Blue Heelers S05E14

Waste of Space

Episode 5.14 (184)
May 20, 1998
Written by Jenny Lewis
Directed by Chris Langman

Strange things are happening in the Eventide retirement home. Valuables are going missing, one resident is found dead under mysterious circumstances, and another endangers the lives of the others when he hallucinates after smoking marijuana. Are the two teenagers doing Community Service behind all the trouble? Or is there something sinister about Yvonne Dunn, the Administrator of Eventide, who seems to have a strange hold over her residents? Who's the person so desperate to get a place in Eventide that they're prepared to go to any lengths to get the existing residents to move to other Homes? As the Heelers investigate they learn that love is a powerful motivator for both young and old.

The Heelers learn from Leila Clegg, another resident, that there have been other thefts. Yvonne Dunn starts to look pretty suspicious herself, she claims she did not report the thefts because it unsettles the residents, and Eventide has lost several other homes recently. Things become more serious when Hazel Spencer is found dead at the bottom of a staircase just after ringing the Heelers to say she has information about who stole her ring. Clarrie Edwards, an irritable resident who argued with Hazel shortly before death, seems a likely suspect for the thefts and the murder, until Yvonne's name comes up yet again. Not only was she the last person to see Hazel alive, she has Hazel's ring, which she says she found.

The Heelers discover that many of the old folks who have passed away have left money and valuables to Yvonne in their wills. Was this of their own volition or were they persuaded? It seems that Yvonne has a strange hold over old people in her care. However, when it turns out that Hazel died of a heart attack, the Heelers are back to square one, until an anonymous tip-off leads to the discovery of all the stolen items in Clarrie's room. Clarrie swears he's been set up by Kali and Aiden. Things look even worse for Clarrie when he endangers the lives of the other residents by commandeering a mini-bus. He's hallucinating that he's back in a bomber in the second World War — and the cause of these hallucinations is marijuana, which has been mixed in with his tobacco. Did Kali and Aiden set Clarrie up for this too?

There is no shortage of suspects, and no shortage of confessions either. Leila Clegg confesses, so does her fiancé Merv Poole, and then Kali says she is responsible. It takes a while for the Heelers to unravel the truth and find the true culprit — Leila Clegg. Seems she started the thefts to encourage residents to leave so that a place would open up for Merv and they could be together. Merv confessed to protect Leila, as did Kali.

Meanwhile, Dash is hot on the trail of the identity of Maggie's mysterious new boyfriend. Maggie and PJ put her off the scent with reverse psychology — but only temporarily. They are forced to try something more drastic, giving themselves an alibi. That night, as Maggie gets dressed up to go out with her new boyfriend, she sends Dash to the police station to claim a delivery that has been left outside. Bringing the parcel into the station, she finds PJ working away, alone. Dash is forced to accept that she was wrong about PJ and Maggie. Little does she know…

Guest Starring: Marie Trevor as Leila Clegg, Peter Aanensen as Merv Poole, John Murphy as Clarrie Edwards, Jennifer Jarman as Yvonne Dunne, Sheriden Compagnino as Kali Dean, Justin Anderson as Aiden Manning, Pamela Murphy as Shirley Lawler, Lola Russell as Hazel Spencer, Geoffrey Baird as Mr Jackson

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

Duration: approximately 45 minutes
Aspect ratio: 4:3 standard
Audio: linear hi-fi/stereo
Size: 490MB
Video format: MPEG-4 (MP4)

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