Who are other peoples favourite Characters, here's my top 40
40: Hazel Kent: Always liked Hazel, always good offering support to various Top Dogs and had a close friendship with Judy, and of course a very sad exit.
39: Rick Manning: Thought he was a good addition to the series, always there for the women, although he was responsible for the Powell family dying.
38: Margo Gaffney: Slightly overrated in my opinion, but I still thought she was a very good character, played perfectly by Jane Clifton.
37: Frances Harvey: Loved Frances, from her starting off at the Halfway House with Judy, to being on the inside, being one of Lou's heavies and finally virtually an extra.
36: Geoff Macrae: He was a good character and I think his relationship with Myra was very real.
35: Tammy Fisher: I loved Tammy, she really should have become a regular.
34: Ettie Parslowe: A lot of people didn't seem to like Ettie that much but I thought she was good comic relief.
33: Julie Eggbert: Good old Chookie, loved her friendship with Lexie.
32: Bob Moran: Originally watching the series I didn't really like him, but having rewatched his episodes recently I think he was a great addition.
31: Eve Wilder: An excellent villain, with a deservingly memorable exit.
30: Mervin Pringle: Another character who a lot of people don't seem that keen on, but I thought he was great. I also liked Ray Proctor.
29: Phyllis Hunt: Very long serving character, although her best part of the show for me was when she became particularly nasty during the early 400s, great last scene with Reb.
28: Ram: Although a very short term character, he brought a lot to the siege episodes.
27: Cass Parker: Minnie Donovans muscle, her character improved once the awful Donovan was out the way.
26: Gloria Payne: Myras hatred of her was great and her character had a lot more potential, shame she didn't last longer, dam you Phyllis.
25: Dennis Cruikshank: Another one who got involved with Meg, but he still had some good moments. Nasty ending for his character though.
24: Sam Greenway: Really liked Sam, she never really had much of a storyline, but I thought she was a good little character.
23: Marlene Warren: Always liked the Rabbit, much better than the awful Doreen who she was often compared to.
22: Randi Goodlove: Another character who deserved to stay so much longer, it looked like a good storyline was developing between her and Meg and then she bumped into David Bridges
21: Judy Bryant: Long serving character who I always preferred on the inside than when running the Halfway House.
20: David Bridges: Brilliant short term character, every episode he was in were good.
19: Brenda Hewitt: Another great character who deserved to stay a lot longer, in near enough the same episodes as Bridges, and this was my favourite part of the series.
18: Ann Reynolds: Great character, great actress, much better than the very overrated Erica Davidson.
17: Jock Stewart: A brilliant baddie, he was hardly in the show, but was a very memorable character.
16: Paddy Lawson: Really liked Paddy, thought she was a good character brilliantly played by Anna Hruby, very sad exit for her.
15: Len Murphy: Excellent villain, they really needed a baddie on the other side of the bars to come up against The Freak, and they got it with him.
14: Bea Smith: Queen Bea, liked her a lot, although my favourite part of the series started just after she left.
13: Colleen Powell: Brilliant, sarcastic, officer, surprised it took them so long to make her a regular.
12: Myra Desmond: The best Top Dog in my opinion, excellently played by Anne Phelan, she died a hero.
11: Vera Bennett: Good old Vinegar Tits, a brilliant early character, although later officers made you realise that her character wasn't that bad.
10: Frank Burke: Awfully vile character, brilliantly played by Trevor Kent.
9: Mouse Trapp: Loved everything about Mouse, she was great. Sad exit
8: Sonia Stevens: Brilliant character, The Ice Lady.
7: Lizzie Birdsworth: Old Birdbrain, brilliant character, in the show for a long time and the series certainly wasn't the same when she left.
6: Lexie Patterson: Really liked Lexie, thought she was great, although very annoying at times. Used to really fancy Pepe Trevor as well.
5: Chrissie Latham: "But what about my baby Bea", really liked Chrissie and it was always good to see her returning.
4: Jim Fletcher: By far the best male character in the series in my opinion, always a good performance by Gerard McGuire.
