10

THE WINNING

OF AMERICA

Grundy's realised they had tapped into a goldmine previously denied to the very parochial Australian drama industry - and this was the first major Grundy foray into the international market at near top-level.  The rewards from these first 'Prisoner' sales wouldn't be big but beyond the initial Los Angeles screening lay the possibility of lucrative additional markets in other major cities and the golden chance to have considerable regular money coming back to the home coffers in Los Angeles and Sydney.

'Prisoner' premièred on KTLA-5, Los Angeles, on 8 August 1979.  The station was the biggest of the city's independent outfits, but usually had to be content as number four on the ratings lists behind the mammoth ABC, CBS and NBC conglomerates and their national networks.  Still, it had a reputation for taking shots at the big boys.

KTLA-5 bosses and programmers first saw the Oz show at a sales convention in Las Vegas in April, 1979, but it took three months of trans-Pacific negotiations between Los Angeles and Sydney executives to finalise the precedent-making deal.  The Yanks made an immediate and major change - the show was re-titled 'Prisoner: Cell Block H'.  The American programmers claimed they didn't want their latest acquisition to be confused with the popular U.K. series 'The Prisoner', starring Patrick McGoohan, a worldwide hit in the Sixties, and in its umpteenth repeat in several U.S. markets.  And the U.K. producers of the original 'Prisoner' were geared to sue the new series if the title was used Stateside.

Grundy staff in Australia say there was no pressure to make blatant changes in 'Prisoner' to satisfy any special demands from KTLA-5, although 'certain ideas and suggestions were floated in from time to time'.  In many U.S. areas the show was seen in a half-hour format five days or nights a week rather than as a one-hour series.  The violence, swearing or sex elements were toned down in re-edited episodes freighted to

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<Picture> It's Boy George dress-up time when Bobbie Mitchell's pals celebrate her impending release.  Back: Rita Connors (Glenda Linscott), Alice Watkins (Lois Collinder).  Front:  Lorelei Wilkinson (Paula Duncan) and Merle Jones (Rosanne Hull-Brown)

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Los Angeles.  And the Aussies were told to minimise ocker slang words.

Grundy's could see an expanding market in the States and elsewhere (there were nibbles from Canada, England and New Zealand), so anything that could boost potential sales got a good hearing from the producers.  But a plan to import several 'name' American actresses for guest roles was turned down early on because of the immediate and expected reaction from the Actors' Equity union and the cast itself.

While viewers in California switched on to 'Prisoner: Cell Block H' in droves, the reviewers and critics generally blasted the inmates of Wentworth, though some had the good sense (or took an each-way bet) to suggest the show could be 'contagious or addictive'.

KTLA-5 made no bones about why it was screening 'Prisoner'.  Said a spokesman
 
 

PRISONER FILE  Name: Alice 'Lurch' Watkins  Actress: Lois Collinder

5 ft 10 ins Lois Collinder caught the attention of the 'Prisoner' casting office when she played in 'Carson's Law'.  Signed up as 'a heavy - - we'll keep you in the background', this was just what happened for about 19 months.  She was a mystery all this time, acting as a stooge or bodyguard for the top dogs in Wentworth. until she was finally given a name -- Alice Watkins.  Inside for a seven year stretch, Alice had been a country girl looking for kicks when she joined up with a lethal gang who carried out armed robberies.  In a bungled job, gangly Alice is abandoned and the rest of the gang speed off into the night, leaving her to take the rap.  Lois had been a dancer before joining 'Prisoner'.  The nickname 'Lurch' came when director Kendal Flanagan started confusing the names of the actresses after a long day.  Lois recalls: 'Kendal was calling out Lois, Lou, Alice, Rita, Glenda.  'Out of earshot he referred to me as Lurch -- like the towering butler in "The Addams Family". The name stuck and got picked up by the writers.  Lurch maybe a late developer in the series, but she is in the forefront of the action when Lou Kelly bursts out of prison and goes on the rampage.  She reaches Lurch's family home and murders both her mother (Moira Clau) and adored brother (Steve Millichamp). The grieving Lurch tries to commit suicide but, survives. Only days later, she smuggles in a stash of cocaine by remote control car. When Steve Ryan (Peter Hayes) finds it, Lurch catches him and knocks him out.  Life is never dull around Lurch...

 

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'We want to hook adult viewers seeking relief from the early evening pap on other stations.'

The Los Angeles Times critic Howard Rosenberg wrote: 'Whatever else, "Prisoner" isn't pap.  Don't expect subtlety.  Viewers in search of ferocity can count on a hanging, knifing, shooting, burning and violent furniture-throwing rage.  "Prisoner" is strictly capital punishment if you're not sweet on action-melodrama that slides off on to the soft shoulders of soap opera.  As seen here, prison life never seems quite as drab as it should be. Yet "Prisoner" may be the kind of silly stuff that can grow on you if you don't quickly flick it away.'

