"Prisoner" (1979) TV series 1979-1986

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

8 August 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

The cult phenomenon from down under.

Plot:

This Australian series has, after 692 episodes, received cult status all over the world. The series takes place in Wentworth...

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Drug Smuggling | Isolation | Psychopath | Mugshot

Awards:

10 wins

Cast

Elspeth Ballantyne	...	Meg Morris / ... (669 episodes, 1979-1986)
Betty Bobbit	...	Judy Bryant (429 episodes, 1980-1985)
Sheila Florance	...	Lizzie Birdsworth (403 episodes, 1979-1984)
Maggie Kirkpatrick	...	Joan "The Freak" Ferguson / ... (389 episodes, 1982-1986)
Val Lehman	...	Bea Smith (376 episodes, 1979-1983)
Patsy King	...	Erica Davidson (352 episodes, 1979-1984)
Gerda Nicolson	...	Ann Reynolds / ... (319 episodes, 1981-1986)
Colette Mann	...	Doreen Burns / ... (293 episodes, 1979-1984)

Also Known As:

Caged Women (Canada: English title)
Prisoner: Cell Block H (UK)
Women Behind Bars (Australia) (working title)
Women in Prison (Australia) (working title)

Runtime:

50 min (692 episodes)

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

27 Howard Street, Box Hill, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Grundy Television Productions

Trivia:

2009 marks the 30th Anniversary of "Prisoner" (1979)

Quotes:

[first lines]
Franky Doyle: She bumped into me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Great Escape (1990) (V)

Soundtrack:

On the Inside

Prisoner scared me as a kid, but now I'm addicted to it..

I must admit, Prisoner scared me as a kid when it was on Channel 10 at 8:30pm. I watch it now, and it's quite funny to watch.

I am very thankful that ALL 692 episodes have been put on DVD. So far I am up to episode 320 and I'm loving it. Sets that shake when a character gets roughed up against the brick walls of Wentworth. It is just classic. Locks on security doors that probably don't work, but characters spend time making noise with the keys.

Lovable characters, such as Bea Smith, Old Lizzie, Sandy Edwards, Meg Jackson/Morrison, Vera Bennett, Steve Falkner, Smart, Jim Fletcher, and many many others.

Based on what I have seen so far, Vera Bennett and The Freak Furgesson would not have played well together. They really are two very different types of characters who would have clashed at all levels. Vera may have been hard towards the prisoners, but she was brutally honest. As for the Freak, as the most bent officer so far, she causes a lot of the problems faced by Wentworth. Vera would not have stood for it.

It is good to see the camera work and lighting has improved over the years, in some scenes the lighting is actually quite bad. Sometimes it is actually hard to see what is going on in the dark scenes.

From time to time some of the same actors re-appear as different characters, but thats a soap opera for you.

If you have not had a chance to watch Prisoner yet, give it a shot. As badly made as it is, it is also addictive to watch. I plan on watching all episodes of Prisoner. I recommend you give it a shot too.