3: Lou Kelly: Starting off as an extra and making it to Top Dog, can't be bad. Lou was a brilliant character, not quite happy with her exit though. One of my favourite Prisoner moments is when Lou and Kath Deakin try to kill Myra 3 episodes on the trot, and Myra falls for it every time
2: Reb Keane: Love Reb, my favourite prisoner, not quite so keane on her (see what I did there) when she returned with a loss of memory.
1: Joan Ferguson: The Freak, one of the best television characters ever, she's up there with Columbo, and the series really picked up for me when she joined. Maggie Kirkpatrick giving a brilliant performance in every scene she was in.
Yes but i also think that after Vera leaves around the time they bring in Kate and Sandy the series begins to change in its style and the feel of it. There are definately two distinct eras of the 'early' era and the 'later' era in my mind.
With the 'early' era the show is quite gentle and old fashioned, even a bit cosy at times and Bea and co will always win and solve their problems and villians never last long. Later on the villians are a much more prominent part of the show which becomes darker and more violent. The cast also begins to change more frequently:D
Yes very true. In the early era Vera was the nasty screw, but in comparison to Joan, she wasn't that bad at all and I often wonder would they have got on.
When Vera left it was very poignant, those early years were being left behind in a sense, it was like saying goodbye to something that had been there since the beginning.
The Sandy and Kate era definitely changed the feeling of the show. The show I believe was taken forward and heightened by the arrival of The Freak, with one of the main angles of the series being how would the women get rid of her.
In terms of Prisoner villains, I believe Nola McKenzie changed this. She was cold, cruel, calculating, evil and paved the way for other villains like Lou and Eve.
I think the difference between the two eras is that prior to Bea leaving it was always the top dog who was the main star. Then once Joan arrived it all became about her. She was the star of the show. I've often wondered if they would have kept the character as long as they did had she not have become so massive. It got to the point they relied on her too much imho and by the time we entered the 500's The Freak was almost a parody of herself. The amount of times she avoided being sacked became a joke.
Three consecutive posts that I 100% agree with!
I loved the early part of the program. Yes, it was cosy. But that was fun to watch. It wasn't too realistic (almost more like a boarding school than a prison at some points) but it was a fun fantasy to imagine.
Vera leaving was a major change. A few originals had left the series in the first year, but nearly all basically left at the end of their storyline (Franky, Marilyn and Eddie, Lyn, Karen and Greg) so the timing of their departure made sense. With Vera, it was really the first big departure of a long serving character. Plus you could imagine that she could have continued, and she was missed.
In the early part of the program the 'villains' came in strong and evil but then were quickly dispatched - usually by Bea! An early evil officer was Jock Stewart, who was closer to Joan Ferguson than Vera was. I'd imagine that Vera's relationship with Joan would have been like her relationship with Jock: she would have been glad at first that someone else agreed with her ideals of strict discipline and rules. But then when the true nature of the person started to emerge (corrupt and sadistic rather than a strict stickler for rules) Vera would have been quick to distance herself.
Anyway I was a major fan of Vera and loved the early part of the program. I also liked the Sandy - Kate storyline a lot too.
Ferguson was OK at first but really wasn't ever my favourite character at any point. She almost became a pantomime/Jason Voorhees-type invincible villain towards the end always emerging victorious in a series of increasingly violent vendetta storylines. Then they'd occasionally slot in a storyline to show her soft side where she'd show affection for an obnoxious tyke like Shane Munro - and I enjoyed these storylines even less than the bikie clashes, bad trips and arson attacks she endured.
I've just watched ep649, Spider Simpson has just made her appearance. I've never seen any episodes with Spider before, so I looked up Wikipedia of the actress Taya Straton, and she sadly committed suicide in 1996, very very sad.
I've just watched ep649, Spider Simpson has just made her appearance. I've never seen any episodes with Spider before, so I looked up Wikipedia of the actress Taya Straton, and she sadly committed suicide in 1996, very very sad.
