Probably the best 'soap opera' produced anywhere in the world....and I'm not even saying that with my tongue-in-cheek! OK, some of it hasn't dated well, and with so many episodes, produced on a fairly low budget, there are bound to be some dud episodes, dodgy characters, and below par acting. But, compare it to something like 'Coronation Street' (which has the latter in abundance) and you might realise just how great this series is. Ignore most of it's legendary camp appeal and marvel at just how engrossing it can be.
Truly a groundbreaking series, featuring many of Australian television's top writers, directors, and actresses, it gets me everytime. All human life is here! For (what is generally regarded as) a cheap, trashy TV soap to feature drug abuse, euthanasia, terrorism, child abuse, rape, murder, lesbianism, racism etc etc is remarkable, even more so when you consider it was a primetime show, made over 20 years ago. No other soap opera, to my knowledge, has dealt with such 'sensitive' subjects before or since. Even more amazing is that most of these stroylines weren't sensationalised, and really hit hard. It is a testament to 'Prisoner's staying power that when it was aired in the UK for the first time, almost 10 years after it originally aired it immediately became a cult hit, despite having different slots (usually well after midnight) in the TV schedules.
If you ever get the chance to see this show again...DO! Some of the greatest TV characters of all-time are to be found lurking inside the walls of Wentworth Detention Centre, from murderess Bea Smith to bent screw (and then some) Joan 'The Freak' Ferguson. With sterling support from Lizzie Birdsworth (almost 80, dependent on life inside because she knows no other life), Meg Morris, warder with a heart of gold, despite seeing her husband stabbed to death in a prison riot, and Judy Bryant, deliberately inside to be with her lover, but unable to break free of the system. Just some of the myriad stories and characters who make this show unmissable!
Sadly, the stories dried up (there is only so much you can do in a prison it seems), and once the original core group moved on the show inevitably suffered and started to flounder, ending on a fantastic high note after a somewhat lacklustre build-up. But, at it's height 'Prisoner' was great television. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be hooked, and you'll want to do all over again...isn't that what soap operas should be all about?!
Truly a groundbreaking series, featuring many of Australian television's top writers, directors, and actresses, it gets me everytime. All human life is here! For (what is generally regarded as) a cheap, trashy TV soap to feature drug abuse, euthanasia, terrorism, child abuse, rape, murder, lesbianism, racism etc etc is remarkable, even more so when you consider it was a primetime show, made over 20 years ago. No other soap opera, to my knowledge, has dealt with such 'sensitive' subjects before or since. Even more amazing is that most of these stroylines weren't sensationalised, and really hit hard. It is a testament to 'Prisoner's staying power that when it was aired in the UK for the first time, almost 10 years after it originally aired it immediately became a cult hit, despite having different slots (usually well after midnight) in the TV schedules.
If you ever get the chance to see this show again...DO! Some of the greatest TV characters of all-time are to be found lurking inside the walls of Wentworth Detention Centre, from murderess Bea Smith to bent screw (and then some) Joan 'The Freak' Ferguson. With sterling support from Lizzie Birdsworth (almost 80, dependent on life inside because she knows no other life), Meg Morris, warder with a heart of gold, despite seeing her husband stabbed to death in a prison riot, and Judy Bryant, deliberately inside to be with her lover, but unable to break free of the system. Just some of the myriad stories and characters who make this show unmissable!
Sadly, the stories dried up (there is only so much you can do in a prison it seems), and once the original core group moved on the show inevitably suffered and started to flounder, ending on a fantastic high note after a somewhat lacklustre build-up. But, at it's height 'Prisoner' was great television. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be hooked, and you'll want to do all over again...isn't that what soap operas should be all about?!