Alice's song must therefore be a pastiche Carmen Miranda song rather than a mix of real ones badly performed. According to the Internet Movie Database the only collaboration between Pinne (composer) and Battye (writer) is the 1971 Australian film "A city's child" which is about a middle-aged woman (played by Monica Maughan) escaping into a fantasy world. However, it was not written for film or TV. Mark Caffrey points out that "On the DVD commentary, Lois Collinder reveals that the song was composed especially for It happened in Tanjablanca - 'they "didn't have to worry about rights" by using it again for PRISONER." Thanks also to Noel Baxendale for pointing out in Digest 1102 that they also co-wrote the theme for "Sons and Daughters".

Charles Marawood is also listed in the IMDb as the composer of the scores for two Australian films: Weekend of Shadows (1978) and The Irishman (1978)

EPISODE 583 Broadcast on Carlton / LWT Thursday 23 April 1998 23:40; Meridian Monday 21 June 1999 23:20; Channel 5 Sunday 23 January 2000 04:10. Reb is still alive, but Pippa leaks news of her to the press. May and Willie are still on the run. Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Nora ~ Sonja Tallis May ~ Billie Hammerberg Willie ~ Kirsty Child Daphne ~ Debra Lawrance Eve ~ Lynda Stoner Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Jenny ~ Jenny Lovell Lou ~ Louise Siversen Alice ~ Lois Collinder Tom Harley ~ Vince Gill Howard Simmons ~ Reg Evans David Adams ~ Richard Moss Max Rogers ~ Peter Freunt Noddy McDougal ~ Jack Perry Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Keith Fagan ~ Geoffery Pullen Farmer ~ Bill Richardson Policeman Driver ~ Steven Gunn Written by Tony McDonald & Merle Thornton Directed by Steve Mann One of more rarely seen background officers is called "Miss Davis" by Ann. Thanks to Peter Schofield for transcribing the credits broadcast by HTV

Meg announces to the women that Reb is in no danger and asks if Reb said anything to suggest she was worried. Nora suggests it could have been that she feared being sent back to a mental institution after seeing Dr Weissman. Pippa passes the report on Reb to a journalist, but he is dubious about using it without documentary evidence. Willie and May hitch a ride on a farmer's truck and Willie has to sit on the bales in the back. Lou says she thinks Reb just faked a suicide attempt to get attention. Lexie tells the women she's heard on the radio that Willie and May have escaped. After fending off several reporters wanting the story of the escape, Ann takes a call from the reporter contacted by Pippa asking if he can have access to Reb's files. Nora is interviewed by Ann to find out who leaked the copy of the Free Press and she is forced to admit the only copy she gave to staff was to Pippa. May and Willie take a grotty junk filled room with an old friend called Noddy. The women laugh at the TV news description of May and Willie as "very dangerous". The very next item is the news Steven Formby has been arrested for the murder of his wife: Jenny realises that this will help her case and prove he was capable of murdering her grandmother. Ann gives Pippa a good telling off for her inteference and points out it has harmed Reb rather than helped her. Lou tells Lexie once again she has no intention of paying up, as with Willie and May gone there is no Council to decide on a punishment, so she can do what she likes. While doing her cleaning rounds later on Alice finds her cell has been turned over and her money is gone: meanwhile Joan finds Lexie in Lou's cell stealing some more and takes her to the Governor. Howard Simmons visits Jenny to tell her that Steven has confessed and she is free. Joyce hears funny noises while Eve and David are in the interview room (or maybe it is the absence of noise that is puzzling, as David and Eve are having a snog). Lexie refuses to say where she got the twenty dollars found on her and Ann tells her she will have to be punished. Jenny says goodbye to the women in the laundry, and they are all as delighted to see the back of her as we are. When she hears Jenny is getting out, Lexie asks her to look up her mother. Lou is questioned about why Lexie was searching her cell. David asks Ann if he can have the keys to Eve's apartment from out of her belongings. Joyce tells Pat Slattery of her suspicions that Eve and David were doing something naughty in the interview room. Keith Fagan approaches May and Willie to propose a job for them, but it's interstate and they say they have to stay in Melbourne for a while. When they ask him about "The Yank" he advises them to stay out of his way. More money is found in one of Daphne's plants during a cell search: when Daphne denies any knowledge, Lou is naturally suspected as she shares the same cell. Nora makes Lou and Alice help to coach Reb to convince Dr Weissman she has got her memory back. David mopes around in Eve's apartment, furtively fondling the contents of her wardrobe. Nora throws Alice off the Council for running the illegal book when she refuses to take sides against Lou. May and Willie evade the police thanks to Tom. David reconstructs Eve's version of events, and with an intuition the police obviously lacked, turns over Eve's mattress and finds the bullet still lodged in it. Mark Caffrey comments "'Sane people don't slash their wrists' is ironic coming from Lou given her increasingly unstable state post-riot that leads her to slash her own wrists in a frame-up/escape attempt in [606]"

