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The Doctor Blake Mysteries

From Alfawiki
The Doctor Blake Mysteries
IndustryTelevision production
Founded2013
Headquarters
Melbourne
,
Australia
ProductsTelevision drama series

The Doctor Blake Mysteries—also known simply as The Blake Mysteries—is an Australian television drama that debuted on ABC TV on 1 February 2013 at 8:30 pm. The narrative centers on Craig McLachlan portraying Dr. Lucien Blake, who comes back to Ballarat, located 120 km west of Melbourne, during the late 1950s to assume control of his deceased father's medical practice and position as the local police surgeon after being away for three decades. The show ran for five seasons, concluding in 2017 with a feature-length telemovie.

In October 2017, production rights were acquired by the Seven Network for the following year. Nevertheless, filming was halted amid a police inquiry into sexual assault accusations involving McLachlan.

By April 2018, Seven Network revealed plans for follow-up telemovies featuring much of the original ensemble but excluding McLachlan. The continuation retained the name The Blake Mysteries, with the storyline indicating that Blake's character was missing and presumed deceased within the series timeline.

After airing a single telemovie titled The Blake Mysteries: A New Beginning on 30 November 2018, it was confirmed by producers that no additional telemovies would be produced in 2019.

Original broadcasts

Produced by Tony Wright and George Adams, the series was extended to include a fifth and final season, followed by a telemovie in 2017 to wrap up the storyline. Although initially slated for an April 2017 release, the fifth season premiered in September to enable an uninterrupted broadcast of the movie-length finale immediately after the season's conclusion.

Synopsis

Dr. Lucien Blake departed Australia in his twenties to pursue medical studies in Scotland. Following a hospital appointment in London, he served as a medical officer in the British Army during World War II, including deployment in the Far East where he married a Chinese woman and fathered a child. He lost all contact with them during Singapore’s fall and has been searching for them ever since. Blake also endured time as a prisoner at Thailand's Ban Pong POW camp. After spending 33 years abroad, he returned home in 1959 to take over his late father's medical practice and assume duties as Ballarat’s police surgeon.

Jean Beazley, who acts as Blake's receptionist and housekeeper, previously worked for his father. While she often finds Blake’s quirks challenging, she occasionally defies his expectations. A war widow, she is conscious of local gossip about her living arrangements with Blake. Sharp and perceptive, she regards her nephew, Constable Danny Parks, almost like a son—often exasperating him—and is puzzled by their lodger Mattie O'Brien's outgoing demeanor. After Parks moves out, police sergeant Charlie Davis becomes a tenant.

Main / recurring

  • Craig McLachlan as Dr. Lucien Blake
  • Nadine Garner as Jean Beazley
  • Cate Wolfe as Matilda "Mattie" O'Brien (Series 1–4.2)
  • Joel Tobeck as Chief Superintendent (later Chief Inspector) Matthew Lawson (Series 1–4.1, 5)
  • Rick Donald as Constable (later Sergeant) Daniel Parks (Series 1, 5)
  • Sara Gleeson as Joy McDonald (Series 1–2.1)
  • Charlie Cousins as Constable (later Sergeant) Charlie Davis (Series 2–5)
  • Belinda McClory as Alice Harvey (Series 2–5)
  • John Wood as Patrick Tyneman (Series 1–5)
  • Craig Hall as Chief Supt William Munro (Series 3, 5)
  • John Stanton as Douglas Ashby (Series 1–3)
  • Neil Pigot as Major Derek Alderton (Series 1, 4)
  • David Whiteley as Sergeant Bill Hobart
  • Ian Rooney as Cec Drury
  • Lee Beckhurst as Edward Tyneman (Series 1–5)
  • Rodger Corser as Chief Supt Frank Carlyle (Series 4)
  • Anna McGahan as Rose Anderson (Series 4–5)
  • Ling-Hsueh Tang as Mei Lin Blake (Series 4)
  • Mark Mitchell as Harvey Treloar

Guest Appearances

Production

The Doctor Blake Mysteries is a production of December Media, a company based in Melbourne, created in collaboration with both Film Victoria and ABC Television, which serves as the series’ Australian broadcaster via ABC. The international distribution rights are handled by the British entity ITV Studios Global Entertainment.

The narrative is set and predominantly filmed in Ballarat, Victoria, a city known for its gold rush heritage. Key local landmarks, including Lydiard Street and historic structures such as the Colonists Club—of which Blake is a member—are prominently featured. Scenes showing Blake's home utilize exterior shots of the former residence and studio of Melbourne muralist Napier Waller.

The fourth season debuted on 5 February 2016. In March 2017, it was declared that the series would culminate with a television film following the fifth season. Production for season five commenced in August 2016 and resumed in August 2017 to complete the feature-length finale. The fifth season premiered on 17 September 2017.

Broadcast

The show premiered in the United Kingdom on 25 November 2013, airing on BBC One. It is also broadcast across numerous European networks and in New Zealand. In the United States, select stations of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) have featured the series. By 2020, all five seasons became available for streaming on BritBox within the US market. Additionally, since mid-2022, the series has been included in the lineup of the American channel Ovation. Viewers can also access the series through Amazon Prime Video.

Sequel

In October 2017, production rights were secured by the Seven Network for a 2018 continuation. However, due to allegations directed at McLachlan, Seven Network developed a follow-up series entitled The Blake Mysteries, supported by Screen Australia.

This sequel launched with a telemovie comparable in duration to the original series finale. With McLachlan facing sexual harassment accusations in 2019, his character was removed from the storyline, which then advanced three years beyond the previous conclusion. The majority of the original cast reprised their roles, while Blake vanished under mysterious circumstances and his new wife Beazley took on a more prominent position.

Initially intended as four telemovies, the scope was scaled back to a single telemovie called The Blake Mysteries: A New Beginning, broadcast on 30 November 2018. Returning actors included Garner, Tobeck, McClory, Whiteley, and Rooney, alongside newcomers Tom Wren, Emma Annand, and Joshua Orpin. In 2019, Seven Network announced there would be no further telemovies.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2014 Logie Awards Most Outstanding Actor Craig McLachlan Template:Nom
2015 Most Popular Actor Template:Nom
2016 Best Actor Template:Nom

Home media

DVD Title Number of Episodes Aspect Ratio Duration Region 1 Release Date Region 2 Release Date Region 4 Release Date
Series One 10 16:9 570 minutes 26 April 2016 9 December 2013 24 April 2013
Series Two 10 16:9 570 minutes 30 September 2016 30 March 2015 9 June 2014
Series Three 8 16:9 570 minutes 3 January 2017 8 January 2016 30 April 2015
Series Four 8 16:9 450 minutes 16 January 2018 30 January 2017 5 May 2016
Series Five 8 16:9 450 minutes 15 January 2019 January 2018 June 2017

External links

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