Prisoner Cell Block H

Interviews with the cast of Prisoner Cell Block H, character profiles, photographs and comments from celebrities who are viewers, are all included in this inside view of the Australian soap opera.

Prisoner Cell Block H took the world by storm. Running from 1979 to 1986, 'Prisoner', as it was known in its home country, remains one of the most iconic and talked-about television serials to come from Australia, spanning a wonderful 692 episodes: each of them action packed, filled with gritty, intense storylines, some of the most wonderful characters ever created for TV soap, brought to life by a unique mainly female dominated cast whose portrayal of the 'old lags' are now nothing short of legendary. In this brand new book, Prisoner Cell Block H is remembered and celebrated by three people well known to the show's fans -- uniting fan club founders Scott Anderson and Barry Campbell with Rob Cope, this book features new and exclusive contributions from the show's cast, writers and crew. This Companion also takes a look at the theatre productions, hit theme song and world-wide fan following that have continued to make Prisoner one of the most celebrated television serials of all time. Packed with never before published photographs, this is one book that will be a must for any fan of the show! And if you are not a fan of the show, this book will tell you why Prisoner Cell Block H has become THE cult TV series! This is the ultimate guide to this incredible TV series.

SHEILA FLORANCE ON THE INSIDE an Intimate Portrait Sheila Florance said with her characteristic irony, I set out aged nineteen with every intention of becoming the worlds greatest Shakespearean actress and ended up as Lizzie Birdsworth, the shearers poisoner! This much-loved character in the cult TV soapie Prisoner brought Sheila worldwide fame after fifty years of hard work during the formative years of the Australian performing arts. It culminated just days before her death at seventy-five with an Australian Film Institute Leading Actress award for her last film A Womans Tale. Onstage and off her life was theatre on a grand scale. Everything was extravagant about Sheila in the parties she threw, her humour and tall tales, her friendships, her anger and loves. As a fighter for justice, her approach was eccentric and front-on. She wouldnt have called herself a feminist yet she always battled for and supported women. She suffered a difficult childhood, war in England, the tragic inexplicable death of her eighteen-year-old daughter, two drama-filled marriages and a constant tension between her main passions family and acting. It was quite a journey yet Sheilas courage and determination to be true to herself never faltered. In this very personal biography, her daughter-in-law and confidante, Helen Martineau, reveals the fascinating public career and behind-the-scenes upheavals of a memorable and inspiring woman, who in her final illness found the peace that long eluded her. I bought the book as a kind of duty to the memory of Sheila. But I simply couldnt put it down. You captured her in all her moods and complexity. Elspeth Ballantyne; warder Meg Morris in Prisoner and Sheilas long-time friend Second updated edition first published 2005 as On the inside an Intimate Portrait of Sheila Florance

"'Just like Prisoner and Wentworth, this book is an instant cult classic. Written with love by a collective of expert aca-fans, TV Deep dive into iconic 1980s Australian women-in-prison TV drama Prisoner (aka Cell Block H), its contemporary reimagining as Wentworth, and its broader, global industry significance and influence, this book brings together a range of scholarly and industry perspectives, including an interview with actor Shareena Clanton (Wentworth's Doreen Anderson). Its chapters draw on talks with producers, screenwriters and casting; fan voices from the Wentworth twitterverse; comparisons with Netflix's Orange is the New Black; queer and LGBTQ approaches; and international production histories and contexts. By charting a path from Prisoner to Wentworth, the book offers a new mapping of TV shifts and transformations through the lens of female transgression, ruminating on the history, currency, industry position and cultural value of women-in-prison series"--