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''Prisoner'' is an Australian soap opera, set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. In the United States and United Kingdom it was billed as ''Prisoner: Cell Block H'', and in Canada as ''Prisoner: Cell Block H'' and/or ''Caged Women''. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation in Australia, and aired on Network Ten, running 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986, after originally only devised as a 16 part series. The series was inspired by British television drama ''Within These Walls'', which had achieved moderate success in Australia. ''Prisoner'' producers even approached Googie Withers of ''Within These Walls'' to play the role of ''Prisoner''s governor, an offer that she declined. Because of an injunction brought by UK-based ATV, which considered the title too similar to their own series, ''The Prisoner'', it was originally not possible for overseas broadcasters to screen the show under the ''Prisoner'' title, which necessitated a name change. In March 2012, it was announced that the series would be "reimagined" on Foxtel in a new version entitled ''Wentworth''.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Wentworth: Prisoner re-born on Foxtel )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Foxtel commissions new Prisoner series, titled /Wentworth )〕 ==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 original working tile of the pilot was "Women Behind Bars"', with the storylines primarily concentrated on the lives of the prisoners and, to a lesser extent, the officers and other prison staff, as opposed to the English series which primarily dealt with the officers. As the initial episodes began to air and were met with enthusiastic reception, it was felt ''Prisoner'' could be developed into an ongoing soap opera, and as such, the initial storylines were developed and expanded, with assistance from the Corrective Services department, providing insight and new plots and characters phased in.〔(【引用サイトリンク】work=Aussie Soap Archive )〕 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) and Jeanette Brookes (known as "Mum") as central mother figures. Several lesbian characters were featured throughout the show's run, notably prisoners Franky Doyle and Judy Bryant, along with cold prison officer Joan Ferguson. As fairly typical of long running TV dramas, consistency and characterization was problematic for the series with many contradicting events and storylines throughout its run. Initially, there was a men's prison "next door" to Wentworth, but this was never mentioned again after early episodes and disappeared. Barnhurst initially was a co-ed prison, but became a women's only facility early on. The security status of Barnhurst varied considerably and was often described as 'low security', yet Bea Smith and Marie Winter were both housed there for periods, despite being murderers. Blackmoor prison was initially described as a 'state of the art, brand new, maximum security prison', but when the location was finally included in story lines, it was seen to be a Victorian era work house. Wentworth was often described as a new prison, but other times was said to be built in the war and the wiring etc., was ancient. Judy Bryant insisted she was a virgin who had never had sex with a man, but later her adult daughter became a regular character. Officer Terry Harrison stated he had never been married only a few episodes before his ex-wife was incarcerated at Wentworth. Myra Desmond said in her first appearance that she was living off her late husband's 'compo', but later stated she'd never been married and had no kids. Soon after she murdered her husband and her two children became a major concern in a several story lines. Background officer Joan Barfield was often named Connie Barfield in early episodes and Office Knox was a name given to several different background officers. As cast members left and returned to the series, continuity in prisoner sentences also caused narrative issues. Judy Bryant served longer for a series of petty crimes than she did for murder, as did Chrissie Latham. Bea Smith was offered the chance of parole just three years after murdering her second victim. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Prisoner (TV series)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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