EPISODE 586Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 14 May 1998 23:40; Meridian Monday 12 July 1999 23:50; Channel 5 Saturday 05 February 2000 04:40. The women vote for a new top dog. Joyce's life is under threat. May and Willie embark on the robbery. 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 Reb ~ Janet Andrewartha Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Lou ~ Louise Siversen Alice ~ Lois Collinder Rita ~ Glenda Linscott Barbie ~ Jayne Healey  Mervin ~ Ernie Bourne David Adams ~ Richard Moss Tom Harley ~ Vince Gill Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Paul Shaw ~ David Peatefield  Ken Turner ~ Neville Stonehouse  Nurse ~ Janine Mackay  Ambulance Attendant ~ Peter Scott-Tulloch | Rita is inducted by Joan: she is on remand for GBH. Backed up by Meg, Joan demands that Rita removes her leather jacket because of the chains on the sleeve. Joan shortcuts the procedure by ripping the chains off  . The other new prisoner is Barbie Cox, and Joan and Meg are both surprised by Barbie's charge (and we never find out what it is), though any criminal charge is implausible as she seems to be the dimmest of dumb blondes. Reb looks forward to her release and what to do with her compensation money. Joan warns Rita not to cause trouble, and is startled when Rita grabs her by the lapels  and almost lifts her off the floor. Reb loses her temper with Nora, Julie and Joyce, proving Julie's point that the more she asserts herself, the more she will revert to her old character. Eve is the first prisoner to meet Rita: as she passes her cell, Rita is making nostalgic motorbike noises. Eve backs away when Rita seems to be making a move on her, but Rita tells her not to worry as she's only into blokes: she says she's inside for beating up another woman who slept with her bloke Slasher. Rita gets permission to work in the laundry and meets the other women. David comes to visit Eve and he has told her that he has disposed of the evidence against her. Joyce gets suspicious and presses her ear to the door. Eve sees the door handle move and realises Joyce has been listening at the door of the interview room. Rita entertains the women with her anecdotes  : Nora is obviously very favourably impressed. Eve waits for Joyce to come back after escorting David to reception, and establishes that Joyce did hear their conversation but has not yet reported it to the Governor. As Joyce turns to leave, Eve pushes her against the far wall then behind the interview room door and bashes Joyce unconscious by repeatedly slamming the door into her face  . She takes Joyce's keys and drags her body to along the corridors. She has to hide out of the way as Joan encounters Barbie wandering through the corridors and reprimands her for talking back: "Naughty, naughty, MISS FERGUSON!". After locking a security gate begind her, she drags Joyce's body into Reb's cell, and when Joyce appears to be coming round, she finishes the job with a kettle. After cleaning her fingerprints off the kettle, Eve locks herself back in the interview room. Reb is on laundry pickup and finds Joyce: Meg comes into the cell behind her and assumes that it was Reb who was the attacker. Ann interviews Eve about what happened to Joyce, and she deliberately mentions hearing Reb's voice. Reb denies attacking Joyce or knowing where her keys are: she is taken to solitary. Ann orders a cell search to try to find the missing keys. Eve is locked in her cell by Joan who tells her there will be a cell search, but refuses to let her go the toilet, so Eve is unable to get rid of Joyce's keys. May and Willie meet the rest of the gang to go over the plan: it does not look as though things will go smoothly. Ann reprimands Joan for tearing Daphne's plants to pieces during the search. Pat omits to body search Eve because she thinks she can't have the keys, since she was locked in the interview room. Meg has doubts that Reb is guilty and is inclined to believe her claim that she found Joyce. Rita comforts Daphne when she is upset at her plants being wrecked in the cell search. The women assume that Reb was guilty of the attack on Joyce and blame Nora and Julie for helping Reb. Willie is very apprehensive about the robbery and is convinced something will go wrong. Lou tells Nora that after she left the rec room the women elected her as the new top dog. The women have to wait for breakfast as Mervin is at hospital: Rita refuses to let Lou jump to the top of the queue. Lexie taunts Lou with the possibility that her reign as top dog will be short when Rita gets into her stride. Willie says goodbye to May as she sets off for the robbery. Lou and Alice try to rough up Rita but she takes them both on single-handed.
