australian television information archive

If The Shoe Fits

Episode 1.06
Friday, March 08, 2013
Ratings: 0.883 million viewers (4th)
Written by Stuart Page
Directed by Andrew Prowse

The death of a foreman at a shoe factory looks like a hideous industrial accident. The body of Polish migrant Giulio Mosca is found mangled in a press, with his hand amputated. It's the fourth accident in nine months. Police Surgeon Dr Lucien Blake is furious the factory has such a lack of safety measures and calls for its immediate closure.

The owner, local businessman Patrick Tyneman, admits there was no safety guard on the press despite Blake's previous two reports calling for it to be added. Things get physical and Chief Superintendant Matthew Lawson has to intervene. Dr Blake leaks a story about the industrial accident to a reporter, hoping the pressure will force Tyneman to improve safety.

Meanwhile, Blake's housekeeper, Jean Beazley, auditions for the town's play even though she knows the lead will go to the usual actress. She rehearses and eventually succeeds in securing a part in The Importance of Being Ernest.

The deeper Dr Blake digs into the foreman's death, the more suspicious he becomes about the veil of silence between the migrants at the shoe factory. What exactly are they hiding?

With: Jacek Koman as Miroslav Gorski, John Wood as Patrick Tyneman, Syd Brisbane as Stan Egan, Kasia Kaczmarek as Romana , Marta Kaczmarek as Klara Krol, Sara Gleeson as Joy McDonald, Ben Prendergast as Robert Manifold, Tim Potter as Gus Hawting, Jenny Seedsman as Susan Tyneman, Ante Kreso as Giulio Mosca

Bedlam

Episode 1.07
Friday, March 15, 2013
Ratings: 0.836 million viewers (3rd)
Written by Chris Corbett
Directed by Declan Eames

A psychiatric inmate, David Hoyle, is the clear culprit in the fatal stabbing of a nurse at Blackhill Asylum. When Chief Superintendent Matthew Lawson and Police Surgeon Dr Lucien Blake arrive at the crime scene, Hoyle is having electro convulsive therapy.

Still confused after the shock treatment, Hoyle tells Blake and Lawson he thinks he killed nurse Violet Ashby but cannot recall the incident. Lawson says Hoyle was found crouched near the body holding a large kitchen knife. However Dr Blake is not convinced.

A voluntary patient at the institution, Oriel Vogel, surprises Dr Blake when she turns up unannounced at his surgery with a painting she's done of him. She has also done a moody portrait of David Hoyle, which interests Blake.

Back at the asylum Blake tests his theory in a rather unorthodox manner.

At home, Blake consoles his ego with a bottle of Scotch whisky and ends up terribly drunk. When Jean helps him to bed late at night, she takes the opportunity to read his private letters from Singapore. She finds a photo of Blake with his family, dated September 1940.

With: John Stanton as Douglas Ashby, Adam Schmerl as David Hoyle, Matt Dyktynski as Doctor Kenneth Laine, Paul English as Doctor Ted Winters, Emily Tomlins as Oriel Vogel, Lara Jean Marshall as Violet Ashby, Steve Hayden as Bryn Grymus;
Inmates: Patricia Gaul, Terri Scott, Andrea Sefton, Cory Corbert, Kieran Morley, Ben McGregor, Paul Rogers, Michael Canty, Kym Kannin, Sheridan Cornell

Game of Champions

Episode 1.08
Friday, March 22, 2013
Ratings: 0.800 million viewers (5th)
Written by Stuart Page
Directed by Ian Barry

Handsome challenger, James Holbrook, takes out the jackpot, all the prizes and £1,000, on the popular TV quiz show Game of Champions and is then found dead from what appears to be a heart attack. However Chief Superintendent Matthew Lawson and Dr Lucien Blake find evidence of sabotage.

When the locals make deaths threats against a suspect, Blake takes him home like a lost animal, much to Jean's annoyance. Simon tells Blake every detail about the patterns in people's movements on the quiz show, giving Blake useful insights. The number of suspects is growing, as are the motives.

Dr Blake turns to Jean, Mattie and Daniel to help him make sense of the baffling case. He gets them to role-play a whodunnit version of the quiz show with a surprising answer.

With: John Wood as Patrick Tyneman, Matt Hetherington as Alan Coleman, Verity Hunt-Ballard as Verity Coleman, Nicholas Bell as Professor Robert Waterman, Aljin Abella as Simon Lo, Victoria Thaine as Dawn Prentice, Adrian Auld as Roger Lambert, Richard Aspel as Tony the Voice Over Guy, James Harvy as James Holbrook, Glen Hunt as Shop Assistant

All That Glitters

Episode 1.09
Friday, March 29, 2013
Ratings: 0.838 million viewers (4th)
Written by Tim Pye
Directed by Andrew Prowse

A prospector announces to a crowded pub that he has struck gold, and later that night is found dead at the bottom of his mine shaft after showing off the nugget in the pub.

When he examines the crime scene, Police Surgeon Dr Lucien Blake is overcome with anxiety in the claustrophobic mine — a result of distressing war memories. Even in this state, Dr Blake spots clues no one else sees.

Chief Superintendent Lawson and Dr Blake break the news to the dead man's landlady, Margaret Reid, although her reaction makes Blake immediately suspicious.

Back home, Jean is fitting Mattie for a red bridesmaid's dress for her best friend Eadie's wedding.

When Eadie's fiancé, Russ, gives her a ruby and diamond engagement ring, Mattie wonders where he got the money. Later that night Eadie, and Russ sweaty with fever and an injured hand, turn up at Dr Blake's practice for medical assistance.

Dr Blake doggedly follows other clues and hunches, and it turns out the prospector may have picked a very unlucky place to find his gold.

With: David Whitely as Sergeant Bill Hobart, Adam McGurk as Eric Reid, Meredith Penman as Margaret Reid, Penne Hackforth-Jones as Nell Clasby, Simon Maiden as Joe Springer, Holly Shanahan as Eadie McIntyre, Kristof Kaczmarek as Jan Vennick, Nathan Strauss as Russ Barlow, Tim Potter as Gus Hawting, Adam Morgan as Brian 'Blondie' Bolton, Wil Greenway as Arthur Pike, Jonathan Vaughan as Detective, Andrew Cason as Detective, John Higginson as British Consul

Note: the final performance for veteran actor Penne Hackforth-Jones, she would pass away on May 18, 2013 shortly after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

Someone's Son, Someone's Daughter

Episode 1.10 (finale)
Friday, April 05, 2013
Ratings: 0.904 million viewers (3rd)
Written by Jane Allen
Directed by Ian Barry

The suicide of Ballarat Hospital's first female doctor shocks the community. Dr Lucien Blake suspects foul play and sets out to find the murderer amongst the staff and board of the hospital.

Meanwhile, another letter from Singapore arrives for Lucien. It takes him days to work up the courage to open it. His reaction to the news about his missing wife and daughter shocks Jean, Mattie and Danny.

With: John Wood as Patrick Tyneman, Sara Gleeson as Joy McDonald, Russell Fletcher as Geoffrey Nicholson, Tim Potter as Gus Hawting, Ellen Simpson as Nancy Carmody, Laura Pike as Carol Stanning, Samantha Morley as Hazel Mahoney, Lucy Moir as Linda Butler, Tony Brown as Mr. Gardy, Sharelle Starr as Stunt Performer