Police Rescue was an
Australian television
series which originally aired on
ABC TV between
1989 and 1996.
It was produced by ABC
and Southern
Star Xanadu in association with the BBC.
Apart from the 61 episodes, there was a 90-minute
pilot episode (first screened in 1989) as
well as a feature film in 1994, starring
Zoe
Carides.
The series
dealt with the New South Wales
Police Rescue Squad based in Sydney
and their
work attending to various incidents from road accidents to train
crashes. The show was very well received for the first four
series, however a decline in ratings by the commencement of the
1996 series saw the cancellation of the show, following an almost
epitaph in the final three episodes.
Police
Rescue was shown in the United Kingdom
and aired on Sky One, in
parts of Italy as Polizia Squadra Soccorso on T9, in
France
on TF1
as Sydney Police, in Germany
on VOX as Police Rescue – Gefährlicher
Einsatz, in Norway
, Sweden
and Denmark
on the
United Kingdom-based TV3, and in the
Republic of
Ireland
on RTÉ.
Major cast
- Sergeant Steve "Mickey" McClintock - (Gary Sweet) (1989-1996)
- Senior Constable/Sergeant Georgia Rattray - (Sonia Todd) (1989-1996)
- Constable/Senior Constable Yiannis "Angel" Angelopoulos -
(Steve Bastoni) (1990-1996)
- Senior Sergeant Peter "Ridgy" Ridgeway - (Tim McKenzie)
(1989-1990)
- Inspector Bill Adams - (John
Clayton) (1989-1996)
- Sergeant Fred "Frog" Catteau - (Marshall Napier) (1989-1992)
- Constable Trevor "Sootie" Coledale - (Peter Browne)
(1989-1990)
- Constable Percy "Ptomaine" Warren - (Doug Scroope)
(1989-1993)
- Senior Sergeant Kevin "Nipper" Harris - (Steve Bisley) (1992-1995)
- Sharyn Elliott - (Belinda
Cotterill) (1992-1994, 1996)
- Constable Kathy Orland - (Tammy
MacIntosh) (1992-1995)
- Constable Brian Morley - (Jeremy
Callaghan) (1992-1995)
- Senior Sergeant Glenn "Spider" Webb - (Frank Holden) (1994-1996)
- Anastasia Skouras - (Ada
Nicodemou) (1994-1995)
- Constable Joe Cardillo - (Salvatore
Coco) (1995-1996)
- Constable Tracy Davis - (Leah
Purcell) (1995-1996)
- Constable Lorrie "Flash" Gordon (Zoe
Carides) (1994 feature film)
Recurring minor cast
Pilot (1989)
In
mid-1989, Southern Star
Xanadu broadcast the pilot episode of Police Rescue
via the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation. The 90-minute
telemovie established the background of the
protagonist of the series, Sergeant "Mickey" McClintock. Several
issues were raised in the pilot, such as women's discrimination,
sexism, and street violence. The plot evolved around the entrance
of the first woman member to the Police Rescue Squad, Constable
Georgia Rattray and then the search for a missing boy in Sydney's
sewer system.
The telemovie was well received and spawned the series of
Police Rescue, which carried on shortly after the
pilot.
