Bluey (TV series)
| Bluey | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Written by | Jock Blair Ian Jones Vincent Moran James Wulf Simmonds Everett De Roche Robert Caswell John Drew Tom Hegarty Gregory Lindsay Scott Gwenda Marsh Colin Eggleston David Stevens |
| Directed by | Graeme Arthur Gary Conway George Miller Kevin James Dobson David Stevens |
| Starring |
Lucky Grills Gerda Nicolson John Diedrich Ken Goodlet Terry Gill |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 39 |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | Melbourne, Victoria |
| Editor(s) | Adrian Carr Philip Reid Ken Sallows |
| Running time | 60 minutes (90 minutes pilot) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Seven Network |
| Original release | 2 August 1976 – 25 April 1977 |
| External links | |
| Production website | |
Bluey is an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for the Seven Network in 1976.
The series was another police drama from Crawford Productions, but was different from their previous series – Homicide, Division 4 and Matlock Police – in that it focused on a single detective rather than an ensemble, and that the characters were not stock standard archetypes usually seen in police dramas. Stand-up comedian Lucky Grills was cast as the titular Det. Sgt. "Bluey" Hills who, in contrast to the relatively straight detectives seen in Crawford's previous shows, was obese, drank heavily (even on duty), smoked heavily, visited local prostitutes, and would often enact physical violence to criminals.
Bluey was set at Melbourne's Russell Street Police Headquarters, with "Bluey" Hills heading his own squad ("Department B"), due to his inability to work within the existing police squads. Department B was given cases which the other departments could not readily solve by conventional means, with Hills applying his unconventional methods to bring about their resolution.
Bluey was supported in his investigations by newly assigned Det. Gary Dawson (John Diedrich) long-time cohort Sgt. Monica Rourke (Gerda Nicolson), and undercover officer Det. Sgt. Reg Truscott (Terry Gill), who spent his time ostensibly working as a small-time burglar, and supplying Bluey with information on the activities of local criminals. Victoria Quilter also featured in early episodes as Dawson's girlfriend Jo Goldman, later replaced by Merica Deane-Johns as Debbie Morley. Whilst a constant thorn in the side of the Assistant Commissioner (Ken Goodlet) and Superintendent (Fred Parslow), Bluey's methods were highly effective – while other squads didn't want him as a part of their team, they still sought him out when they couldn't get the job done.
Unlike other Australian TV series where it was common practice to shoot interior scenes on 2.5 cm quadruplex videotape and outdoor shots on film, the series was entirely shot on colour film. The final episode "Son Of Bluey" featured an appearance by actor Don Barker as Det. Sgt. Harry White – the same character he played in Homicide.
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