EPISODE 561Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 28th August 1997 23:10; Ulster Monday 08 December 1997 23:40; Meridian Tuesday 10 November 1998 23:40; Channel 5 Sunday 07 November 1999 04:40. Mervin realises that Lexie is planning to escape. Meanwhile, Pippa arrives home. Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Nora ~ Sonja Tallis May ~ Billie Hammerberg Willie ~ Kirsty Child Daphne ~ Debra Lawrance Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Lou ~ Louise Siversen Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Jenny ~ Jenny Lovell Mervin ~ Ernie Bourne Terri ~ Margot Knight Pippa ~ Christine Harris Howard Simmons ~ Reg Evans  Geoffrey Chaucer ~ Roy Bauldwin James Dwyer ~ James Condon  Kensai Tamura ~ John O'Brien Secretary ~ Lyn Ruthven  Thanks to Tim Coward for transcribing the credits from the Carlton broadcast. He also wrote the episode summary, which I have slightly extended. The date Julie quotes - 14th February 1966 - is presumably when Australia changed currency from the pound to the dollar, a bit of quiz trivia perhaps inspired by the pound notes found with the gun. Is Lou's joke about "PM tea" perhaps inspired by Tallulah Bankhead's notorious quip about "TWA tea"? | Anne persuades Meg to accept the promotion to Governor, as that seemed to be what Dennis wanted. Jenny returns from solitary, this time to the grudging admiration of some of the women. Terri practically makes it official by filing her record collection next to Joan's. Mervin confesses to Joyce that he understands Dennis' reaction as he almost felt like leaving her over her reaction to his epilepsy. Willie tells May the reason for her fear of guns: she was threatened with a plastic pistol by a ski instructor called Henri, who was altogether "too continental" for Willie's vanilla tastes. After lockup, Daphne finds the gun wrapped in a towel on the top of Lou's locker but Lou takes it from her, telling Daphne she plans to kill Nora and escape. The next morning Daphne tells Nora that Lou has the gun. Willie creates a diversion by staging a screaming fit and Nora manages to get the gun back from Lou. Joyce walks into the staffroom while Joan and Terri are having a private conversation and overhears that they are now living together. When Joan tells her to mind her own business, she responds that if Joan wants a private life, she shouldn't talk about it at work. Nora decides that Daphne should put the gun back in the garden and "find" it again. Mervin brings a T-shirt and other goodies in for Lexie. Anne tells the other officers about her promotion, and that she has recommended that Meg should take over as governor. Joan offers her usual support, saying that Erica didn't last long when she was "boooted upstairs". In an impromptu session of the Council in the laundry, it's decided that Lou should give up her buyup and be sent to Coventry for 48 hours. Nora reinforces the message by sticking Lou's hand under the sewing machine and executing a brief blast of running stitch  . Mr Simmons visits Jenny and she tells him he should try to trace the gardener George. Lexie pressurises Mervin to hand over all the cash he has  . Daphne pretends to find the gun while on gardening duty supervised by Joyce. Anne and Meg have an appointment with Dwyer and Chaucer, but when Ann finds out she is expected to work under Chaucer as her "advisor", she turns down the promotion after all. Willie trades the goods Lexie got from Mervin for a pair of sunglasses and some makeup. Nora and May realise that Daphne's irritability is almost exactly a month after her last bout of depression. Julie is told she can work in reception and asks to start work the same day as her mother's funeral. Mervin realises that Lexie is planning to escape when Lexie demands he gets her a driving licence. Joyce tells Meg that Joan and Terri are living together: you know, nudge nudge, not just "living" together... Daphne messes up in Mervin's cookery class and he loses his temper with her, which makes her burst into tears. Julie agrees to help Lexie escape. Pippa arrives home with a new Japanese boyfriend  . Daphne is depressed again but both Lexie and Joan are unsympathetic to the idea of PMT. Lou approaches Lexie with an offer to work with her on the rackets. When taunted by Lou, Daphne deliberately pours boiling water over her hand  . Mervin tells Joyce that he must resign to prevent more trouble from Lexie. |