I rate this (mainly the first half of it) among the classic Prisoner episodes: for the quality of writing, acting and direction, as well as a daring mix of suspense and comedy that for once really does work. And it even survives some minor implausibilities: would there really have been no sign in the interview room of Eve's attack on Joyce? No blood at all? When Eve mentions Pat Slattery's husband, Pat snaps back that she's divorced.
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This was the point at which Meridian dropped the series.
EPISODE 587Broadcast on Carlton / LWT Thursday 21 May 1998 23:40; Channel 5 Sunday 06 February 2000 04:45. The heist ends in tragedy for Willie and May. Ann faces the ire of the women over the death of an inmate. David is drawn into Eve's evil web of lies.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 Reb ~ Janet Andrewartha Lou ~ Louise Siversen Pippa ~ Christine Andrew Alice ~ Lois Collinder Mervin ~ Ernie Bourne Barbie ~ Jayne Healey Ben ~ Kevin Summerfield Tom Harley ~ Vince Gill Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts David Adams ~ Richard Moss Jim Barry ~ Iain Murton Dan Russell ~ Gary Samolin Insp Ron Gordon ~ Neil Thompson Ken Turner ~ Neville Stonehouse Paul Shaw ~ David Peatefield Nurse ~ Louise Hemingway  UNCREDITEDRita ~ Glenda LinscottGate Guard ~ Rod Allen The gate guard is called "Bob" on the phone by Ann, though he is the one who is usually referred to as Greg. | Nora sees how Rita handled Lou and Alice, as they are thrown out of the cell into her path as she happens to be passing. She later tells Julie that she thinks Rita could be ideal as top dog instead of Lou. Joyce is still in a coma after surgery  . After making sure from Barbie herself that she hasn't been talking to anyone else, Lexie starts a book on what Barbie is in prison for. May and her fellow gang members break into the art gallery through a suspiciously industrial looking wire mesh security fence and scale the wall (stunt persons uncredited here, I suspect). Tom calls to check on Willie, who is annoyed that isn't looking out to see that no harm is coming to May. Lou demands 10 per cent of Lexie's proceeds for the book on Barbie's crime. Eve hears that Joyce might live and demands to see David: Meg reluctantly agrees to phone him even though it is just before lockup. Mervin keeps a vigil by Joyce's hospital bed and slips a (wedding?) ring onto her finger even though she is unconscious. May and the gang get into the art gallery. The security expert disables the alarm system and May and the other member of the gang lift a display case to steal what appears to be a bronze head of the Buddha. Lou increases her demand to 20% of Lexie's take, so Lexie turns and runs away from her. As Lexie runs along the corridor followed by Lou and Alice, Nora is making an appeal to Rita to take over as top dog: she tells Rita that she was equally unwilling to be drawn into dealing with the women's problems at first, but predicts that Rita will find it impossible to resist when she sees the injustice that goes on. Mervin confronts Jim over Joyce's hospital bed when Jim questions his right to be there. May returns from the robbery to find that Danny is waiting for her. Danny informs her and Willie of a change of plan: they no longer need a fence to dispose of the bronze head. He shoots May in the chest, killing her instantly. Willie throws the bronze at him to distract him and bites his hand to get him to drop the gun, but Tom arrives on the scene (a little too late) and urges Willie not to fire the gun she has trained on Danny  . Willie later tells Inspector Gordon she regrets not killing Danny when she had the chance. Jim returns to Joyce's hospital room and apologises to Mervin. Inspector Gordon informs Ann of May's death: she tells him she always feels responsible in some way for the death of any prisoner, but especially so in this case. Lou tries to throw her weight around in the laundry, though Rita throws up a little token resistance to make it harder for her. Willie becomes more resentful talking to Tom, as she realises that she and May were pushed into taking part in the robbery by the police and Ann. When David comes to visit Eve the following day, she admits she attacked