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EPISODES (581) to (585)

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EPISODE 581

Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 09 April 1998 23:40; Meridian Monday 07 June 1999 23:20; Channel 5 Sunday 16 January 2000 04:10. Nora encounters her `dead' mother, and Ann learns that Reb's personality change was not caused by ECT. Lou sabotages Lexie's make-up and causes Jennifer to withdraw from the contest.

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
Pippa ~ Christine Harris
Ben ~ Kevin Summers
Alice ~ Lois Collinder
Insp Ron Gordon ~ Neil Thompson
Mrs Davis ~ Rosie Sturgess
Dr Green ~ Robin Cuming
Mrs Graham ~ Dawn Klingberg

  • Written by Kit Oldfield & Marie Trevor (also producer)
  • Directed by Tony Osicka
  • Julie and Willie agree that Lady Brooke-Giddings does look a bit like Lexie (the optician will be around shortly). Lou points out she'll feel right at home considering how many "rich bitches" Wentworth can currently boast, but Lexie backs down and seems to regret mentioning it. Pippa refuses to go out for dinner with Ben until she can show Ann the article on Reb. May finds Nora alone in her cell thinking about the news Meg gave her about her mother and wondering why she feels she misses someone she never knew. Ann is reluctant to get involved in Reb's case and warns Pippa not to leak the news to the press as she so disastrously did in Daphne's case. Alice tries to score some beauty products from Willie (as well as some plastic fruit, for reasons that will become apparent later). Their conversation fills in some of Alice's own background for the first time. Some of the other women have their minds on the forthcoming contest: Daphne is planning to play the "Moonlight" sonata and Willie practises an aria from "Madam Butterfly" in the shower. Pippa gets a call from her silent friend Roddy Jones in London about a job offer for three months. May tries to hint Willie shouldn't try to expose her singing "talent" to the wider public, but her thoughts have now moved to another Puccini opera altogether. Lou and Alice review the field for the talent contest: no-one has so far bet on Julie, Jacko or Ronnie. Joan catches Daphne handing the paper to her mother after making a mess of explaining to her what she should do with it. Lexie makes up Julie as Boy George . Ann decides not to punish Daphne and tells Reb she will investigate her treatment at Ingleside to try to clear the matter up. Alice and Lou make Diana drop out of the contest by threatening to beat her up. Ben is annoyed that Pippa has accepted a job in London as he will be unable to give up his practice for three months: he tells her she has to decide between the wedding and the job. Lexie surprises Alice by betting five dollars at 20/1 on Julie to win the contest and tells Alice she is only doing it to boost Julie's confidence. Mrs Davis visits Nora and tells her about her mother. Nora notices she has a scar on her hand: when she says she got it from an accident when carving a turkey, Nora realises that it is actually Mrs Davis who is her mother. Ann visits Ingleside and talks to Dr Green. He admits he adminstered ECT without Reb's consent for two rather dubious reasons: her relatives were abroad and she was so traumatised she could not give consent herself. Lou reminds Meg that Jenny is still banned from playing the piano, as it started on a Thursday four weeks ago so Jenny still has two days to go. Dr Green tells Ann that ECT cannot change personality and points out that she has seen Pixie who has also been given ECT and who is still recognisably the same person. He suggests Reb's symptoms must have some other cause and they sound to him more typical of the trauma caused by shell shock or brain washing. Jenny finds Lou and Alice counting the betting money when she comes to tell them she's withdrawing from the contest and asks Alice to give the money back to the people who bet on her: A quick twist of the wrist is enough to persuade Jenny to stay in the contest and keep quiet. Inspector Gordon from the Major Crimes Squad arrives at Wentworth with a proposal for Willie and May: they will be pardoned in return for infiltrating a gang planning a major art theft. Willie is almost immediately convinced by the offer of a pardon, but May agonises over whether this counts as lagging. After making up Julie, Lexie does herself and uses the powder that Julie refused. It has been tampered with by Lou and burns her skin. Ann convinces May and Willie to accept Inspector Gordon's proposal, but they are surprised to be told they have to start the next day.

    When Ann presents the copy of the "Wentworth Free Press" to the camera, the article boldly headed "REB KEAN - VICTIM!" doesn't mention Reb but repeats the article that Lexie wrote on Terri and Joan in (566), but this time in a different layout.

    It is odd that the members of her family that Lurch mentions are her father and sister, but when Lou breaks out and drops in on them at the family farm, there is only Lurch's brother and mother there. Mark Caffrey adds "Lurch's sister is married to a plumber - they have five kids. Apparently, his rejection of Lurch indirectly fed into her conviction for armed robbery."

