ACTORSCHARACTERSSTARTEPISODES

EPISODE 536

Anita confesses to Joan and bids farewell to a hostile counterpart. Merv thinks his luck is in but discovers that Joyce is horribly confused.

First broadcast ... 1985 (Melbourne)
Broadcast on Channel 5 Saturday 14 August 1999 04:40
DVD release: volume 34 disc 2 (AUS)
Duration: 0:45:00



Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick
Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson
Myra ~ Anne Phelan
Joyce ~ Joy Westmore
Dennis ~ Nigel Bradshaw
Anita ~ Diane Craig
Lou ~ Louise Siversen
Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor
Alice ~ Lois Collinder
Mervin ~ Ernie Bourne
Ruth ~ Mary Murphy
Tammy ~ Gloria Ajenstat
Nursing Sister ~ Sarah Ryan

  • Written by Coral Drouyn
  • Directed by Sean Nash
  • Ruth and Tammy seem to be credited purely for a bit of wordless mucking around in the kitchen.

    Lexie tells Myra the women are waiting to see what she will do about Anita for lagging. No-one can get in contact with Joan, and Ann suggests they try phoning the hospitals. Anita talks to the women through the laundry gate before her release: she pleads with them to understand her motives, but Myra tells her they can't forgive her and points out the hypocrisy of allowing the Church to pay her bail. Joan comes round after the operation and refuses to see Ann or anyone else from the Department. Joyce is pre-occupied with her own problems with Norm and confesses to Meg she is bored with him. Dennis lets Myra know he is disgusted with her for using Joan's illness against her: Myra replies she would do the same again any time. To start off the flood of flashbacks, Myra tells Lexie about Meg, who she knew when she was inside before the start of the series. Myra mentions Franky Doyle coming along after she left, leading to a flashback to the riot and Bill Jackson's murder (3) and a scene of Meg at home after the murder (4). Anita visits Joan in hospital and Joan tells her she can't see her getting her job back. Anita asks Joan that if she does return to Wenwtorth she should try to help the women. In the rec room the women reminisce: Lou mentions Vera and her nickname given to her by Franky - though the clip from (1) seems to contradict that, as Franky maliciously says the nickname was Bea's idea. Alice and Lou lead the reminiscences which take in further clips of Joan's body search on Paddy Lawson (323), Jock Stewart telling Judy exactly how he killed Sharon (119), Judy's final revenge on Jock (258). Joyce has to tell Mervin she can't stay for supper. The reminiscences continue with Franky wrecking the rec room and shouting to Doreen from solitary (1), Karen teaching Franky to read (12), Franky's death (20), Lizzie getting drunk on Joan's miniatures (288?), the pantomime and the escape (165), Lizzie collecting for the Salvation Army (111), Bea burning Lyn's hand in the press (1), Bea visiting Debbie's grave and shooting her husband (2), Bea explaining to Maxine why she bashed her (351), Bea's final confrontation with Joan and her final scene (400). Myra tells the women she went to see Bea few times in Barnhurst and she asked about all of them - even Lou Kelly. All this is to mark the end of an era: Ann is told there has been a riot and a fire at Barnhurst and prisoners are being transferred to other prisons. When Meg asks if anyone was hurt, Ann tells her that Vera is in hospital and Bea has died in the fire trying to stop the riot.

    Thanks to Leo for pointing out I had Jock "Murray" originally... (whoops) and identifying the episode number for one of the flashbacks.

    Myra says that Bill Jackson was the "prison shrink" - maybe this is the source of one of Terry Bourke's mistakes?

    Myra also says that Franky and Doreen tried to hold up a bank, but in fact it was a hardware store.

    Lou and Alice appear to have been in Wentworth much longer than we realise: Lou even claims to have helped dig the escape tunnel.

    ***


    Story Editor: Coral Drouyn
    Script Editor: Kit Oldfield (538)-(540)
    Storyliners: Coral Drouyn, Neil Luxmoore, Tony McDonald, John Coulter


    ITV regional broadcast dates:-
    Broadcast on Meridian Tuesday 10 March 1998 23:40


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