most defintly i loved tha lovely piece of music that was played in one of the scenes in this ep defintley well put together for that scene with rita and mr lucas
Love those chemo scenes with Joan looking thoughtfully at Rita. Always loved seeing Joan's human side. I doubt whether the audience's interest in her would have sustained if her character was just a one dimensional sadist. Giving her a human side added layers of complexity and interest to the character, and everyone loves seeing a sadist like Joan display signs of compassion. It makes you feel hope for the human race, lol.
Feel so sorry for Rita. She really was a breath of fresh air for the show when she arrived. Heard people rave about her for years but glad to have experienced her era for myself.
@Heather Elliott She played a part in a series called " Murder Call " as a medical examiner. Her character was nicknamed " Tootsie " and she was great.
Tom is excellent, a great character, and his scenes with Merle are very heartwarming. Merle is superb as usual, very fine acting. And Joan's reaction to being sent to Coventry is also top notch acting. With only three episodes left, these episodes are much better than much of what came before in the entire series.
The scenes with Rita, and her cancer brings back many memories to me. I lost my first partner due to Bile Duct cancer back in 2005. Seeing how Alice feels so helpless with trying to help Rita reminds me of how I felt. I just wanted to wave a magic wand to make everything better, but you can't.. Thankfully we had 7 happy years together and I'll always treasure that. Not ashamed to say I've been in tears watching this story line, but I've also been laughing so much whilst watching the whole series !!!! I have not only just laughed at PCBH, but also at others viewers comments. Many thanks to all of you that have made me PMSL !!! XX Biggest thanks of all has to go to PCBH 95 for downloading this series for letting the rest of us to enjoy !!
I lost my dad and my husband, both to lung cancer, in 2014 and only just under 7 weeks apart. I know what it's like to feel helpless while you just sit and watch.
I lost my beloved mommy to ovarian cancer last year and three months later my beloved doggy suddenly and awfully to suspected cancer. They just couldn’t find it in time 😢
As a terminal cancer patient I can relate particularly, to this episode, and must say it was very well researched and sensitively handled; When they sit you down and tell you, it is a bombshell, but, we human beings are incredibly resilient, and after a period of processing the enormity of it, we find our own ways to deal with it, and using the time we have remaining to the best effect. 20 out of 10.
This is my first go-round with pcbh. I never thought that it would be ending on this note. 20 years ago I was diagnosed with cancer and was going through the same things as Rita .-listening to the person say "Okay breathe".I've heard that so many times in the past 20 years it's burned in my brain. What they show is very realistic. it's exactly what you go through: the CAT scans, the radiation ,the needles. But cancer is not an automatic death sentence .20 years ago they said not to make any long-range plans; they can only give me 5 years at most. and here I am 20 years later watching pcbh with people from around the world. who would have thought. I don't know what eventually happens with Rita but I'll be finding out very soon. I hope she survives. Kudos to Glenda.
@@LeadMineGal I just saw your post .Thank you very much. Hasn't been easy but then again nothing ever is .if I might ask where are you from? I'm an American.
@@LeadMineGal I'm only a few states away from you. I'm here in New Jersey. I've talked with a few Americans on my 692 episode run. Have you finished the last episode yet I put up a final post.
@@eugenedegeorge5084 Well hello, neighbor! No, I haven't seen the ending yet, I'm trying to savor the last few episodes. I know I'm going to miss it when it's all over with. I started watching in May 2018 and have finally reached the end.
So very near to the end now ! Very sad ! Thank you to the person who downloaded all the episodes I have really enjoyed watching them ! Saw them all when I was a teenager in the late 70s early80s but I missed the last twenty Or so ! But now I have a chance to see them for the first time ! Thank you very much again ! Really enjoying them !