I found Spider to be a really overrated character, but yes it is terribly sad what happened to the actress.
It was like the kind of thing you’d see in Coronation Street. Is that what Wentworth is going to be like? Coronation Street in prison?
In the time we are living in now, with so many past years and so much past culture to have learned from, why on earth would they put something in that was so obviously cringe worthy. What were they thinking.
So much for this being dark, edgy, boundary pushing stuff.
Yet again this seems like a wasted opportunity.
I had high hopes for Wentworth but the second episode has left me feeling really let down.
If that ‘hot potato’ scene is anything to go by, I don’t think much of Pete McTighe's writing. Maybe he’s spent too much time writing soap opera’s.
Surely the point in a modern remake is to take the very best aspects of something and disregard the bad aspects. To learn from what had came previous to it and make it better. I don’t believe the writer of Wentworth could have seen all those cringe worthy scenes in Prisoner (and lets face it, there are many) and be stupid enough to include such a scene in Wentworth. Wentworth was a chance to take Prisoner’s best aspects, the fights, scheming, blackmail etc and leave out cringe worthy aspects. Wentworth was a chance for such a programme to have some street cred. But if there’s going to be things in it such as inmates singing ‘hot potato’ then that chance is gone. And only by the second episode!
I found Spider to be a really overrated character, but yes it is terribly sad what happened to the actress.
I'm awaiting vol.20 so I can continue. It feels really sad knowing there is not gonna be anymore lovely little parcels in the post or for me personally, it's going to be sad knowing that there is no longer a period of Prisoner Cell Block H that I haven't watched. Prior to the DVD release I had watched episodes 1-12 and eps287-559. So after the next and final parcel that's it, all the blanks will have been filled in.
It was like the kind of thing you’d see in Coronation Street. Is that what Wentworth is going to be like? Coronation Street in prison?
In the time we are living in now, with so many past years and so much past culture to have learned from, why on earth would they put something in that was so obviously cringe worthy. What were they thinking.
So much for this being dark, edgy, boundary pushing stuff.
Yet again this seems like a wasted opportunity.
I had high hopes for Wentworth but the second episode has left me feeling really let down.
If that ‘hot potato’ scene is anything to go by, I don’t think much of Pete McTighe's writing. Maybe he’s spent too much time writing soap opera’s.
Surely the point in a modern remake is to take the very best aspects of something and disregard the bad aspects. To learn from what had came previous to it and make it better. I don’t believe the writer of Wentworth could have seen all those cringe worthy scenes in Prisoner (and lets face it, there are many) and be stupid enough to include such a scene in Wentworth. Wentworth was a chance to take Prisoner’s best aspects, the fights, scheming, blackmail etc and leave out cringe worthy aspects. Wentworth was a chance for such a programme to have some street cred. But if there’s going to be things in it such as inmates singing ‘hot potato’ then that chance is gone. And only by the second episode!
It was like the kind of thing you’d see in Coronation Street. Is that what Wentworth is going to be like? Coronation Street in prison?
In the time we are living in now, with so many past years and so much past culture to have learned from, why on earth would they put something in that was so obviously cringe worthy. What were they thinking.
So much for this being dark, edgy, boundary pushing stuff.
Yet again this seems like a wasted opportunity.
I had high hopes for Wentworth but the second episode has left me feeling really let down.
If that ‘hot potato’ scene is anything to go by, I don’t think much of Pete McTighe's writing. Maybe he’s spent too much time writing soap opera’s.
Surely the point in a modern remake is to take the very best aspects of something and disregard the bad aspects. To learn from what had came previous to it and make it better. I don’t believe the writer of Wentworth could have seen all those cringe worthy scenes in Prisoner (and lets face it, there are many) and be stupid enough to include such a scene in Wentworth. Wentworth was a chance to take Prisoner’s best aspects, the fights, scheming, blackmail etc and leave out cringe worthy aspects. Wentworth was a chance for such a programme to have some street cred. But if there’s going to be things in it such as inmates singing ‘hot potato’ then that chance is gone. And only by the second episode!
