ACTORSCHARACTERSSTARTEPISODES

EPISODES ON CHANNEL 5 (UK)

ALL NIGHTER 29th June 1997

81 * 82 * 83 * 84 * 85


EPISODE 81

Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 29 June 1997 Sun 12:40 a.m. Bea Smith tries to intimidate Ros. [DVD volume 6 disc 1 Duration 44:08]

Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance
Erica ~ Patsy King
Bea ~ Val Lehman
Jim ~ Gerard Maguire
Greg ~ Barry Quin
Vera ~ Fiona Spence
Pat ~ Monica Maughan
Roslyn ~ Sigrid Thornton
Kathleen ~ Penelope Stewart
Leila ~ Penny Ramsay
Geoff Butler ~ Ray Meagher
Janet ~ Diedre Rubenstein
UNCREDITED
John Pendleton ~ John Proper
Gate Guard ~ Brad Lindsay
OTHER CHARACTERS
Although he has only one line, the man Geoff beats up deserved a credit, if only for preserving a perfect early Seventies idea of what a "flamin' pouffe" was supposed to look like.

  • Written by Ray Kolle
  • Directed by Philip East
  • Erica mentions her niece Barbara and says she is due to be released soon for good behaviour.

    Kath hides the pen and puts Ros to bed, but cannot wake her next morning. Neither can Vera, so Greg is called and he tells Vera he suspects Ros has been drugged. He takes Ros to the infirmary: Kath is locked in her cell and the other women are body searched in the shower block. Vera finds the pen in Kath's dressing gown pocket but fails to realise what it is and tosses it to one side where it falls under the cabinet near the bed. Ros wakes up so Greg takes a blood sample for analysis. After speaking with Kath, Erica questions Ros but she refuses to talk. Janet's solicitor returns and is told that after today no further visits to her will be allowed by anyone. Janet treats Vera haughtily when she comes to collect her, pretending to forget her name and calling her "Miss Bent". Kath sneaks a visit to Ros in the infirmary, and Ros asks her to watch out for the signal. Janet is told her appeal has failed, so she tells her solicitor the escape plan is to go ahead. Geoff asks Jim to consider becoming a mercenary with him overseas. Ros's tests show no evidence of drugs in her system so Greg suggests she is kept under observation a little longer. Meg lets slip to Jim that Leila has warned her to be wary about Geoff. Erica tells Jim the details of the Departmental directive on added security during Janet's stay. Bea drags Kath to the laundry to get her to tell her what Ros is planning, but Vera sends Kath back to her cleaning duties. Lizzie volunteers to ask to share a cell with Ros and Kath to spy on them. Meg meets Geoff for a drink and explains to him that she doesn't want to get too involved with him - even though she has apparently bought a blue trouser suit specially for the occasion (as with many of Meg's ill considered outfits we never see it again). He replies that suits him fine. Ros returns to her cell and has just recovered the pen when Bea and Lizzie come to her cell, so she drops it on the floor again. Leila sends Jim and Geoff out to the pub while she gets dinner ready. Lizzie offers to fake an attack to be moved to share Ros and Kath's cell. A man at the bar cruises Geoff , who follows the man into the toilets. Jim notices Geoff is taking his time and goes in search of him, and bumps into him coming out of the toilet slightly flustered and out of breath. The stranger has come out of the experience a little worse for wear, however . When Ros and Kath are locked in for the night, Ros cannot find the pen and making matters worse, she also sees the signal for the escape to go ahead the following day. Kath tells her there are more serious matters to worry about than failing to escape, and points out that if the officers are not knocked out by the time the terrorists arrive, they would be prepared to kill anyone - officers or prisoners - to free Janet.

    EPISODE 82

    Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 29 June 1997 Sun 1:35 a.m. Geoff takes Meg home after a dinner date. [DVD volume 6 disc 1 Duration 44:58]

    Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
    Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance
    Erica ~ Patsy King
    Bea ~ Val Lehman
    Jim ~ Gerard Maguire
    Greg ~ Barry Quin
    Vera ~ Fiona Spence
    Pat ~ Monica Maughan
    Roslyn ~ Sigrid Thornton
    Kathleen ~ Penelope Stewart
    Janet ~ Diedre Rubenstein
    Leila Fletcher ~ Penny Ramsay
    Geoff Butler ~ Ray Meagher
    Terrorist No 1 ~ Bernie Ledger
    Terrorist No 2 ~ Chris Anderson
    UNCREDITED
    Sally ~ Nanette Wallace
    Officer Edwards ~ Dawn Klingberg
    Officer Williams ~ Anne Sutherland
    OTHER CHARACTERS
    Barman (Baz)
    Gate guard (Tony)
    Uniformed police officer with Erica
    Telephonist (V/O)

