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Post by Dirty Epic on Sept 12, 2015 17:39:38 GMT
As were into Season 3 of Wentworth in the UK thought it was time to create a thread for it and compare it with the original Prsioner. There's very obvious differences in characters, acting style and feel between the two and have to admit up to the current Season thought Wentworth was a bit hit and miss compared to the haphazard, yet so bad it's good original. In my opinon these were the good and bad points of the two:
Prisoner
The Good - tackled brave and then new social issues, didn't take itself too seriously, when storylines worked they worked well The Bad - Acorn Antiques style acting at times, unbelieveable scripts/storylines, wonky sets and veering on breaking the 'forth wall'
Wentworth
The Good - better acting talent, a more realistic depiction of prison life, a slicker production team/ commitment from those involved. The Bad - overplayed extreme violence, too much flashy photography/ effects, trying too hard to compete with US dramas and Aus drama like Underbelly resulting in a style of substance feel IMHO
So is Wentworth any good? Well yes/no it's on the whole not bad and this new season with the links between Ferguson 'The Freak', Bea, Franky and others could have interesting conclusions. But so far not really liking it enough to go for the DVD etc. Still not felt tempted to get PCBH on DVD either and on the whole there is much worse drama being raved over than Wentworth. So far 7/10 IMO.
Any thoughts
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Sept 12, 2015 20:18:14 GMT
I think I read that the complete Prisoner dvd set is the largest set of dvds ever released. I watched some of the first ep. of Wentworth out of curiosity but it was so obviously different from the original that I didn't make a point of watching it after that. Back in the day Prisoner was regular viewing in my household but I'm not sure I'd revisit it today were it repeated, being a soap of sorts it was storyline driven so it's not a show you can dip in & out of easily. If you bought the dvd set you'd be looking at a mammoth viewing commitment- for hardcore Prisoner fans only & Prisoner is a show that had those.
I have a book called 'Cult TV' & the chapter on Prisoner mentions that it was hugely popular in Los Angeles ( not sure if it was shown elsewhere in the US ) & only 'Charlies Angels' was more popular at the time. The day after the episode where Frankie Doyle is killed by the police was shown, a group of female bikers congregated outside the LA tv station that aired Prisoner to pay their respects & apparently 3,000 people across LA did the same. I remember seeing news footage of UK fans turning up at an airport to greet Bea & Lizzy who had travelled from Aus to promote the show.
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Post by Charles Bronson on Sept 13, 2015 14:07:49 GMT
I watched a few minutes of Wentworth when it was first screened out of curiosity, but I didn't like it at all. I thought the old Prisoner Cell Block H was better. The characters seemed like what we'd imagine Aussies to be like, and of course not very P.C. in those days. I suppose the new version had a much bigger budget though. I once went to a stage production of Prisoner with the wife in the ninties, which had quite a few of the original cast in it. I got a bit of stick in work for that at the time. Have to admit, I did get hooked on Prisoner for a few years, and I thought there were a lot worse shows from down under. I believe some of the original cast made a few quid over here, through personal appearances in bingo venues etc. I think the orginal show went on for about eight hundred episodes.
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Post by Sam Tyler on Sept 13, 2015 17:25:55 GMT
I once went to a stage production of Prisoner with the wife in the nineties... Have you got another younger wife too?
Sam.
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Post by Brown Cortina on Nov 28, 2020 12:29:24 GMT
Reading Arthur's comment here reminded me how I used to watch Cell Block H back in the day and like you say Arthur if it were repeated today I wouldn't watch it either. A few years back I bought the box set of the first series and I didn't enjoy it that much, not like I did in the 80's anyway. My wife borrowed the whole set from a friend and I found it to be not as I'd remembered and thinking How on earth did I used to watch this three nights a week ? Back in the day it was on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
The new Wentworth however I have enjoyed and would watch that again. I believe there's only one more series to be made ?
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Cartman
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Post by Cartman on Nov 28, 2020 14:08:18 GMT
My wife watched this, I just thought it was completely unwatchable and one of the worst things I had ever seen.
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Nov 28, 2020 18:45:52 GMT
I used to watch it with my mum & one of my brothers, probably not a show I'd watch on my own. When it first appeared it was like nothing else on tv ( although I think it was based on 'Within These Walls' ) & like 'Neighbours' which I'm ashamed to say I watched regularly & enjoyed it was interesting to see life from an Australian perspective.
There were a number of Aussie soaps- The Young Doctors, Sons And Daughters, The Sullivans, A Country Practice that I remember watching, mostly because my mum watched them. I had the daily task of videotaping Sons And Daughters whilst my mum was at work, if I forgot & she missed an episode I felt quite guilty, ridiculous looking back at it now. In fact I look back on all the tv I watched in my teens & think what a waste of time it was.
As soaps go Prisoner was generally well acted & there were some interesting storylines, I particularly liked Jim Fletcher's involvement with his old army friend played by Ray Meagher, a violent bigot & mercenary. Also Jock Stewart, the sadistic screw played so well by Scots actor Tommy Dysart, he was only in 12 episodes & surprisingly is still alive today. I'd say Stewart is one of the great tv villains, a brilliant performance.
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Post by Brown Cortina on Nov 29, 2020 22:00:56 GMT
I remember Jock Stewart Arthur. I can’t quite remember how the inmates got rid of him but I recall they stitched him up somehow. I also remember Ray Meagher. Wasn’t he Alf Stewart from Home and Away ?
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Nov 29, 2020 22:29:16 GMT
A good actor, I think he deserved better than playing Alf for years.
Just checked a youtube clip, Craven isn't someone I remember as he appeared much later in the show. I can't remember if ITV showed every episode of Prisoner or whether I just stopped watching it
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Post by Dirty Epic on Dec 1, 2020 20:32:46 GMT
A good actor, I think he deserved better than playing Alf for years.
Just checked a youtube clip, Craven isn't someone I remember as he appeared much later in the show. I can't remember if ITV showed every episode of Prisoner or whether I just stopped watching it Ray was brilliant as a 'hammer' type villain 'Bob Temple' in mid 80's mini series 'The Great Bookie Robbery' which I did a review of a few years back. Fully recommend seeing it as it was - with fictitious characters, based on the real robbery which took place in 1976 and set off a bit of a storm within Melbourne's underworld back then.
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