THE DOCTOR BLAKE MYSTERIES is an original 10-part murder mystery series starring Craig McLachlan (NEIGHBOURS, BUGS, MCLEOD’S DAUGHTERS) as the maverick country town doctor Lucien Blake.
It’s 1959. Dr. Blake has returned to a place he once called home, to take over his deceased father’s medical practice.
Haunted by the horrors of the Second World War, his own personal loss and changed by his experiences as a POW, the wry, dry, yet very human Dr. Blake undertakes his other role as police surgeon with precision and gusto - yet many find his unpredictable and unconventional manner unnerving.
Ahead of his time, Blake looks to the science of forensics and his own understanding of the human heart to help solve the mysteries that inevitably come his way.
Carole Sklan, Head of Fiction, ABC TV says: “THE DOCTOR BLAKE MYSTERIES showcases the creative work of outstanding Australian practitioners. It’s wonderful to know it not only connects strongly with local audiences but also resonates with audiences around the world.”
The cast includes Nadine Garner plays housekeeper Jean Beazley, Cate Wolfe is the district nurse Mattie O’Brien and Joel Tobeck as the tenacious Chief Superintendent Matthew Lawson.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Episode 1: “Still Waters” airs Saturday, Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. - A body found in the lake turns out to be a girl from the local reform school. Lawson immediately suspects a gang of local hoodlums who have connections to the girl and gets Constable Parks to make an arrest. Lawson's ready to charge him, but Blake isn't convinced and together he and district nurse Mattie O'Brien find out more about the reform school and the girl.
Episode 2: “The Greater Good” airs Saturday, Oct. 31 at 8 p.m. - When a member of staff is found dead at the hospital Lawson immediately suspects former morgue attendant Ron Jackson, who has vanished without trace. While the manhunt for Jackson begins, preparations for Anzac Day celebrations are underway in Ballarat. Dr. Blake encounters an old friend from the army at the colonial club. Major Derek Alderton is in town looking for two deserters, but that's all Blake's allowed to know.
Episode 3: “Death Of A Traveling Salesman” airs Saturday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. - Danny is directing traffic on the road out of town when a driver, seemingly drunk, narrowly avoids him and crashes. The driver, a traveling salesman staying at a Ballarat hotel, is pronounced dead at the scene. But it turns out it wasn't the crash that killed him - someone had hidden a snake in his car. When Danny is bitten by the snake too, Blake faces a rush to both find the murderer and save Danny by identifying the snake and the antidote.
Episode 4: “Brotherly Love” airs Saturday, Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. - Dr. Blake is called to a prisoner on Death Row who is delirious. The prisoner, Sean McBride, confessed to a murder long ago and pleaded guilty. But in McBride's delirium, Blake hears him say he didn't do it. With a signed confession, and with McBride maintaining his guilt when he recovers, Blake faces a struggle to find proof and convince Lawson that McBride should not hang. Meanwhile, outside the prison in Ballarat, tensions run high about the rights and wrongs of capital punishment and Blake finds himself out of his depth.
Episode 5: “Hearts & Flowers” airs Saturday, Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. - Dr. Blake, still a fish out of water in Ballarat, finds himself on the judging panel for the Begonia Festival. When one of his fellow judges is found dead in his burned-out greenhouse, the prime suspects are the head of the judging panel, Charles Griffith, and his rough-hewn local rival Nick Manos. Both seemingly have a motive, and Danny is only too keen to keep interviewing Nick Manos's beautiful daughter Maria about her father's whereabouts. But Blake feels there's more to this than a rivalry about begonias. Meanwhile, a letter arrives for Blake from Singapore finally giving him some hope that his missing wife and daughter may still be alive.
Episode 6: “If The Shoe Fits” airs Saturday, Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. - The death of a migrant factory foreman initially looks like an industrial accident. Dr. Blake digs deeper revealing a hideous string of crimes and the ugly side of post war Australia. Meanwhile, Jean receives a marriage proposal.
Episode 7: “Bedlam” airs Saturday, Dec. 26 at 8 p.m. - In a psychiatric hospital, nurse Violet is brutally stabbed. An inmate is found over her body holding a bloody knife, but Dr. Blake is unsure he is really the culprit and begins an investigation.
Episode 8: “Game Of Champions” airs Saturday, Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. - Dr. Blake is drawn into the new world of television when contestants of a successful quiz show start dying.
Episode 9: “All That Glitters” airs Saturday, Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. - A prospector strikes gold and later that night is found dead at the bottom of his mine shaft after showing off the nugget in the pub. The location of the murder triggers distressing war memories for Dr. Blake.
Episode 10: “Someone's Son, Someone's Daughter” airs Saturday, Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. - The police investigate the death of Dr. Hazel Mahoney who seems to have committed suicide in her office at Ballarat Hospital. Dr. Blake knew her well as they both served on the hospital board and finds it difficult to believe she would have taken her own life. The postmortem seems to support that view as it indicates she died while lying horizontally and then hanged after her death. Hazel had recently been sparring with an influential colleague, Dr. Geoffrey Nicholson and she had a major research proposal turned down by the hospital board. She had also been seen ...
CREDITS:
The producer is George Adams and the executive producer is Tony Wright for December Media Production. The ABC executive producers are Christopher Gist and Carole Sklan. The drama was acquired by Sue Deeks, Head of Program Acquisition for the BBC.
A December Media production in association with ABC TV, Screen Australia and Film Victoria and distributed internationally by ITV Studios Global Entertainment and BBC.