Joyce and asks David to get rid of the keys - and by implication of Joyce herself as well. Meg reports to Ann that Lou Kelly was operating the press in the laundry. David throws the keys Eve gave him into a river. Ann refuses Reb's request to see Dr Weissman. David turns up late for the rehearsal for Ben and Pippa's wedding. Ben is appalled that he is still representing Eve after what he knows. Willie arrives at Wentworth demanding to see the Governor, and the gate guard is so stunned to see her, he lets her in. Lou hints to Joan that she should be put on tray duty so she can have a go at Reb in solitary. Willie accuses Ann of murdering May  and asks to see Nora. After speaking to Meg, Ann refuses, but Willie finds out from Officer Slattery that the women are on exercise period and dashes outside to the garden. She just has time to let Nora and the other women know that May is dead before she is hustled away. Officer Slattery is outraged that she was kept in the dark about the escape and Ann has to reassure her that nothing damaging will appear on her service record. Tom finds Willie sitting in a bus shelter: she refuses his offer of a lift and says she has to get used to being alone as the only two people who ever really cared about her are now dead, and walks off on her own. Joan lets Lou in to see Reb in solitary to exact revenge for the attack on Joyce. David takes Eve's hint and sneaks into Joyce's hospital room when Mevin goes for lunch: he grabs a pillow and advances towards Joyce's bed as if to suffocate her  . The women are not impressed by Ann's explanation of May's death  : Lou starts a chant of "Killer" which is taken up by all the women in the dining room.
If you were going to throw something in a river to hide it, why choose a stream that barely comes halfway up a duck, as David does? |
EPISODE 588Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 28 May 1998 23:45; Channel 5 Saturday 12 February 2000 04:40. David comes to a sticky end. Pippa pays the price for crossing Rita. Two inmates depart from Wentworth, one out the front door and one out the back.Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Nora ~ Sonja Tallis Daphne ~ Debra Lawrance Eve ~ Lynda Stoner Reb ~ Janet Andrewartha Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Jenny ~ Jenny Lovell Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Lou ~ Louise Siversen Alice ~ Lois Collinder Rita ~ Glenda Linscott Barbie ~ Jayne Healey Ben ~ Kevin Summerfield Pippa ~ Christine Andrew Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Slasher ~ Slasher Mrs Graham ~ Dawn Klingberg Minister ~ Robert Muddyman  UNCREDITEDDavid Adams ~ Richard MossGate Guard ~ David Bickerstaff | Ann returns to her office distraught and guilty. Nora appeals to Rita but she won't be top dog: in fact she is more inclined to back Lou's action against the Governor. David visits Eve again: he tells her that he wasn't able to kill Joyce, so he has decided it's over between them and he can no longer represent her. Eve is furious and threatens to implicate him in her attack on Joyce. Pippa arrives at Wentworth as David is leaving and notices he seems upset. Joan lets Eve know she has seen through her act and tells her it won't be long before the women see through it too. Lou punches Lexie in the stomach  for suggesting the women get Pippa a wedding present. Ann asks Pippa not to take the art class as the women's mood is likely to make them turn against her too. Pippa refuses as she thinks the women get little enough as it is. Lou starts to cause trouble as soon as Pippa arrives and Pippa eventually has to ask her to leave the class. Rita gets involved and in the resulting fracas Rita ends up punching Pippa in the stomach and is taken to solitary. Lou takes advantage of the confusion to pour paint on Rita's jacket  , which has been left behind in the rec room. Daphne is called to the Governor's office: Ben tells her she has won her appeal and she is to be released. Joan tells Reb in solitary that she'll probably be transferred back to Blackmoor. Eve tries to sow seeds of doubt among the women that Lou might have been involved in the attack on Joyce. Meanwhile, Lou is trying to blame Eve for the paint spill but Joan collects the leather