Blue Heelers - Plot

Plot

For more information on each season, see the individual season pages

The series primarily focused on the daily lives of Victorian police officers working at a police station in the semi-rural, fictional town of Mount Thomas. Each episode was presented from the perspective of the officers themselves, as opposed to the criminals and various individuals they dealt with. This was a specific technique that creator Hal McElroy chose to employ.

Mount Thomas and police officers—commonly referred to as "Heelers"—were always active, sorting out the town's many problems. These problems ranged from trivial complaints such as land and fencing disputes, to more serious offenses, such as homicides and assaults. The small town was also faced with many other significant occurrences including bank robberies, escaped criminals, police shootings, kidnappings and the acts of many deluded criminals. Of these, one of the more significant events included the bombing of the police station during the show's eleventh season. Whenever overwhelmed, the Heelers would call on the assistance of the police in the nearby, larger town of St. Davids, home of the resident police inspector, Russell Falcon-Price. An antagonist in the series, Falcon-Price often tried to terminate the employment of the Mount Thomas sergeant or to close the entire station.

Along with their police work, aspects of the Heeler's personal lives were regularly featured in the series. The most well-known of these plot arcs is the relationship between colleagues Maggie and PJ which ended in Maggie's death; one of the most watched moments on Australian television to this day. The environment of Mount Thomas Police station was like that of a big family where everybody usually got along. However, like all families, there were always disagreements. These were usually settled over a beer at the bar at the Imperial Hotel, where Chris Riley was always ready to listen.