EPISODE 521Broacast on Meridian Tuesday 16th September 1997 23:35; Channel 5 Saturday 19 June 1999 04:40. Love and death are on the agenda for the inmates of Wentworth Detention Centre when Matt proposes to Marlene, and Geoff looks set to take the rap for Samantha's murder.CREDITSMeg ~ Elspeth BallantyneJudy ~ Betty Bobbitt Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Myra ~ Anne Phelan Dennis ~ Nigel Bradshaw Marlene ~ Genevieve Lemon Lou ~ Louise Siversen Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Sheila ~ Colleen Hewett Janice ~ Jenny Ludlam Ettie ~ Lois Ramsay Matt ~ Peter Bensley Geoff ~ Les Dayman Frank ~ Trevor Kent Alice ~ Lois Collinder Insp. Grace ~ Terry Gill Police Sergeant ~ Bob Halsall  Det. Crowley ~ Marc Cogoll Det. Holmes ~ Gerard Matte  Sleazy Agent ~ Brendan O'Brien  Waiter ~ David Armstrong  | Judy meets Myra and Geoff coming from solitary and tells her about Sam. Ettie looks forward to spending her compensation. Myra tells the women the party is over, as Sam is dead. Jan gets sloshed on the brandy Alice gave her: Dennis finds her drunk and sees the brandy bottle smashed on the floor. Ann is called back to the prison by Meg. Jan loses buyup for four weeks and is told that all the women will be punished when she refuses to say where she got the drink from. Judy refuses to believe that Sam killed herself, but Myra's suspicion are aroused when Judy says the last time she saw Sam she was coming to Myra's cell to get the present. Meg is told the police have arrested the second rapist and they want her to identify him. Dennis offers to go with her. Ann questions Marlene and Alice about Ray's brandy as they were the ones who were on kitchen duty. Judy asks to keep Sam's drawings of her as Joyce is packing up Sam's belongings to send them to her family. Ann phones Coleby to turn down the promotion. Frank threatens Geoff that he will get even with Myra. The women discuss Ray's sacking. Meg tells Dennis she wants to move out her house and find somewhere new. Ann tells the women the police want to interview them about Sam's murder after the coroner's report she didn't die of hanging: this confirms to Myra that it was a deliberate attempt and that she was the intended victim. Lou takes advantage of Ettie's dodgy memory and tells her it was Frank who gave her the message for Myra. Matt and Geoff accuse Frank of killing Sam and point out to him that the police will work it out for themselves. Lou pointedly voices a suspicion about Frank in the laundry so Ettie can spontaneously seem to "remember" that is Frank who spoke to her. Det Inspector Grace questions Myra about Sam's enemies then asks about Geoff's whereabouts. He confirms to Myra that Sam was electrocuted. Marlene is under a lot of pressure when she takes charge of the kitchen and doesn't take kindly to Jan giving her advice. Dennis and Meg go to see a flat, but it is in disgusting condition and the agent annoys them by assuming they are a married couple. When Frank is faced by Inspector Grace with the charge that he was interested in Sam, he implies a relationship between Geoff and Sam and points out Geoff killed his wife when she tried to leave him. Dennis tells Meg there is a flat in his block for rent. Marlene burns the roast: Matt proposes to her. Grace questions Geoff, but he cannot say where he was at the time of Sam's death without implicating Myra. Myra goes to talk with Lou and overhears Lou and Alice discussing Sam's murder.
The muster call is unusually long: Desmond, Bryant, Patterson, Parslow, Kelly, Grant, Warren, Jenkins, Brodie, Fisher, Kennedy, Jones, Shaw, Corbett, Adams. But there only seem to be 14 women in the line-up. |
The episode originally scheduled for Channel 5 on 20th June was replaced at the last minute with ice hockey.
