Prisoner Cell Block H (25th Anniversary Collector's Edition)

Starring:Judith McLorinan, Geraldine Girvan, Anne-Marie Carley, Jacqui Jackson, Kaye Chadwick, Bev Hay, Liz Harris, Marianne Brooke, Gonza Sheils, Betty Doran, Jenifer Fairfax, Christine Andrew, John Allen (XXII), Julie Hilton, Delva Hunter, Liddy Clark, Marion Dimmick, Helen Noonan, Mary Murphy (VI), Carolyn Quist
Studio: A&E Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Prisoner: Cell Block H, a drama set in a women's prison called Wentworth Detention Centre, ran for eight seasons on Australian television, from 1979 to 1986, resulting in an astonishing 692 hourlong episodes. Among these were 12 choice segments included in this DVD sampler set, selected to give a strong impression of the series' accomplishments and many changes over passing years. During its run, the show was also a big hit in the United Kingdom and, for a time, had a cult following in America. U.S. fans didn't get to see much of the ratcheted-up intensity, darker characters, and added violence that evolved during Prisoner's middle years and beyond. Now that's possible with this anthology.

Curious newcomers, too, will find much to discover in the 25th Anniversary Collector's Edition. Prisoner concerns the lives and dramas of sundry inmates, guards, and prison officials at Wentworth. The earliest episode here, from season 3, serves as a useful introduction to the program's cast and tone. The story entails a prison break gone horribly wrong for several women trapped inside a sewer; meanwhile, authorities jostle over control of Wentworth and fend off rising dissatisfaction from the guards' union over working conditions. The episode makes clear that Prisoner is about varieties of power among and between authorities and incarcerated women, about small acts of kindness, sadness, frustration, and unbearable displays of ego and corruption. Those themes extend to the other, scattered episodes in this box set, all of which involve Prisoner's most colorful and memorable character (introduced in season 4), a sadistic, lesbian guard named Joan "the Freak" Ferguson (Maggie Kirkpatrick). As the years go by, Joan appears to have a brutal, conniving, thieving hand in everything, encountering resistance only from the strongest of the inmates, and surviving assaults, terrorist attacks, and much else until receiving her comeuppance in the series finale. If this collection, which quickly grows on a viewer, is a fair representation of the legacy of Prisoner: Cell Block H, one can only hope to see more in the future. --Tom Keogh
Description
Go deep inside Wentworth Prison - meet the women behind bars and the staff that keeps them there. A cross between the dark and campy Dark Shadows and a daytime soap opera, PRISONER: CELL BLOCK H has achieved global cult-legend status with its 692 serial

Prisoner Cell Block H, Set 1 (25th Anniversary Collector's Edition)
Average customer rating:

You may want to hold off from buying

A Good Risk

A curious offering . . .

ON THE INSIDE

Use to watch, cell block H-Caged Women

Prisoner Cell Block H, Set 1 (25th Anniversary Collector's Edition)
Starring: Judith McLorinan , Geraldine Girvan , Anne-Marie Carley , Jacqui Jackson , and Kaye Chadwick
Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Amazon.com

Prisoner: Cell Block H, a drama set in a women's prison called Wentworth Detention Centre, ran for eight seasons on Australian television, from 1979 to 1986, resulting in an astonishing 692 hourlong episodes. Among these were 12 choice segments included in this DVD sampler set, selected to give a strong impression of the series' accomplishments and many changes over passing years. During its run, the show was also a big hit in the United Kingdom and, for a time, had a cult following in America. U.S. fans didn't get to see much of the ratcheted-up intensity, darker characters, and added violence that evolved during Prisoner's middle years and beyond. Now that's possible with this anthology.