So. We’re almost there. And a programme I’ve used as my comfort over the past five years since my dad died of cancer. I watched it back in the 80’s when I was a teenager. And me and my mum and grandfather were addicted. My dad wasn’t so keen lol. But since dad died in 2019 I’ve watched over and over and over. And it’s strange, it’s my comfort, yet he passed away of NHL. So watching Rita really hits home for me. But my goodness she’s fantastic . It seems so real. I really wish some of these characters now were in it earlier, so we could have had them for longer. Such as Rita , merle, Marty, I know he was in it before, but I mean this Marty and for longer. And also lurch , but the personality she has now. And for gerda Nicholson, what an absolutely fantastic actress, beautiful, graceful and elegant. And sadly she never grew to learn what a cult classic this brilliant programme would become. I used to get to the latter section of the programme missing Bea and lizzy and Helen and Chrissie and Erica and Jim fletcher etc…. Now I’m going to start over, and I will miss Rita, Merle, Marty, lurch, chook, Lexi etc…. And yes, even Joan
Biscuit! When I was younger, we had, and still have a product here called Bisquick. It's a baking mix that you can use to fix biscuits and pancakes and other yummy things, in spelling one week, we had the word biscuit and half of the class misspelled it bisquits. Our teacher told us we watch too much TV
I love it when Joan winces after someone delivers her a home truth. The narrowing of the eyes....the pained look of realization....Maggie Kirkpatrick had The Freak's facial expressions down to a tee.
Rita Connors is up there with Bea Smith as Top Dogs. Both Glenda and Val are top class actresses. Ritas cancer storyline is very heartfelt and compelling to watch.
I have been watching pcbh for 2 years off and on. Since episode 30 I have been watching this show non-stop. I am on the last 3 episodes , and it breaks my heart to see my favorite, beautiful character Rita suffering the way she is. It hurts even more to see the newly transformed Lurch suffering seeing her best mate, and top-dog go through a battle that she is helpless to assist her in. I can only anticipate these last 3 episodes being earth- shattering. My favorite show of all time. P.C.B.H. I love you.❤
Tom's brilliant. He's been given some great lines. The scene at 35 mins, I thought the theme from The Incredible Hulk was wafting in!! Rodney getting caught up in the net outside was 'LOL funny'!
Funny, I was just speaking about that with my mother. Kids now don't learn maths, English, history and science like I did. So many are illiterate and can't multiply 5 x 6 without a calculator.
This was a great episode. Ferguson knows she's lost all power and respect from the prisoners and other officers. I know that other viewers have stated that PCBH wasn't as good since Bea, Lizzie, Vera, Doreen, Judy and so on, all left, but I feel that the series has been really good again recently. Yes, it's different, but that doesn't mean PCBH is rubbish. I feel it's going to end on a high, and that's good. Will be sad when it ends, but if it had continued it possibly would of gone down hill again. All long term series change as characters come and go.
Chris.C so true what you state. Through in the later years there was some good storylines with great acting. I like to think the series went through good and not so good periods.
@@davidbaker3837 - I think the poster was referring to the women's respect for her authority, and that she had the power to make their lives miserable, rather than respect for her as a person. By this time, her power was slipping and she knew it.
It was not that , by this stage you could see the political correctness coming into tv shows and 1986 was nowhere near the 1979 to 84 stage . The show felt more soapy by this stage and it was NOT a soap originally , it was very much toned down by this stage.
Also many in Australia even felt the year before the show was just becoming too soapy and had lost its edge , hence why it was cancelled in late 1985 .
"I'm Rita the Beater, I'm gonna beat the hell out of it" and I have to believe that she did just that. (Yes I KNOW it's only a TV series but damn I got very invested in some of these characters. It's made me realize why my grandmas got so invested in some of their "stories"/soap operas and I used to kid them about it)
I watched cell block back in 1979 and have just finished watching it again. Absolutely love it. May well watch it all over again was upset when it ended.
1/7/17 - Atmospheric music in the hospital while Rita was being treated, was effective and moving. I'm not sure Rita setting up Fergo is gonna be realistic? I'll have to wait and see? The Spanish flamenco music is an unusual choice to accompany Rita puking into the toilet. When Rita was given the books, the music was a bit like the 'lonely man' tune from the original 'The Incredible Hulk', TV series. Pcbh is a very good advertisement for fellow humans to strive to live at peace with each other, even though that's impossible without heavenly regeneration. It must be awful to die young of a terminal illness without an eternal hope. There's a longer pause before the theme tune starts at the end of the episode. I've noticed it the episode before as well.
