Blue Heelers S04E32

The Scarecrow

Episode 4.32 (160)
September 16, 1997
Written by David Boutland
Directed by Russell Burton

Nick is manning the desk when a young man, Gavin Stone, comes in to report that his father's car has been stolen. Maggie encounters Gavin Stone as he is leaving the station. She looks at his car — it is falling apart as they speak. Gavin pleads with her to give him a chance to repair it, as it is now their only way of getting around. This doesn't seem too out of the ordinary until a horrified Dash states that Gavin Stone is The Scarecrow and his father is the Troll. Elaborating on local legend, Dash explains that the Troll and his son have been feared by every child in the district for many years, even now The Scarecrow gives her the creeps. Although Maggie lets him off with a warning she is later forced to register the car unroadworthy.

Meanwhile, PJ is investigating a series of car thefts from the supermarket parking lot. Each theft victim seems to have a similar description of a man that they saw loitering at the scene. Tom firmly believes that these are not isolated random thefts, they may be witnessing the handiwork of an organised ring.

Tempers flare over Maggie's decision to register the Stone's car as unroadworthy. Arthur Stone is furious and demands to know how his son is supposed to make his way into town for supplies. Maggie attempts to console him — this is a point of law and there is nothing that they can do about it. However it is clear that he will only be happy when his son is allowed to use the car again or if the Heelers find his stolen vehicle.

A call out to a possible burglary at Maggie's home turns out to be the arrival of her elder brother Robbie. Maggie is thrilled to see him, but PJ is not so sure that Robbie's return is such a positive event because of his history as a heroin addict. Maggie manages to find Robbie a job at Lemon Motors, a situation that PJ later uses to his advantage. He believes that the owner of the lot, Paul Dent, is tied into the car thefts and used Robbie as a spy. When Maggie learns of PJ's plans she is furious that he has put Robbie's job in danger.

However, Maggie has more pressing things to worry about. When she sees that Gavin Stone has decided to use a friend's motorbike she reminds him that if he is planning to take his girlfriend for a ride then he must also get a helmet for her. As Gavin returns to his friend's property for another helmet he has an accident. Dash and Adam find him lying dead in a ditch. When Arthur Stone hears of his son's death he flies into a rage, blaming Maggie, and demanding some answers.

Next, Maggie's car is vandalised and someone is making strange phone calls to her home. But no one suspects the life threatening situation that will befall Maggie when the car vandal tries to revenge Gavin's death. Unless Robbie and PJ can discover her tormentor's identity, Maggie's enforcement of a point of law may result in a death sentence.

Guest Starring: Brett Climo as Robbie Doyle, Max Fairchild as Arthur Stone, Darron Nicholls as Gavin Stone, Nicholas Crawford-Smith as Paul Dent, Amanda Sandwith as Melissa Hunter, Chris Waters as Steve Parsons, Pauline Coutts as Nadine Powers, Ariane Vrisakis as Kathie Anderson.

Note: Brett Climo's first appearance as Robbie Doyle. The role was played by David Wenham in episode 3.12

(encoded with Handbrake - Blue Heelers - from Complete Fifth Season DVD - the early years)

Duration: approximately 45 minutes
Aspect ratio: 4:3 standard
Audio: linear hi-fi/stereo
Size: 432MB
Video format: MPEG-4 (MP4)

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