Prisoner, by Grundy Television for the Ten Network, otherwise known in parts of the world as Prisoner: Cell Block H to avoid confusion with an American show called The Prisoner, started life in 1979 as a 20-episode mini-series, but due to immense popularity, a decision was made to continue the series a lot longer. The first 400 episodes were the best, but Prisoner lost its touch when the much-loved Bee Smith disappeared because of a deranged officer known as "The Freak" (Joan Ferguson). Despite finishing in 1986 after 692 episodes, Prisoner has remained so popular that it was repeated on the Ten Network, but was unseen in Canberra because Capital Television was off the air at 4am in the morning when it was shown on Channel 10.
Prisoner made a welcome comeback to Canberra screens in February 1995, around the time when Capital Television (which now calls itself Southern Cross Ten) began 24-hour broadcasting. Episodes 1 through to 155 were shown at around 11.35pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, on an irregular schedule between February 1995 and July 1996 (sometimes they missed some nights, sometimes only one episode per week was shown and sometimes they went for weeks without a single episode). Then, it disappeared altogether after Episode 155 was shown at the end of July 1996.
When Prisoner returned on October 14, 1996, it was shown at 1pm Monday to Friday, 5 days a week (apart from the week of the Melbourne Cup). As expected, the daytime timeslot presented problems due to the censorship regulations surrounding M-rated programs. It was taken off on December 13, 1996 because the timeslot was no longer suitable due to the school holidays. The final episode was Episode 196, in which governor Erica Davidson was sacked, Bee was transferred to Barnhurst, and Chrissie Latham was caught (literally) with her pants down.
The full DVD release of Prisoner, which finally came 10 years after this, marked a whole new beginning and this time guaranteed us a complete run of the series.
The 100s, up to the end of July 1996: In the episodes that screened in 1996, Vera has personal problems and comes to the prison drunk. Bee and the others pour alcohol down her throat and Vera is forced to resign. Doreen is released and gets a job at the hospital, but abducts Chrissie Latham's baby at the end of the final episode. Meanwhile, Tracy Morris is taken in, charged with drug offences. Bee battles newcomer Judy Bryant about her involvement in drugs, and Tracy maintains she was carrying gold, and the drugs were planted on her. Tracy is sentenced but is transferred because her father, Bob, was having an affair with Meg, and it was too much to have a prison officer with a stepdaughter in the same prison.
Episodes 156–196, screened October 14 to December 13, 1996: Doreen is put back inside charged with kidnapping. Vera gets her job back and Erica promises to keep quiet about the incident. Jim Fletcher gets involved with Sarah Forrest, who turns out to be an old escapee by the name of Jacki Nolan. Fletcher narrowly avoids trouble but Department Of Corrective Services/Social Welfare executive officer Ted Douglas sends in an inspector by the name of Stuart Gillespie. Due to Gillespie's tough measures, Judy Bryant organises the tunnel escape, to take place during the pantomime. Bee, Lizzy & Doreen are trapped in the drain for days while Judy and Heather ("Mouse") successfully escape. Trapp is recaptured the next morning, but Bryant stays on the run until she turns in Jock Stewart. Birdsworth has a heart-attack and meets a boyfriend by the name of Syd Humphries. Syd has a stroke and is taken to hospital. David Andrews is appointed the teacher for Wentworth. Georgie Baxter serves time for assault, and is very violent, until her deafness is discovered and fixed. Baxter is released on condition that she works at the shop Meg found for her. Chrissie Latham is released but gets into a bit of trouble over her boyfriend and trying to keep her baby Elizabeth. Bee tries to see Ken Pierce, but due to his own family problems he lets her down really bad, with Vera rubbing salt into the wounds. Doreen meets a penpal and abuses the privilege of uncensored mail. With the conjugal visits, uncensored mail and education program cancelled, the prisoners go on strike, and Bee is transferred to Barnhurst in the final episode.
Since then, for reasons unknown, Prisoner wasn't moved to a night-time timeslot or returned at all. Instead, it was quietly moved to Foxtel, a pay TV service available to Australians willing to shell out for satellite equipment and black box installation, and regular payments to keep a smart card activated. Foxtel showed the entire series on UKTV right to the end, while other parts of the world enjoyed Prisoner until Swedish TV4 showed the last episodes at the end of 2004.
In October 2005, Prisoner was given a new life, when the first proposal was made to release the entire series on DVD. See this page for details.
Last
updated:
April 30, 2008