EPISODE 584 Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 30 April 1998 23:45; Meridian Monday 28 June 1999 23:20; Channel 5 Saturday 29 January 2000 04:40. Jennifer is finding freedom hard to cope with. David has nightmares about Eve's guilt. Ben and Pippa fall out over their wedding plans. Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Nora ~ Sonja Tallis May ~ Billie Hammerberg Willie ~ Kirsty Child Daphne ~ Debra Lawrance Eve ~ Lynda Stoner Reb ~ Janet Andrewartha Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Jenny ~ Jenny Lovell Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Lou ~ Louise Siversen Alice ~ Lois Collinder Ben ~ Kevin Summers Pippa ~ Christine Harris David Adams ~ Richard Moss Tom Harley ~ Vince Gill Chuck Cooper ~ Duke Bannister Dan Russell ~ Gary Samolin Howard Simmons ~ Reg Evans Lady Brooke-Giddings ~ Gabrielle Hartley Dr Weissman ~ Bryon Williams Insp Ron Gordon ~ Neil Thompson Off. Radcliffe ~ Marion Dimmick Cynthia ~ Beverley Dunn Sarah Adams ~ June Martin Written by Coral Drouyn Directed by Steve Mann

Tom Harley explains to Willie and May that he has been allocated by Inspector Gordon to see that no harm comes to them: they agree to keep a low profile until the Yank makes enquiries about them. The Yank looks for accomplices, and finds that most of his preferred candidates are in prison. Howard Simmons brings Jenny round to Ann's, as she has found she can't bear to live alone in her grandmother's house. Pippa invites her to stay, and Ann agrees. Nora is suspicious of Willie and May's ability to have carried out the escape without help. Cynthia is displeased with Joan's failure to finish off Reb, and Joan has to tell her she isn't willing to go any further and risk a murder charge. Nora tries to get Lou and Alice to agree on the facts about Reb's history to help her get her memory back, and as a result some of the detail is wrong: Julie decides to borrow Reb's file instead. David has a nightmare in which he relives Robin's shooting, this time with himself as the victim. Reb comes back from hospital. Ben notices David has a photo of Eve. Eve sprays hand cream on the floor while Lou is on cleaning duites to prove to her that she's no longer frightened of her, and tells Lou she can always tell the officers the scars and say Lou did it. Joan catches Julie in reception filing in the wrong cabinet drawer (which never ever happens otherwise, of course). Nora explains to Reb she can avoid being committed by learning what Lou and Alice tell her about her past to make it look as if she has regained her memory. Jenny phones Lady Brooke-Giddings on Lexie's behalf: when she mentions Lexie ("Alexis") she is invited to tea the same afternoon. Julie finds Reb's file on Ann's desk, but unfortunately Ann walks in and catches her reading it. She pretends she was looking for a progress report on Daphne, and Ann accepts the explanation. David tells Ben he knows that Eve is guilty of murder, but is unsure what to do next. Tom gives Willie a pile of papers with information she must learn, but May is not pleased to see that he has brought her an exercise bicycle and weights to get in shape. Reb is upset by what she is told about herself and when Nora finds her in her cell later she has now remembered fully: it was Cynthia who beat her up at Blackmoor, not the women. Nora warns her not to tell anyone about it and especially not Joan. Danny calls on May and Willie to take them to meet Chuck Cooper. Ben and Pippa have further arguments about their wedding when he sees her design for her wedding dress and finds out the whole thing will have a Japanese theme . May and Willie try to come across as tough and professional to Chuck Cooper, with Willie possibly erring a little on the side of petulance. Reb tries to convince Dr Weissman she has not lost her memory by mentioning about Bobbie and Cass: he seems convinced of this and of her sanity, even though he admits that memory does not usually return so quickly after ECT - and usually not all all. Ann is alarmed when Inspector Gordon admits he has no idea where Willie and May are at that moment. Nora disbands the Council and announces she will step down as top dog when a successor is found. Danny pulls a gun on May and Willie. Willie and May must feel very much at home in Noddy's room: when Tom Harley hops out of their window we can see good old Wentworth brickwork directly opposite.