jacket and promises to deliver it personally to Rita. As a result of conversation she has with Julie, Nora appears to have decided to escape. Joan gives Rita her jacket: Rita makes a grab for Joan through the bars of solitary  , and Joan decides not to say who was responsible for the paint spill. As Daphne is released and goes through the gates, Slasher is being turned away for not arranging his visit in advance. Daphne tells him that Rita is in solitary as a result of the incident in Pippa's art class, and obligingly points Pippa out to Slasher as she drives past. Ann considers letting Rita out of solitary early but Meg persuades her it would not make the women's mood any better. Just as Daphne is about to give up and set off to walk home, her mum collects her and tells her that her father has arranged a job in a nursery. Meg phones Ann at home to tell her that Nora is missing and she suspects that she may have escaped. When she is questioned, Julie lies and says that she saw Nora at dinner: in fact, she and Lexie are convinced Nora has escaped, but they have no idea how she managed it. Lou tries to pretend she killed Nora but no-one is convinced. Pippa's wedding ceremony is disturbed by the sound of revving bikes  and yelling outside the church. David goes to speak to them and at least they turn their engines off. Jenny decides to look for a flat. David arrives to see Eve, giving Officer Slattery a note for Ann before he is taken to the interview room. Eve assumes that Joyce must have come round and talked, but David tells her he has "unfinished business". He pulls out a gun  , but assures Eve he has no intention of hurting her as she has to live with what she has done: instead he puts the barrel of the gun in his own mouth and shoots himself in front of Eve  .
Rita mentions "Pam" who is presumably supposed to be another prisoner. Astrology note: Ann admits to being a Virgo. David's suicide is not shown directly but is conveyed through sound effects: a muffled gunshot followed by the thump of a body hitting the floor. Mark Caffrey comments "Denny's - so prominently advertised by Joyce in (579), is visible right next to the prison in Daphne's release scene. |
This was the cliffhange"r episode at the end of 1985 in the original Australian run
EPISODE 589Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 04 June 1998 23:40; Channel 5 Sunday 13 February 2000 04:40. All is revealed about Eve, but is she as evil as the authorities make out? Meanwhile Reb is declared a `new woman' and is promptly released.Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Joyce ~ Joy Westmore Reb ~ Janet Andrewartha Lou ~ Louise Siversen Eve ~ Lynda Stoner Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Alice ~ Lois Collinder Rita ~ Glenda Linscott Barbie ~ Jayne Healey Nancy ~ Julia Blake  Mervin ~ Ernie Bourne Peter McCormack ~ Steve Bastoni  Joe McCormack ~ John Larking  Jessie ~ Pat Evison  Mabel ~ Val Jellay  James Dwyer ~ James Condon Amanda Francis ~ Meg Clancy  Dr Weissman ~ Bryon Williams Lady Giddings ~ Gabrielle Hartley Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Off. Radcliffe ~ Marion Dimmick  Policeman ~ Matthew Barker  | Pat Slattery takes Eve back to her cell. Eve tells Pat that she thinks David may have been upset because she reminded him of his wife. She is comforted by Pat's suggestion that the real reason for David's suicide may never be known. Ann arives at Wentworth and demands to know how David managed to get inside while he was carrying a gun. Joan loyally suggests she should ask Officer Slattery as she was on duty at the time. Ann reads David's note. The women are reluctant to be sent for lockup early by Officer Radcliffe, as they know something must have happened. Joan tells Eve about the note David left for the Governor and with evident pleasure she takes Eve to solitary. Eve's demand to see another solicitor is answered by Joan's "if you can find one..." Pat is hauled over the coals by Ann for letting David through without a search, though Pat points out it would have been difficult for her to search a man who was the best man at Ann's daughter's wedding. Ann goes immediately to Reb  to tell her that she is cleared of the attack on Joyce and will be released as soon as