S5 E1 • Flight Plan

Investigations into the theft of a large sum of money from a shipping company involve Yarra Central police in a widespread search which finally leads to Sydney. Banner goes to Sydney but finds the culprits difficult to track down.

Première diffusion : 7 février 1973

S5 E2 • Come Play With Me

Through a maze of violence and subterfuge, Yarra Central police try to track down the young wife of a wealthy American businessman who is reported missing in Melbourne.

Première diffusion : 14 février 1973

S5 E3 • Take Over

An old man demanding to live in a decaying mansion, a factory robbery and the theft of a safe lead to Yarra Central police uncovering a conspiracy.

Première diffusion : 21 février 1973

S5 E4 • The Empty Hand

Banner blames himself when a rent collector is shot and robbed. A policeman is used as a decoy in an attempt to trap those responsible, and Det. Peters suffers a serious injury.

Première diffusion : 28 février 1973

S5 E5 • Afraid of the Dark

A tip-of for a planned factory break-in and a domestic dispute that leads to murder confront Det. Dave Edwards, who is assigned to Yarra Central for temporary duty while Det. Peters is in convalescence.

Première diffusion : 7 mars 1973

S5 E6 • Keep Running

It's a search for someone who just doesn't want to be found, even for his own good - when a destitute criminal steals some groceries that Yarra Central police suspect contain poisoned food.

Première diffusion : 14 mars 1973

S5 E7 • Simon Says

Yarra Central police investigate abusive and threatening phone calls which lead to an apparent terror campaign against a lonely housewife.

Première diffusion : 21 mars 1973

S5 E8 • A Few Hours of Freedom

A criminal escapes from the custody of Det. Sgt. Banner in order to find his unmarried pregnant daughter, and Banner becomes personally involved in tracking them down.

Première diffusion : 28 mars 1973

S5 E9 • Two Pot Screamer

Circumstances and clues left cause Banner to fear that two ex-burglars he has helped in the past have returned to crime.

Première diffusion : 4 avril 1973

S5 E10 • Travelling Man

Det. Peters returns to duty at Yarra Central. When a girl is discovered missing it seems probable that her disappearance is connected with the activities of a cat burglar.

Première diffusion : 11 avril 1973

S5 E11 • Senior Stewart

A vicious assault on a small baby alarms the Yarra Central police. They are in for another shock when they learn that Policewoman Margaret Stewart is planning to leave the force.

Première diffusion : 8 novembre 1972

S5 E12 • The Monkey Game

An important case arises at Yarra Central, but Det. Peters is absent under suspicious circumstances, and the uniform branch suspect he is 'moonlighting'.

Première diffusion : 18 avril 1973

S5 E13 • Big, Bad John

A Sydney policeman, Det. Sgt. John Smith, who is known for his rough tactics, causes trouble for Yarra Central police when he comes to Melbourne in search of his runaway daughter.

Première diffusion : 14 février 1973

S5 E14 • An Honest Sale

Det. Peters becomes involved with a girl whom it transpires is mixed-up in prostitution and robbery.

Première diffusion : 21 février 1973

S5 E15 • Today is Eagle Day

Sgt. Scotty Macleod is off-duty at the rates office paying a bill when a hold-up gang comes in. Taken hostage and driven to the Mornington Peninsula, Scotty is shot and seriously wounded, and the 'Angel Of Mercy' helicopter is utilised to take him to hospital.

Première diffusion : 25 avril 1973

S5 E16 • The Manner to Which

A youth trying to help his mother financially becomes involved with a young criminal, and they both cause the serious injury of a security guard.

Première diffusion : 2 mai 1973

S5 E17 • Three Mouths to Feed

Jean Marshall is a young mother of two girls who has left her abusive husband and moved to the city, and needlessly lies to get government welfare assistance. She witnesses a crime, but is reluctant to come forward and give evidence.

Première diffusion : 9 mai 1973

S5 E18 • Once a Crim

Banner's judgement is put to the test when a criminal he believes is reformed is connected with a stolen jewellery racket, and his granddaughter and another girl are involved in robberies with violence.

Première diffusion : 16 mai 1973

S5 E19 • The Last Bet

Yarra Central police grow anxious when some house breakings erupt into violence, and all is not as it seems with one of the victims.

