The reason I liked Jim Fletcher was pretty much the same reason I liked Coleen Powell
They both had a softside that showed itself. Jim was a decent man - yes he had a weakness for women - but he really showed compassion to the women and he had a solid working understanding with Erica
Coleen was pretty much the same - except she had a fab line in putdowns, and apart from a few episodes when she came over as a bit of a hardcase was a decent person
Erica though remains my favourite
I also like Jim Fletcher, showed his soft caring side to Eadie Wharton.
I really liked Hazel Kent, Kathleen Leach, Paddy Lawson and Sam Greenway, not sure if they would all count as secondary charcters though.
Liked all those also, was a shame what happened to Hazel, husband buggered off with kids and the nanny (i think it was), then got the Brain Tumour, which led to Judy gettting put back inside for helping her die.
Yes she was transferred to C Block, I think it was because Ann Reynolds blamed her for escaping with Bobbie. She wasn't missed.
Yeah that was it, then not long after Helen Smart got transferred to another block (who was also never seen again ), for editing that tape to make it sound like the Freak was getting it on with that bloke who put the new tannoy system in, which she played over it for the whole prison to hear:D
Liked all those also, was a shame what happened to Hazel, husband buggered off with kids and the nanny (i think it was), then got the Brain Tumour, which led to Judy gettting put back inside for helping her die.
Yeah that was it, then not long after Helen Smart got transferred to another block (who was also never seen again ), for editing that tape to make it sound like the Freak was getting it on with that bloke who put the new tannoy system in, which she played over it for the whole prison to hear:D
Yeah poor Hazel
Yeah the guy fixing the tannoy I've seen in something else, was it The Sullivans.
I thought he looked familiar, could be right, The Sullivans, used to watch that as well
That short doctor of the 2, who were doing Daphnes tests, ive seen him before in something as well, but still got no idea what it was
The short doctor was Charles Tingwell, I know him from The Hammer horror films and also the old Miss Marple films with Margaret Rutherford, not sure if that's what you know him from.
The short doctor was Charles Tingwell, I know him from The Hammer horror films and also the old Miss Marple films with Margaret Rutherford, not sure if that's what you know him from.
Thats where ive seen him, the Mrs Marple films, Inspector Craddock, hes also been in Neighbours, around 2000-2003, so may have seen him in that to, if thats before i stopped watching it.
they are not exactly taping over it or smashing our DVD collections. Idiots.
Brilliant. This is just how I feel too, how can it possibly have any effect on the original. If anything, it will make younger/different people more aware of the original and might spawn new fans of that, so threads like this and the PCBH community as a whole will expand even further, which is surely a good thing.
The Freak was fantastic for her first 130 or so episodes. After that though everything was just on repeat. I think once the fire happened and Bea left, The Freak was left in limbo and did become a parody of herself.
I think you may be the first Prisoner fan to not like The Freak. Or at least the first one I've heard of.
Personally I love The Freak from start to finish.
I'll admit she did soften too much and become too politically correct (her disgust at the racism aimed at Sara West didn't ring true) and toned down as the series went on though.
The Freak was great at the start, when they introduced her character and over time audiences saw her various facets. But with Bea, Lizzie, Erica, Chrissie, Colleen, Margo, then Judy, and Myra all departing - each time it seemed the show just relied on Joan more and more to carry things along.
With this change the top dog wasn't the real 'star' of the show, and wasn't the person who is actually in charge (when technically it should be the governor.) Now Joan Ferguson was in charge (when technically it should be the governor), which changes the tone of the show.
Joan was popular, so I guess it was natural they kept relying on her. But for me, Joan became less appealing when this happened. Overall, I liked the show less when it was always Joan in charge. I loved the original format where the top dog was in charge and always one step ahead of all the staff members.
Of course Joan was such a good character, was so well acted and was also so famous, once she was established the show could never have really gone back. The change was inevitable.
I was a huge Vera fan too, so of course I'm going to like Joan less. I even prefer Colleen to Joan (Like Joan, Colleen was softened as she progressed as they explored her 'nicer' sides.)
Brilliant. This is just how I feel too, how can it possibly have any effect on the original. If anything, it will make younger/different people more aware of the original and might spawn new fans of that, so threads like this and the PCBH community as a whole will expand even further, which is surely a good thing.
In another thread people complained that the new reimagined version, titled 'Wentworth', will ruin the original. To me this seems silly.
