"Water Rats" (1996)TV series 1996-2001

Creators:

John Hugginson
Tony Morphett

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Release Date:

12 February 1996 (Australia)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

Beneath its surface exists a playground for the murky underworld, a place of illicit rubbish dumps. pollution hazards...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Harbor Patrol | Detective | Sydney Australia

Awards:

5 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Peter Bensley	...	Chief Inspector Jeff Hawker / ... (176 episodes, 1996-2001)
Toni Scanlan	...	Senior Sergeant Helen Blakemore / ... (176 episodes, 1996-2001)
Brett Partridge	...	Senior Constable Gavin 'Sykesy' Sykes / ... (169 episodes, 1996-2001)
Jay Laga'aia	...	Senior Constable Tommy Tavita (149 episodes, 1996-2001)
Scott Burgess	...	Senior Sergeant Dave McCall (132 episodes, 1996-2000)
Catherine McClements	...	Detective Senior Constable Rachel 'Goldie' Goldstein (114 episodes, 1996-2000)
Allison Cratchley	...	Senior Emma 'Woodsy' Woods / ... (114 episodes, 1998-2001)
Colin Friels	...	Detective Senior Constable Frank Holloway (113 episodes, 1996-1999)
Steve Bisley	...	Det. Sgt. Jack Christey / ... (96 episodes, 1998-2001)
Raelee Hill	...	Constable Tayler Johnson (89 episodes, 1997-1999)
Aaron Pedersen	...	Detective Senior Constable Michael Reilly / ... (85 episodes, 1999-2001)

Runtime:

Australia:60 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

Australia:MA (some episodes) | Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes)

Filming Locations:

Goat Island, Sydney Harbour, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

9 Network

Trivia:

While underwater filming usually takes place in special tanks, all the exteriors for the series were filmed in the port of Sydney and also off-shore.

Quotes:

Sr. Sgt. Helen Blakemore: What did you think?
Det Sgt Jack Christey: [thinking of breasts] They were big.
Sr. Sgt. Helen Blakemore: I was talking about the fall.

Good series, but the title is it's biggest hurdle

When it first came out it was quite an intriguing concept - a police drama that centered on a special group of police, namely the Sydney Water Police, which added a breath of fresh air to most of the other police dramas out there. Unfortunately as time has worn on the novelty wore off and they began to go for more and more standard police stories. Here's where the problem lies. Whilst it's great to see the 'Rats' not entirely dependant on Sydney Harbour for their storylines the producers have come up with the ridiculous idea that they must regularly have a cutback to the harbour for at least 5 minutes of every second episode as if to try and validate the 'Water Rats' tag. I wouldn't have minded if it was a rare kind of thing but it's all too regular for no real reason.

If the producers are serious about keeping the series going for a few more years yet then please, either: a) Don't be afraid to stay on land if need be. b) Get another name for the series so you don't feel tied to the harbour all the time or c) Just stick to the water and be done with it.

Having 5 minute throwbacks to the water every second episode for no reason other than to remind the audience why the series is called 'Water Rats' is quite annoying.