Première diffusion : 23 mai 1973

S5 E20 • Life at the Bottom

The attempts by a man living on the breadline to unlawfully augment his income, particularly as he is about to lose his job and his wife is expecting a baby, bring him under the scrutiny of the Yarra Central police.

Première diffusion : 30 mai 1973

S5 E21 • A Wild, Wild Rose

Policewoman Margaret Stewart becomes involved with a teenage girl whose grandmother lays a charge of assault against her. A series of possibly related housebreakings complicate the investigation which nearly ends in murder.

Première diffusion : 3 juin 1973

S5 E22 • The Grasshoppers

Yarra Central police investigate a commune when a young courier fails to deliver the drugs he has been sent to buy for a pusher. He mysteriously disappears and is later found dead.

Première diffusion : 6 juin 1973

S5 E23 • The Ninth Life

A cat burglar who has lost his nerve marries an ex-prostitute, and together they try to start a new life. However, the wife overhears a former boyfriend planning a $75,000 jewellery store robbery and she is kidnapped by a gang of violent criminals. The Yarra Central police investigate, but the cat burglar decides to take the law into his own hands.

Première diffusion : 10 juin 1973

S5 E24 • A Matter of Survival

An outbreak of petty thefts, the release of a seasoned criminal, and an underworld vendetta lead police through a maze of inquiries and violence.

Première diffusion : 13 juin 1973

S5 E25 • Isabella

A man captures a burglar in his house, but the burglar turns the tables on him and escapes. A neighbour who witnesses the confrontation phones the police. The victim is co-operative and appears to be a good, reliable witness, but he has something to hide, and the burglar has accidentally discovered what it is that could cause his downfall.

Première diffusion : 17 juin 1973

S5 E26 • Voice of the Gun

Two escapees, a seasoned criminal and a gun happy youth, commit a vicious murder. Banner is forced into a professional and personal confrontation, facing the torturous question of when is a policeman justified in risking a fatal shot to stop a criminal. In searching his conscience, Banner re-evaluates his own life in the four years since his wife's death, in which he has buried himself in his work. At this time he is re-acquainted with Jenny Franklin, a girl he knew when they were kids. She has returned from overseas to take over her father's homestead, and as they get back together and pick up the threads a deep attachment grows between them.

Première diffusion : 28 mai 1973

S5 E27 • Sweet Kid, Good Family

A young electrician just through his apprenticeship is forced by two criminals, who have threatened his pregnant girlfriend, to use his knowledge of alarm systems to help them break into a factory.

Première diffusion : 20 juin 1973

S5 E28 • Inside Information

Police are puzzled when a group of criminals blackmail an insurance executive to gain access to confidential information about various properties. They use this and a gastroscope for a successful series of robberies.

Première diffusion : 24 juin 1973

S5 E29 • The Toffee Apple Man

Policewoman Margaret Stewart finds herself in a puzzling situation involving a street vendor. His knowledge of the activities of a criminal gang is something that they are most anxious to keep secret.

Première diffusion : 27 juin 1973

S5 E30 • Too Late for Tears

A bank night safe is blown and a man is injured. His young pregnant wife goes missing and Yarra Central police fear for her life.

Première diffusion : 4 juillet 1973

S5 E31 • You Never Forget the First Time

A series of bashings occur in Yarra Central, and a man once convicted of rape returns to the area to see his daughter, and is almost driven to suicide because of her non-acceptance of him.

Première diffusion : 11 juillet 1973

S5 E32 • A Cry of Fear

John Porter turns violent after being involved in an accident which results in brain damage. He attacks several people, including his wife, his neighbour, a barman, and the police.

Première diffusion : 18 juillet 1973

S5 E33 • Rules of the Game

Banner suspects Rory Collins, a crim who honours his own set of 'rules', for an attempted robbery of a warehouse. When a policeman is bashed suspicion falls on Collins, but Banner is not convinced and evidence soon emerges that an interstate gang could be responsible.

Première diffusion : 25 juillet 1973

S5 E34 • Blood Brothers

A young boy with familial problems turns to his mate, who is involved in crime, for solace. A notorious Sydney criminal coerces them to become involved in more serious crime.

