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Clip description
Maggie Doyle (Lisa McCune) and Wayne Patterson (Grant Bowler) arrive at the property of Old Man Doherty to follow up on some unpaid parking fines and find more than they bargained for in the form of a vicious german shepherd. Back at the station, Sergeant Tom Croydon (John Wood) is less than amused with their handling of the situation.
Curator’s notes
This comical story strand sees the two 'blue heelers’ face off with a german shepherd and emphasises the city versus country theme. Tom Croydon embodies Blue Heelers’s take on country values and country policing.
This storyline started its life as a screen test written by Tony Morphett. It only found its way into the episode around 10 days before filming began, when Seven executive Des Monaghan said the existing pilot script didn’t contain enough humour. As a result, the script’s original 'B’ story was removed and replaced with this one.
Many later episodes demonstrate a similar approach, with a more serious 'A’ storyline offset by a lighter, briefer 'B’ story.