Bit of an overreaction given it was one brief scene about a child's birthday party. It wasn't an irrelevant scene as Doreen and the child were a main focus of that episode's story.
The hot potato song is sung from 5.13 to 5.36 in the episode - a duration less than 25 seconds. At 5.48 Mr Jackson's arrival quickly switches the focus of the scene to something other than the birthday party.
The term 'cringeworthy' is way overused on these forums.
Bit of an overreaction given it was one brief scene about a child's birthday party. It wasn't an irrelevant scene as Doreen and the child were a main focus of that episode's story.
The hot potato song is sung from 5.13 to 5.36 in the episode - a duration less than 25 seconds. At 5.48 Mr Jackson's arrival quickly switches the focus of the scene to something other than the birthday party.
The term 'cringeworthy' is way overused on these forums.
I think some posts on this forum are over the top, let alone some words, so I'm right with ya there
I'm awaiting vol.20 so I can continue. It feels really sad knowing there is not gonna be anymore lovely little parcels in the post or for me personally, it's going to be sad knowing that there is no longer a period of Prisoner Cell Block H that I haven't watched. Prior to the DVD release I had watched episodes 1-12 and eps287-559. So after the next and final parcel that's it, all the blanks will have been filled in.
Yeah, hopefully get mine tomorrow, I have seen them all before but it will be a shame not to have some new volumes to look forward to, although I will be glad to have the complete set.
Yeah, hopefully get mine tomorrow, I have seen them all before but it will be a shame not to have some new volumes to look forward to, although I will be glad to have the complete set.
Yes will be nice to have a complete set. Imagine, ow ing every single episode! Brilliant!
It was like the kind of thing you’d see in Coronation Street. Is that what Wentworth is going to be like? Coronation Street in prison?
In the time we are living in now, with so many past years and so much past culture to have learned from, why on earth would they put something in that was so obviously cringe worthy. What were they thinking.
So much for this being dark, edgy, boundary pushing stuff.
Yet again this seems like a wasted opportunity.
I had high hopes for Wentworth but the second episode has left me feeling really let down.
If that ‘hot potato’ scene is anything to go by, I don’t think much of Pete McTighe's writing. Maybe he’s spent too much time writing soap opera’s.
Surely the point in a modern remake is to take the very best aspects of something and disregard the bad aspects. To learn from what had came previous to it and make it better. I don’t believe the writer of Wentworth could have seen all those cringe worthy scenes in Prisoner (and lets face it, there are many) and be stupid enough to include such a scene in Wentworth. Wentworth was a chance to take Prisoner’s best aspects, the fights, scheming, blackmail etc and leave out cringe worthy aspects. Wentworth was a chance for such a programme to have some street cred. But if there’s going to be things in it such as inmates singing ‘hot potato’ then that chance is gone. And only by the second episode!
As others have pointed out, that was a total overreaction to a tiny scene that was pretty much in context. Are you saying that prisoners are not human and wouldn't do things like that? It worked brilliantly for me, making the best of things and trying to help the kid have a good day but then being slapped back into ugly reality. You really think a show could survive without heart? Blackmail, fights and scheming will be there but we have to love the characters too or nobody would care. Humanising them is the best way.
Luckily this is the first really negative post I have read, except for the ones you know haven't seen it and don't want to, so I doubt there is much to worry about for the show which is doing great with viewing figures too.
Your whole post seems fixated on one scene and ignores the other 99% of the episode. Does the rest not back up your agenda?
The emotion and love from the Doreen character was outstanding and the whole episode, for me, was even better than episode 1 as we dived straight in this time.
Ah, I see you just copy and pasted your post from the prisoner forum and put it here as one post. Same responses there, except for that one who paints hideous prisoner paintings but they are more concerned with the colours...
Is it just me - or does anyone else think that had Downton Abbey been an Australian series that Patsy King (Erica) would have made a good dowager countess (Maggie Smith's part)
Ah, I see you just copy and pasted your post from the prisoner forum and put it here as one post. Same responses there, except for that one who paints hideous prisoner paintings but they are more concerned with the colours...
