Prisoner: Cell Block H (1979–1986)
"Prisoner" (original title)

This Australian series has, after 692 episodes, received cult status all over the world. The series takes place in Wentworth, a prison in Australia. Wentworth is a high-security female ... See full summary »

Stars:

Elspeth Ballantyne, Betty Bobbitt, Sheila Florance

10 wins.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Elspeth Ballantyne	...	Meg Morris (669 episodes, 1979-1986)
Betty Bobbitt	...	Judy Bryant (429 episodes, 1980-1985)
Sheila Florance	...	Lizzie Birdsworth (403 episodes, 1979-1984)
Maggie Kirkpatrick	...	Joan "The Freak" Ferguson (389 episodes, 1982-1986)
Val Lehman	...	Bea Smith (376 episodes, 1979-1983)
Patsy King	...	Erica Davidson (353 episodes, 1979-1984)
Gerda Nicolson	...	Ann Reynolds (319 episodes, 1981-1986)
Colette Mann	...	Doreen Burns (293 episodes, 1979-1984)

Storyline

This Australian series has, after 692 episodes, received cult status all over the world. The series takes place in Wentworth, a prison in Australia. Wentworth is a high-security female prison. The women are there for all sorts of crimes. We get to follow how they got there, their life in the prison and what becomes of them afterwards. We also get to follow the staff, their work in the prison and their personal relationships.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | hypnotic | drug smuggling | marriage | judge | 

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Taglines:

The cult phenomenon from down under.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official fan site

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 August 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Caged Women

Filming Locations:

27 Howard Street, Box Hill, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Grundy Television Productions, Network Ten, The Grundy Organization

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min 50 min (692 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The theme song "On the Inside" at the time was acclaimed as "the biggest selling single from a female artist in the history of the Australian recording industry". On 6th May 1989 the single was released in the UK and peaked at number 3 in the charts on 3rd June.

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Goofs

Throughout the series, the walls and gates wobble when there is alot of movement.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Franky Doyle: She bumped into me.

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Connections

Referenced in Pizza: Gambling Pizza (2000)

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Soundtracks

"On the Inside"
(Prisoner theme)
Written by Allan Caswell
Conducted by William Motzing
Performed by Lynne Hamilton

User Reviews

Better Than "Oz"

This is certainly the best prison show ever, and probably the best soap opera/melodrama ever, too. It's humor and lack of pretension make it 100 times better than "Oz" will ever be. Of course, setting it in a women's prison gave the creators a lot more freedom in dealing with characters. We have fewer preconceptions so they couldn't rely on stereotypes like they do on "Oz". It would be neat, in a way, if they could have Vera (aka Vinegar Tits) guest star as a guard on Oz. She'd straighten that place up in short order! Somebody please bring this back to American TV!!