Frank Torrez, of the Los Angeles Examiner, wrote: 'This sudsy and very depressing look at women in prison is not going to be mistaken for masterpiece theatre.  Admittedly, it's a little tougher and more depressing if that's possible - than American soaps, but all the basic ingredients are there - sex, broken marriages, several subplots, frequent confrontations, stereotyped characters and lots of crying.'

Charles Parker, of the Valley News, which has a big circulation in Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley, where much of the tinsel town workforce lives, saw the show as a breakthrough.  'It is an experiment that could fizzle like a wet firecracker or explode like a stick of dynamite.  The station is daring to put on a most adult programme in the sacrosanct so-called family hour.'

Variety, the showbiz bible, was high in praise for the Wentworth girls.  'A gritty and gripping dramatic series ... the yarn has a lot sharper focus than would be likely in a U.S. production.'

Yet the Hollywood Reporter slammed the show.  'So soapsy and trite, with on-the-sleeve acting almost visible.  But the theme of dames in prison undoubtedly will hook its audience seeking full-throttle emoting'.

The National Organisation for Women (NOW) objected to 'Prisoner's 'excessive violence and depiction of women in general.'

About forty-five members of Hollywood's Gay Community assembled to picket the KTLA-5 offices after 'Prisoner's' first screening.  They were upset about the way in which Franky Doyle was portrayed.  Protestors carried placards reading FREE FRANKY
 
 

PRISONER FILE  Name:Meryl King  Actress: Marilyn Maguire

24-year-old Meryl is the answer to Sonia Stevens's (Tina Bursill) blues when she comes to share her cell.  She is given free rein for high drama.  'Meryl's a prostitute and drug addict going nowhere but an early grave,' said actress Marilyn.  'She has news for Sonia about her policeman husband, but Meryl's destined for a quick come-uppance.'

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PRISONER FILE  Name:Reb Keane  Actress:Janet Andrewartha

19-year-old James Dean freak, Reb, is sentenced to seven years for armed robbery.  Her good looks hide an evil mind and she soon starts a drugs racket with one her new buyers nearly dying after being slipped cocaine disguised in a biscuit. Later in the series, she sends a powerful letter to the Governor full of accusations about the Freak.  Even when Keane's lies are exposed, the authorities decide that Ferguson must go.

 

DOYLE, 'PRISONER' IS A CRIME AGAINST LESBIANS and LESBIANS DEMAND BETTER MEDIA IMAGES. The protesters demanded the show be taken off immediately, or each episode be followed by a talk from a member of their community. (CBS, which was suffering most among the networks as 'Prisoner' attracted a regular 2,000,000 viewers, ran prime-time news footage of the gay picket, which gave KTLA-5 an unexpected promotional bonus.)

Only ABC's fairy-floss floozies 'Charlie's Angels' could out-rate Franky, Bea, Lizzie and Co. in the Wednesday 8 p.m. timeslot.  KTLA-5 had the second top show among 65 programmes transmitted prime-time on Wednesday nights by the eleven Los Angeles stations.  It promptly ordered another twenty-six episodes.

KTLA executive Mary Barron said L.A. people were tuning into 'Prisoner' every week because 'it is so different and it grows on you'.  The big networks were caught napping and a beleaguered CBS saw four of their costly new series go down the proverbial gurgler - 'Dorothy', 'Hanging In', 'Struck by Lightning' and 'The Last Resort' (no connection with the equally disastrous Oz ABC-TV series of the same name) - cancelled as 'Prisoner' swamped them.

Grundy's president Ian Holmes admitted there had been some apprehension in America about the parochial nature of the series, including the accents.  'But the ratings and audience response have dispelled any doubts and there have been no problems understanding the accents.'

Then late in 1979 'Prisoner' was sold to Global TV Network, in Toronto, Canada, and underwent another name-change, airing as 'Caged Women'.

The continuing success of 'Prisoner' over-shadowed a Grundy corporate milestone.  Supremo Reg Grundy stepped down as president of the group, but still retained his role as chairman, concentrating his activities in the Los Angeles office, which was producing game shows for the American market.  He was delighted about the success of 'Prisoner', and gave much of the business credit to Ian Holmes, who was named the new president.

Early in 1980 Grundy's general manager John Fowler reported 'Prisoner' had been

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sold for syndication to eight other U.S. cities - New York, Chicago, San Diego, Denver, St. Louis, Tampa, Minneapolis and Albuquerque.  No figures were mentioned, but within weeks the Sydney press was confirming stories that the initial fourteen episodes to KTLA-5 had netted U.S. $50,000 (£24,000).  Later, substantially higher rates were negotiated when the show scored big in the ratings across the States and looked like running for years.

The first major scene of triumph was New York, where 'Prisoner' knocked off the perennial late-night winner 'Johnny Carson's Tonight Show' and re-runs of the legendary 'M * A* S * H'.  Another five million people were already watching the girls from Wentworth.  Elsewhere, 'watch it and you're hooked' seemed the vogue as Stateside audiences reached an estimated 20 million.