Curious newcomers, too, will find much to discover in the 25th Anniversary Collector's Edition. Prisoner concerns the lives and dramas of sundry inmates, guards, and prison officials at Wentworth. The earliest episode here, from season 3, serves as a useful introduction to the program's cast and tone. The story entails a prison break gone horribly wrong for several women trapped inside a sewer; meanwhile, authorities jostle over control of Wentworth and fend off rising dissatisfaction from the guards' union over working conditions. The episode makes clear that Prisoner is about varieties of power among and between authorities and incarcerated women, about small acts of kindness, sadness, frustration, and unbearable displays of ego and corruption. Those themes extend to the other, scattered episodes in this box set, all of which involve Prisoner's most colorful and memorable character (introduced in season 4), a sadistic, lesbian guard named Joan "the Freak" Ferguson (Maggie Kirkpatrick). As the years go by, Joan appears to have a brutal, conniving, thieving hand in everything, encountering resistance only from the strongest of the inmates, and surviving assaults, terrorist attacks, and much else until receiving her comeuppance in the series finale. If this collection, which quickly grows on a viewer, is a fair representation of the legacy of Prisoner: Cell Block H, one can only hope to see more in the future. --Tom Keogh

Description

Go deep inside Wentworth Prison - meet the women behind bars and the staff that keeps them there. A cross between the dark and campy Dark Shadows and a daytime soap opera, PRISONER: CELL BLOCK H has achieved global cult-legend status with its 692 serial

Customer Reviews:

You may want to hold off from buying.......2007-06-21

I have these 'selected episodes' on DVD and loved to see the old show again. I watched the entire series during the 70s & 80s so I knew the characters and was easily able to fit into the 12episodes of the 692episode series.

However, later in 2007 the whole series will be released on DVD. So it may be wiser to wait for those that really loved the show. 692episodes on 179discs. That might be the biggest DVD release ever??? But it won't be cheap. I believe about 1,600 (Australian dollars) or 700 (English pounds).

A Good Risk.......2007-01-20

I bought this DVD at a much lesser price because it was taking a risk. I had only seen snatches of the show over the summer (it was going off when I settled down to watch reruns of Peyton Place in the afternoon), and while I knew something of what it was about, I didn't have a clear picture. I watched this DVD slowly at first; then I really got into it. Of course it was orginally a night time show over here in the U.S. I don't believe they scheduled shows with bad language on any earlier than 10pm in those days, and this one dealt with violence and lesbians. TV is too explicit about things like that today. This show, however, was not. The subject was handled verbally more than physically, the way I think it should be handled. Any kind of initimate sexual relationship is personal and should be left to a viewer's imagination. After all, I enjoy Rhett Butler's taking Scarlett upstairs in Gone With the Wind and her facial expression the next morning than I do explicit sex scenes.

Lesbianism didn't play such a big role in this DVD as I thought it would. Kath Maxwell sums up the main theme of the series in one of the later episodes: survival. The women, prisoners and staff, guilty and innocent, must survive riots, fights and their own personal demons. I had ambivalent attitudes towards many of the prisoners, especially Bea Smith. The episode of her departure with Lizzie screaming after her is heart-wrenching, even though I know Bea could be pretty bad herself in the series. What is very surprising is that, in spite of the survival theme, the women care about each other. The words "love" and "mate" are used as often as the dirty words. Older prisoners Lizzie and Ettie develop a maternal attitude toward younger prisoners. Myra Desmond is capable of downright heroism, and prisoners and officers alike try to help inmate Rita Conners deal with terminal cancer. It is humanity mixed in with the brutality, as you might find in other prison or war movies, but here it is somehow special. It makes me wonder if I shouldn't think twice about prison inmates. I have recently discovered the series' website and hope they will have more information on the characters. I don't know what a majority of the prisoners were charged with! Buying this DVD was a good risk!

A curious offering . . ........2006-07-31

Prisoner of Cell Block H was a soap from Australia, set in a women's prison. It had strong colorful characters, and the prison setting made for some interesting and unusual storylines. Though some of the cultural nuances may have been missed, for the most part the American audience probably had no major problems following along.

692 episodes were produced during the series run from 1979 through 1986. With that many episodes, this retrospective 25th Anniversary collection of 12 programs, can only give the faintest taste of what the series was like. Continuity is impossible, and being able to put things into some kind of context is a rather difficult as well. Cell Block H was a gritty program, but this collection is pretty much only for its fans. The heavily discounted used price, reflects a lack of demand.