If you're on there you can tell them that 'Thunder' won't be visiting anymore due to a disgusting display of vile behaviour actually on the forum for all to see from a so called moderator, full of insults and name calling directed at another member
If you're on there you can tell them that 'Thunder' won't be visiting anymore due to a disgusting display of vile behaviour actually on the forum for all to see from a so called moderator, full of insults and name calling directed at another member
I only lurk. It's a horrible site full of power trips and bullying.
Ugh I'm watching ep649 and you know what I've realised, all these recent new backgrounders are getting one liners all over the placem and there is poor Jenny and Ros in the background for years, not a single line of dialogue between them
Ugh I'm watching ep649 and you know what I've realised, all these recent new backgrounders are getting one liners all over the placem and there is poor Jenny and Ros in the background for years, not a single line of dialogue between them
Even Tina Murray got a line........eventually
But at least Ros got to snog Tammy:D.
I always thought Jenny should have had a chance to speak, certainly more than some of them.
As others have pointed out, that was a total overreaction to a tiny scene that was pretty much in context. Are you saying that prisoners are not human and wouldn't do things like that? It worked brilliantly for me, making the best of things and trying to help the kid have a good day but then being slapped back into ugly reality. You really think a show could survive without heart? Blackmail, fights and scheming will be there but we have to love the characters too or nobody would care. Humanising them is the best way.
Luckily this is the first really negative post I have read, except for the ones you know haven't seen it and don't want to, so I doubt there is much to worry about for the show which is doing great with viewing figures too.
Your whole post seems fixated on one scene and ignores the other 99% of the episode. Does the rest not back up your agenda?
The emotion and love from the Doreen character was outstanding and the whole episode, for me, was even better than episode 1 as we dived straight in this time.
Agenda?
Now who's being over the top?
What agenda?
That scene was cringe worthy. It took me out of the episode and ruined it for me. It tainted the rest of it.
I'm certainly not saying that "prisoners aren't human and wouldn't do things like that".
It's the job of writers, directors and producers to make & keep a tone for a series and that scene ruined the tone.
As it is, a child wouldn't be allowed to live in a main cell block. Especially not after a mini riot in which someone was killed.
And I know that such scenes are the type of thing that can get a series highly criticised and mocked. Producers are running the risk of what happend to Prisoner, happening to Wentworth all over again when it reaches British shores.
I'm sure there could have been better, genuinely funny, sweet ways to have a lighter moment. I don't mind a lighter momnet if it's well done.
As it is I stand by what I said, hot potato was cringe worthy.
If you're on there you can tell them that 'Thunder' won't be visiting anymore due to a disgusting display of vile behaviour actually on the forum for all to see from a so called moderator, full of insults and name calling directed at another member
That sounds interesting.
Can you give a linky to the thread?
Or if it's been deleted, can you say what the thread was?
That scene was cringe worthy. It took me out of the episode and ruined it for me. It tainted the rest of it.
I'm certainly not saying that "prisoners aren't human and wouldn't do things like that".
It's the job of writers, directors and producers to make & keep a tone for a series and that scene ruined the tone.
As it is, a child wouldn't be allowed to live in a main cell block. Especially not after a mini riot in which someone was killed.
And I know that such scenes are the type of thing that can get a series highly criticised and mocked. Producers are running the risk of what happend to Prisoner, happening to Wentworth all over again when it reaches British shores.
I'm sure there could have been better, genuinely funny, sweet ways to have a lighter moment. I don't mind a lighter momnet if it's well done.
As it is I stand by what I said, hot potato was cringe worthy.
Even on the other forum pretty much nobody agrees with you over this one scene. It was cringey in your opinion, as far as here and the prisoner site and the facebook page feedback goes it has had a much more positive reaction.
Maybe you should consider that you not liking something is as far as that goes.
Coming across as worried it will put people off and make people mock it when it is just you doing it is just weird.