When Julie looks at Reb's file we can not only see that her surname is indeed spelt "KEAN", but there is also a mysterious number 7654 (her Blackmoor number, maybe?) . Some trouble has been taken to make the file look a bit plausible, but it wasn't ever intended to survive close inspection, so not surprisingly some of the details are wrong: "Charged with armed robbery 15 months" (countersigned "Ann Reynolds") which seems a very light sentence - Lou in this same episode is right to insist it was seven years (422); "Charged with escape (further twelve months)" whereas it was really six months - in episode (431). The page itself is headed "CENTRAL CORRESPONDENCE COLLEGE" with the line above hastily scrubbed out in black felt tip (presumably the name of the college?). When Julie turns the page , part of the one underneath is readable and begins: "LAWSON, D" (the doctor's name?) "Has severe psychological problems. Heavy trauma". The front cover of the file has the name "KEAN, Rebecca Ann" on it.

EPISODE 585 Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 07 May 1998 23:40; Meridian Monday 05 July 1999 23:20; Channel 5 Sunday 30 January 2000 04:45. A new inmate causes a stir at Wentworth. Jennifer is accused of blackmail when she goes to see Lexie's mother. May and Willie's lives hang in the balance when they are tested by their captors. Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Nora ~ Sonja Tallis May ~ Billie Hammerberg Willie ~ Kirsty Child Daphne ~ Debra Lawrance Eve ~ Lynda Stoner Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Jenny ~ Jenny Lovell Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Lou ~ Louise Siversen Reb ~ Janet Andrewartha Rita ~ Glenda Linscott Pippa ~ Christine Harris Ben ~ Kevin Summers Tom Harley ~ Vince Gill David Adams ~ Richard Moss Lady Giddings ~ Gabrielle Hartley Dr Weissman ~ Bryon Williams Slasher ~ Slasher Dan Russell ~ Gary Samolin Chuck Cooper ~ Duke Bannister Waiter ~ Nicholas Trinder Written by John Coulter & Ian Smith Directed by Kendal Flanagan

May disarms Danny and struggles with him. Willie finds the gun is not loaded: it was just a test of their abilities, which surprisingly they have passed with only a little bit of flailing about and shrieking. The women vote to dissolve the Council, and Nora reminds them she isn't going to be top dog for much longer. Nora reassures Julie she has no intention of letting Lou take over. Joan announces to the women that Reb was being examined for potential release, but with their help that chance has been taken away from her. Reb loses her temper with Nora, and grabs her by the lapels but she is frightened by her own reaction and runs away to her cell. Nora at first assumes that Reb had been faking after all, but is convinced when Reb tells her she has no control over it. Jenny visits Lady Brooke-Giddings, who assumes Jenny is trying to blackmail her, and tells her she wants an explanation or she'll call the police. To get Reb off the hook, Nora decides to admit to the Governor what the women did to try and help her. Ann picks up on a slip Nora makes when she implies she's no longer top dog and demands to know if anyone else is trying to take over. Jenny is forced to admit the truth to Lady Brooke-Giddings, but it turns out she already knew Lexie was in prison. The women lose buyup for two weeks for the con over Reb. David returns the keys to Ann and asks to see Eve. Willie and May are accepted into the art gang and tell Tom the job is set for the following day. David tells Eve he has found the bullet: Joyce gets suspicious when Eve bursts into tears and opens the door suddenly. Eve takes a new tack with David and pretends that Robin was violent towards her: he says he will still defend her and try to win. Ben pleads with David to drop Eve's case when he finds out from Ann that David has been to Eve's flat and realises he must have found the bullet. Jenny visits Lexie to tell her that she been to see her mother but she already knows she's in prison and has refused to visit her. Lexie says she understands and if she'd made such a great improvement in her own social status as her mother had, she wouldn't want to rock the boat either. David has pangs of conscience and starts to phone the police but hangs up. Eve is worried and asks David if he thinks Ben will tell the police about what he knows: she tells him there's another key taped under her car, and hints that he should go back to her apartment and destroy the evidence. Lou tries to recruit Reb to support her in her takeover bid. David replaces the mattress in Eve's apartment. Julie studies a psychological text from the library to see if there is anything in it to help Reb. Jenny objects to Ben's cynical remark that David should "dump" Eve and let someone else take on her case: she points out that if every lawyer had taken that attitude she would still be in Wentworth herself. Ann takes a phone call that Wentworth is getting two new prisoners, but that the police van has attracted an escort of bikies. Dr Weissman interviews Reb again and is convinced that she is changed. The bikies stop at the gates of Wentworth and a trall leather jacketed woman steps out of the van, yelling and giving a clenched fist salute . As we will soon find out, it's Rita Connors. Julie claims there's a book in the library called "Psychological systems elaborated" by Jung. It sounds good, but there's no such title.

Story Editor: Coral Drouyn
Script Editor: Alister Webb & Ian Smith (581); Kit Oldfield (582); Alister Webb (583); Kit Oldfield (584); Alister Webb (585)
Storyliners: Coral Drouyn, Tony McDonald, John Coulter, Kelly Bermingham

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