FEBRUARY 1979

February 1979 marked the debut of two very different programs on Australian TV, but both went on to become very successful.

PRISONER

In 1977, the 0-10 Network had found itself with a lack of strong local drama production.  Previously successful hit series such as Number 96 and The Box had wound up production by 1977 and in their place was the tragically ill-fated Hotel Story, which was axed prior to going to air, and the teenage drama The Restless Years which only enjoyed modest success.

In the same year, incidentally 'The Year Of The Woman', Reg Watson of the Grundy Organisation had created a series set in a women's prison.  The original series outline was for 16 episodes only and had a number of working titles including Women In Prison.  Grundy's researched the series by studying two real life women's prisons in Sydney and Melbourne.  The program was picked up by the 0-10 Network in 1978 with the title Prisoner.  Production began at the ATV0 studios in Nunawading in late 1978 and premiered with a 2 hour episode at 8.30pm on 27 February 1979.

The never before seen lives of women in prison was an instant success and the initial run of 16 episodes was quickly extended to 42.  It was not long before the series, retitled Prisoner Cell Block H for overseas sales, gained cult status in the United States, United Kingdom and across Europe.  Prisoner was one of the first Australian series to sell so extensively overseas, helping to pave the way for later dramas such as Neighbours.

Prisoner went on to win 21 TV Week Logie Awards including Best New Drama (1980) and Most Popular Drama (1981) and for cast members including Val Lehman, who played the dominating Bea Smith for four years, and veteran actress Sheila Florance. 

At a time when females were mostly given smaller dramatic roles on television, Prisoner was one of the first series to give women top billing.  Literally hundreds of actors and actresses passed through the gates of the Wentworth Detention Centre over its seven year run, but given the setting of the show, it was always predominantly a female cast.  Characters such as 'top dog' Bea Smith (Val Lehman) and Lizzie Birdsworth (Sheila Florance) became cult heroes while at the other end of the spectrum, viewers loved to hate Officers Vera Bennett (Fiona Spence) and the sadistic Joan Ferguson (Maggie Kirkpatrick). 

Despite still maintaining strong popularity after eight years, Prisoner came to an end at the close of 1986 after 692 episodes which at the time put it behind only Nine's The Young Doctors as Australia's longest running drama series.  Elspeth Ballantyne who played good natured Officer Meg Morris, was the only cast member to survive the entire eight years.

But the end of Prisoner certainly did not put an end to its popularity.  The series continued to run in repeats, particularly in the UK. In Australia, Network Ten repeated the series in its entirety, though in a late night timeslot, in the early 1990s.

A stage play version, including some of the original cast, ran in 1989-90 in the United Kingdom, and in 1995, a stage musical version had a successful run there also, featuring Maggie Kirkpatrick in her role as Joan 'the Freak' Ferguson.

In 1990, the original creators of Prisoner, including Reg Watson, produced an American remake titled Dangerous Women.  Early episodes featured the same plots, and similar characters, as the Australian original.

Prisoner fans can now purchase the entire series of 692 episodes on DVD.

Related Links:
Aussie Soap Archive: Prisoner
Prisoner Cell Block H
Partners In Crime

original text © TelevisionAU
14 February 2004
revised 1 April 2007

Sheila Florance as Lizzie Birdsworth
(Picture: TV Week, 1980)

Cast members Elspeth Ballantyne and Glenda Linscott, with Associate Producer, and occasional cast member, Ian Smith at Prisoner's 600th episode celebration.
(Picture: TV Week, 1986)

SIXTY MINUTES

Up until 1979, Sunday nights on Australian TV rarely consisted of more than movies, family dramas and game shows.  Viewers generally wanted light entertainment as they entered the working week.  However this did not stop Nine taking a $7,000,000 gamble when it launched 60 Minutes in the 7.30 Sunday timeslot in the lead up to the Sunday night movie. 

The program was largely based on an American CBS program of the same name, and the show's first executive producer was a former American, Gerald Stone, who had been a reporter and producer at Nine for several years  The format which included predominantly overseas stories presented by Australian reporters, was unlike anything on Australian commercial TV to date.  Up until then serious current affairs, especially in the early evenings, was restricted to ABC.

With an initial reporting line-up of Ray Martin, George Negus and Ian Leslie, 60 Minutes started off getting commercially unthinkable ratings while cheaper programs continued to dominate on the other networks.  However by the end of the year, 60 Minutes had become a successful part of Nine's Sunday night and by 1980 was not only winning its timeslot but was also often ranking as the most watched program of the week.

During the 1980s 60 Minutes was the flagship of Nine's current affairs stable.  In 1982, the team expanded to include Jana Wendt who had come across from being a newsreader at ATV10 in Melbourne.   In the decades to follow, the 60 Minutes team endured numerous changes with later presenters including Jeff McMullen, Mike Munro, Richard Carleton, Jennifer Byrne, Tracey Curro, Elizabeth Hayes, Tara Brown, Peter Overton and Liam Bartlett.

60 Minutes has enjoyed almost continual dominance over its many years.  When Network Ten's The Comedy Company started to outrate 60 Minutes in 1988, it was front page news.  There were similar rumblings doubting the future of 60 Minutes when it was beaten by Seven's cheap US import, ALF.  Rival programs have also tried to copy the 60 Minutes formula, including Ten's The Reporters (1982), Page One (1988) and Public Eye (1989) and Seven's Witness (1995-97) with Jana Wendt and The Times.  But no matter the opposition, the Nine flagship always managed to regain its crown.

Related Links:
Sixty Minutes

original text © TelevisionAU
14 February 2004
revised 1 April 2007

The 60 Minutes team in 1985: Jana Wendt, Ian Leslie, Jeff McMullen, George Negus.
(Picture: TV Week, 1985)

In 2006, 60 Minutes' latest recruit, Liam Bartlett

1950s