It's 1959 and Dr. Lucien Blake has recently returned to his hometown of Ballarat and taken over his deceased father's medical practice. He's also the local police surgeon. Blake is scarred by his experiences as a prisoner of war in Japanese-occupied Singapore during World War II and as a result engages in self-destructive behavior. After the police find 17 year-old Ann Fitzgerald floating in Lake Wendouree, Blake determines she was killed after being struck by a car. He also finds that she was pregnant. Ann was a resident at the Ballarat Reform School for Girls and Blake suspects the handsome teacher Phillip Morrisey may have been the father. Phillip may have also been manufacturing amphetamines for some of the locals. Chief Supt. Lawson charges Morrisey with murder but Blake believes the culprit to be someone else. Written by garykmcd

Dr. Blake looks into the death of mortuary attendant Bert Prentice who is found dead, lying in a pool of blood on the mortuary floor. He quickly determines that Bert died not from the wound to his head but from a strong blow to his throat by someone who was likely left-handed. The initial suspect is the recently fired mortuary assistant Ron Jackson who also, it seems, stole moth of the medical instruments. The murder scene doesn't look right to Blake and he quickly determines that there's a body missing from the infirmary. Blake is pleased however when a former comrade in arms with whom he spent three and a half years in a Japanese prison camp arrives in town looking for two absent soldiers. The cases are connected however. Written by garykmcd

Dr. Blake becomes interested in the death of Ray Beck, a traveling appliance salesman who crashed his car and appears to have been drinking and driving. The post mortem quickly reveals that Beck had not had much to drink but had in fact been bitten by a snake. When Constable Daniel Parks is bitten by the same snake while searching Beck's car, Dr. Blake makes an educated guess that the culprit was an Asian Pit Viper which not not common to Australia. The clues lead Blake to Claire and Frank Connolly's boarding house where Beck lived along with several other salesmen. Beck was clearly at the top of his game and some of the other salesmen aren't all that unhappy to see their rival gone. Also, the Connolly's have been bickering and tidbits of information suggest that Claire may have had an affair. Jealousy is definitely at the root of the murder but determining just who was jealous about what proves to be the challenge. Written by garykmcd

Dr. Blake attends to the needs of Sean McBride, a self-confessed murderer who is awaiting execution for killing a police constable, Clive Cooper. During treatment, the delirious McBride states that he's innocent and didn't kill anyone. Blake thinks there may be some truth in what he says but as far as the police are concerned, the man confessed and the case is closed. Danny Parks had arrived at the murder scene to find Sgt. Bill Hobart already there and it was Danny who wounded McBride during his arrest. The evidence however just doesn't add up for Blake. No one can explain how Hobart arrived at the scene before the other policemen. Nor can they explain how Cooper was shot in the front but also had a wound to the back of his head. Blake concludes that a third person was present when Cooper was killed. Written by garykmcd

Dr. Blake finds himself one of the three judges for Ballarat's annual begonia festival along with Charles Griffith and local heiress Angela Waterston who also happens to be one of Blake's patients. However, he is soon investigating the death of Prof. Kenneth Ormond, who ran the festival and was found in his hothouse which had been set alight. The post mortem determines the Ormond had been strangled and was dead before the fire started. The initial focus of the investigation is the hot-tempered Nick Manos who had quarreled with Ormond and Griffith at the festival's opening ceremony, accusing them of corruption. He seems to have an alibi however. Blake is equally concerned with Angela who suffers from aplastic anemia and whose condition has taken a sudden turn for the worse. It's one of Jean's delicious cakes that points him in the direction of the killer. Written by garykmcd

Dr. Blake attends to yet another death at Patrick Tyneman's shoe factory. In this case it appears to be an accident, the third such death, and Blake contacts his friend, journalist Joy McDonald, who writes a scathing story for her newspaper. The post mortem however reveals that the dead man was struck on the back of the head and that they are in fact dealing with a murder. Meanwhile, Mattie O'Brien discovers that one of the factory workers has syphilis but the young woman flatly refuses treatment. Mattie and Dr. Blake soon conclude that something is very wrong in that factory and that the immigrant workers there, both male and female, are being exploited. Written by garykmcd

The police seem to have an open and shut case after finding 23 year-old Nurse Violet Ashby stabbed to death in the mental hospital where she worked as they also find patient David Hoyle near her holding the knife that killed her. Violet was the daughter of retired senior police officer Douglas Ashby, who was Supt. Lawson's superior for 10 years, and wonders if an earlier complaint against his daughter may be behind the killing. Hoyle is undergoing electroshock treatment at the hospital under the care of Dr. Kenneth Laine and his memory is fuzzy at best. Patient Oriel Vogel paints two pictures of Blake, one light and one dark, which sets him on the path to identifying the killer. Written by garykmcd

Lucien goes to the local TV station when one of his patients is found dead. James Holbrook was a contestant on the quiz show Game of Champions and had just won £1000 by defeating the reigning champion Simon Lo. Holbrook was found dead in a studio dressing room and had seemingly died of a heart attack. A cursory examination in the morgue however reveals that he had in fact been electrocuted. Lo was unhappy at having lost telling hosts Verity and Alan Coleman that the game was fixed and they made him lose. James, Simon, station employee Dawn Prentice and TV repairman Roger Lambert all went to school together and there was bad blood between the dead James and Roger. Blake is befuddled by the case until he realizes he's made an incorrect assumption. Written by garykmcd

The police investigate the death of a miner found lying at the bottom of his mine shaft. Dr. Blake recognizes the man instantly as Arthur Pike who had been in the pub the previous evening buying drinks for everyone and paying for it with a nugget of gold he says came from his mine. The investigation reveals that Pike was not his real name, but it's a crime from long ago that ultimately reveals his killer's identity. Meanwhile, Blake once again thoroughly embarrasses himself and insults most of the community when he verbally attacks the visiting British Consul. Written by garykmcd/edited by statmanjeff

The police investigate the death of Dr. Hazel Mahoney who seems to have committed suicide in her office at Ballarat Hospital. Dr. Blake knew her well as they both served on the hospital board and finds it difficult to believe she would have taken her own life. The post mortem seems to support that view as it indicates she died while lying horizontally and then hanged after her death. Hazel had recently been sparring with an influential colleague, Dr. Geoffrey Nicholson and she had a major research proposal turned down by the hospital board. She had also been seen having an argument with one of the nurses. Blake once again oversteps the mark by publicly accusing Nicholson of wrongdoing further adding to his own declining reputation. Meanwhile, Blake receives news about his daughter. Written by garykmcd