Production
The season premiered on 1 April 2006, with the show's 500th episode - "Only The Lonely". The network chose to discount the season premiere as an episode and instead chose to advertise the season premiere as episode 499 and promoted the next episode - "Boss" - as the monumental 500th episode. This episode focuses largely on Tom Croydon battling the news that he has cancer.
The cast finished filming their final episode for 2005 on 20 December, aware that the show's future was the subject of discussion, but at this point the show had not been cancelled. To prepare for the possibility of cancellation, two alternate endings for the show were filmed in 2005 for a possible series finale in 2006. One ending was left open ended, to serve as a lead-in to a possible 14th season, the other ending wrapped up all the show's storylines. The cast were on their New Year non-rating period hiatus when they were told of Blue Heelers' cancellation. Thus, the eleven final episodes the cast had filmed in late 2005 were to be used for the 2006 season. For the series finale, the latter ending, wrapping up the show's storylines was used. Although, rather than completely wrapping everything up, the producers made it possible to resume from where they left off, should Seven decide to start producing Blue Heelers again.
The 2 hour series finale, titled "One Day More", aired on Sunday 4 June 2006 in a prime-time slot, at 8:30 pm. The finale focuses on Tom's attempts to reconnect with his family, and recover from his debilitating illness, whilst dealing with criminal charges brought against him by a vengeful ex-officer as well as the fact that the Mount Thomas police station, which he loves so dearly, may be closed down. It also features the return of former cast member Damian Walshe-Howling, reprising his role as Adam Cooper, still very bitter about his treatment by Tom. Rather than ending in "a hail of bullet or a bomb explosion", the producers wanted to give the record-breaking series a gentle and fitting farewell to celebrate its life - "We did not want to blow everyone up," producer Gus Howard said, "It is a gentle grounding. It felt like the right thing to do.".
This season also marked the time when Blue Heelers matched the record for "most episodes produced in an Australian weekly primetime drama", equalling Homicide's record, which was set in 1977. Blue Heelers did not, however match the "total airtime on television" record. This record was also set by Homicide in 1977. This record stands at 516 hours whilst Blue Heelers is just shy of the record at 511 hours.
Read more about this topic: Blue Heelers (season 13)
Famous quotes containing the word production:
“The heart of man ever finds a constant succession of passions, so that the destroying and pulling down of one proves generally to be nothing else but the production and the setting up of another.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)
“The society based on production is only productive, not creative.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“To expect to increase prices and then to maintain them at a higher level by means of a plan which must of necessity increase production while decreasing consumption is to fly in the face of an economic law as well established as any law of nature.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)