This review contains spoilers.
At first, I thought 'Breaking the Cycle' was going to be a watchable but ultimately rather average 'Blue Heelers' instalment. And to an extent, it is; but as with all good 'BH' instalments, it is the handling, and the odd twist, that raises this one above some of its contemporaries.
The early scenes set up the scenario very well, with the demanding, "never in the wrong" mother Jane Roper (a perfectly dislikeable performance by guest Toni Scanlon) clearly the one who calls the shots in her household, and Ebsen Storm as Col, the rather meek father, who apologises for all of the trouble.
I half-guessed the true events early on in this one, but there was a nice double-bluff mid-way though. From the off, I guessed that it was the mother, not the father, who was the violent factor in the relationship. However, mid-way through, when the father is killed from a fall during one such row, it is set up to suggest that young Sam (the boy the Heelers initially deal with at school), was maybe responsible for the death. This is a nice red-herring-of-sorts, in a case that I thought I had worked out from the off.
But it ultimately turns out that it was the mother behind it after all, after years of taunting and belittling her "underachieving" husband.
After being introduced as a rather distant, unlikable character in her debut episode, 'Damage Control' (the last broadcast episode of series one), but by this point, the character has grown deeper, and more sympathetic to the audience, and Dale Stevens puts in a good performance on this one.
All-in-all, at the end of the day, revelations over Rose's history of being a domestic abuse victim aside, this one does wind up as a rather good-but-average episode, but the solid execution of it, as well as the "red herring" mid-story, lead me to give this one 9 out of 10.moreless
Episode Summary
EDIT
A boy at a local school has severely assaulted one of his classmates. After questioning at the station, the boy is charged and sent home. The next morning, the police are called to a tragic case of domestic violence, a case that forces Rose to confront her past when she makes a very wrong assumption.moreless
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GUEST STAR
David SwannJeff Rice
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GUEST STAR
Esben StormColin Roper
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GUEST STAR
Toni ScanlanJane Roper
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Grant Bowler
Constable Wayne Patterson (1994 - 1996)
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Ann Burbrook
Roz Patterson (1994, recurring 1996)
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Martin Sacks
Senior Detective Patrick Joseph "PJ" Hasham (1994 - 2005)
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John Wood
Senior Sergeant Tom Croydon
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Julie Nihill
Christine "Chris" Reilly
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Lisa McCune
Senior Constable Margaret "Maggie" Doyle (1994 - 2000)
Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
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Elimination Game!
06/07/10161
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Favourite character
02/26/101
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Does anyone know if they're going to (or when) release series nine plus on DVD?
09/29/093
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Favourite Episode(s) ever
03/13/0918
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season 7 dvd
07/28/085
Season 2 Episodes
See AllEp 41
Brotherly Love (2)
Ep 40
Brotherly Love (1)
Ep 39
The Discount Suit
Ep 38
Juggling With Smoke
Ep 37
Vow of Silence
Ep 36
A Question of Loyalties
Ep 35
Tough Love
Ep 34
Unnatural Death
Ep 33
Just Deserts
Ep 32
The Mongrel Factor
Ep 31
Double Jeopardy (2)
Ep 30
Double Jeopardy (1)
Ep 29
Swings and Roundabouts
Ep 28
The Best of Rivals
Ep 27
The Last Straw
Ep 26
Secrets
Ep 25
The Homecoming Queen
Ep 24
The Collector
Ep 23
Paranoia (2)
Ep 22
Paranoia (1)
Ep 21
With Prejudice
Ep 20
Gun Crazy
Ep 19
Parenting
Ep 18
Trust Me
Ep 17
Shadow Man
Ep 16
The Lolita Blues (aka Salu...
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