'Blue Heelers': Crime fightin' fun!

Blue Heelers was a Victorian television series that went from 1994-2006, about a Mt. Thomas police station and the melodrama that occurs in the lives of its police officers. The show embodied county Australian values and imagery. Ordinary people in a small town"trying to get by"with their lives, all of their issues and worries played out in crime scenes and cases that the officers involve "us" as the audience in.

                                                         'Blue Heelers' opening credits series 9:
                                             Uploaded by MCProductionsAU on Dec 20, 2009

The story arcs were often inter-changeable, never really touching on new themes, but it was one of the original crime shows that were made by Australians for Australians to watch. Colloquial language and phrases thrown in here and there to give us a natural 'ocker' feel towards the characters. The concept allowed people to watch a fictional series that had characters the audience could relate to, draw comparisons with their own lives. 

Lawrence directed three episodes of series 9 which aired in 2002. The episodes were titled 'The Best Man', 'Buddies' and 'Breaking Point Part one'. The series was one of the last things Lawrence directed in Australia, it is interesting to look at his body of work and see the links between them all. Lawrence was an is an important figure in the Australian film and television industry because of his constant reiteration of Australian stories. His career shows that he writes and directs for an Australian audience, he does not exclude local themes and values, using what he knows to help tell stories to a local audience.

With the pressure the television networks face in competing with overseas television programs, it is humbling to know that some people still try and keep what is "ours" alive. The television networks have to support the high demand on American sitcoms and highly renowned HBO series', which means that less Australian programs have the chance to survive at a popular time slot.

Think about how many Australian shows (that are not news programs) that you have watched in the last few years on a mainstream network; the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Centre) is one of the last remaining channels that supports and funds Australian television and filmmakers. 

We may nostalgically look back upon shows like Blue Heelers and laugh at how out of date they seem, but the sad reality is without these shows there may come a time where we cannot familiarise ourselves with the people on the screen and the material we may view in the future will solely be imported due to the overwhelming demand.