Prisoner (TV Series) - Background

Background

Prisoner was created by Reg Watson, who had previously produced the British soap opera Crossroads from 1964 to 1973, and would go on to create such popular Australian soaps as The Young Doctors, Sons and Daughters and Neighbours. Initially conceived as a sixteen episode stand-alone series, the storylines primarily concentrated on the lives of the prisoners and, to a lesser extent, the officers and other prison staff. As the initial episodes began to air and were met with enthusiastic reception, it was felt Prisoner could be developed into an on-going soap opera, and as such, the initial storylines were developed and expanded, and new plots and characters phased in.

The themes of the show were often radical, including feminism, homosexuality and social reform. When the series launched in early 1979, the press advertising used the line "If you think prison is hell for a man, imagine what it's like for a woman.". The series examined in detail the way in which women dealt with incarceration and separation from their families, and also the recurring theme of released inmates often being drawn into a circle of re-offending. Within the walls of the prison, the major themes of the series were the interpersonal relationships between the prisoners, the power struggles, friendships and rivalries. To a certain extent, the misfits who found themselves within the walls of the Wentworth Detention Centre became each other's family, with Bea Smith (see below) as a mother figure. Several lesbian characters were featured throughout the show's run, notably prisoners Franky Doyle and Judy Bryant, along with corrupt prison officer Joan Ferguson.