Then came what cast members back home considered the ultimate compliment  - the top American satirical comedy show 'Saturday Night Live' did a special skit on 'Prisoner' titled 'Debs Behind Bars' Val Lehman recalls.  'They sent us a copy and it was a real hoot.'

Way up in Alaska, 'Prisoner' was putting plenty of heat into the far northern chill. Anchorage Times television critic, Ron Hendren, welcomed the arrival of the show.  'Things are bursting out Down Under.  Lately they've been coming up with some innovative programmes and "Prisoner" is one of the best.  In an era when American television seems to be growing more and more dependent on spin-offs of proven sitcoms, this dramatic offering from Australia is a welcome change of pace.'

But it wasn't all approbation.

The influential mass-circulation TV Guide hammered the show mercilessly: 'A murderer, a convicted prostitute who has an affair with an electrician, an ugly lesbian, a former cook who poisoned her employers and a kidnapper who swears she didn't try to bury an infant alive - these are some of the charmers in "Prisoner: Cell Block H", a sleazy soap-opera produced in Australia.  It's hard enough to believe that adult viewers want a series that panders to the shabbiest, most sadistic tastes.  It is much harder - in fact, it's sickening to think that in several large cities some stations don't mind if the kids watch, too.

'The series was intended by its syndicator for late-night viewing.  But in Minneapolis, this sordid trash is served up to viewers at 6.30 p.m. to be enjoyed along with dinner, no doubt.  In Los Angeles, it's shown at 8 p.m., presumably on one station's theory that the folks in L.A. want to ooze into their serious viewing with a dose of Slime Time.

'Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, is the worst offender of all.  There, "Prisoner" comes on at 5 p.m., when even the youngest kids can see it before dinner, thus losing their appetites but gaining a whole new appreciation of life in the gutter.'

Nevertheless, cast members in Melbourne were getting calls from American viewers.  The overseas mail poured in.  In one week mid-1980, O-TEN at Nunawading received twenty-four American calls, most wanting to talk to Lizzie or Bea, and in the

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same period about 1,200 U.S.A, letters were passed out to Wentworth inmates - on top of more than 3,000 local letters.  A former station telephonist tells of one persistent lady from San Diego who would call in vain twice a week to try and find out what was happening in the episodes ahead.  She gave up after nearly four weeks.  New Yorkers and Californians were spotted wearing 'I Love Lizzie' T-shirts, which was a great tonic for Sheila Florance.  By late-1980 'Prisoner' was on thirty-eight stations across America.

The cult following of 'Prisoner' fascinated a Los Angeles-based Australian producer and three years later she would be producing the show.  Sue Masters now one of Australia's top rated TV producers (her latest work is the ABC-TV/BBC mini-series 'The Paper Man', shot in Sydney and London with an international cast - Oliver Tobias, John Bach, Peta Toppano, Rebecca Gilling, Olivia Hamnett and Jonathon Hyde) recalls how she got hooked.  'It had an extraordinary following in San Francisco.  People used to dress up in clothes like the inmates wore on "Prisoner", then get together at each other's houses to watch it on air.'

Masters had written scripts for shows like 'Barney Miller', 'Love Boat' and 'Rhoda' and produced variety shows for cable TV.  She even did a stint as creative development director for Burt Reynolds' television company.  Masters told Daily Mirror writer Liz Porter: 'All this mild fantasy island stuff, then one night I tuned into "Prisoner". I liked it immediately because it was gutsy, different.  And I thought at the time if I ever went back home, what a buzz it would be to work on the show one day.'

Returning home a year later, Masters went to work for Grundy's on their top-rating and long-running 'The Young Doctors'.  A year later she was switched to 'Prisoner' as producer to replace exiting Phil East (co-opted to another Grundy soap, 'Neighbours').

'Prisoner's' success obviously helped other Oz shows seeking a place in the foreign markets.  Bob Crystal, head of the West Coast office of Reg Grundy Productions, believes it paved the way for major money buys of the mini-series 'Against the Wind' (Seven Network) and 'The Sullivans' (Nine).  'The Sullivans', from the rival Crawford outfit, was sold to Los Angeles for $600,000 (£285,000).  No figures have been publicly released on 'Prisoner's eventual returns from the States, but industry observers believe it was in excess of $4.2-million (£2,000,000).

It was May 1981, before the next international sale of 'Prisoner' - New Zealand TV1 bought the show at an undisclosed price and promptly screened it twice a week at 2.30 in the afternoons.

It would be nearly nine years before England would be the next big success story for the Wentworth girls, surprisingly third in line on a wave that was led by two Johnny-come-lately teen shows 'Neighbours' and 'Home And Away' though neither of these major Oz and U.K. hits has been seen in the United States.