I love how Rita facing her own mortality is evolving her past all the petty stuff. And dear Merle, made me laugh when she wrote ''yore nuts'', not because of the spelling mistake but because it was quirky and sweet. Enjoying how she and Tom are both left handed, so is my dear mother, not often you see that. Awwwweeee at Mrs P putting her best tap dancing foot forward and not reporting Harry under the circumstances. These final episodes are very strong, almost up there like the early days. And the end of this eps sees the FINAL storyline begin.... 10th January 2024.
I swear Joan fergersun has so many layers to her personality. I know she's usually horrible, but then, she has her soft side...loves animals ( which is ALWAYS a plus)!! and kids. Sometimes I can't help but feel sorry for her.
I know all the viewers are upset about Rita’s cancer. Same here. But, with this being the homestretch of my 28th run of the series, I have been watching the “Rita Chronicles” very closely the past few runs. And I realized something that probably nobody else has noticed. From the moment she entered the show, Rita began showing signs of being sick. She has slight dizzy spells, her appearance changes back and forth from healthy to gaunt & sweaty. If you go back to 600 or so, and scan scenes with Rita, you can clearly see her declining health.
It is bloody sad, isn't it? People thought Prisoner was just about a bunch of tough bitches in prison, however there was a lot more to it if you looked into the private lives of many of the characters.
14:57 What a cheek Brumby has! If I were one of the women,I'd be saying "excuse me Brumby, but you can just shut the fuck up, you were the one who did the dirty on your mate just so you could get out, sorry isn't enough".
By Reynold's not backing her senior officer, its led to more trouble. She does this alot. Because she doesn't like the officer - doesn't fully back her." None of us are as young as we used to be..." - sums Prisoner up
21:50 Just noticed something. You can see the toilet in the punishment cell from the table in the Reward Cell. Which is, of course, where the women sit to eat their meals. I can imagine the writers and the stage hands having a good laugh when they set that one up.
I think PCBH should have gone off air for 1- 2 years and returned. I can't believe towards the end it's starting to get good again, I even enjoyed the freak free episodes. They could have got Vera back as a bitter demoted officer. There was potential because look at the success of Wentworth. PCBH just needed a break at the time to re - group. It's the best series ever!
Angie x I think the only time Prisoner went bad was the Nora Flynn Era. Couldn't stand any of those women from Barnhust (Julie Eggbert was bearable). I still think that Ferguson was at her most evil around the time Sonia Stevens/Minnie Donavon were about. The series definitely ended on a high. The last 2 episodes are the best finale of any tv series by a long margin. You can see that the ending was planned a long time in advance, all of the storylines are tied up nicely. Lost count of how many times I have watched this series, still never gets stale!
+agella72 that's a fantastic compliment to the writers because the show was only actually axed about 20 episodes ago so this was all actually last minute rewrites and edits.
+Angie x sadly it was the network that was down on it. Had Network Ten been more cooperative I believe the show could not only have survived but indeed thrived. It did get a little tired sometimes but there was still room for the show to move forward.
Should have took the break as soon as the 3 Barnhurst women came in Julie Nora & Willie, it went well crap that era when Flynn was top dog, as soon as Connors came in went as good as it was when Smith was in it, should have made more episodes and we could have seen the Freak become top dog..lol
23:33 That music. So haunting. Especially at the end. They used it a few episodes earlier when Merle got upset about being 'dumb' and it was powerful there as well.
@@stevenweiler1379 I have a tv that came with the apartment but haven't even switched it on since moving in. As long as I've got WiFi. Unfortunately lots of the prisoner episodes have been wiped off, I watched episode 1 last night but there's no episodes till 200.
I can't believe I actually found a recent picture of Merle ( Rosanne Hull-Brown) !! She look's almost the same but a lot thinner and older looking and her hair is grey now but still adorable looking all the same!!
29:57 - Poor Rita them MRI Scanners are horrible. I have had a few MRI scans over the years. They are really horrible. It feels like you are in coffin and being buried alive. The sounds are scary and very very loud. Rita should of bin given ear plugs and something to cover her ears while inside the MRI scanner.
at 23:31 Rita should of bin given Ear plugs and something to cover her ears while inside the MRI Scan. Also the nurse or doctor should of handed her a buzzer - where if she feels the need to ring if theres any problems while inside the MRI scanner.