ON THE INSIDE.......2006-06-12

I was grateful when Prisoner came out on DVD in Australia back in 2001, but was annoyed when it was only selected episodes handpicked as 'best of episodes' in the minds of the TV distributor. This Prisoner DVD 3-set has since been released in USA And UK and while it is great for all of us to have, I am confused why certain episodes were selected when there are much, much better ones to pick (ie. ones with Vera Bennett). Really, out of 692 episodes, they could have done a better job. Better than nothing though.

Prisoner ruled Australian TV from 1979 to 1986 and many consider its best years to be 1980 to 1982. I had no idea it was shown on American TV until I read about it here on Amazon. Just a shame that America only got to see one or two seasons before it was pulled in favour of Mash re-runs.

Anyway, with the popularity of DVDs, there is no excuse why the complete Prisoner seasons couldn't be released on DVD beginning with Season 1 from 1979 starring Kerry Armstrong, Peta Topano and Val Leahman (Bea Smith). Even better, 1979 covered alot of Vera Bennett. Unfortunately, the current DVD (Best Of) only shows one episode of Vera and focusses on to many episodes of Joan Fergusion.

In Australia, they have since released another installment of Prisoner DVD's although once again are more of those 'best of' episodes. These new DVD's are very expensive compared to the first installment so I am yet to get them.

I doubt we will ever get complete seasons released as there are simply too many episodes. A pity, as there are millions of Prisoner fans across the world!

Bring on the cat-fights.

Use to watch, cell block H-Caged Women.......2005-10-20

I was 13 at the time and I watched it with my father. If this came out in 79 in the us then we must not have watched it very long together because my father died July 14th 1979. I had just turned 14. My favorite Character was the brown preppy short haired lady, not a lifer but had an affair with the Doctor and then was released, and not sure if it ever was a happy ending. i think she ended back in there.
I wrote me own script with this movie in mind, what a project. Couldn't get any of my friends to act in front of a video camera. i was probably more motivated then they were. i was thinking about prison movies like OZ and was just curious to whatever became of it

Average customer rating:

Not complete!!!

Prisoner Cell Block H, Set 2
Starring: Judith McLorinan , Geraldine Girvan , Anne-Marie Carley , Jacqui Jackson , and Kaye Chadwick
Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Product description

This long-awaited DVD collection distills the 692 original episodes of this beloved prison drama down to the dozen that perfectly capture the magnitude, the intensity and the outlandishness of the legendary program.

A worldwide television phenomenon, PRISONER: CELL BLOCK H is the cult classic from Down Under, set behind the bars of the all-female Wentworth Detention Centre. Indulge in the drama and scandal that unfold in this celebrated Australian soap opera: notorious and treasured for its hysterically wobbly sets, unattractive actresses, and absurd plots. Beyond the kitsch and camp, though, PRISONER: CELL BLOCK H dealt with tough issues like drug abuse, domestic violence, and lesbianism before any other television program dared. This uncensored, comprehensive collection is essential viewing for hard-core fans and newcomers alike.

The PRISONER: CELL BLOCK H COLLECTION 2 includes:

* Volume 1 DVD: THE BEGINNING - Episodes 1-4. Follow the women of Wentworth through their induction to prison and its brutally harsh regime.
* Volume 2 DVD: GREAT ESCAPES - Episodes 20, 165, 471 and 598. Dig in as the girls try to sneak, shovel, scratch, shimmy, and jump their way out of jail.
* Volume 3 DVD: NOT SO QUIET RIOT - Episodes 247, 248, 586 and 667. Wentworth is a time bomb just waiting to go off at the slightest rumble, and the inmates never miss a chance to rock the big house to its knees.
* Bonus features include stills galleries and interactive games.

Customer Reviews:

Not complete!!! .......2007-01-18

First off I have to say that I was a fan of the show when it was airing in Los Angeles, back in the late 70s/early 80s(?). And I was happy when I found this set was available. I missed the first set, so I didn't know that this was part 2. I guess the "Set 2" on the cover should have been a clue, but since I bought this at a store, which didn't have set 1, I went ahead a got it. The box doesn't inlcude episode info just topic headings for each of the three dvds (THE BEGINNING, THE GREAT ESCAPES, A NOT SO QUIET RIOT), which could mean anything.