  • Written by Dave Worthington
  • Directed by Philip East
  • When Geoff returns from the pub with Jim, his elation reminds Leila of the way he was years ago after a fight in Sydney. Ros is nervous about the possible failure of her plan due to the loss of the pen containing the drug, so much so that she asks Kath for a cigarette. Lizzie goes into her fake heart murmur routine when Vera unlocks her cell in the morning. Leila notices an item in the morning paper about a man found beaten up in the toilets of the pub where Geoff and Jim were the night before. Greg promises to talk to Erica about a cell transfer for Lizzie, especially when she confesses to being "insomaniacal" as well. Jim refuses to report Leila's suspicions to the police, so she phones Meg to tell her all about the previous fight. Leila is annoyed by Geoff arriving home during the day so she searches Geoff's kit bag and finds a pistol and a machete. Vera takes great delight in telling Lizzie about her cell swap - she's not getting the transfer she was angling for but is moving in with Pat and Bea. Ros sees Lizzie using her pen in the rec room and gets it back by dobbing her in to Meg. She sneaks away from cleaning duties later and puts the powder in the staff room coffee urn and is almost caught in the act by Jim. Some of the officers drink from the drugged urn, though the night duty officer is called away before she can drink her coffee. Jim confronts Jim about the bashing but Geoff denies it angrily. After the women are locked in for the night, Pat notices how quiet it is. Ros leaves some of the drug for Kath to take to make it look as if she's been deliberately put to sleep. Erica phones the prison from home, but gets no reply . Two terrorists snip the perimeter wire and climb up the side of the building to the roof. They easily manage to find their way to Janet's cell in solitary and blow the door with gelignite to free her. Janet insists that they find Ros to take her with them, so they all have to find reception to get a bunch of keys. The women notice that lights out is half an hour late - but apparently haven't heard any of the explosions inside the building. The night officer returns to reception in time to be knocked out by the terrorists. Erica arrives at Wentworth with police escort to see why there is no reply to her phone calls. Kath takes the drug as Ros leaves with the terrorists. Erica goes outside to open the gates for the ambulance and runs into the terrorists who have just abseiled down to ground level (and so has Ros despite lack of any previous experience of this hazardous exploit unless rock climbing was on the curriculum at convent school). Janet tells one of her accomplices to shoot Erica as she's a "Goverment lackey", and even though Ros makes a grab for the gun, Erica is hit .

    This was the first of the "cliff-hanger" episodes, shown at the end of 1979, with a break of several weeks before the first episode of 1980.


    EPISODE 83

    Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 29 June 1997 Sun 2:30 a.m. Janet is shot. [DVD volume 6 disc 1Duration 44:51]

    Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
    Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance
    Erica ~ Patsy King
    Bea ~ Val Lehman
    Jim ~ Gerard Maguire
    Greg ~ Barry Quin
    Vera ~ Fiona Spence
    Pat ~ Monica Maughan
    Roslyn ~ Sigrid Thornton
    Kathleen ~ Penelope Stewart
    Janet ~ Diedre Rubenstein
    Chrissie ~ Amanda Muggleton
    Leila ~ Penny Ramsay
    Geoff ~ Ray Meagher
    Terrorist No 1 ~ Bernie Ledger
    Terrorist No 2 ~ Chris Anderson
    UNCREDITED
    Officer ~ Betty Hargrave
    Officer Edwards ~ Dawn Klingberg
    Detective 2 ~ Roy Baldwin
    Sailor ~ Will Deumer
    OTHER CHARACTERS
    Detective Marshall
    Newsreader (V/O)
    Policeman arresting Ros at the docks (Ian Cuming?)

  • Written by Sheila Sibley
  • Directed by Julian Pringle
  • Another appearance by Vince D'Amico as a non speaking male nurse ?