EPISODE 562Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Monday 8th September 1997 23:40; Ulster Monday 15 December 1997 23:40; Meridian Tuesday 01 December 1998 23:40; Channel 5 Saturday 13 November 1999 4:10. Julie discovers more double payments. Willie eavesdrops on Joan and Terri who are having a private conversation.Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Nora ~ Sonja Tallis May ~ Billie Hammerberg Willie ~ Kirsty Child Daphne ~ Debra Lawrance Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Lou ~ Louise Siversen Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Jenny ~ Jenny Lovell Alice ~ Lois Collinder Mervin ~ Ernie Bourne Terri ~ Margot Knight Pippa ~ Christine Harris Howard Simmons ~ Reg Evans Sister Hall ~ Gael Andrews Dr Weissman ~ Bryon Williams Harriet Formby ~ Maggie Steven Waiter ~ Michael Brookes Joan's house seems to have the same traffic outside as Meg's flat... Muster for the laundry is "Beecham, Brent (?), Collins, Flynn, Kennedy, Patterson and Young". Fortunate, isn't it, that the visitor whose pass Julie steals apparently fails to turn up? | Officer Slattery helps Daphne with her scalded hands: Lou is at first suspected by the women of hurting Daphne but she points out that she was the one who called for help. Terri and Joan find they have two of everything, including televisions. Terri saucily suggests they could put one in the bedroom and watch it in bed. Nora is disgusted that Daphne is not getting proper treatment for her depression. Pippa reassures Anne that her relationship with Kensai isn't serious and asks if she could help with screen printing classes at Wentworth. Lexie is disappointed to be allocated to the laundry instead of the kitchen. Joyce agrees to help Mervin by getting Nora into the kitchen in the afternoon. Pippa visits Jenny in Wentworth, and is disturbed by Jenny's assertion that Anne is not a friend to her any more. Dr Weissman is called to see Daphne and is now convinced that she has PMS. Jenny sees her new solicitor again after he has seen George, but is disheartened when he tells her that his evidence may not be enough to prove her innocence. He tells her he will follow up by investigating why George was sacked so quickly by Aunt Harriet. Daphne gives a garbled version of her interview with Dr Weissman to the women: Nora realises they intend to try to have Daphne released using her PMS as a defence. After returning from her mother's funeral, Julie starts work in reception, and takes a visitor's pass from Ann's desk. Joan gets jealous when she finds Terri engaged in giggly girlie chat with Pippa. May suggests an essay competition to decide who should fill the post of editor of the new paper. Julie gives Lexie the pass and information on when the guards change duty in the afternoon. Joyce and Mervin ask Nora for help against Lexie's blackmail. Terri lets Joan know she was being unreasonable in her attitude to Pippa. Ann aks Meg to keep an eye on Joyce who apparently seems "a bit vague lately" (...how could they tell?). Julie reports to Ann that she has noticed some duplicate payments over the last three months and can't balance the ledger. Willie accuses May of stealing her bath pearls, which leads to a little disagreement. Nora orders Lexie not to reveal Mervin's secret, and tells her she will have to face the Council. Despite Julie's speaking up for her, Lexie is punished by the Council (it appears later to extra cleaning duties?). Joan and Terri go for a meal together, but the evening is spoilt when a waiter mistakes Joan for Terri's mother. Joyce is upset when Mervin suggests that they should leave and go and live in the country to avoid their problems. Terri reports the missing pass to Ann: Julie returns it by hiding it in a file then "finding" it. Willie overhears Terri and Joan's intimate conversation. Aunt Harriet visits Howie at his office and when he tells her he has traced George, she tries to buy him off. Nora and Meg find Willie unconscious in a cell with a locker on top of her. |
Ulster dropped the series at this point in December 1997.