possible. Hearing the Governor passing through the solitary corridor, Rita takes the opportunity to make a complaint about her jacket, but her defiant attitude when Ann mentions the disruption at the wedding seems to confirm that she knew about it in advance. The Minister threatens to dismiss Ann as Governor, citing the recent disasters with May, Nora and David. Lou tries to claim credit for seeing through Eve when the women are incredulous at the news that it was Eve who attacked Joyce. Ann accompanies Reb to the gates as she is released  . Eve demands to see a new solicitor, but Ann warns her there was difficulty even finding someone from Legal Aid, as David was widely known and liked by his colleagues. Joyce revives to find Mervin clutching her hand: even though she can't see him properly she can feel his ring around her finger (ooh missus!). Eve prepares to seduce her new solicitor but she gets a rather sour faced woman solicitor from Legal Aid. Mervin proposes to Joyce and she accepts. Eve's solictor tells her she is facing new charges of murder, attempted murder, grievous bodily harm and conspiracy to murder. Joan lets Lou know she is pleased to see her as top dog - because having such a weak opponent will make her job a lot easier. Ann tells the other officers they must all share some of the responsiblity for the recent security lapses at the prison. Lou does a deal with Lexie: she has to get on tray duty and tell Rita that it was who Joan poured the paint on her jacket  . Joan tries to get Lou to stir up the women about May's death, so Lou stages a protest during a barbecue in the grounds, but it fails when the women follow Julie back inside. Reb talks to Dr Weissman before going to see her new doctor: a cyclist outside the cafe  leads to a new story - he is Peter McCormack, son of Nancy and Joe. Peter is taunted by his father for his unmanliness (possibly because he seems to have a nasty case of Drag Queen's Eyebrow). When he talks to his mother, she is still sporting bruises from a bashing from her husband. Ann confides in Meg that recent events have seriously shaken her confidence in her own ability to manage the prison. Julie finds out that Lexie has been secretly keeping the newspaper photograph of her mother. Meanwhile, Lady Brooke-Giddings is visiting Jessie, who is reminiscing with a fellow ex-prostitute called Mabel about the good old days. From their conversation it becomes clear that it is Jessie who is Lexie's real mother: Lady Brooke Giddings merely brought her up after Jessie handed her over to her charge. She demands that Jessie goes to visit Lexie in Wentworth and tell her the truth. Lexie returns to her cell to find that Julie has been bashed by Lou. Rita is released from solitary. Jessie tells Mabel that Lexie's father was either a famous tennis player, or a politician, or a writer - she can't remember which. Lexie challenges Lou for bashing Julie and offers to let Lou keep the hundred dollars she owes Lexie if she stays away from Julie. Lou tells Joan that if she wants to see who's really in charge of the women she should make sure she's in the dining room for the next meal, as she's arranged a little event.
Although there would have been no extended break between the shooting of this episode and the last, both Pat Slattery and Eve's hairstyles look noticeably different: Pat has a more obvious side parting and Eve is more backcombed and lacquered. Eve's lipstick also seems to be a few shades lighter than when we last saw her in the interview room. Reb's box of belongings is clearly marked "REBECCA KEAN", though she has her hand over the surname for most of the scene. Near the end of the episode, Rita seems to call Lou "Kean" rather than Kelly. Mark Caffrey comments: "Ann pulls up in her car with Meg outside the inner gates, but the scenes continues within the gates - the exercise yard tree and prison windows are clearly visible behind Meg." |
