Doctor Lucien Blake
Portrayed by: Craig McLachlan
|
The show follows Doctor Lucien Blake as he returns in the late 1950s to Ballarat to take over his late father's general medical practice after being away from the town for thirty years. Not only does Doctor Blake help his patients, he is also a keeper of secrets and loves to solve a good mystery, often thought of as the sleuthing doctor!
Lucien Radcliffe Blake was born on November 25th 1910 in Ballarat to French artist Genevieve Etienne and general practitioner and police surgeon Thomas Blake. While we don’t know a lot about Lucien’s childhood, we have discovered that his father was distant, oppressive and demanding, urging his son to master the piano from an early age, but his loving mother was gentle and understanding and close to her son. Genevieve died when Lucien was 10 years old, and ten days later, a seemingly distraught Thomas sent him away to boarding school, for which Lucien never forgave him. After boarding school, Lucien went to Scotland to study general medicine as well as surgery and became a doctor and surgeon.
He obtained a position in a London hospital and, when the war broke out, enrolled as a military officer in the British army and was deployed to China. There, he met Mei Lin, whom he married (at his father's disapproval). As far as we know, Lucien only returned home to Ballarat once during this time to tell his father that he was getting married to Mai Lin. His father did not approve and told Lucien that if he married her, to never come home again. Lucien did as his father requested. Thomas regretted his words and tried to rebuild his relationship with his son by writing to him. Lucien returned all of his letters, unopened. Lucien married Mai Lin and they had a daughter, Li.
Lucien joined the British Army as a doctor and served in Singapore. When the British pulled out of Singapore, Lucien put his wife and child on a boat, sending them away to what he hoped would be safety for them. When the Japanese invaded, Lucien was captured and put in a Ban Pong POW camp for three years.
During his stay at the camp, Lucien was once imprisoned in a very cramped space for forty days for trying to steal a can of pineapples, after which he developed a perpetual claustrophobia.
For an undetermined number of years after the war, he was involved in secret service work for the Australian government, which led to him assassinating two men.
In 1959, Lucien Blake returned to his hometown of Ballarat, taking on the position and surgery of his late father.
His first interaction with the community as far as we are shown was to hang a nude painting above the bar of the Colonists club, immediately sparking Patrick Tyneman's resentment because of his defiant attitude and the picture being considered offensive. Thus, their feud was introduced, even though it clearly dates back to some time earlier (even their respective fathers had some unfortunate dealings).
Lucien is shown time and again to be instinctive and sometimes impulsive, which can help in crime-solving but may also lead him to take rash decisions under stress or anger (for example, prompting Joy to discredit the lack of safety in Tyneman's factory in print).
His passion for crime-solving often leads to him interfering with the work of the police. He goes to all lengths he deems necessary to solving the case, including unauthorized examination of crime scenes, unorthodox experiments with animal parts or dangerous chemicals, breaking and entering, intimidation and tampering with evidence. This tendency to overstep his position of police surgeon may land him in hot waters with his superior, most notably in season 3 with chief superintendent Munro. In addition, his insistence on finding answers is ill-received and deemed rude or indiscreet by most people he talks to.
With his circle of close friends, however, he is very jovial, genuinely caring and protective, especially shown when one of them is in danger (Danny bitten by a snake, Mattie and Jean harassed by a lynch mob). Still, the few friends he has are always ready to help, even if it implies jeopardizing their career or reputation. The attachment he elicits in those close to him goes to show how his good nature as a doctor counterbalances his annoying eccentricity.
He seems to have a drinking problem which, more or less noticeable depending on the extent of his dejection, can get in the way of human relations. It is illustrated by a very well-supplied minibar, a hip flask (several different ones make an appearance) constantly carried in his inside pocket and one or more bottles of liquor in his desk drawer. His drink of choice is scotch whisky.
Lucien's love interest is his receptionist and housekeeper Jean Beazley. Their romance is somewhat thwarted by the unexpected arrival of Mei Lin on the Blake household doorstep. However it is revealed in Series 5 that Lucien and Jean are engaged!