EPISODE 563Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Monday 15th September 1997 23:35; Meridian Tuesday 15 December 1998 23:40; Channel 5 Sunday 14 November 1999 04:40. Chaucer confesses that he is financially inexperienced. Willie barricades herself in the dorm. There's a surprise in store for Joan.Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Nora ~ Sonja Tallis May ~ Billie Hammerberg Willie ~ Kirsty Child Daphne ~ Debra Lawrance Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Lou ~ Louise Siversen Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Pippa ~ Christine Harris Terri ~ Margot Knight Dr Malone ~ Tim Robertson  Mrs Malone ~ Jackie Kelleher  Ben Fulbright ~ Kevin Summers  Geoffery Chaucer ~ Roy Bauldwin Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Sister Hall ~ Gael Andrews Kensai Tamura ~ John O'Brien Dr Weissman ~ Bryon Williams Dr Farrell ~ Tom Travers  Alice Jenkins ~ Lois Collinder Chauffeur ~ Bill Lawrie I have corrected the misspelling "Chauffer" Laundry muster call is for "Collins, Flynn, Kelly, Paterson, Brodie, Brizano and Kent" - I think Joyce means "Balzano" who is seen walking to the laundry behind Lou, Nora and Lexie - along with the two Les Dawson lookalikes. A stray Joyce Barry | Willie comes round in the infirmary but seems to have lost her memory: she doesn't even remember her own name. The women think the attacker was Jacko (whose locker it was) ... but Lexie accuses Lou ... who accuses Daphne. Joan suggests that Willie is faking and Meg makes the extraordinary statement that "if a woman suffers genuine memory loss then they cannot be held reponsible for their original crime". (excuse me? even if the memory loss occurs long after the crime?) Lou finds out about Lexie's blackmail from Alice, only a minute after she tells Lou the Council's business is private. The women are convinced Willie is faking, after Nora reminds them that Bea Smith did the same thing earlier (she presumably knows thsi from Barnhurst?), but when they go to see her in her cell her strange behaviour makes them think again. Julie shows Ann some more duplicate invoices: as she flicks through them we can see that many of them seem to have the signature "Pat Slattery" on them - though they are clearly in the handwriting of at least three  different  people  . Even Lexie is unsettled by Willie's change of character. A work party is assigned to clear up the old print room and reference is made to the printing press being destroyed in the fire. Ann sees Pat about her signatures on the double invoices: she admits she signed them but is offended  by the implication that she is responsible for the fraud. Lou takes advantage of Willie's confused state and tells her that it was Nora and May who were responsible for the attack on her. Pat accuses Julie of framing her for the fraud and demands that Joan do something about it as she's the Union rep. May tries to refresh Willie's memory by telling her that her father was a fence: unfortunately Willie no longer knows any criminal slang. Alice reads out a few of the essays from the competition to widespread amusement. Joan is annoyed that Terri has been opening her private mail, even though it's just a letter from Shane. Willie gives her stuff away. May tries to bash Willie to bring her memory back, which makes Willie even more suspicious. Pippa isn't looking forward to a day with Kensai at the zoo. Joan warns Ann that the fraudulent invoices could become a Union matter. May has to face Ann, and is warned to stay away from Willie and to sleep in Nora's dorm. Daphne sees a psychiatric panel, including the lawyer Ben Fulbright, who decides to take on her case and argue for a retrial for her. Joyce heavies Lexie for blackmailing Mervin (or as near to heavying as she can manage). Dr Weissman sees Willie, who preens herself when he reads from her file that she was sent to a Swiss finishing school. Ann goes to the Department to tell Mr Chaucer about the invoices: he tells her that figures are not his strong point but the invoices were not tampered with at his end. As the Minister is determined there must be action, Chaucer tells Ann that he has signed the order for Pat's suspension. Nora hints to Daphne that although she is will be released anyway in a few months, she would help others if she went ahead with her case, like "Jeanie in B block" who is apparently serving an eight year sentence and suffers from PMS. Lou winds Willie up by pretending she's seen May with a carving knife. Pippa overspends on art supplies and charges the rest to her mother's account. Willie barricades herself in her cell. Joan arrives home to a note from Terri that she has a "big surprise" for her  . There is a knock on the door and the "surprise" is sprung a little early - it is Terri's parents. |