    Lou fluffs a line and accuses Lexie of acting "Lady Beautiful" (rather than Bountiful)

    Mark Caffrey notes another fluff: "When Nora is chatting to May in the rec room following the meeting with her mother, Kirsty Child fluffs some rec-room ambience in the background and winds up in fits of laughter; to the amusement of Jackie Woodburne and Lynda Stoner"


    EPISODE 582

    Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 16 April 23:40; Meridian Monday 14 June 1999 23:25; Channel 5 Saturday 22 January 2000 04:10. May and Willie escape whilst on their way to Barnhurst. Julie is triumphant. Reb appears to have committed suicide following suggestions from Joan.

    Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne
    Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpartick
    Ann ~ Gerda Nicholson
    Joyce ~ Joy Westmore
    Nora ~ Sonja Tallis
    May ~ Billie Hammerberg
    Willie ~ Kirsty Child
    Daphne ~ Debra Lawrence
    Eve ~ Lynda Stoner
    Reb ~ Janet Andrewartha
    Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne
    Jenny ~ Jenny Lovell
    Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor
    Lou ~ Louise Siversen
    Mervin ~ Ernie Bourne
    Alice ~ Lois Collinder
    Ben ~ Kevin Summers
    Pippa ~ Christine Harris
    Dr. Weissman ~ Bryon Williams
    Tom Harley ~ Vince Gill
    Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts
    Roddy ~ John Larking
    Cynthia ~ Beverley Dunn

  • Written by Ian Coughlan & Gail Meillon
  • Directed by Tony Osicka
  • Thanks to Tim Coward for transcribing the credits from the Carlton broadcast.

    Lexie's face is red raw from the stuff Lou put in her powder, but she refuses Julie's help and tells her to get ready for the concert herself. The end of the rec room has been transformed with a mini stage with Eve fussing around getting the contestants ready, Willie and May discuss the main improbability with the police's plan: all their potential rivals will have to be arrested so the art thief has no option but to choose them for the job. May insists that Wilie sticks to their agreement with the police and doesn't tell anyone about the escape. The contest begins: Willie performs a Laughing Aria to rival Florence Foster Jenkins , and bursts into tears saying she will miss them all so much. No-one has any idea what she means. Eve announces the next act as Jacko playing "Flight of the bumble bee" on comb and paper, but we are unfortunately denied sight or sound of that. The contest continues with Nora singing a doleful and tuneless folky song ("Got a little girl she's three, but she doesn't know me. Magdalena"), Julie reading a poem about her life in prison, Daphne playing the Moonlight Sonata, but by far the most amusing is Alice's Carmen Miranda impersonation . Lou is annoyed that they will lose money to the people who bet on Alice, as there might be a danger of her actually winning. The fashion parade follows with Daphne in pink corduroy (it doesn't look like it) but Alice has to rely on "simple unadorned look". Julie surprises everyone with how pretty she looks. Pippa's prospective employer in London agrees to wait for three weeks until after the wedding so she doesn't have to choose between them after all. Ann announces the judges' decision: Alice wins the talent section, Jenny wins the beauty contest, but Julie wins overall. Lexie claims her hundred dollars winnings from Lou, but she won't pay up. Reb hears voices in her sleep and remembers more of her ill treatment at Cynthia's hands. Lexie repeats the demands for her winnings. Joan announces to the women in the laundry that May and Willie are to be sent back to Barnhurst. Reb is told her case will be investigated and she is to see a psychiatrist. Ann tells Meg she wants Dr Weissman to recommend her release. After Norm's funeral, Mervin has a surprise for Joyce: he has used his prize money as deposit on a house which is to be their new home. Joyce refuses to let Mervin buy the house and tells him to get his money back. When they hear that Reb has seen Dr Weissman, they are worried this is before moving her back to a mental hospital. Officer Slattery accompanies May and Willie but doesn't know about the escape. The driver pretends the van has broken down and Willie and May exchange a significant glance. Reb tells Joan what she remembers of Cynthia: Joan gives her a razor blade to slash her wrists and suggests it's the only alternative to spending the rest of her life behind bars. Pat Slattery lets May and Willie out of the van : they bundle her into the back, lock her in and make their escape on foot. Julie tells Nora she's found Reb covered in blood and she thinks she's dead.

    Thanks to Chris W in the Digest for pointing out the following unusual extra credits:-

  • Lynda Stoner exclusively dressed by: Trent Nathan
  • Alice's Song composed by: Peter Pinne and Don Battye
  • Julie's Poem written by: Jackie Woodburne
  • Nora's Song "Magdelene" composed by: Charles Marawood

    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


    (576) to (580)

    Updated ~ 26 October 2008