Blue Heelers S06E34

Paradise Lost

Episode 6.34 (245)
Wednesday, September 29, 1999
Written by Bill Garner
Directed by Richard Sarell

Maggie takes Ben's daughter Emma off his hands for a day on a mushrooming expedition, but the event has nasty repercussions for Emma when they come across a tourist who dies from eating field mushrooms.

Ben and Maggie head out to inform the local community of the potential danger of mushrooming and come across an idyll commune called Paradise. The inhabitants — three women, a cluster of kids and a charismatic, gentle man named Rod Cathcart — present an alternative lifestyle that appeals to them both. Enchanted by the mood of the place, Ben and Maggie find themselves drawn to each other once again.

Rod invites Maggie and Ben to return for lunch the following day, but their rapturous account of Paradise makes PJ resentful of their common fondness for a country lifestyle, PJ is also wary of Emma's open scheming to bring Ben and Maggie together. Conscious of PJ's annoyance, Ben tries to placate PJ by pulling out of the lunch date.

Tom detects the growing tension between PJ, Ben and Maggie and has a strong word to PJ, warning him to leave his personal life at home.

The Heelers learn that the poisonous mushrooms came from a local store whose owner claim a child sold them to him. With the troublesome fungi removed from Mt. Thomas shelves, they are confident the problem is solved until Maggie turns up to work stoned from eating magic mushrooms. Someone laced her lunch at Paradise and PJ is determined to bring charges against these "yuppie hippies".

When one of these women confesses to the incident, Maggie is torn between charging and helping her. Rod is threatening to expel her from Paradise. Rod seems quite taken with Maggie and visits her at home to apologise, bumping into PJ, whose patience with Maggie's string of suitors is wearing thin.

PJ gets a warrant to search the property for magic mushies but returns empty handed. When Rod is poisoned by a native variety of death cap, the Heelers suspect a devil at work in Paradise. The women close quarters, but after hard questioning reveal they blame Maggie for upsetting the equilibrium of life on the property. They believe Rod has designs on bringing Maggie into the fold.

But when the commune's youngest child goes missing, feared dead, the Heelers suspect a devil discovery. Just how far the coven will go to protect their clan and punish its leader?

Guest Starring: Andrew S. Gilbert as Rod Carthcart, Jane Conroy as Tara Macrae, Georgina Naidu as Bronwyn Salter, Natasha Herbert as Gemma Wansley, Cameron Knight as Forrest Macrae, Isabelle Frazer as Twiggy Macrae, Peter Gustus as Oscar Salter, Nikita Plummer as Emma Stewart, Peter Aanensen as Merv Poole, Sapidah Kian as Dr. Jasmin Farrar [sic], Jacinta Brearley as Sian Cathcart, Sam Shephard as Luke Wansley, Sue Dwyer as Mini Grolscher, Gary Files as Billy Legge

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

Duration: approximately 45 minutes
Aspect ratio: 4:3 standard
Audio: linear hi-fi/stereo
Size: 516MB
Video format: MPEG-4 (MP4)

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