Première diffusion : 1 août 1973

S5 E35 • And Pigs Can Fly

Det. Sgt. Banner becomes personally involved when the daughter of one of his old friends is involved in a violent bank robbery with her lover and his brother.

Première diffusion : 19 septembre 1973

S5 E36 • Petty Cash

Yarra Central police suspect that a lot more than petty cash has been stolen when a finance company safe is blown.

Première diffusion : 12 septembre 1973

S5 E37 • Dear John

A safe breaker causes security guard John Walsh to lose his job, then recruits him into crime. When pressure from his criminal associates and trouble with his broken marriage get the better of him, they build into a tragic climax.

Première diffusion : 29 août 1973

S5 E38 • Waste Ground

Yarra Central police are puzzled when they find the body of an old derelict at the scene of a car crash. Their investigations uncover the violence that killed him.

Première diffusion : 15 août 1973

S5 E39 • The Lock

James McQueen is known as 'The Lock', a criminal whose fame in the underworld is almost legendary because of his skill and knowledge with safe combinations and key patterns. 'The Lock' is sprung from prison by a gang led by his son Wayne in order to pull a major job. To his son's dismay, 'The Lock' refuses to commit the job he was released to do, his years in prison having given him strong food for thought about the hopelessness of the criminal life.

Première diffusion : 5 septembre 1973

S5 E40 • When I'm Sixty-Four

Yarra Central police are confronted with what seems to be an impossible crime to solve. A fortress-like factory guarded by dogs and security fences is broken into and industrial secrets worth thousands of dollars are stolen from under the guard's noses.

Première diffusion : 22 août 1973

S5 E41 • The Best We Know

Lorna Matthews, a spokeswoman for women's rights and social reforms, is threatened with a charge of drunk driving and accuses Sen. Det. Peters of accepting a bribe from her. She decides to enlist the help of an influential friend.

Première diffusion : 8 août 1973

S5 E42 • Standover

An old friend of Det. Peters is about to be married, but his girlfriend has a criminal background that is exploited by operatives of a standover racket.

Première diffusion : 26 septembre 1973

S5 E43 • Don't Ask Me

Const. Dwyer is first on the scene of a narcotics robbery at a warehouse, and is seriously bashed when he attempts to apprehend the criminals. One of the drug pushers is trained in unarmed combat, and he controls the supply for 17-year-old addict Liz Green, a sad and dominated character from a good family who is controlled, degraded and nearly destroyed.

Première diffusion : 3 octobre 1973

S5 E44 • Willie

Willie Evans is released from prison after serving three years for the theft of $17,000 which was not recovered on his arrest. He attracts great interest from his wife, his brother, a fellow former convict and the police.

Première diffusion : 10 octobre 1973

S5 E45 • My Pretty Maid

When a neighbour of Det. Sgt. Vickers becomes involved with a gang of hoodlums, it causes great concern for the Yarra Central police, particularly Policewoman Stewart who becomes a victim of the yobbos.

Première diffusion : 17 octobre 1973

S5 E46 • Damsel in Distress

A young girl makes a complaint to the police to prevent her father from re-marrying. When this doesn't work, she employs an inept criminal to use more drastic action.

Première diffusion : 24 octobre 1973

S5 E47 • Bella

Yarra Central police have a baffling case on their hands when a prostitute befriends a young criminal. This association, together with the arrival of the prostitute's runaway daughter, leads to a tragic end.

Première diffusion : 31 octobre 1973

S5 E48 • Young Hennessy

Young Hennessy, a boxing champion of the 1930's, is reputed to have hidden away a great deal of money in his old house. Knowing that so many people are trying to take advantage of the old man, a young boy, Luke, decides to manage his life.

Première diffusion : 7 novembre 1973

S5 E49 • The Criminal Type

Banner's girlfriend Jenny Franklin provides support when Banner is forced to investigate the possible criminal past of old friends.

Première diffusion : 14 novembre 1973

S5 E50 • Fear Street

Yarra Central police are called in to find the sender of anonymous obscene letters to a number of married women all living in the same street.

Première diffusion : 21 novembre 1973