EPISODE 522Broadcast on Meridian Tuesday 23rd September 1997 23:40; Channel 5 Saturday 26 June 1999 4:40. Myra clears Geoff's name but lands up in trouble herself. Frank takes Dennis hostage.CREDITSMeg ~ Elspeth BallantyneJudy ~ Betty Bobbitt Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Myra ~ Anne Phelan Dennis ~ Nigel Bradshaw Marlene ~ Genevieve Lemon Lou ~ Louise Siversen Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Sheila ~ Colleen Hewett Janice ~ Jenny Ludlam Ettie ~ Lois Ramsay Matt ~ Peter Bensley Geoff ~ Les Dayman Frank ~ Trevor Kent Mr Warren ~ John Proper Mrs Warren ~ Eve Godly Major Ferguson ~ Carl Bleazby Dr Kent ~ Robert Morgan  Alice ~ Lois Collinder Kath ~ Michele Sargent VJ Sinclair ~ Jim O'Donohue  Totty Brown ~ Esme Melville Nurse ~ Gaytana Adorna  | Myra gets the truth out of Alice after punching Lou out of the way. Lou challenges her to do something about it without lagging, but Myra says she only has to tell Frank they were planning to frame him. Meg decides to take a flat in the block where Dennis lives, even though Ann suggests she takes Paul's old room. Geoff tells Myra that the police suspect him, but he won't let her reveal their alibi. Myra tells Frank that Lou intended to frame him for Sam's murder. Joan taunts the women with list of the VJ hearings the next day (including "Murray" - what did poor old Tina do?) and takes special care to read out all Lou's charges. Judy catches Sheila singing "Pixie's song" and tells her she has a good voice and should try to do something with it. Frank goes to Lou's cell and bashes her. Marlene is just going on about how good it is to have a friend to talk to when Lexie reminds her it's her trial the next day and she doesn't intend to lose. Ettie realises she knew Meg's mother Bertha Coppen and nursed Margaret ("little Meggiepops") as a child  . Alice pleads with Myra as she is worried that Frank will beat her up too. Lexie gives Sheila a pile of her clothes, as she won't need them any more. Joan is informed her father is dying  . Geoff is taken to solitary charged with Sam's murder and tells Dennis he knows he will not get his parole whether the charge sticks or not. Myra collects the key from the mural and goes to Ann to clear him, though it embarrasses her when Myra produces the key in front of the VJ. Frank attacks Dennis in the workshop, but Dennis kicks him in the leg and takes him away. At the VJ's hearing, Judy gets 2 months concurrent for the attack on Dennis after Ann points out the mitigating circumstances. [At the end of the scene, the VJ mystifyingly says "Thank you Mrs Barry" when Joyce isn't in the room] Sheila sings "Pixie's song" in the rec room to Judy's piano accompaniment. Joan sees her father in hospital  , who pretends he is going to recover, though the doctor has told Joan he will not. Lou is brought in front of the VJ and collapses from the effects of Frank's attack  after hearing she will get six months for all charges except the attempted murder which will be heard in court later. Frank attacks Dennis in solitary, and hides a piece of broken plate  . Sheila sings Judy one of her own songs: Judy does not have the heart to tell her how awful it is (though to my ears it sounds not much worse than "Pixie's song"). Marlene's parents come to visit her but they obviously do not approve of Matt and don't think Marlene will take to being a "farm girl". Joan's father dies while she is telling him her memories of going with him on a victory parade after the war when she was about four years old. Meg tells Myra that Lou has been taken to hospital with internal injuries. Frank takes Dennis hostage in solitary  .
Ruth Lou refers to "Blackmoor, where there's no fellahs", but it is a mixed prison when Rita goes there later. |
"Totty Brown" does not appear in the episode, nor - so far as I can tell - in any other either. To judge by her position in the credits she would either have been a patient in the hospital or maybe an older prisoner at the VJ's hearings? There is not necessarily anything sinister about "cuts" like this - scenes in the original script could either never have been shot, or could have been missed out of the final version of the episode to bring it down to the required running time.