I visit various internet forums and discussion over this show crops up more than any other show, honestly it really does. I've seen so many cell block threads. This goes to show that the programme is well loved and well remembered, of course the dvd realeases are helping too. But i really think that people realise now that this show is no joke like it used to be seen as by many, its well loved:D
How is it this show got stacks of DVD releases yet no other soap did.
Comments
40: Hazel Kent: Always liked Hazel, always good offering support to various Top Dogs and had a close friendship with Judy, and of course a very sad exit.
39: Rick Manning: Thought he was a good addition to the series, always there for the women, although he was responsible for the Powell family dying.
38: Margo Gaffney: Slightly overrated in my opinion, but I still thought she was a very good character, played perfectly by Jane Clifton.
37: Frances Harvey: Loved Frances, from her starting off at the Halfway House with Judy, to being on the inside, being one of Lou's heavies and finally virtually an extra.
36: Geoff Macrae: He was a good character and I think his relationship with Myra was very real.
35: Tammy Fisher: I loved Tammy, she really should have become a regular.
34: Ettie Parslowe: A lot of people didn't seem to like Ettie that much but I thought she was good comic relief.
33: Julie Eggbert: Good old Chookie, loved her friendship with Lexie.
32: Bob Moran: Originally watching the series I didn't really like him, but having rewatched his episodes recently I think he was a great addition.
31: Eve Wilder: An excellent villain, with a deservingly memorable exit.
30: Mervin Pringle: Another character who a lot of people don't seem that keen on, but I thought he was great. I also liked Ray Proctor.
29: Phyllis Hunt: Very long serving character, although her best part of the show for me was when she became particularly nasty during the early 400s, great last scene with Reb.
28: Ram: Although a very short term character, he brought a lot to the siege episodes.
27: Cass Parker: Minnie Donovans muscle, her character improved once the awful Donovan was out the way.
26: Gloria Payne: Myras hatred of her was great and her character had a lot more potential, shame she didn't last longer, dam you Phyllis.
25: Dennis Cruikshank: Another one who got involved with Meg, but he still had some good moments. Nasty ending for his character though.
24: Sam Greenway: Really liked Sam, she never really had much of a storyline, but I thought she was a good little character.
23: Marlene Warren: Always liked the Rabbit, much better than the awful Doreen who she was often compared to.
22: Randi Goodlove: Another character who deserved to stay so much longer, it looked like a good storyline was developing between her and Meg and then she bumped into David Bridges
21: Judy Bryant: Long serving character who I always preferred on the inside than when running the Halfway House.
20: David Bridges: Brilliant short term character, every episode he was in were good.
19: Brenda Hewitt: Another great character who deserved to stay a lot longer, in near enough the same episodes as Bridges, and this was my favourite part of the series.
18: Ann Reynolds: Great character, great actress, much better than the very overrated Erica Davidson.
17: Jock Stewart: A brilliant baddie, he was hardly in the show, but was a very memorable character.
16: Paddy Lawson: Really liked Paddy, thought she was a good character brilliantly played by Anna Hruby, very sad exit for her.
15: Len Murphy: Excellent villain, they really needed a baddie on the other side of the bars to come up against The Freak, and they got it with him.
14: Bea Smith: Queen Bea, liked her a lot, although my favourite part of the series started just after she left.
13: Colleen Powell: Brilliant, sarcastic, officer, surprised it took them so long to make her a regular.
12: Myra Desmond: The best Top Dog in my opinion, excellently played by Anne Phelan, she died a hero.
11: Vera Bennett: Good old Vinegar Tits, a brilliant early character, although later officers made you realise that her character wasn't that bad.
10: Frank Burke: Awfully vile character, brilliantly played by Trevor Kent.
9: Mouse Trapp: Loved everything about Mouse, she was great. Sad exit
8: Sonia Stevens: Brilliant character, The Ice Lady.
7: Lizzie Birdsworth: Old Birdbrain, brilliant character, in the show for a long time and the series certainly wasn't the same when she left.