EPISODE 564Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Monday 22nd September 1997 23:40; Meridian Monday 25 January 1999 23:40; Channel 5 Saturday 20 November 1999 04:10. Lou and Lexie put their heads together. Pippa hits the headlines. As the fog clears in Willie's memory, the news about Joan and Terri comes flooding back. Chaucer threatens Ann's career.Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicholson Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Nora ~ Sonja Tallis May ~ Billie Hammerberg Willie ~ Kirsty Child Daphne ~ Debra Lawrance Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Lou ~ Louise Siversen Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Jenny ~ Jenny Lovell Pippa ~ Christine Harris Terri ~ Margot Knight Dr. Malone ~ Tim Robertson Mrs. Malone ~ Jackie Kelleher Ben Fulbright ~ Kevin Summers Geoffrey Chaucer ~ Roy Bauldwin Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts James Dwyer ~ James Condon Barbara ~ Rosie Tonkin  Officer Radcliffe ~ Marion Dimmick Gate Guard ~ David Bickerstaff Thanks to Tim Coward for transcribing the credits from the Carlton broadcast. As Willie sits in a corner of the cell we see a very unconvincing "join" in the brickwork behind her head. The laundry muster is becoming a regular feature: this time it's "Hartley, Patterson, Flynn, Collins, Corbett, Brent and Groom". We later do see Ronnie, Jacko and Diana Groom in the laundry. Wouldn't an officer usually be suspended on full pay until any inquiry was concluded? | As Ann is leaving, the gate guard tells her about Willie, so Ann goes back inside to try to talk her out. Terri's parents come across as a very stuffy couple and let her know they disapprove of her job and wish Terri had chosen another career, like medicine. Joan hears Terri arriving and goes outside to warn her not to tell her parents of their relationship, but unfortunately her mother has come out onto the verandah and overhears. Mrs Malone reacts very badly and demands to be taken home, refusing to speak to Terri at all. May shows the depth of her feelings for Willie when she hears she has been taken to the infirmary. Julie finds a (very implausible) reference in a law book that might help Willie: "if we can prove that Willie can't remember the crime she committed, then they can't keep her locked up". Terri is distraught at her parents rejecting her, while Joan doesn't manage to bite back the temptation to say "I told you so". Ann visits Pat at home to tell her she is to be suspended pending an investigation: Pat has her bank statements ready to show there are no large payments. May sneaks off to Willie's cell after hearing she's sedated: while she is out cold, May talks to her to plead with her to get better. Pat goes to see Joan to ask for monetary support from the Union, but isn't pleased when Joan says she will have to put it to the membership. Lexie and Lou decide to ask for Council approval for a numbers racket (which they intend to fix). The press get hold of Daphne's story  : the Minister is outraged and demands to see Ann immediately. Jenny is alarmed to find that her trial has been set for this week and her solicitor hasn't contacted her. During her interview with the Minister, Ann finds out Chaucer is an accountant, which (possibly) contradicts his claim that he had no head for figures. Joan gets a Union meeting in the staff room to agree to pay Pat Slattery, and gets the credit for thinking of the idea. Ann asks Julie to check further back for duplicate invoices. Ben Fulbright and his secretary have a coy little conversation that suggests they were responsible for the leak to the press. Julie finds other invoices with different signatures (including Janet Conway and Colleen Powell  ). Joyce tries to reassure Willie, but is surprised to find that the only prisoner she trusts is "Louise" (i.e. Lou). Willie arrives late for dinner and Joan refuses to let her be served, until Joyce overrules her. May finds Willie's stuff hidden under Daphne's mattress, but alarms Willie when she tries to give it back to her. Willie runs into the rec room, climbs on the pool table, slips on a ball and gets her memory back. Ben tells Daphne not to talk to the press, and points out that she could have her criminal record wiped out if the appeal is successful Willie now remembers she pulled the locker onto herself, and also the conversation between Joan and Terri that she heard just before the accident. Pippa gives an interview attacking the PMS defence which makes front page news  . Nora asks Daphne why she stole the stuff, but she can't even remember doing it. Ann calls Chaucer to Wentworth to accuse him of running the racket: he tries to bluff by saying he'll report it to the Minister. When she says she is happy for him to do so, she tells her says she must join in or he'll make sure she is framed herself. |