Well, after doing some research, I found out that PRISONER CELL BLOCK H had over 650 episodes and was aired on Australian tv for over seven years, long after it was cancelled here in the US. So I had no idea that when the box said, "...12 complete , drama-filled episodes spanning from start to finish..." would mean episodes and characters I've never seen.

Because of this, the dvd set is sort of piecemeal with episodes jumping from #20 to #165 and then #471. Not good for a serial (soap-opera) with story lines that continue from episode to episode. I understand that the producers of this dvd set were trying to put the best episodes in the appropriate topic (i.e. "Not So Quiet Riot"), but it doesn't work. And it really doesn't work for an American audience since we never saw the later seasons and have no idea who the characters are.

When the episodes jump on the second dvd from #165 to #471, the entire cast changes except for the actress who played prison guard Meg Jackson. And episode #165 ended with a cliff hanger where inmates Bea Smith, Lizzie (?) and Doreen Anderson, along with newer inmates, get stuck in a tunnel, while trying to escape form Wentworth. The tunnel starts to cave in on them and the episode ends. Did they die? Did they make it? Did Lizzie and Bea make it back to the prison un-noticed? We'll never know... at least not from this dvd set.

Another thing that happens starting with episode #471, aside from a different cast, the show almost becomes a parody of itself. Kind of like watching a spoof on PRISONER rather than the actual show, and the actresses don't look very menacing or even harden criminals like the original cast. They just look like women with crew cuts trying to act like tomboys, but not very convincing. The show almost seems as though its realized what it is and the magic disappeared. I couldn't watch the rest of it including the end of episode #598 on dvd 2 and none of dvd 3. Maybe one of these days I will watch the remaining episodes, but at that point, I didn't care about the show or the characters anymore, probably because I didn't know what was going on. That's the problem with putting out a greatest hits compliation of shows especially when that show is a serial.

The good part of the set is dvd 1(THE BEGINNING) and the first two episodes of dvd 2:

DVD ONE: EPISODES 1-4
These episodes introduce life at Wentworth prison through two new inmates, Karen Travers and Lynn Warner. Each found guilty of different crimes, Travers for killing her husband and Warner for attempting to kill a small boy she was carrying for, and the audience is introduced to life inside the all women prison, including getting to know each of the main characters. Great start and includes the scene when Bea burns Warner's hand, for those of you who remember. Viewer's also get reaquainted with characters they might have forgot like inmates Frankie Doyle and Doreen Anderson, and prison guards Vera Bennett and Meg Jackson.

DVD TWO: EPISODES 20, 165, 471, 598
The stand outs are #20 and #165. Even though the second dvd jumps to episode 20 and then to episode 165, leaving many questions unanswered and can be confusing for new viewers, it's not so jarring that you can't get into the story. #20 shows Frankie and Doreen have escaped from Wentworth (how? I don't remember and you won't find out on this set) and ends with a shootout. #165 ends with a cliff hanger, see above, and gone are the two inmates who brought us into the prison in episode 1, Travers and Warner. Were they aquitted? Escaped? Died? Paroled? You won't find that out here!
#471 and 598, this is where the set went down hill for me. Gone are all the original characters, including the Governor of Wentworth, and you have no idea what happened. At this point it seemed pointless and boring and only fans who watched the series from beginning to end will understand what's going on!

There are no extra stuff on this set, unlike set one, and unless you're a die hard fan, wait until they release a complete set of each season, which they probably won't do. Even if you are a fan, if you lived in the US and watched the shows when they originally aired, like me, you still won't be able to understand what's going on after episode #165.

If I had known this, I would've waited. I read the reviews on PRISONER CELL BLOCK H: SET ONE, and that sounds like the episodes are disjointed as well. But, it has some extra's like the interview with the actress who played inmate Bea Smith, so I might purchase that.

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