Since the original ended 27 years ago, it can't really be ruined now.
And since it ended 27 years ago, it really can't be revived as a new series set in the exact same universe picking up where the original ended. Even if the makers of the program killed themselves making everything similar to how it was, after 27 years, nothing would - or could - be the same...
Even if they revived some of the old characters, it seems pretty unrealistic that any of the prisoners would still be serving time inside after 27 years. I mean when Prisoner ended, there weren't any Manson-killer 'never-to-be-released' types still in the cell block. All the prisoners from the 1986 conclusion would all realistically be dead or long-released by now.
The officers likewise all would have retired except maybe for Marty Jackson (currently with the third actor in the role.) Since Marty was a relatively minor character, not especially popular, and in that universe was on his third portrayer, he perhaps isn't the best choice of character to rebuild an entire series around.
Also, the look of the show would be different as the technology to record and edit TV programs has changed several times since 1986. All the actors are much older or have passed away. I read that one actor, Val Lehman, wanted to return. But she can't return as Bea as Bea has been dead since 1985.
I think the best option is to reimagine things, as they have done. Having loosly the same characters but at a different point as seen in the original, and re-set to today, is probably the cleverest way to re-boot things.
If they didn't reuse the characters then it would just be some random prison drama and people wouldn't have a lot of interest in it. So they get to tap into the continuing interest in 'Prisoner'.
I hated her too. She is the only character from her era I really disliked. Daphne, who was very similar, was by far a better character and much better thought out, she was everything Cass should have been. Debra Lawrance is a great actress too. Whereas the actress who played Cass I thought was pretty shit.
One thing that always amazed me about Prisoner is how some of the crap characters managed to last longer than some of the better one's. Sonia Stevens was a huge wasted chance. I also think Frances Harvey could have offered more than being bit extra. When she first came into it at the halfway house she seemed like a total headcase but once in Wentworth she was just a lacky for Lou.
I hated her too. She is the only character from her era I really disliked. Daphne, who was very similar, was by far a better character and much better thought out, she was everything Cass should have been. Debra Lawrance is a great actress too. Whereas the actress who played Cass I thought was pretty shit.
One thing that always amazed me about Prisoner is how some of the crap characters managed to last longer than some of the better one's. Sonia Stevens was a huge wasted chance. I also think Frances Harvey could have offered more than being bit extra. When she first came into it at the halfway house she seemed like a total headcase but once in Wentworth she was just a lacky for Lou.
Sonia's portrayer Tina Bursill was very popular and in demand at the time. I think the actor had had enough with the program and chose to leave. I get the impression the makers of the program would have happily kept her on much longer if Bursill had agreed to stay with the show.
Sonia's portrayer Tina Bursill was very popular and in demand at the time. I think the actor had had enough with the program and chose to leave. I get the impression the makers of the program would have happily kept her on much longer if Bursill had agreed to stay with the show.
Yeah I think Sonia was a very popular character, but as far as I know it was her decision to leave.
I hated her too. She is the only character from her era I really disliked. Daphne, who was very similar, was by far a better character and much better thought out, she was everything Cass should have been. Debra Lawrance is a great actress too. Whereas the actress who played Cass I thought was pretty shit.
One thing that always amazed me about Prisoner is how some of the crap characters managed to last longer than some of the better one's. Sonia Stevens was a huge wasted chance. I also think Frances Harvey could have offered more than being bit extra. When she first came into it at the halfway house she seemed like a total headcase but once in Wentworth she was just a lacky for Lou.
Or I liked Cass.
I agree about Frances like you said she came in first at the Halfway House, then was a heavy for Lou, and by the end she was just an extra. I would have liked to have seen her become a permanent cast member like Lurch.
I also think Randi Goodlove and Brenda Hewitt, amongst others, had a lot more potential for being long serving cast members.
So I take it you all know PCBH is coming back? A new series called 'WentWorth'. They showed it on This Morning on 18th March. I only looked at theTV because I heard the theme tune and saw the old clips, then they announced it's return. I can't find anything on it though. I only know the date because it is on my phone, from texting my sister, once I heard and we were both like 'RIPPER'.
the clips they showed on This Morning were of Prisoner..Sharon just gave Wentworth a brief mention which is not a "return" its a totally new show but a re-imagined one of Prisoner
I agree about Frances like you said she came in first at the Halfway House, then was a heavy for Lou, and by the end she was just an extra. I would have liked to have seen her become a permanent cast member like Lurch.