EPISODE 523Broadcast on Meridian Tuesday 7th October 1997 23:40; Channel 5 Sunday 27 June 1999 04:40. Dennis receives a letter which incriminates Joan. Ettie asks for money from the Department. Marl wants to marry Matt. And Mervin seems uneasy after getting the cook's job.CREDITSMeg ~ Elspeth BallantyneJudy ~ Betty Bobbitt Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Myra ~ Anne Phelan Dennis ~ Nigel Bradshaw Marlene ~ Genevieve Lemon Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Sheila ~ Colleen Hewett Janice ~ Jenny Ludlam Ettie ~ Lois Ramsay Mervin ~ Ernie Bourne  Matt ~ Peter Bensley Geoff ~ Les Dayman Frank ~ Trevor Kent Det. Insp. Thorne ~ Peter Aanenson Andrew Fry ~ Howard Bell | Lexie returns to Wentworth on a six month sentence, protesting her innocence to Officer Slattery. Frank holds the broken plate to Dennis' eye and threatens to blind him. Joyce reports the incident to Ann. Ettie is just entertaining the women with some wartime songs as the women are locked in the dining room while Ann goes to talk to Frank. He demands the use of a car to escape and when she asks for half an hour to set it up he demands the use of hers. Inspector Thorne advises Ann to go along with Frank's demands and they will catch him on the outside. Ann agrees to unlock the solitary door to let Frank out, with Dennis as hostage. To prevent a riot, Joyce tells Myra why they have been confined. Myra silences the women with difficulty and tells them what is going on. Frank only gets as far as reception, where he is stopped by Joyce and Dennis (who finds Frank so easy to beat, he can do so with both hands tied behind his back). Dennis comments that it was fortunate that Joan wasn't on duty. Meg contemplates decorating her new flat. Matt and Marlene squabble about where they will live after they are married. Dennis gets a letter from Ray about Joan. Lexie and Judy upset Marlene by pretending to read joke telegrams congratulating her and Matt on their engagement from Joan and "Chuckles" Murphy. Myra tries to get Marlene to see sense and Geoff does the same with Matt. This seems to work as they kiss and make up. Lexie tries to get Marlene to be realistic about the prospects of her relationship with Matt lasting. Dennis passes Ray's letter on to Ann and Ann asks Dennis to try to get him to come to talk to her. Jan threatens Alice with exposure of her involvement in Sam's murder to make her get her some drink. Mervin comes for interview for the cook's job and Joyce helps him fill in his application forms (how did he get an interview without filling in a form earlier?). Andrew Fry arrives as the new Head of Corrective Services and wants to settle Ettie's case. Mr Fry offers Ettie fifty thousand dollars compensation if she will sign a waiver guaranteeing she won't speak the media: Jan turns the offer down and insists on holding on for the half a million dollars. Ann shows Mervin "his" new kitchen and he starts to cook his first lunch. Ettie is convinced she has lost her chance of release forever by refusing to sign the letter. Alice steals some alcohol based floor polish  when Mervin asks her to throw it away, and also takes some rum and brandy flavourings which happen to be handy. Ann and Meg are both repelled by Mr Fry's unsubtle attempts to flatter and flirt with them. Marlene suggests to Matt that they should marry in Wentworth. Jan drinks the polish in her cell and collapses in pain.
