australian television information archive

Blue Heelers killed, and AFL is main suspect

One of Australia’s longest running TV shows, Blue Heelers, has come to an end.

After 12 years, 510 episodes and 24 Logie Awards, the long-running drama Blue Heelers has been axed.

Describing the venerable cop show as “an institution” Seven programmer Tim Worner confirmed the once top-rating show would end this year with its 510th episode.

Though sources at Seven insist there is no connection, the announcement comes only days after Seven, with Ten, announced a $780 million deal to broadcast the AFL for five years from 2007.

Speculation is rife that Blue Heelers is the first casualty of the deal, and that Headland, Seven’s new drama which is still struggling to find an audience, may be next.

In 2005, Blue Heelers attracted an average weekly audience of 1.2 million people, down from its peak of 2.5 million viewers during its heyday.

While the shadow of cancellation loomed over it for the better part of a year, it won a reprieve from the axe late in 2005 in the hope its audience decline could be stemmed. A second reprieve was not forthcoming.

Production of the 510th and final episode was completed on December 20, 2005.

At the time, doubt over the show’s future prompted the producers to shoot two endings to the episode. A finale which wraps up the show’s storylines and signs off the show’s record 12 year run will now be used.

“Even the greatest batsmen eventually get out, but what a great innings,” Hal McElroy, who created the series with writer Tony Morphett, said yesterday.

“The show has trained hundreds of actors, writers, directors and crew. It’s a terrific achievement for all of them, they should all be proud of it.”

Morphett added it was “a sad day, obviously, but what an extraordinary run we’ve had.”

Bowing out with 510 hours in the can, Blue Heelers now equals the 510 episode run of the 1960s Channel Seven police series Homicide.

As news of the show’s cancellation filtered through the TV industry yesterday, it was met with a mixture of resignation, sadness and pride.

The series launched many careers, “including mine,” says actor Lisa McCune, who played its doe-eyed heroine, rookie cop Maggie Doyle for six years. The series alumni include William McInnes, Tasma Walton and Grant Bowler.

“While everone is sad, we should look back at it and remember it and celebrate it for all the amazing things it achieved,” McCune said.

In some ways cancellation was inevitable, said former star Martin Sacks.

“I think this is probably something that was inevitable in terms of how the network were looking at figures, and I think probably the football might have had a part to play in all of that,” he said.

Sacks, who plays detective PJ Hasham, described the series as “an absolute gift. I’ll always be in debt to Blue Heelers in terms of what it’s done for me. I have incredibly fond memories of working on it.”

While rural Mt Thomas was a hotbed of criminal activity for most of the show’s run, its most celebrated storyline was the romance between Maggie Doyle and PJ Hasham (Martin Sacks), which catapulted it to the giddy heights of ratings success in the mid-1990s.

When the couple were trapped in a collapsed mineshaft and shared what became known as “the kiss” the nation was glued to TV screens - a record-setting 2.5 million viewers tuned in to watch.

McCune left the series in 1999; Sacks left last year.

Ironically, recalls Morphett, the couple may never have paired up without the audience’s help. The writers had intended to pair Maggie with another character, but the audience spotted the playful chemistry between McCune and Sacks.

“We started getting letters saying when are Maggie and PJ getting together, and we thought, what? But the punters are usually right, and as time went on it became inevitable,” he said.

There are still 11 unaired episodes which Seven will screen this year.

Sources at Seven say the final episodes will be heavily promoted, acknowledging the show’s enduring popularity. Worner added Seven was “committed to giving the program the farewell it deserves.”

January 14, 2006
Sydney Morning Herald