    Erica lies wounded in the arm, but Ros is forced to go with Janet. A police officer is shot by one of the terrorists and Janet is shot in retaliation - she tells Ros to make a run for it. The women watch through their windows and the alarm wakes Chrissie in maternity and she goes to the window and sees Ros run in the opposite direction from the surviving terrorist when he opens fire on her. Jim is called to the prison and takes over temporarily from Erica as she is in the infirmary . Bea and Pat hear the news on the radio in their cell saying that two people were killed. The Commonwealth police ask to interview Kath but Vera can't wake her up. Erica is reluctantly taken to hospital. Janet refuses to give the police any information. Leila phones Meg to tell her about Geoff's attack on the man in the pub and for once it seems to sink in with Meg that Geoff might not be all he appears to be to her. Ros gets away from Wentworth on the back of a truck and steals a change of clothes from a clothesline. Jim speaks to the women at breakfast and tells them any help they can give the police will be rewarded. Ros follows Chrissie's earlier advice and makes her way to the docks. Chrissie volunteers to speak to the police. Detective Marshall gives Kath a hard time with a ruthless display of shouting and sheer bad acting but she can't tell him anything useful. Chrissie demands remission in return for her information about Ros making off on her own, and talking to Kath later, she realises where Ros has probably gone. Jim tells Meg she doesn't have to worry about Geoff any more, as he's reported Geoff to the police. He advises Meg to avoid him for a while. Geoff returns to the Fletchers' from the golf club where he had been arrested and later released: he packs a bag and leaves. The police have a final word with Janet, but she refuses to help the police trace Ros, calling her a "squeamish little bitch" for saving Erica's life. Meanwhile, Ros is picked up by a sailor just boarding a boat for Brisbane: she asks him for a dollar and says she'll meet him later. Chrissie repeats her advice to Ros to the police, but still can't get a promise that she'll get her remission. Geoff calls on Meg just as she arrives home from work. When she tries to put him off, he pushes her inside her flat. Ros is arrested as she is about to board the boat. Meg tells Geoff she wants to break it off with him: he asks if she's been speaking to Leila, loses him temper and turns violent. Janet Dominguez is taken out of Wentworth on a stretcher. Jim arrives home to find that Goeff had been released so he phones Jim. Geoff stops Meg answering and rips the phone cord out of the wall. Ros is brought back to Wentworth and sees Chrissie, who avoids meeting her glance. Jim arrives at Meg's but Geoff merely brags about what he's really been doing - illegally recruiting for mercenaries. When Jim and Meg try to leave, Geoff pulls a broken bottle on them .

    When questioned by the police, Janet Domiguez replies with slight misquotes from Lenin:

    "The Proletariat, in its struggle for power, has no weapon other than organization." (Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 7, p. 415)
    and from Mexican revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata (c1879-1919):
    "It is better to die on your feet, than to live on your knees."


    EPISODE 84

    Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 29 June 1997 Sun 3:20 a.m. Jim fights Geoff. [DVD volume 6 disc 1 Duration 46:35]

    Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
    Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance
    Erica ~ Patsy King
    Bea ~ Val Lehman
    Jim ~ Gerard Maguire
    Greg ~ Barry Quin
    Vera ~ Fiona Spence
    Pat ~ Monica Maughan
    Chrissie ~ Amanda Muggleton
    Roslyn ~ Sigrid Thornton
    Kathleen ~ Penelope Stewart
    Leila ~ Penny Ramsay
    Geoff ~ Ray Meagher
    UNCREDITED
    Wendy ~ Helen Noonan
    Officer Phillip ~ Lise Rodgers
    Phyllis ~ Reylene Pearce
    OTHER CHARACTERS
    Shortarsed detective quizzing Jim at Geoff's arrest ~ Kevin Colebrook (?)

  • Written by Denise Morgan
  • Directed by Julian Pringle
  • The background prisoner referred to as "Jenny" seems to be Marinia Jonathan.

    Jim manages to overpower Geoff before the police arrive but Meg is appalled at the level of violence Jim is prepared to use. Ros is put back in solitary by Vera who threatens her she can expect at least two weeks there from the VJ. Chrissie asks Vera to be put back in the laundry: Vera agrees in return for any inside information she can get there. Geoff is taken away by the police and tells Jim he wishes he hadn't bothered to save his life in Vietnam. Bea scoffs at Chrissie's intention to turn over a new leaf. Leila does the "I told you so" routine on Jim. Vera turns up at Meg's flat with a bottle of wine unaware of what has happened, but nevertheless manages to say exactly the right thing to upset her even further. Bea accuses Lizzie of stealing goods from her and Pat and tells her she'll have to replace them from her next buyup. Lizzie says she prefers to try and steal it from the kitchen and Bea decides they can get Chrissie to do it for them. Vera tells Greg about Meg being beaten up, with the very strong implication that it is all Jim's fault. Bea gives Chrissie a shopping list of items wanted from the kitchen, which Chrissie passes on to Vera. Chrissie appears to be going along with the plot by hiding tins from the kitchen in the dining room scraps bin while Lizzie and Bea stage a diversion. Erica (with her arm in a sling ) visits Ros in solitary and tells her she wants to help her. Vera catches the women picking up the goods from the bin and rubs Jim's nose in it for failing to spot such an "obvious" con. She completely suspends the women's buyup as a punishment. Bea is immediately suspicious even though Vera seems to be blaming Chrissie. Pat tells Bea that she's worried about attending David's hearing as Herbie's evidence is likely to put her own appeal in jeopardy. Greg walks into the staff room as Jim is attacking Vera for landing him in trouble with Erica: he warns Jim not to treat any of the female members of staff as "third class citizens". Bea composes a letter to Herbie and gives it to Kath to get out through her visitor the following day. Vera gets a tip-off from Chrissie to search Kath, but Vera can find nothing on her. However, this has all been a set-up and it achieves its purpose of revealing Chrissie as a lagger. Ros adds that it was Chrissie who told the police where to find her. For Chrissie's benefit, the women cook up a scheme to get the message out by throwing it over the fence. Erica offers Ros the opportunity to carry on with her studies, as new social worker will be starting a few days and he will be able to help her. Bea makes Chrissie take part in the plot to get the letter over the fence, as Vera brings Erica to see what is going on in the garden. Chrissie tries to dispose of the note by dropping it, but Erica notices and the note is found to read "VERA BENNETT STINKS!" . It turns out that Pat was unable to pass the letter out through Angela so the plot was in vain. Bea instructs Chrissie not to let Vera know the women suspect her so they can feed Vera any information they like. Meanwhile, Lizzie and Ros are loading kitchen goods into a laundry skip and Jim catches them. When he grabs hold of Ros when she runs away, Ros improvises when she sees Erica and Vera appear on the scene and accuses Jim of hitting her and Lizzie backs up her story.

