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8

RECOGNITION

AND IMITATION

'Prisoner's 100th episode went on the air in Sydney on 24 March 1980.  In double wins at the prestigious TV Week Logie Awards (Australia's equivalent to the U.S. Emmys) 'Prisoner' was named Best Drama Series and Carol Burns given a standing ovation when presented with the award for Best Actress in a Drama Series.

'Prisoner' was now firmly established as one of the most watched shows in Australia, and its increasing American fan mail showed the same success there.  About 45,000 signed photocards had been issued by cast members in less than six months, but the mail volume 'just got out of control.  It hurt,' Colette Mann said at the time.  'We all found fan mail interesting and comforting at first.  Most of us made time in the tunnel or at home to answer as many letters as possible. I wrote nearly eighty letters and autographed as many photos in one week.  It was the same with the other girls - and we felt obliged to do it for the fans, for the show.  But it got too big, too much, and it hurt because we were letting down the fans, the viewers.

'We could hardly keep up with the publicity.  Everyone wanted to interview us.  And more and more of the weekends were being taken up by promotional commitments.  It wasn't hard to see we were well and truly trapped, "Prisoners of the pen", Sheila called us one day.'

Fans wanted to know all about their stars, who were now getting the type of blanket publicity coverage that hadn't been seen in Oz since 'Number 96'.  But 'Number 96' hadn't seen the light of day overseas, unlike 'Prisoner's American cult following.

There was a slight hiccup in public relations for the show in August 1980, when a small group of Victorian State Police officers claimed they were concerned about the fast-growing violence on locally produced TV shows.  They called for police to stop giving logistical assistance, manpower, traffic control support, technical advice and wardrobe or uniforms liaison to make shows like 'Prisoner' and the Crawford-produced 'Cop Shop'.  The small clique of officers put their motion to the annual conference of the Victoria Police Association, but didn't get any worthwhile support.

Inspector Ted Rippon, secretary of the Association, said TV shows made overseas depicted far more sex, violence and horror than any Australian product.  He personally could see no reason to withdraw longstanding liaison and support.  'And I watch both "Cop Shop" and "Prisoner",' said the police boss.

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By October 1980, 'Prisoner' and another Grundy soap, 'The Restless Years', had pushed the O-TEN Network to the top of the overall ratings, ahead of Seven and Nine, for so long the nemesis of O-TEN.  'The Restless Years' was beating 'CHiPS', and 'Prisoner' trouncing 'Love Boat', another U.S. import.

Late in October, Sheila Florance was Australia's most acclaimed woman TV player, winning a coveted Sammy Award for Best Actress in a Series, an award made even more important because it was judged by her peers - Sammys have the rare distinction of being voted by actors and actresses from both the film and television industries.

Clutching her Sammy the Seal award in one hand and a glass of beer in the other, Sheila still managed to chain-smoke as she told veteran TV reporter Garry Shelley, 'I've never won anything before, although it's my forty-third year in the business.  "Prisoner" is my first ongoing TV role.  Hell, forget the oldies I played in "Bellbird" and the cop shows, this is my first real TV role.'

But she had a sombre warning for her bosses when she revealed how 'Prisoner' was making her physically exhausted.  'I don't know how much longer I can go on like this playing Lizzie.  My legs go, so do the arms. I was 64 in July.  Sometimes I feel I should just stay at home and look after John and my plants.'.

Early in December a transpacific row erupted when the top-ranking U.S. independent production company Lorimar Pictures (the makers of 'The Waltons', 'Dallas', 'Knots Landing') were accused of pirating ideas from 'Prisoner' for a new series pilot, 'Women In Prison'.  Grundy's alleged Lorimar stole parts of the series' scripts.  And storyline ideas were indeed the same in several instances.  'Women in Prison' was taped at a Californian penitentiary and starred veteran Ruth Roman as a strong-willed, often arrogant superintendent, and Carol Lynley and Aussie songbird Trish Noble as the principal inmates. Ian Holmes and his senior staff in Sydney got hold of a preview copy of the pilot show when it was being offered around the American networks.

Holmes wouldn't elaborate on the issue, but admitted, 'there has been a bit of a kerfuffle over the matter. I don't know what is going to happen, especially if the show is picked up and goes into series production.  However, I can say the "Women in Prison" pilot has caused us considerable concern.' However the concern was short-lived.  'Women in Prison' didn't excite any of the networks and bobbed up as an inferior Movie of the Week while 'Prisoner: Cell Block H' continued to draw American audiences.