6: Lexie Patterson: Really liked Lexie, thought she was great, although very annoying at times. Used to really fancy Pepe Trevor as well.
5: Chrissie Latham: "But what about my baby Bea", really liked Chrissie and it was always good to see her returning.
4: Jim Fletcher: By far the best male character in the series in my opinion, always a good performance by Gerard McGuire.
3: Lou Kelly: Starting off as an extra and making it to Top Dog, can't be bad. Lou was a brilliant character, not quite happy with her exit though. One of my favourite Prisoner moments is when Lou and Kath Deakin try to kill Myra 3 episodes on the trot, and Myra falls for it every time
2: Reb Keane: Love Reb, my favourite prisoner, not quite so keane on her (see what I did there) when she returned with a loss of memory.
1: Joan Ferguson: The Freak, one of the best television characters ever, she's up there with Columbo, and the series really picked up for me when she joined. Maggie Kirkpatrick giving a brilliant performance in every scene she was in.
I really like this series.
Great, I'll watch that in the morning:D
Three consecutive posts that I 100% agree with!
I loved the early part of the program. Yes, it was cosy. But that was fun to watch. It wasn't too realistic (almost more like a boarding school than a prison at some points) but it was a fun fantasy to imagine.
Vera leaving was a major change. A few originals had left the series in the first year, but nearly all basically left at the end of their storyline (Franky, Marilyn and Eddie, Lyn, Karen and Greg) so the timing of their departure made sense. With Vera, it was really the first big departure of a long serving character. Plus you could imagine that she could have continued, and she was missed.
In the early part of the program the 'villains' came in strong and evil but then were quickly dispatched - usually by Bea! An early evil officer was Jock Stewart, who was closer to Joan Ferguson than Vera was. I'd imagine that Vera's relationship with Joan would have been like her relationship with Jock: she would have been glad at first that someone else agreed with her ideals of strict discipline and rules. But then when the true nature of the person started to emerge (corrupt and sadistic rather than a strict stickler for rules) Vera would have been quick to distance herself.
Anyway I was a major fan of Vera and loved the early part of the program. I also liked the Sandy - Kate storyline a lot too.
Ferguson was OK at first but really wasn't ever my favourite character at any point. She almost became a pantomime/Jason Voorhees-type invincible villain towards the end always emerging victorious in a series of increasingly violent vendetta storylines. Then they'd occasionally slot in a storyline to show her soft side where she'd show affection for an obnoxious tyke like Shane Munro - and I enjoyed these storylines even less than the bikie clashes, bad trips and arson attacks she endured.
Very shocked.
I've just watched ep649, Spider Simpson has just made her appearance. I've never seen any episodes with Spider before, so I looked up Wikipedia of the actress Taya Straton, and she sadly committed suicide in 1996, very very sad.
I found Spider to be a really overrated character, but yes it is terribly sad what happened to the actress.
Wentworth episode 2:
Whoa!
What a rubbish episode! Really disappointed.
That ‘hot potato’ scene was cringe worthy.
It was like the kind of thing you’d see in Coronation Street. Is that what Wentworth is going to be like? Coronation Street in prison?
In the time we are living in now, with so many past years and so much past culture to have learned from, why on earth would they put something in that was so obviously cringe worthy. What were they thinking.
So much for this being dark, edgy, boundary pushing stuff.
Yet again this seems like a wasted opportunity.
I had high hopes for Wentworth but the second episode has left me feeling really let down.
If that ‘hot potato’ scene is anything to go by, I don’t think much of Pete McTighe's writing. Maybe he’s spent too much time writing soap opera’s.
Surely the point in a modern remake is to take the very best aspects of something and disregard the bad aspects. To learn from what had came previous to it and make it better. I don’t believe the writer of Wentworth could have seen all those cringe worthy scenes in Prisoner (and lets face it, there are many) and be stupid enough to include such a scene in Wentworth. Wentworth was a chance to take Prisoner’s best aspects, the fights, scheming, blackmail etc and leave out cringe worthy aspects. Wentworth was a chance for such a programme to have some street cred. But if there’s going to be things in it such as inmates singing ‘hot potato’ then that chance is gone. And only by the second episode!