From Matt's comment, it seems that the Australian equivalent of Skid Row seems to be "St Kilda tram station"? Andrew Fry sarcastically wishes Mervin "the best of British" - perhaps a reference to his accent. |
EPISODE 524Broadcast on Meridian Tuesday 21st October 1997 23:40; Channel 5 Saturday 03 July 1999 04:40. Jan collapses after being poisoned, while Ettie refuses an offer of $250,000. Meanwhile, Lou and Frances try to strangle Myra with a guitar string.CREDITSMeg ~ Elspeth BallantyneJudy ~ Betty Bobbitt Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Myra ~ Anne Phelan Dennis ~ Nigel Bradshaw Marlene ~ Genevieve Lemon Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Sheila ~ Colleen Hewett Janice ~ Jenny Ludlam Ettie ~ Lois Ramsay Lou ~ Louise Siversen Matt ~ Peter Bensley Geoff ~ Les Dayman Frank ~ Trevor Kent Mervin ~ Ernie Bourne Mrs Warren ~ Eve Godly Mr Warren ~ John Proper Kay Desmond ~ SallyAnne Bourne Sister Hall ~ Gael Andrews Alice ~ Lois Collinder Off. Radcliffe ~ Marion Dimmick Off. Hagen ~ Christine Andrew Gate Guard ~ David Bickerstaff Reporter (1) ~ Traci Hannigan  Reporter (2) ~ Bill Manderson  Photographer ~ Peter Greenwood | Marlene is bursting to tell the women in the laundry her good news about the wedding, but Judy and Myra tell her she's rushing ahead too fast and should think again. Sheila finds Jan writhing in agony with a broken bottle beside her. Lexie and the others in the kitchen are sceptical about Mervin's competence when he can't work out what to cook for lunch. Sheila goes to the laundry to tell everyone that Jan has been taken to the infirmary. Sister Hall tells Ann that Jan was poisoned with ethyl alcohol and that she may be too weak to pull through. Myra tells Ann about Jan's alcoholism, and Ann points out the consequences for Jan of the women deciding to keep the problem from her. Ann tells Meg she has just had a visit from Ray, but he has refused to testify against Joan, so she intends to try to get Reb's version of the story. Jan at first refuses to lag on the person who gave her the drink. Lexie realises Mervin has no experience of mass catering: he admits to doctoring his references to get the job. Marlene's parents visit her and seem pretty unenthusiastic about her marriage to Matt, so she tells them she'll go ahead with it whether they want her to or not. Matt says the wrong thing by pointing out that Marlene is behaving very childishly, but they make it up again almost immediately. Jan reacts badly when Alice brings her dinner tray to the infirmary, accusing her of killing Sam and trying to kill her too. Unfortunately, Officer Radcliffe is at the door and hears the whole thing. Joyce demonstrates her tap dancing skills for the women. Lexie tells the women that Alice is to be charged with Sam's murder after Jan has lagged on her. Meg and Dennis don't think it's likely that Alice acted alone, and that Ettie's story about Sam's death seems to point to Frank's involvement, but Meg eventually shrugs the whole thing off with the lame excuse that she "can't stand mysteries". Marlene has to confess to Matt that she's a virgin: he says he is willing to wait until they are married. Frank overhears Matt telling Geoff he hasn't had sex either. Lou returns from hospital. In the workshop, Frank taunts Matt with his virginity until Matt makes a lunge for Frank and Dennis has to separate them. Kay visits Myra, who asks her to contact Caroline Russell at Jan's firm to look into Ettie's case. Lou beats up Sheila when she is caught in the act taking one of Sheila's guitar strings. Sheila reports this to Myra, who worries whether she'll be going after Frank first, or her. Ann is besieged by reporters at the gate asking about Ettie. Ann tells Dennis and Meg that Reb confirms Ray's story, so she has to make a report about Joan to the Department. Lou pretends to want to apologise to Marlene, but she's really winding her up and tells Marlene she's being very brave to get married to Matt, considering he's "a horse's hoof" and that he is inside for attacking his boss after a lover's tiff. Ettie is offered $250,000 compensation: in Jan's absence, she accepts the offer and gets her release. Lou and Kath set up Myra to go to her cell. Kath calls her out into the corridor where Lou is waiting to pull the guitar string tightly around Myra's throat  .
