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Prisoner Cell Block H

Prisoner
Pcbh.jpg
Also known as Prisoner: Cell Block H
(UK & United States)
Caged Women, Prisoner: Cell Block H
(Canada)
Kvinnofängelset
(Women's Prison) (Sweden)
Więźniarki
(Prisoners) (Poland)
Celblok H
(Cellblock H) (Netherlands)
Prisoners
(working title)
Women in Prison
(working title)
Women Behind Bars
(working title)
Genre Soap opera serial
(crime, drama)
Created by Reg Watson
Directed by Chris Adshead
Steve Mann
Sean Nash
Kendal Flanagan.
Starring (see List of Prisoner cast members)
Theme music composer Allan Caswell
Conductor - William Motzing
Ending theme "On the Inside"
written by
Allan Caswell
conducted by
William Motzing
performed by
Lynne Hamilton
Country of origin Australia
No. of seasons 8
No. of episodes 692 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Ian Bradley (from season 2)
Producer(s) Ian Bradley (season 1)
Camera setup Video
Running time 41–49 minutes
53 minutes (final episode)
Production company(s) Reg Grundy Organisation
Distributor FremantleMedia
Release
Original network Network Ten
Picture format PAL (4:3 576i)
Original release 27 February 1979 (1979-02-27) – 11 December 1986 (1986-12-11)
Chronology
Related shows Wentworth (reimagined)

Prisoner is an Australian soap opera set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. In the United States and United Kingdom it was known as Prisoner: Cell Block H, with the same title and Caged Women in Canada. The series, produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, aired on Network Ten for 692 episodes between 27 February 1979 and 11 December 1986. Originally, it was planned as a 16-part series.

The show was inspired by the British television drama Within These Walls, which was moderately successful in Australia. Due to an injunction requested by UK-based ATV, which considered the title too similar to their The Prisoner, overseas broadcasters had to change the series' name. In March 2012 it was announced that Prisoner would be "reimagined" on Foxtel in a new version, Wentworth.

Prisoner was created by Reg Watson, who had produced the British soap opera Crossroads from 1964 to 1973 and would create Australian soaps The Young Doctors, Sons and Daughters and Neighbours. Initially conceived as a 16-episode series, the working title of the pilot episode was "Women Behind Bars". Its storylines focused on the lives of the prisoners and, to a lesser extent, the officers and other prison staff. When the initial episodes met an enthusiastic reception, it was felt that Prisoner could be developed into an ongoing soap opera. The early storylines were developed and expanded, with assistance from the Corrective Services Department.

The show's themes, often radical, included feminism, homosexuality and social reform. Prisoner began in early 1979 with the advertising slogan, "If you think prison is hell for a man, imagine what it's like for a woman". The series examined how women dealt with incarceration and separation from their families, and the common phenomenon of released inmates re-offending. Within the prison, major themes were interpersonal relationships, power struggles, friendships and rivalries. The prisoners became a surrogate family, with Bea Smith and Jeanette Brookes (Mum) central mother figures. Several lesbian characters, including prisoners Franky Doyle and Judy Bryant and officer Joan Ferguson, appeared on the show.


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