    EPISODE 85

    Broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) 29 June 1997 Sun 4:10 a.m. Ros is sent to solitary confinement.

    Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
    Lizzie ~ Sheila Florance
    Erica ~ Patsy King
    Bea ~ Val Lehman
    Jim ~ Gerard Maguire
    Greg ~ Barry Quin
    Vera ~ Fiona Spence
    Pat ~ Monica Maughan
    Roslyn ~ Sigrid Thornton
    Paul Reid ~ George Mallaby
    Carmel Saunders ~ Cornelia Francis
    Dr Herbert ~ Henry Cuthbertson
    Herbie ~ George Spartels
    UNCREDITED
    Chrissie ~ Amanda Muggleton
    Officer Phillip ~ Lise Rodgers
    Phyllis ~ Reylene Pearce
    OTHER CHARACTERS
    Police sergeant at court who makes Herbie amend his statement

  • Written by John Wood
  • Directed by Rod Hardy
  • Erica indignantly demands an explanation of Jim's behaviour. Vera catches Lizzie trying to mark Ros's face by smacking her so she changes her mind and supports Jim. Erica questions Ros and threatens to charge Lizzie with falsely accusing an officer, so Ros has to admit that it was frame-up. Lizzie is to be locked in her cell and lose buyup indefinitely, and Ros is sent to solitary for two days for stealing from the kitchen. Jim notices Chrissie in the dining room and sends her back to the maternity wing - her protests that Vera had moved her back to the laundry allow Bea and Lizzie to drop a few hints about Vera's favouritism. The news evidently gets back to Erica, who warns Vera she must drop this "liaison" with Chrissie and stop making insinuations against Jim. Pat is taken to court for David's preliminary hearing. The new social worker, Paul Reid, arrives and has to find his own way to Erica's office as Jim and Vera are too busy squabbling over where Chrissie should be placed. At court, Pat meets Carmel Saunders, her new solicitor who is also representing David. Carmel tells Pat that there is no mention in Herbie's written statement of Pat's meeting with David. Erica asks Lizzie if she wants to see Ralph Campbell: Lizzie issues a torrent of abuse against him and refuses to see him, but realises too late that Erica meant to give her permission to go out to see him. Jim fails in his initial attempt to get matey with Paul Reid. Paul talks to Chrissie, then goes to Erica and asks to have Chrissie moved back to the laundry. Erica reluctantly agrees. Chrissie tells the other women the new social worker is a push-over. Lizzie finds this isn't so when she is bulldozed by Paul into going ahead with her parole, which of course she doesn't really want. Greg sees Herbie outside court and asks a police sergeant who he is. When he is told Herbie is the chief witness against David, who had supposedly held him hostage, Greg points out that Herbie must be lying, as he visited Greg's surgery of his own free will while supposedly a "hostage". Dr Herbert offers to take over Greg's patients until the surgery is sold and possibly even take over some of his duties at the prison as he knew Erica's father. The police sergeant makes Herbie amend his statement, making it impossible for Pat's appeal to go ahead. Pat tells Greg he won't be needed as a witness for her, but he doesn't realise it's indirectly his fault. Erica has more bad news for Pat: David has hanged himself in his cell and died an hour ago.

    Storyliners: Dave Worthington, Margaret McClusky
    Script Editor: Anne Lucas, Ian Smith


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    Updated ~ 29 November 2008