Prisoner (TV series)

:For the 1967 UK television series, starring Patrick McGoohan, see The Prisoner.

Distribution

Prisoner was one of the first Australian soap operas exported to the UK where it was screened as Prisoner: Cell Block H. The name was changed to avoid confusion with the other well-known British series, The Prisoner. It achieved enduring success there despite much negative criticism from reviewers.

Related Topics:
UK - The Prisoner

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In addition to the UK and Australia, the show has also aired in Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden and the United States of America. Its US broadcast is noteworthy for a candlelight vigil held outside the Los Angeles station which aired the show, by lesbian fans of the show, to mourn the on-screen death of biker Franky Doyle (Carol Burns).

Related Topics:
UK - Australia - Canada - New Zealand - South Africa - Sweden - United States of America - Carol Burns

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The show has a cult following in Sweden, where it has been shown on TV4 for many years. An unofficial fan club organizes an annual get-together, and also gathered several thousand signatures (including that of Elspeth Ballantyne) to convince TV4 to continue airing the show in 2000. Now, the show has ended for the second time in Sweden and the fanclub has once again started to gather signatures to convince TV4 to air it a third time in 2005.

Related Topics:
Sweden - Elspeth Ballantyne - 2000 - 2005

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The show's theme song, On The Inside was released in the UK as a single on May 6, 1989, and peaked at number three in the pop charts.

Related Topics:
May 6 - 1989

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Prisoner was last shown on free-to-air television in Australia on Channel 10, on December 13, 1996, with Episode 196.

Related Topics:
December 13 - 1996

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Prisoner has been released on DVD, in 3 Box Sets. So far, only a fraction of the 692 episodes have been covered.

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The episodes on DVD are:

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• Episodes 1, 2, 3 and 4 (The beginning)
• Episode 20 (Franky Doyle, on the run with Doreen Burns, is shot dead by police)
• Episodes 165 and 166 (the tunnel escape 1980-81 Cliffhanger episodes)
• Episodes 247 and 248 (Sandy's riot, which started off the 1982 season)
• Episode 287 (Officer Joan "The Freak" Ferguson starts)
• Episode 327 (The fire's immediate aftermath)
• Episode 400 (Bee Smith's demise)
• Episode 471 (Marie Winter escapes by helicopter)
• Episodes 498, 499, 500 and 501 (Meg Morris and Ann Reynolds are taken hostage)
• Episode 536 (The inmates discuss old times, with flashbacks from old episodes of the series)
• Episodes 550, 551 and 552 (The terrorist siege, ending in the death of a major character)
• Episodes 586, 598, 600, 601, 664, 665, 666, and 667 (twice), and the final 6 episodes of the series.