I also think Randi Goodlove and Brenda Hewitt, amongst others, had a lot more potential for being long serving cast members.
I agree about Frances like you said she came in first at the Halfway House, then was a heavy for Lou, and by the end she was just an extra. I would have liked to have seen her become a permanent cast member like Lurch.
I also think Randi Goodlove and Brenda Hewitt, amongst others, had a lot more potential for being long serving cast members.
Yes I would have liked to have seen Frances become more of a permanent fixture and findnout how the heck she managed to end up inside Wentworth.
What a transformation though for Lou Kelly and Alice Jenkins, from background characters to fully fledged Main characters.
I thought this could have been done more with Kath Deakin and Tammy Fisher, both of whom, people in this thread have expressed alot of positivity about.
Yes I would have liked to have seen Frances become more of a permanent fixture and findnout how the heck she managed to end up inside Wentworth.
What a transformation though for Lou Kelly and Alice Jenkins, from background characters to fully fledged Main characters.
I thought this could have been done more with Kath Deakin and Tammy Fisher, both of whom, people in this thread have expressed alot of positivity about.
Yeah it's strange watching Frances, she kind of went backwards from being outside the prison, to going inside the prison then to a heavy and eventually an extra. Whereas Lou and Alice started off as extras and became main characters.
Yeah I loved Tammy, definately wish she had become a main character, it did seem as if it would happen at one point but it wasn't to be. Also I thought Kath Deakin was underrated, she was building up to be in with Lou and Alice and then a few episodes after the siege she was gone, not even a mention of what happened to her.
she was totally a cartoon villain though. I never quite understood her appeal, she was one-dimensional, doing the same routine year in year out, which is rather tedious and quite baffling to be honest. She was nothing compared to the power hungry, yet totally fallible Vera, the cutting Colleen, or even the sugary yet occasionally acidic Meg.
I couldn't disagree more. I think she was anything but one dimensional.
Before the inmates killed her prisoner girlfriend, she was shown to be a much softer woman.
Her love for her father and dogs showed a caring and loyal woman to her family and friends.
Her scenes with Shane showed how she longed for nothing more than to be a motherly figure, but never would have the opportunity.
The failed relationship with Terri showed her longing for a relationship, but didn't know how.
Her friendship with Andrew and his subsequent death showed the lonely side of The Freak who longed for a friend.
I personally think Vera and Joan were cut from the same mould, but were portrayed by two actressed in different ways. All of the above can be used against Vera's character but by simply changing some names.
Comments
That was it
I also like Jim Fletcher, showed his soft caring side to Eadie Wharton.
She didn't like her corrupting influence upon young girls.
Liked all those also, was a shame what happened to Hazel, husband buggered off with kids and the nanny (i think it was), then got the Brain Tumour, which led to Judy gettting put back inside for helping her die.
Yeah that was it, then not long after Helen Smart got transferred to another block (who was also never seen again
Yeah poor Hazel
Yeah the guy fixing the tannoy I've seen in something else, was it The Sullivans.
I thought he looked familiar, could be right, The Sullivans, used to watch that as well
That short doctor of the 2, who were doing Daphnes tests, ive seen him before in something as well, but still got no idea what it was
Yeah I watched them not long ago, not Prisoners best period, probably one of the worst.
The short doctor was Charles Tingwell, I know him from The Hammer horror films and also the old Miss Marple films with Margaret Rutherford, not sure if that's what you know him from.
Thats where ive seen him, the Mrs Marple films, Inspector Craddock, hes also been in Neighbours, around 2000-2003, so may have seen him in that to, if thats before i stopped watching it.
Cass Parker had a great scene when she chopped off Mr. Bridges' head!
http://youtu.be/YCTGYa4iNQo
Brilliant. This is just how I feel too, how can it possibly have any effect on the original. If anything, it will make younger/different people more aware of the original and might spawn new fans of that, so threads like this and the PCBH community as a whole will expand even further, which is surely a good thing.
I don't know how anyone can like her.
Agreed.
The Freak was great at the start, when they introduced her character and over time audiences saw her various facets. But with Bea, Lizzie, Erica, Chrissie, Colleen, Margo, then Judy, and Myra all departing - each time it seemed the show just relied on Joan more and more to carry things along.
With this change the top dog wasn't the real 'star' of the show, and wasn't the person who is actually in charge (when technically it should be the governor.) Now Joan Ferguson was in charge (when technically it should be the governor), which changes the tone of the show.