Source: http://the-doctor-blake-mysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Lucien_Blake
Lucien Radcliffe Blake was born on November 25th 1910 in Ballarat to French artist Genevieve Etienne and general practitioner and police surgeon Thomas Blake. While we don’t know a lot about Lucien’s childhood, we have discovered that his father was distant, oppressive and demanding, urging his son to master the piano from an early age, but his loving mother was gentle and understanding and close to her son. Genevieve died when Lucien was 10 years old, and ten days later, a seemingly distraught Thomas sent him away to boarding school, for which Lucien never forgave him. After boarding school, Lucien went to Scotland to study general medicine as well as surgery and became a doctor and surgeon.
He obtained a position in a London hospital and, when the war broke out, enrolled as a military officer in the British army and was deployed to China. There, he met Mei Lin, whom he married (at his father's disapproval). As far as we know, Lucien only returned home to Ballarat once during this time to tell his father that he was getting married to Mai Lin. His father did not approve and told Lucien that if he married her, to never come home again. Lucien did as his father requested. Thomas regretted his words and tried to rebuild his relationship with his son by writing to him. Lucien returned all of his letters, unopened. Lucien married Mai Lin and they had a daughter, Li.
Lucien joined the British Army as a doctor and served in Singapore. When the British pulled out of Singapore, Lucien put his wife and child on a boat, sending them away to what he hoped would be safety for them. When the Japanese invaded, Lucien was captured and put in a Ban Pong POW camp for three years.
During his stay at the camp, Lucien was once imprisoned in a very cramped space for forty days for trying to steal a can of pineapples, after which he developed a perpetual claustrophobia.
For an undetermined number of years after the war, he was involved in secret service work for the Australian government, which led to him assassinating two men.
In 1959, Lucien Blake returned to his hometown of Ballarat, taking on the position and surgery of his late father.
His first interaction with the community as far as we are shown was to hang a nude painting above the bar of the Colonists club, immediately sparking Patrick Tyneman's resentment because of his defiant attitude and the picture being considered offensive. Thus, their feud was introduced, even though it clearly dates back to some time earlier (even their respective fathers had some unfortunate dealings).
Lucien is shown time and again to be instinctive and sometimes impulsive, which can help in crime-solving but may also lead him to take rash decisions under stress or anger (for example, prompting Joy to discredit the lack of safety in Tyneman's factory in print).
His passion for crime-solving often leads to him interfering with the work of the police. He goes to all lengths he deems necessary to solving the case, including unauthorized examination of crime scenes, unorthodox experiments with animal parts or dangerous chemicals, breaking and entering, intimidation and tampering with evidence. This tendency to overstep his position of police surgeon may land him in hot waters with his superior, most notably in season 3 with chief superintendent Munro. In addition, his insistence on finding answers is ill-received and deemed rude or indiscreet by most people he talks to.
With his circle of close friends, however, he is very jovial, genuinely caring and protective, especially shown when one of them is in danger (Danny bitten by a snake, Mattie and Jean harassed by a lynch mob). Still, the few friends he has are always ready to help, even if it implies jeopardizing their career or reputation. The attachment he elicits in those close to him goes to show how his good nature as a doctor counterbalances his annoying eccentricity.
He seems to have a drinking problem which, more or less noticeable depending on the extent of his dejection, can get in the way of human relations. It is illustrated by a very well-supplied minibar, a hip flask (several different ones make an appearance) constantly carried in his inside pocket and one or more bottles of liquor in his desk drawer. His drink of choice is scotch whisky.
Lucien's love interest is his receptionist and housekeeper Jean Beazley. Their romance is somewhat thwarted by the unexpected arrival of Mei Lin on the Blake household doorstep. However it is revealed in Series 5 that Lucien and Jean are engaged!
Source: http://the-doctor-blake-mysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Lucien_Blake