I'm awaiting vol.20 so I can continue. It feels really sad knowing there is not gonna be anymore lovely little parcels in the post or for me personally, it's going to be sad knowing that there is no longer a period of Prisoner Cell Block H that I haven't watched. Prior to the DVD release I had watched episodes 1-12 and eps287-559. So after the next and final parcel that's it, all the blanks will have been filled in.
Well it was for a child's birthday.
Bit of an overreaction given it was one brief scene about a child's birthday party. It wasn't an irrelevant scene as Doreen and the child were a main focus of that episode's story.
The hot potato song is sung from 5.13 to 5.36 in the episode - a duration less than 25 seconds. At 5.48 Mr Jackson's arrival quickly switches the focus of the scene to something other than the birthday party.
The term 'cringeworthy' is way overused on these forums.
I think some posts on this forum are over the top, let alone some words, so I'm right with ya there
Yeah, hopefully get mine tomorrow, I have seen them all before but it will be a shame not to have some new volumes to look forward to, although I will be glad to have the complete set.
Yes will be nice to have a complete set. Imagine, ow ing every single episode! Brilliant!
As others have pointed out, that was a total overreaction to a tiny scene that was pretty much in context. Are you saying that prisoners are not human and wouldn't do things like that? It worked brilliantly for me, making the best of things and trying to help the kid have a good day but then being slapped back into ugly reality. You really think a show could survive without heart? Blackmail, fights and scheming will be there but we have to love the characters too or nobody would care. Humanising them is the best way.
Luckily this is the first really negative post I have read, except for the ones you know haven't seen it and don't want to, so I doubt there is much to worry about for the show which is doing great with viewing figures too.
Your whole post seems fixated on one scene and ignores the other 99% of the episode. Does the rest not back up your agenda?
The emotion and love from the Doreen character was outstanding and the whole episode, for me, was even better than episode 1 as we dived straight in this time.
If you're on there you can tell them that 'Thunder' won't be visiting anymore due to a disgusting display of vile behaviour actually on the forum for all to see from a so called moderator, full of insults and name calling directed at another member
I only lurk. It's a horrible site full of power trips and bullying.
i used to visit and post, those days are now over for me.
avoid horrible bully mods like 'Jock Stewart' and 'Smash'
The so called boss .Lily sumthing is piss weak, allows the other mods to bully and won't do the decent thing and run the site properly
love prisoner,dislike *some* of its fans...i don't dislike all of them,there are many cool people in this thread:)
Even Tina Murray got a line........eventually
But at least Ros got to snog Tammy:D.
I always thought Jenny should have had a chance to speak, certainly more than some of them.
Agenda?
Now who's being over the top?
What agenda?
That scene was cringe worthy. It took me out of the episode and ruined it for me. It tainted the rest of it.
I'm certainly not saying that "prisoners aren't human and wouldn't do things like that".
It's the job of writers, directors and producers to make & keep a tone for a series and that scene ruined the tone.
As it is, a child wouldn't be allowed to live in a main cell block. Especially not after a mini riot in which someone was killed.
And I know that such scenes are the type of thing that can get a series highly criticised and mocked. Producers are running the risk of what happend to Prisoner, happening to Wentworth all over again when it reaches British shores.
I'm sure there could have been better, genuinely funny, sweet ways to have a lighter moment. I don't mind a lighter momnet if it's well done.
As it is I stand by what I said, hot potato was cringe worthy.
That sounds interesting.
Can you give a linky to the thread?
Or if it's been deleted, can you say what the thread was?
Even on the other forum pretty much nobody agrees with you over this one scene. It was cringey in your opinion, as far as here and the prisoner site and the facebook page feedback goes it has had a much more positive reaction.
Maybe you should consider that you not liking something is as far as that goes.
Coming across as worried it will put people off and make people mock it when it is just you doing it is just weird.
How is it this show got stacks of DVD releases yet no other soap did.