Blue Heelers S06E36

Miracle at Rabbit Creek

Episode 6.36 (247)
Wednesday, October 13, 1999
Written by Tony Morphett
Directed by Kevin Carlin

Tom pursues a local troublemaker in a high-speed chase when the boy's car veers off the road, crashing into Rabbit Creek. It's a devastating scene for Tom who has known Tim Sullivan all his life. As he watches the boy slip away, Tom prays to God to absolve Tim of his sins. Ten minutes later, the ambulance arrives to take the body away. But before Tom can cover the boy's face, Tim coughs and sits upright, he's alive!

At first, the Heelers enjoy a few jokes at Tom's expense, but for Catholics Tom and Maggie, the event inspires a deep questioning of their faith and is a cause for spiritual upheaval. They deal with life and death every day, but this time it is Tom who has been God's servant.

John Waterson's declaration that Tom has performed a miracle has the town's faithful out in search of answers and the sacred site. Is their Senior Sergeant blessed? Falcon Price, would certainly like to know.

Young Tim has had a hard time coping with his second chance. It feels more like a sentence to purgatory as his fervently religious mother presses him to reform and his schoolmates ridicule him mercilessly.

When the city's television crews get hold of the story, the pilgrims begin to arrive, including one crippled man who touches Tom and claims he is healed. For once, Tom Croydon finds it hard to rely on faith alone when faced with the unbelievable.

It is not until property owner Keith Purvis dams Rabbit Creek to bottle and sell the "holy water" that the town demands an answer from Tom. Is this creek really holy and has a miracle occurred?

PJ remains the station's cynic until his mother arrives in town unexpectedly. She has a terminal illness and PJ despairs that he lacks the faith of Maggie and Tom to deal with this confronting news, but he cannot believe a miracle alone will save her, let alone his Senior Sergeant.

Feeling his life has become a freak show, young Tim runs away from home and Tom, feeling responsible, goes in search. Tom finds Tim on a stretch of road, city bound, when a call comes across the radio that someone has planted a bomb in Keith Pervis' new dam on Rabbit Creek. They have ten minutes to get there or visitors to the creek will be killed.

Tim acts on impulse and grabs the bomb and throws into the creek just in the nick of time. The bomb explodes harmlessly in the water. Later, Tim thanks Tom for saving his life. Has Tim turned a new leaf?

Guest Starring: Ben Rogan as Victor Cacey, Jeffrey Walker as Tim Sullivan, Jenny Seedsman as Bernadette Sullivan, Merfyn Owen as Father Brian Hegarty, Arianthe Galani as Helena Hasham, Francis Greenslade as John Waterson, Reg Evans as Keith Pervis, Sapidah Kian as Dr. Jasmin Farah

Note: we previously saw Jeffrey Walker in episodes 3.14 and 3.15, Francis Greenslade in 4.16, Jenny Seedsman in 5.27, and Arianthe Galani as PJ's mum in 1.42

(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: 448MB
Video format: MPEG-4 (MP4)

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