''Police Rescue'' is an Australian

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

series which originally aired on ABC TV between 1989 and 1996. It was produced by

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

and Southern Star Xanadu in association with the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. Apart from the 61 episodes, there was a 90-minute

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

(first screened in 1989) as well as a feature film in 1994, starring

Zoe Carides Zoe Carides (; born 19 February 1962) is an Australian actress of film and television, who is best known for her roles in '' Death in Brunswick'' as Sophie, '' G. P.'' as Dr. Sonia Kapek and '' Grass Roots'' as Liz Murray. Family Carides was ...

. The series dealt with the New South Wales Police Rescue Squad based in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and their work attending to various incidents from road accidents to train crashes. The show was very well received for the first four series, however a decline in ratings by the commencement of the 1996 series saw the cancellation of the show, following an almost

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

in the final three episodes. ''Police Rescue'' was shown in the United Kingdom first on BBC1 and later on

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

, in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

as ''Záchranáři'' on TV Nova, in South Africa as "Noodroep" (dubbed in Afrikaans), in parts of Italy as ''Polizia Squadra Soccorso'' on T9, in France on

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...

as ''Sydney Police'', in Germany on VOX as ''Police Rescue – Gefährlicher Einsatz'', in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

on the United Kingdom-based

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...

, and in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

Cast

Main

Recurring minor cast

Guests

Episodes

Pilot movie

In mid-1989, Southern Star Xanadu broadcast the pilot episode of ''Police Rescue'' via the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

. The 90-minute telemovie established the background of the protagonist of the series, Sergeant "Mickey" McClintock (

Gary Sweet Gary Sweet (born 22 May 1957) is an Australian film and television actor known for his roles in ''Alexandra's Project'' (as Steve), ''Police Rescue'' (as Sergeant "Mickey" McClintock), ''Cody (TV series), Cody'' (as Cody), ''Big Sky (Australian ...

). Several issues were raised in the pilot, such as women's discrimination, sexism and street violence. The plot evolved around the entrance of the first woman member to the Police Rescue Squad, Constable Georgia Rattray ( Sonia Todd) and then the search for a missing boy in Sydney's sewer system.Ed. Scott Murray, "Australia on the Small Screen 1970–1995", Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p130.

Season 1 (1991)

The telemovie was well received and spawned the series of ''Police Rescue'', which carried on shortly after the pilot.

Season 2 (1992)

Season 3 (1993)

Feature Film and TV Special (1994)

Season 4 (1995)

Season 5 (1996)

Home Media

Between 1993-1994 Village Roadshow Released Selected Episodes on VHS. In 1994 CIC-TAFT Video Released Police Rescue (The Movie) on VHS. The First Police Rescue DVD Release was in November 2006 With Season One Released. The Following year Warner Vision Released Seasons 2 and 2 in April 2007 and In July 2007 the Final Seasons 4 and 5 were Released. The Second Police Rescue DVD Release was in November 2017 with Via Vision Entertainment Re-Releasing Police Rescue as a Complete Boxset (Seasons 1-5 + Pilot Movie) As Of 7 Nov 2024 - Police Rescue: The Movie (1994) is still not available on DVD. As Of 7 Nov 2024 - Police Rescue: In Action is still not available on DVD. In July 2019, the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

released the complete first season and second season of ''Police Rescue'' via

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

7plus 7plus (also stylised as 7+) is a video on demand, catch-up TV service run by the Seven Network. The service became available on 27 November 2017. 7plus also offers online live streaming of Channel 7, 7two, 7mate, 7Bravo, 7flix, Racing.co ...

VHS Releases

DVD Releases

Online Streaming

Police Rescue is currently streaming on multiple streaming around the world. 7plus Australia - Streaming Police Rescue Seasons 01-05. 10Play Australia - Streaming Police Rescue Season 01-05. Amazon Prime - Streaming Police Rescue Seasons 01-05.

Police Rescue Collectibles

References

''Police Rescue''
at

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

''Police Rescue: The Movie''
at

WarnerVision

''Police Rescue''
at

epguides epguides is a website dedicated to English language Radio programs, radio and Television programs, television shows. Established in 1995 as The Episode Guides Page, it originally offered fan-compiled episode guides for hundreds of United States ...

External links

*
''Police Rescue''
at the National Film and Sound Archive
''Police Rescue'' – "By the Book"
at

Australian Screen Online The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

''Police Rescue'' – "Mates"
at

''Police Rescue: The Film''
at Oz Movies * ''Rescue Bahawalpur '' – "By urdu Wikipedia" at Pakistan Screen Online {{Southern Star Entertainment Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming 1980s Australian drama television series Television shows set in Sydney 1989 Australian television series debuts 1996 Australian television series endings Police procedural television series Television series by Endemol Shine Australia