Mervin tries to work out his recipes on the basis of forty meals - yet another contradictory clue to the number of women in Wentworth? |
EPISODE 525Broadcast on Meridian Tuesday 11th November 1997; Channel 5 Sunday 04 July 1999 04:40. Matt and Marl sort out a misunderstanding. And Ettie is disappointed with life on the outside.CREDITSMeg ~ Elspeth BallantyneJudy ~ Betty Bobbitt Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Myra ~ Anne Phelan Dennis ~ Nigel Bradshaw Marlene ~ Genevieve Lemon Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Sheila ~ Colleen Hewett Janice ~ Jenny Ludlam Ettie ~ Lois Ramsay Lou ~ Louise Siversen Matt ~ Peter Bensley Geoff ~ Les Dayman Alice ~ Lois Collinder Kath ~ Michele Sargent Frances ~ Wanda Davidson Off. Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Mr Warren ~ John Proper Driver ~ Hardy Stow  Reporter ~ Gary Kliger  Reporter 1 ~ Jansis O'Hanlon  [R]Reporter 2 ~ Terry Brittingham [L]Shop Assistant ~ Val Mills  Bank Manager ~ Bruce Carter  Bank Teller ~ Steve Kidd  Photographer ~ Rob O'Hara [C] | Myra manages to drag Lou back inside the cell, but as Lou sends Kath outside to keep nit, Geoff arrives in time to help Myra, who aims a punch squarely at Lou's crotch. Ettie announces she's getting her "pension" and they are letting her out, but seems to think the amount she is getting will be 250 million. Ann and Meg go shopping for an outfit for Ettie's release. Marlene asks an expert - Judy - whether a marriage between a straight person and a gay person would work. Judy works out why she is asking and tells her that if she's worried Matt is gay, she should just ask him directly. Meg spots someone following her and Ann in a department store: it turns out to be a reporter wanting Ettie's story. Lou hobbles into the rec room and Myra glares at her to unsettle her further. Marlene asks Matt about his attack on his employer and takes his replies as an admission that he is gay. Judy tries to convince her she's misunderstood but Marlene won't be shaken. With Judy acting as lookout, Myra tries to isolate Lou by bashing her heavies, Kath and Fran. Lou is warned by Myra not to count on Alice's support when she comes out of solitary, as she's got Lou to thank for being on a murder charge. Joan returns to work and admits she is only at work because she had nothing else in her life. Ettie distributes "cheques" before she leaves: Lexie shrewdly asks for hers to be changed to dollars rather than pounds. Ann faces Joan with Ray's accusations: she denies them, saying it is only the word of a drunk supported by the word of a criminal. Ann gently warns her that both of them are prepared to give evidence in court, so she'd better be on her best behaviour until the Department has concluded its investigation. Joan phones Cynthia at Blackmoor to get her to put pressure on Reb to withdraw her evidence. Meg is horrified by Ettie's announcement that she's going to live with her, not in the hotel room booked for her. Joan stops off in Sheila's cell to sneer at her chances of getting out of prison. Meg has to agree to take Ettie in with her when she admits she's frightened and alone without familiar faces. Ann gives Jan one of Etttie's "cheques" for a million dollars. Jan says she will keep it as a memento of her most interesting case, but Ann tries to reassure her that her career is not over (so can solicitors with a criminal record continue to practice in Australia?) Sheila asks Judy if she can move in with her when she returns after her trial. Judy tells Geoff why Marlene is shunning Matt, and Geoff passes on the rumour on to Matt, who rushes off to set matters "straight" with Marlene. Ettie confuses her currencies when she tries to withdraw money at the bank and insists on being given "real money" until the manager sweet talks her and invites her for a cup of tea in his office. After being caught with Matt in the rec room by Joan during work hours, Marlene assumes the worst when she is called to the Governor's office but it is her father who's come to tell her he and her mother now agree to the wedding. Marlene decides to get married in Wentworth and asks Judy and Myra to be matrons of honour. Ettie runs into another posse of reporters outside Meg's house. Alice tells Lou she has to get her off the hook and doesn't care how she does it. Ann is disappointed to be told that Reb has changed her story and now denies any knowledge of the letter. Lou delivers Jan's dinner to the infirmary, having added a certain extra ingredient to the already yellow soup. Jan spits it out in disgust, but when Lou returns to collect the tray Joan is with her and orders Jan to eat up her dinner...
As the women wait by the gate for their shower, watch out for Marlene's marvellous display of gurning through the bars. Ettie rips the pink "cheques" in half in the laundry but later in the Governor's office she is holding them in her hands again. As Joan would clearly have committed a criminal offence if Ray's statement is true, why doesn't Ann report the matter straight to the police? |
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