EPISODE 590Broadcast on Carlton/LWT Thursday 25 June 1998 23:40; Channel 5 Saturday 19 February 2000 04:40. Lou's actions force Ann to leave the prison and face a bleak and unknown future. Lexie comes face to face with the mother she never knew.Meg ~ Elspeth Ballantyne Joan ~ Maggie Kirkpatrick Ann ~ Gerda Nicolson Eve ~ Lynda Stoner Daphne ~ Debra Lawrance Julie ~ Jackie Woodburne Lexie ~ Pepe Trevor Lou ~ Louise Siversen Nancy ~ Julia Blake Jessie ~ Pat Evison Rita ~ Glenda Linscott Barbie ~ Jayne Healey Alice ~ Lois Collinder Mervin ~ Ernie Bourne Dan Moulton ~ Sean Scully  Joe McCormack ~ John Larking Mabel ~ Val Jellay Anna ~ Adair Stagg  Judge O'Grady ~ George Dixon  Interviewer ~ Roy Hampson  Pat Slattery ~ Dorothy Cutts Sister Hall ~ Gael Andrews Molly Gibson ~ Patsy Martin  Off. Ward ~ Jacqui Jackson Policewoman ~ Tanya Simonow  Gate Guard Bob ~ David Bickerstaff UNCREDITEDJoyce ~ Joy Westmore | Rita warns all the women not to touch her stuff in future or they'll have to answer to her. She also supports Lou in her plan to stage a plate-throwing protest and start a hunger strike, which duly takes place at the next meal time. Jessie asks Judge O'Grady (who is one of her regular customers) for advice in getting into Wentworth: he suggests some possible crimes and offers to use his influence to get her a custodial sentence rather than a fine. The women shout to each other after lockup and discuss the hunger strike. Joan throws Eve's food on the floor after telling her that Joyce may not survive the attack on her. Jessie tells Mabel that she has decided the best thing to do is to attempt to steal a police car. Joan congratulates Lou for at last getting something right, then returns to solitary to make Eve eat her meal off the floor. Ann worries that she has lost the women's support and wonders whether she should look for another job. Lou tells Mervin they refuse to cook breakfast as no-one will be eating it, but Barbie catches Lou stuffiing her face privately in the food store. Rita is the only one to come for breakfast, but only just in time before Joan orders it should be taken away. Pat Slattery reports that Eve appears to have had a mental breakdown, though she suspects she could be faking it. Lou plots to set Joan and Rita against each other. Eve's performance fails to impress Ann, and she tells Eve she will stay in solitary for a while, but she later takes Sister Hall's advice not to put her in isolation. Ann resigns, but is requested to take a month's leave of absence instead. Lou overhears Ann telling Mervin she's resigned (as she was probably intended to). Dan Moulton comes to see Rita: he apologises to Ann for the Conqueror's behaviour at Pippa's wedding. Ann stops his sociolgy lecture short and explains that he's wasting his breath as it's her last day in the job. Daphne is interviewed on TV about her PMS defence: Nancy is watching until her boorish husband switches the TV off. Alice notices Dan and gives him the once over while she's on skip duty. Lou demands cash from Eve  to keep the other women away from her. Jessie succeeds in getting inside: at her induction she's brought a carrier bag of sweets with her and offers Joan either "sour cherries" or "jellied snakes". Rita sees Dan and asks him to take her jacket back to the Conquerors and get it cleaned up. Lexie bumps into Jessie with the laundry skip and finds out who she is from Joan. Nancy tells her neighbour Molly that she sometimes feels she could kill Joe. Ann stops when she sees Dan's bike broken down, but does not give him a lift. Daphne visits Joyce and tells her about May's funeral. Ann visits May's grave which is a plain white wooden cross  and lays flowers on it from the women  , beside the ones already there from Willie  . Lou waits for Joan to pass by her cell and knocks her unconscious with a chair: when Alice objects that this is very risky, she replies that they are going to frame Rita for the attack.
Meg mentions Dennis, adding that he "doesn't write so much any more" (and can you blame him?) Barbie has quite a lot of lines in this episode that aren't either of her two usuals: later scripts usually reduce her to desperate shy miming instead. Mark Cafrrey comments "...on the fate of Paul Reynolds; Ann tells Meg 'Pippa and Ben are gone, and Paul can look after himself' " |
Story Editor: Coral Drouyn (586), Bevan Lee (587)-(590)
Script Editor: Kit Oldfield (586)-(587); Alister Webb (588); Kit Oldfield (589); Alister Webb (590)
Storyliners: Coral Drouyn (586), Bevan Lee (587)-(590), Tony McDonald, John Coulter, Kelly Bermingham
| (581) to (585) |
