You should be locked up if you've never watched Prisoner! Lol! (Prisoner: Cell Block H)

Member Name: mrdave2606

Product:	Prisoner: Cell Block H
Date:	12/04/09 (15 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great story, interesting characters

Disadvantages: Set was a bit rubbish and the effects were cheap

I remember Prisoner Cell Block H first arriving on British TV in the 1980s. My late grandma used to be totally addicted to it, and used to keep us all informed about what was going on.

When Prisoner returned to British TV on Channel 5 in the late 1990s, I too became a big fan of the cult drama. The programme is set in an Australian women's prison called Wentworth. It follows a selection of prisoners and the prisoner staff (nicknamed screws).

Originally, the main members of the cast were the top-dog Bea Smith (nicknamed Queen Bea), Lizzie Birdsworth (a frail but amusing old lady), Vera Bennett (the original nasty prison officer) and the governer Erica Davidson (a firm but fair lady).

There were many interesting stories, including prisoners attempting to escape, riots, suicides, murders and probably the best story, a massive fire.

The cast changed around alot over the years, and eventually the star of the show was evil prison officer, Joan Ferguson. She was totally corrupt, and totally hated by the prisoners and most of the staff.

It was quite amusing watching the programme at times, because the set was very basic indeed. Sometimes when some of the cell doors were shut, you could see the walls shaking, basically because they were made out of cardboard! Why the prisoners never took advantage of this, I never know! Some of the acting wasn't the greatest at times, but it didn't really matter in a way, because the story was always good.

If only the whole series could be shown again sometime. I'd certainly watch again!

Summary: Classic and addictive TV viewing