Shark Bytes

I unfortunately didn't get to see the Bea Smith years, but I loved Myra and crew. The show started to get bad for me when Judy and whoever else left, and Myra was killed. I kinda liked Nora Flynn and hoped that the Barnhurst lot would be a good support to Myra and the others. Sadly, they killed off Myra, and killed off Nora and I believe Lou Kelly as well. The other golden opportunity they screwed up was not bringing Rebbecca Kean back as evil - instead she came back like a terrified little girl. The best years for me were the Myra years with Reb, Pixie, Judy etc.

Ok, this was a must-watch back in the day, but not necessarily because it was 'classy' entertainment. Some of Australia's ugliest women appeared in 'Prisoner', and while that was probably accurate for a prison drama, the lack of Aboriginal inmates was glaring. They only had one as I recall, only for a few weeks and merely to illustrate a 'racism' storyline. Ditto the lack of drugs (also an integral part of Aussie prison life). Add to this cheap sets, laughable scripts and some of the worst 'acting' imaginable, and you really have something people needed to see to believe. They don't make 'em like this any more. Oh hang on, yes they do. See 'Home And Away' for more Aussie twilight-zone soapy garbola.

Prisoner cell Block H was fantastic...although it's continuity sometimes left a lot to be desired..here are a few interesting things I have noticed having watched the series in full several times.

Ann Reynolds daughters name jumped from Jennifer when we first heard of her to Pippa when we actually met her.

Judy had shown no signs of being a song writer until a few months befor ethe character left when it turned out she was a fantastic songwriter and she mad eout she was passionate about her music!

There is a goof in the Wentworth fire episodes, in one seen Erica is clearly seen standing outside watching the burning building and in the next scene we see her being rescued from the building by the gate guard.

Prisoner Laine Dobson appeared in the shows titles sequence before she ever actually appeared in the series.

Meg Jacksons son had 3 different heads and she never even noticed! thats the sign of a bad mother!

Joan Fetguson was seen driving a car and a later storyline saw her taking driving lessons!

Lou Kelly recalled being in prison with the likes of Bea and Franky, mum etc....hmmm strange considering she wasnt seen on screen until years after they had all left.

When the inmates were transfered to Woodridge after the fire (how strange that they were not sent to a womens prison!)we saw one small mini bus arrive which would have held 12 women tops...however over 25 women got out of it....it was clearly a tardis mini bus.

Lou Kelly once said she helped the women dig the hole in which they all escaped sown during a panto...I think not,...there was no digginginvolved..the hole was an old drain all they had to do was lift the cover.

In Canada the series was retitles 'Caged Women' and in Australia it was simply known as 'Prisoner'

When they introduced that retarded girl, undoubtedly the most unlikeable character ever in a TV show. I realise this was done in order to pander to political correctness but she was a lead weight who virtually destroyed the show. The attempts by the other characters to force her over the edge were contrived and there were too many allowances made for her. Not even the Rita character could negate the damage done by the retarded girl.

Undoubtedly this show JTS when that appalling warden Jock Stewart was introduced. He left the show and returned a year or so later. He was ugly, sadistic, and had a voice like a chainsaw not to mention his awful Scottish accent (he was the mechanic in the Gogomobile ads). This character was a forerunner to The Freak. While The Freak character worked because she was a woman, the Jock Stewart character was just a bully who generated revulsion.

Prisoner. Fantastic in every sense of the word. Only with the death of Myra Desmond did this show start to wane and even then it produced enough to stand side by side with other great TV programs. The producers should have seen this coming, they were lucky enough to survive what sure had the potential to be a JTS moment when 'Queen' Bea Smith was written out by introducing the fantastically similar but incredibly different Myra Desmond. Upon Myra's departure they seemed unable to re-create the old magic...alas.

Prisoner (Cell Block H) is the best TV series ever. Lots of excitement, realism and some humour all the time. Worth watching over and over again.

In my opinion this show never jumped the shark. A show only jumps when the damage cannot be repaired. In episode 537 the show introduced the Barnhurst 5 from another prison. This period was not up to standard and is quite hated by fans. However, by the time of Rita Conners and Kath Maxwell the show was a classic again and doing ok. However, it wasn't the same without Bea Smith and maybe the damage of the Barnhurst 5 couldn't be undone. Never jumped because the last 100 episodes are quality episodes and the ending is brilliant.

This show started in Oz when I was 12 years old and I was wondering what that bloke Frankie was doing a women's prison! Wonky Warner got her hand fried in the very first ep and for Australian TV, 'Prisoner' was fairly full on. Became a regular Prisoner fan even when Frankie met her untimely end during the reign of top dog Bea Smith. This show jumped the shark when Bea, then Lizzy left. regards, REB

This show has the rare distinction of jumping, then jumping back again. It jumped at about episode 535 with the introduction of the prisoners from Barnhurst, who turned out to be completely wet and very, very boring. In episode 585, it jumped back again when Rita Connors was brought in to beef up the action (and boy, did the show need it!). Within four episodes, most of the Barnhurst prisoners were gone. I suspect, though, that in Australia, the damage had been done.

I saw most of this show first hand (in Australia it was just called "Prisoner") and it was always pretty awful, but awful in a "must watch" way. The show JTS, however, when the ultimate hard nosed bitch warden Vera Bennet left the show. After that point there was just a succession of "bad warden" characters that couldn't come close to matching Vera for sheer nastiness. "The Freak" came very close, but she was physically intimidating (she was a large woman!) and had size on her side. Just wasn't the same without Vera's permanent scowl.

This show never jumped. I first caught this program during the summer when I was 12 years old. I only caught the first season then (or whatever KTLA in LA broadcast), but now, 23 years later, I've finally seen all of the episodes and although there were some low points, the program managed to keep coming back to full strength and get me hooked all over again. It's truly unfortunate that this show isn't broadcast in the US... I bet a lot of people would be tuning to in to see it if they remembered it (it was certainly burned into my brain when I was a kid) and a lot of new folks would get hooked.

I loved the show up to the point when Bea left, other "tops dogs" came and went, but Bea was in a league of her own. Rita Conners was a total lame ass, and was entirely unconvincing with her "just say no" line to drugs, as if a woman like that would last five minutes in a place like that. The freak was still there to provide the belly laughs, but somehow it was never the same.

This show never jumped the shark! I love Prisoner Cell Block H! Even though the sets are old and the storylines are repetitive it is great drama. Prisoner has produced some of the most memorable characters. Some being Bea Smith, Lizzie, Reb Kean, Lexie Patterson, Rita Conners, Lou Kelly, Joan the Freak Ferguson and many others. I have not seen the whole entire series of the show, only some but I really hope they replay the show from the beginning. On UK tv on Foxtel they are already up to 604 or something and 692 episodes were made all together. So please let one channel replay this great show. Prisoner went from 1979 to 1986. Around the world the show is still going strong. Prisoner won lots of awards and paved the way for other drama shows. The theme song really suits the show. Even though there are really nasty bitchy characters you still love them for some reason or another. Prisoner rocks!

This show was fantastic. I really cant remember the sets wobbling! Some bad acting from lesser members of the cast sure, but that can be said for any show. My favourite was when nola McKenzie fooled Bea into thinking she was mad...when bea found out (and came to her senses), she made a gun(!) and shot Nola dead from her hospital bed! Pure class, Pure camp, Pure Prisoner! PS Janet Andrewartha is Gods gift to acting!