCAT WHEN IT COMES TO A FIGHT.
'JOEY RAVEN: ABOUT THE SAME AGE AS JENNY, JOEY HAS LIVED ON THE FRINGE OF THE CRIMINAL ELEMENT MOST OF HIS LIFE. BUT THAT'S THE STORY OF HIS LIFE ... ALWAYS ON THE FRINGE. HE'S NEVER COME TO TERMS WITH WOMEN - PARTICULARLY JENNY. HE'S USUALLY AS EMBARRASSED AS HELL IN HER PRESENCE BUT HE ENJOYS BEING THERE. HE HAS A SOFT SPOT FOR DOUG, TOO - A SILENT "FRINGE" MATESHIP OF A KIND BUILT UP OVER THE YEARS WITH JOEY VERY MUCH THE SECOND STRING.
CAR DRIVING REQUIRED.
'DOUG STEWART DOUG, IN HIS THIRTIES, IS A BIT OF A MYSTERY MAN. IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL WHETHER HIS RETICENCE IS THE RESULT OF CAUTION (PERHAPS HE HAS SOMETHING TO HIDE) OR WHETHER IT IS SIMPLY PART OF HIS MAKE-UP. HE HAS A LONG CRIMINAL RECORD DUE MAINLY TO A LACK OF SELF-CONTROL IN A CRISIS. WHEN HE DOES HIS BLOCK HIS FISTS FLY BLINDLY - NO DIFFERENCE WHETHER IT'S A MAN OR A WOMAN ON THE RECEIVING END. BUT WHEN HE'S DOWN EMOTIONALLY, HE'S RIGHT DOWN. HE'S A VICTIM OF DEEP-SEATED INSECURITY AND DOUBTS.
'RHODA LEWIS: ABOUT THE SAME AGE AS DOUG, RHODA WAS HIS DE FACTO FOR MANY YEARS .. AND SHE'S MUCH MORE DOUG'S STYLE AND SPEED THAN JENNY IS. SHE WANTS TO RE-ESTABLISH THEIR EARLIER RELATIONSHIP AT ALL COSTS. WHETHER IT'S DOUG SHE WANTS OR WHETHER IT'S THE KEY DOUG MIGHT HOLD, WE DON'T KNOW.
'MATRON: A LITTLE YOUNGER THAN BLUEY ... BUT SHE'S A MATCH FOR HIM. WHAT SHE MAY LOSE TO HIM IN YEARS OF EXPERIENCE SHE MORE THAN COMPENSATES FOR THROUGH HER POSITION OF AUTHORITY AND THE SECURITY OF HER RELIGIOUS HABIT.
'SERGEANT TAYLOR: A SERGEANT IN THE HOMICIDE SQUAD - A SUBORDINATE IN ALL WAYS TO INSPECTOR FERRIS.
'NURSE: YOUNG AND PRETTY, WITH A BOTTOM JUST THE RIGHT SIZE FOR BLUEY TO GET HIS HANDS AROUND.
'SISTER: EFFICIENT, WITH THE AUTHORITY YOU WOULD EXPECT TO FIND IN ONE HOLDING SUCH A POSITION. SHE READILY CO-OPERATES WITH ALL HIGHER AUTHORITY - PARTICULARLY THE POLICE.
'DOCTOR: A YOUNG RESIDENT MEDICAL OFFICER OF SOME THREE OR FOUR YEARS STANDING.
'ORDERLY: A HOSPITAL ORDERLY.
'POLICE PHOTOGRAPHER.'
Homicide
( dir. Bruce Ross-Smith
et. al. )agent
Melbourne
:
Crawford Productions
,
1964-1975
Z1813076
1964
series - publisher
film/TV
crime
detective
Running for twelve years and a total of 510 episodes, Homicide was a seminal Australian police-procedural program, set in the homicide squad of the Victoria Police. According to Don Storey in his Classic Australian Television, it represented a turning point for Australian television, prompting the development of local productions over the purchase of relatively inexpensive American dramas. Indeed, Storey quotes Hector Crawford as saying that his production company intended three outcomes from Homicide: demonstrating that it was possible to make a high-quality local drama series, counteracting criticism of local performers, and showing that Australian audiences would watch Australian-made dramas.
As Moran notes in his Guide to Australian TV Series, the program adopted a narrative structure focusing on crime, detection, and capture, rather than on character studies of the lead detectives. The early episodes were produced by a small crew (Storey notes that the crew was frequently limited to four people: cameraman, grip, director, and assistant director), requiring some degree of ingenuity to achieve a polished result (including, in some cases, the actors performing their own stunts). However, the program received extensive support from the Victoria Police (who recognised, in its positive portrayal of police officers, a valuable public-relations exercise) and, as its popularity grew, from the public.
The program's cast changed extensively over its twelve years on the air, though it remained focused on a small group of male detectives, with the inclusion of irregular characters such as Policewoman Helen Hopgood (played by Derani Scarr), written on an as-required basis to reflect the involvement of women in the police force. In Moran's words, 'The other star of Homicide was the location film work. These ordinary, everyday familiar urban locations were what gave the series a gritty realism and familiarised audiences with the shock of recognition at seeing themselves and their milieus on air'.
