http://www.tvwise.co.uk/2013/04/chan...ies-wentworth/

Can't wait till this hits our screens. I'll definitely be watching it to see what it's like. If it's as good as the original, I'll continue to watch it. I want it to be very like the original. The original was excellent, in my opinion.

It won't be though, will it. Are there any original members in this thing? Without Joan "The Freak" Ferguson at her worst then it's not really worth any Cell Block H association. Likely no more connected to the original show than our own Juliet Bravo! Is Bea Smith coming back for example? Meg Morris? Erica as head of "The Department" and so on and on.....?

Might give it s go. Sounds okay.

Just watched the first episode online. Oh my word, but it's good. For modern viewers, perhaps the best description is that it's like the serious, gritty first year or so of Bad Girls, crossed with the much more brutal US male prison drama Oz.

It's a reboot, so we get to meet a lot of the same characters but in slightly different ways. Instead of following new inmate Karen Travers during her first few days inside, we follow new inmate Bea Smith. I think this is a very canny move. In hindsight, Karen was such a dull character - why should we care about her first days in prison? Instead, we follow Bea's first days in Wentworth and the events that happen to her - events that will be very familiar (with a few nasty twists!) to people who know the original first episodes of Prisoner: Cell Block H.

The acting, sets and atmosphere are utterly top-notch. I'm hooked. Can't wait for the rest of the show.

Characters in the first episode - just so you know!

Bea Smith
Frankie Doyle
Doreen
Liz Birdsworth
Vera Bennett
Meg Jackson
Officer Jackson
Officer Fletcher
Prison social worker Erica Davidson

... and lots of new characters with hints of characters like the 'original' Bea, Lurch, and loads more.

I wonder if Channel 5 will hide it away on 5*. (Or what ever the channel is called this week.)

It would be unusual for them or any main UK channel to show a non U.S. / UK drama.

The only character I liked was Jacs.

I'm interested to see this, as I fan of the original, but it seems very dodgy the way they have gone about doing it. Using old character names for new characters who don't even slot into the same roles. The whole reboot thing seems a bit pointless.

Dallas has obviously done very well by coming back as a continuation. Both finished within a couple of years of each other. It would have been sensible to follow that lead.

Its excellent. You need to keep an open mind while watching but I do agree with the post above. Its very lazy to use the names of old characters. They could have used a completely new set for a new generation. They didn't need to bring old characters/actors back for it to work as a continuation. The name alone does that.

But it is great. You will be hooked 10 minutes in and the cliffhanger at the end of episode 1 will leave you screaming for episode 2!

The final sentence of the first paragraph of the link says

"Wentworth is set to premiere on Channel 5 later this year."

Wentworth renewed for a 2nd Season.

http://wentworth.sohotv.com.au/about...nu-id-166.html

http://localtoday.com.au/get-local/f...r-in-jail.html

yay, cos it's actually really good, in some ways you know what's going to happen & in other ways you don't.

I've just watched the first four episodes of this online as I was a fan of Prisoner.

It's actually brilliant! It actually gives a much better back-story to the characters than the original Reg Watson series, and has US drama production values which I thought might spoil it, but actually just make it gripping!

I think this could be the biggest thing Channel 5 have secured fir years.

Oh my word....Frankie Doyle was doing something very naughty with that girl in the cell

Not sure I would have liked to have seen the original Frankie and Doreen in such a situation

People won't be disappointed with this

Well worth a watch, a bit more extreme shall we say than it's predecessor but I can't recommend it enough

My girlfriend told me about this and, as a big fan of Cell Block, she says she's definitely going to be watching it. I, on the other hand, won't. When soaps like Neighbours and Home and Away have somehow got even worse in the last twenty years what chance has this got?

I'm liking the positivity for this new show, Wentworth, which I guess is mostly coming from original fans of Cell Block H (of which I'm one) who would be expected to be highly critical if it didn't live up to at least a few high expectations.

I hated Prisoner Cell Block H.
The Worst programme ever made !

I said more or less the same in another thread.

New Bea for example is way stronger than original Bea (I actually can't believe I'm typing that) but its true. Her back story, her character, her writing. Its all ten times better. You actually go on a journey with her character and without saying too much you will be left gobsmacked by her transition come episode 10..

Its an amazing show and everyone who has watched it has praised it, minus the few who just need to accept things are different. The only ones doubting it are the ones who haven't seen it yet.

Give it a go! you will not be disappointed.

It wasn't as good. They messed around with the characters.

I think this begins next week sometime. I'm looking forward to it.

They should have stuck with the original. They probably wanted to jazz it up, make it more real looking.

There isn't actually anything wrong with the revamped take on the characters as enough is still there to identify them with the original. Once you accept the change you will enjoy it for what it is. The only genuine criticism I would acknowledge is the fact that Liz isn't Lizzie. She is basically Judy and it would have made more sense to have her character as Judy over Lizzie.

The only dialogue from Prisoner: CBH I can remember is:

"Shut up, Birdsworth!"
"Quiet, Birdsworth!"
"Zip it, Birdsworth!"

Poor Birdsworth.