Series 1 (1991)
For the first thirteen episodes,
Police Rescue sustained
the same cast as the 1989 pilot, with the addition of Constable
Yiannis "Angel" Angelopoulos, who would stay with the show for the
duration. This series also allowed the character of Constable Percy
"Ptomaine" Warren to have a most active role, especially in the
episodes
LPG and
The Cosmic Lightbeam. For the
subsequent series, Ptomaine had relatively minor roles. In
addition, this series was the only one to portray Mickey
McClintock's wife, Des, played by
Kerry
Armstrong. The episodes are as follows:
- Mates
- Angel After Hours
- LPG
- The Cosmic Lightbeam
- Mad Dog
- Saturday Night
- Reunion With Snake
- Raid
- One for Dad
- Hostage
- Up a Tree
- Saving The Princess
- By the Book
Series 2 (1992)
The character of Sergeant Fred "Frog" Catteau departed the show
following the episode
Judgement Day. The following
episode,
Stakeout, saw the introduction of Constable Brian
Morley. Special guest stars in this series included
Russell Crowe in
The Right Stuff and
Rebecca Cartwright in
Reasons
to Live. Although not explicitly explained, Georgia Rattray
achieved promotion in this series from 1st Class Constable to
Senior Constable to replace the position (in the squad) of
Constable Trevor "Sootie" Coledale (Series 1). It was also not
explained in the show why Constable Trevor "Sootie" Coledale and
Senior Sergeant Peter "Ridgy" Ridgeway had departed. The
commencement of the second series had Senior Sergeant Kevin
"Nipper" Harris replacing Ridgy, with Nipper remaining with the
show until halfway through Series 4. This was also the case for the
new characters of Constable Kathy Orland and Brian Morley.The
episodes of Series 2 are as follows:
- The Right Stuff
- Off the Track
- The Hard Way
- The Big Canary
- Judgement Day
- Stakeout
- Sugar
- With a Vengeance
- Reasons to Live
- From This Day Forward
- Angel's Devils
- The Real Meaning
- Heartbeat
Series 3 (1993)
This series saw the continuation of the cast from the end of Series
2. In addition, there was an increase of guest stars; some of which
were relatively unknown at the original time of broadcast. Stars
included
Cate Blanchett in
The
Loaded Boy,
Jeffrey Walker in
Rush Hour,
Frankie J
Holden in
Good Buddy and
Martin Sacks in
Prodigal Daughter.
Viewers also saw the last of Angel's wife in
On a Roll,
despite her mentioning later on in the series. This series also
showed the pinnacle of Mickey and Georgia's relationship.Episodes
of Series 3 include:
- Lifeline
- Wild Goose Chase
- On a Roll
- Prodigal Daughter
- The Loaded Boy
- Good Buddy
- Rush Hour
- Speeding
- Lift Sixteen
- Whirlwind
- Cold Snap
- Double Illusion
- The Last to Know
Series 4 (1995)
Nipper departed from the series following the episode
Wrong
Side of the Road in order to spend more time with his family
and take over on his sister's farm. The position was filled by
Senior Sergeant Glenn "Spider" Webb, a replacement which has often
been described as the "beginning of the end" of
Police
Rescue. Sharyn, the receptionist, was also temporarily
replaced without explanation by Anastasia Skouras (
Ada Nicodemou), who seemed to play an almost
identical role to Sharyn. This was also the final series for
characters Kathy and Brian, with a highly dramatic departure at the
end of the episode
Wild Card. Special guests included
Judith McGrath in
Wrong Side of
the Road as well as
Miranda Otto
and
Delta Goodrem in
On the
Outer. The episodes for Series 4 are as follows:
- On the Outer
- Conduct Endangering Life
- Wrong Side of the Road
- Something's Got to Give
- Guardian Angel
- Double Jeopardy
- Crossing the Line
- Damage Control
- Public Mischief
- Breaking Strain
- The Sharp End
- Rescue Me
- Wild Card
Series 5 (1996)
The final series had only nine episodes, in comparison to the
thirteen of the previous four series. With brand new cast members
to fill the roles of the two junior squad members, the series began
to take a new direction, adopting an almost
soap opera style of show . The final three
episodes acted as an epitaph for the major cast members, with the
final episode acting as the final word of
Police
Rescue.The episodes of this series include:
- The Ultimate
- Nobby's Place
- The Getting of Wisdom
- The River
- The Ship
- Flash the Descent
- The Holliman Kid
- Tomorrow Never Knows
- The Only Constant
Video and DVD releases
In 1993,
ABC Television released
selected episodes from Series 1 and Series 2 on
VHS format. The 1989 pilot episode was released the
previous year.
In early November 2006,
WarnerVision announced the release of complete
Series 1. In Australia it was released on the 24 November 2006. The
four disc "collector's box set" included all thirteen episodes from
Series 1, including the 90-minute pilot episode as bonus material.
Series 2 and 3 were released on 9 April 2007. They contain episodes
14 to 39, devoid of any bonus features or extras. Series 4 and 5
were released in a two part DVD set on 9 July 2007.
References
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