A rare opportunity to own the entire Prisoner Cell Block H.
Landmark Australian production that was shown on local television for the first couple of hundred episodes only.
NOTE: Volumes 1 to 19 are original and as shown in the pictures. The elusive volume 20 covering the last episodes is not in this set (currently selling at around £150 on its own), identical dvd copies of these 12 discs are included as a free bonus.
Region 2, UK releases
Volumes 1,2 and 3 are presented in slimline cases (2 discs each) within a slipcase.
Volumes 4 through to 17 are thick cases with multiple discs inside.
Volumes 18 and 19 are again thick cases (2 each) and again presented in slipcases.
Episode info for all are contained on the back of the slimline cases and for the thicker sets "on the inside"
Excellent condition
A heavy and large set.
Early episodes featured a high level of violence: Lynn Warner's burning in a steam press; a prisoner hanging herself in her cell; a fatal stabbing; and a flashback sequence triggered by the time Karen Travers stabbed her abusive husband to death in the shower. The series' first major story arc was the turf war between Bea and Franky, in a bid to become the prison's "Top Dog" (unofficial leader).
Prisoner premiered in Australia on 27 February 1979. Its success prompted the producers to extend the series, first from 16 to 20 episodes and then indefinitely. The production schedule increased from one- to two-hour-long episodes per week; Carol Burns left the show after 20 episodes, feeling that she could not continue playing Franky Doyle with the tighter schedule. Her storyline sees her as an escapee from Wentworth with fellow inmate Doreen Anderson.
New story arcs were introduced. Karen Travers appealed against her sentence and was eventually released, allowing her to resume her relationship with Greg Miller and becoming involved in prison reform. As original characters began leaving the series (Mum Brooks, Lynn Warner, Karen and Greg appeared beyond the initial sixteen episodes, but most had left by the end of the 1979 season; Greg left in early 1980), new characters arrived: hulking Monica Ferguson (Lesley Baker), career crim Noeline Bourke (Jude Kuring), troubled murderess Roslyn Coulson (Sigrid Thornton) and imprisoned mother Pat O'Connell (Monica Maughan), in addition to shorter-term inmates with brief storylines. Chrissie Latham, a minor character in the early episodes, returned in a more central antagonistic role and a male deputy governor, Jim Fletcher (Gerard Maguire), joined the female-dominated cast.
Final season
Ratings had been declining for some time, and when they continued to fall in 1986, Network Ten decided in July not to renew the series. Production ended on 5 September, and the final episode aired in Melbourne on 11 December 1986. The producers had several weeks' notice that the series was ending, enabling them to construct strong concluding storylines (including the ultimate defeat of Joan "the Freak" Ferguson). Prisoner's final episodes dealt with the redemption of the misunderstood Kath Maxwell and concluded the ongoing dynamic between Rita Connors (played by Glenda Linscott) and Joan Ferguson (Maggie Kirkpatrick).
Relive all the excitement and drama of this groundbreaking and long-running series.