EPISODE 565Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Monday 29th September 1997 23:35; Meridian Monday 01 February 1999 23:40; Channel 5 Sunday 21 November 1999 04:40. Willie tries hard to forget everything she has just remembered. The minister covers up for Chaucer. Pat is reinstated. Daphne becomes editor of the new paper.Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicholson Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Nora ~ Sonja Tallis May ~ Billie Hammerberg Willie ~ Kirsty Child Daphne ~ Debra Lawrance Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Lou ~ Louise Siversen Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Jenny ~ Jenny Lovell Pippa ~ Christine Harris Terri ~ Margot Knight Alice ~ Lois Collinder Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts James Dwyer ~ James Condon Howard Simmons ~ Reg Evans Det. Insp. Grace ~ Terry Gill Rachel Freeman ~ Christine Earl Detective ~ James Patrick Waitress ~ Marie-Therese Byrne Gate Guard ~ David Bickerstaff Mugger No. 1 ~ Nick Antipas Mugger No. 2 ~ Con Mathios Thanks to Tim Coward for transcribing the credits from the Carlton broadcast. Lou refers to the duplicate lottery tickets as "Brummie (?) numbers". | Daphne tries to apologise to the women. Pippa has trouble with the women at her first class both when she reveals that she's the Governor's daughter and when she shows them the newspaper interview. Joan suggests the officers have a collection for Pat and again gets the credit. Ann tells the Minister about Chaucer's involvement in the fraud and threatens to tell the press when he tries to sweep it under the carpet. Willie tries to get her stuff back when she finds out she gave it all away. Joan is in unexpectedly good humour when she visits the rec room and even demonstrates a trick shot to get Lexie out of a snooker. Nora and Julie manage to get the Council to be lenient with Daphne and let her choose her own punishment. Lexie gets Council approval for the racket after she agrees to donate half her profits to a fund to support women in difficulties. Joan tells Terri that her sudden transformation into a caring considerate person is all her responsibility (so of course we instantly hate Terri). Willie moves back in with May (are these two scenes deliberately put next to each other? As May says "We're back together. That's all that counts"). A women's group demonstrates outside Wentworth: their leader asks to speak to the Governor and explains to Ann how PMS can be used against women by employers as excuse to sack them or not hire them in the first place. Selected volunteers install the new printing press. Jenny's solicitor visits her at last: Howie explains that he's taken Aunt Harriet's payoff money, but intends to use it to pay for Jenny's defence. He has also found out that Harriet and Steven are deeply in debt and they arrived in Melbourne three days earlier than they admitted. Pat tells Joan she has been reinstated with full back pay, so she returns the money the staff collected for her. Jenny and Daphne indulge in some mutual chicken counting and look forward to being released. Howie meets Inspector Grace in a bar and tries to persuade him to reopen Jenny's case, presenting him with the new evidence he has collected. Lexie is feeling guilty about cheating her friends with the duplicate tickets. Willie attempts to lose her memory again, by first smacking herself on the head with a book, then trying to pull a kettle onto her head. Inspector Grace and his sergeant check out the new evidence but they aren't impressed. Julie tells Pat it was Ann who was responsible for her reinstatement, not Joan. Daphne wants to swap her ticket for number 3, but Lou and Lexie disagree on who bought it. Only Jenny and Daphne (and two non-speakers) turn up for Pippa's class. Joan catches Lou and Lexie with their gambling money, but Lou threatens to expose Joan's relationship with Terri if she says anything. Daphne wins the essay competition and becomes editor of the newspaper. Grace refuses to reopen the case. Howie is roughed up by two thugs, and one of them hints her should "drop the Hartley case". Willie falls in the rec room, and loses her memory again. The Minister agrees to appoint a new supplier, but refuses to take action against Chaucer as the evidence has been "mislaid ... permanently". |
Story Editor: Coral Drouyn
Script Editor: Kit Oldfield (561); Ian Smith (562); Alister Webb (563); Kit Oldfield (564): Alister Webb (565)
Storyliners: Coral Drouyn, Tony McDonald, John Coulter, Kelly Bermingham
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