The eleventh season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network on 4 February 2004 and aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30 PM.
There were also several new additions to the main cast, with Geoff Morrell as Mark Jacobs, Rachel Gordon as Amy Fox, Samantha Tolj as Kelly O'Rourke, and Danny Raco as Joss Peroni all being introduced.
While Paul Bishop did not appear due to film commitments,[1] this theatre-esque event drew large ratings and was the first step made in attempting to draw viewers back to the show.
Nick Schultz, now in Homicide, returned to investigate, and soon learned that Tom had changed as a result of these events, and was now much harsher and determined to gain vengeance on the Baxters.
[3][4] In episode 445, "Checkmate", Barry Baxter was sent to jail for the terror attacks, and Nick departed Mount Thomas leaving his colleagues to face their new situation.
While some critics and fans were concerned at the new soap opera style that Blue Heelers had embraced, ratings remained high for the rest of the season.
[citation needed] The Mount Thomas Police Station is bombed and, while Tom just escapes the blast, Jo and Clancy are killed.
Inspector Falcon-Price arrives on the scene as well as Sergeant Nick Schultz who returns to Mount Thomas as part of the Homicide Squad to investigate the bombing.
Mount Thomas also gets two new members: Sergeant Mark Jacobs, whom the Inspector promises Tom's job to, and new addition to the CI team, Det.
The Heelers receive the autopsy report on Grace Curtis revealing she was beaten and raped before being tossed into the river and drowning because of exhaustion.
An old man thinks he has been robbed when a cigar box containing money disappears from his house; Joss is assigned to be his "bodyguard" for a day.
branch at Mount Thomas and, with all the happenings, tension within the station grows as everybody is still having trouble coming to terms with the deaths of Jo, Clancy and Grace.
In an attempt to solve the rape of Grace Curtis, the Heelers interrupt Troy Baxter's funeral to get a DNA sample.
Tom (against all orders) also attends, and takes great delight in taunting Barry by telling him that Troy wasn't his son.
Thomas is inundated by a group of footballers, and it isn't long before a young girl is gang raped causing Tom's stepson Daniel to become the main suspect.