Joan was popular, so I guess it was natural they kept relying on her. But for me, Joan became less appealing when this happened. Overall, I liked the show less when it was always Joan in charge. I loved the original format where the top dog was in charge and always one step ahead of all the staff members.
Of course Joan was such a good character, was so well acted and was also so famous, once she was established the show could never have really gone back. The change was inevitable.
I was a huge Vera fan too, so of course I'm going to like Joan less.
In another thread people complained that the new reimagined version, titled 'Wentworth', will ruin the original. To me this seems silly.
Since the original ended 27 years ago, it can't really be ruined now.
And since it ended 27 years ago, it really can't be revived as a new series set in the exact same universe picking up where the original ended. Even if the makers of the program killed themselves making everything similar to how it was, after 27 years, nothing would - or could - be the same...
Even if they revived some of the old characters, it seems pretty unrealistic that any of the prisoners would still be serving time inside after 27 years. I mean when Prisoner ended, there weren't any Manson-killer 'never-to-be-released' types still in the cell block. All the prisoners from the 1986 conclusion would all realistically be dead or long-released by now.
The officers likewise all would have retired except maybe for Marty Jackson (currently with the third actor in the role.) Since Marty was a relatively minor character, not especially popular, and in that universe was on his third portrayer, he perhaps isn't the best choice of character to rebuild an entire series around.
Also, the look of the show would be different as the technology to record and edit TV programs has changed several times since 1986. All the actors are much older or have passed away. I read that one actor, Val Lehman, wanted to return. But she can't return as Bea as Bea has been dead since 1985.
I think the best option is to reimagine things, as they have done. Having loosly the same characters but at a different point as seen in the original, and re-set to today, is probably the cleverest way to re-boot things.
If they didn't reuse the characters then it would just be some random prison drama and people wouldn't have a lot of interest in it. So they get to tap into the continuing interest in 'Prisoner'.
I hated her too. She is the only character from her era I really disliked. Daphne, who was very similar, was by far a better character and much better thought out, she was everything Cass should have been. Debra Lawrance is a great actress too. Whereas the actress who played Cass I thought was pretty shit.
One thing that always amazed me about Prisoner is how some of the crap characters managed to last longer than some of the better one's. Sonia Stevens was a huge wasted chance. I also think Frances Harvey could have offered more than being bit extra. When she first came into it at the halfway house she seemed like a total headcase but once in Wentworth she was just a lacky for Lou.
Sonia's portrayer Tina Bursill was very popular and in demand at the time. I think the actor had had enough with the program and chose to leave. I get the impression the makers of the program would have happily kept her on much longer if Bursill had agreed to stay with the show.
Yeah I think Sonia was a very popular character, but as far as I know it was her decision to leave.
Or I liked Cass.
I agree about Frances like you said she came in first at the Halfway House, then was a heavy for Lou, and by the end she was just an extra. I would have liked to have seen her become a permanent cast member like Lurch.
I also think Randi Goodlove and Brenda Hewitt, amongst others, had a lot more potential for being long serving cast members.
the clips they showed on This Morning were of Prisoner..Sharon just gave Wentworth a brief mention which is not a "return" its a totally new show but a re-imagined one of Prisoner
Without a doubt, they were both immense.
Yes I would have liked to have seen Frances become more of a permanent fixture and findnout how the heck she managed to end up inside Wentworth.
What a transformation though for Lou Kelly and Alice Jenkins, from background characters to fully fledged Main characters.
I thought this could have been done more with Kath Deakin and Tammy Fisher, both of whom, people in this thread have expressed alot of positivity about.
Yeah it's strange watching Frances, she kind of went backwards from being outside the prison, to going inside the prison then to a heavy and eventually an extra. Whereas Lou and Alice started off as extras and became main characters.
Yeah I loved Tammy, definately wish she had become a main character, it did seem as if it would happen at one point but it wasn't to be. Also I thought Kath Deakin was underrated, she was building up to be in with Lou and Alice and then a few episodes after the siege she was gone, not even a mention of what happened to her.
No I didn't particularly like her either, chopping off Bridges' head was the only interesting thing she did.
I couldn't disagree more. I think she was anything but one dimensional.
I personally think Vera and Joan were cut from the same mould, but were portrayed by two actressed in different ways. All of the above can be used against Vera's character but by simply changing some names.