Noticed on Rita's scan that it said 19th August 1986. This would have been originally aired in November of that year,just a thought. What with losing Slasher and Bongo and now cancer,Rita has certainly been through the mill.
Conversate isn't a word to use in that context, he would use "converse!""I don't feel like conversing, not conversating".. Though he stated it "means no talking", when in fact they're talking by communicating through chalk and black board...Teachers *rolls eyes*
... tragic yet true: really gonna miss Freaky Fergie's sneers & contemptuous jibes. Almost feeling sorry for the grande dame! Pity Patsy didn't come back for a special appearance as Erica. That would've been the icing on the cake...
been looking for the lovley piano orchestra piece used in this ep eventully found it its called countryside in winter it was used in the scene with lucas and winter who had a char in the reward cell beautiful piece of music for that scene and fitted it perfectly
The mention of a quarter of a million bucks at the end of this episode is the beginning of the end for Ferguson. The last time I saw this was some 28 years ago, but I remember the ending pretty well. Not long to go now.
Such a great episode: Merle’s back home in Wentworth where she belongs with people who actually care about her; Alice has come into her own as a character with such a lovely friendship with Rita and a fella who freely owns up to past hideous behaviour (couldn’t be me but good luck to her); and Ferguson and Rodney have completely lost their power-tripping grips. I like Teacher Tom - the instrument for a lot of good. Love his relationship with Merle. I do think Merle is the most fully-realised and best acted character in the series ... and that’s down to actress Roseanne Hull-Brown: “The introduction of Merle into Wentworth caused a furore when critics and the producers differed on how far the mentally retarded character could be taken. Viewers were sympathetic and professional observers felt it was an area previously neglected. Actress Rosanne Hull-Brown said, 'I was horrified when I first read the breakdown of the character. They described Merle as unloved, aggressive and dangerously violent. She only read comic books and had a vocabulary of two-syllable words. Her imprisonment might have seemed harsh, but bit-by-bit her lot improves and she benefits along the way. I think we've handled her just right.'” Source: www.wwwentworth.co.uk/library/tb15.htm
do u know they made the best series 689 to 692 especially wiv rita and kath and merle scene did upset i cried cos of the storylines and that leaving music gets me they shud of made mre
Feel kinda sad that PCBH is coming to an end, tho glad that it went out on a high note and kept the legacy of the show intact. Wouldn't have wanted it to be like The Simpsons or Grange Hill where both shows were near flawless for 10 years and then went downhill. I remember the strange mix of sadness and excitement I got watching PCBH coming to an end 1st time round. I had those same mixed feelings when The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire came to an end. Always sad when your fave show ends,but glad at the same time that its gonna end on a high note. No doubt many Game of Thrones fans will be feeling like that with the last season coming up soon.
Poor Rita. I saw my Grandmother suffer from Breast Cancer and watched what the chemo did to her, it can make you as sick as the cancer itself though it wasn’t what killed her. It’s an insidious disease. I feel sorry for Joan, she’s become a bitter woman and there is compassion there. Vera and Joan have a few parallels both had repressed childhoods and were loners outside the job but felt a connection to kids and animals. It wasn’t the person that made them sadistic, it was what was done to them. They were villainous characters but the most memorable of the show. I like Tom, he has a good philosophy on life. I thought I was the only leftie - Tom and Merle as well. Rather a sobering episode.
Aww Rita. One of my favourite characters of all time. Hated them giving her cancer, but she's a great actress
These last few episodes are heartbreaking. Rita, Merle, Kath and Alice. Amazing storylines and acted brilliantly.
most defintly i loved tha lovely piece of music that was played in one of the scenes in this ep defintley well put together for that scene with rita and mr lucas
Merle with her little party hat is SO cute! 🙂
I love it when she yelled
" I don't have to Jonie"! 😂
Love those chemo scenes with Joan looking thoughtfully at Rita. Always loved seeing Joan's human side. I doubt whether the audience's interest in her would have sustained if her character was just a one dimensional sadist. Giving her a human side added layers of complexity and interest to the character, and everyone loves seeing a sadist like Joan display signs of compassion. It makes you feel hope for the human race, lol.
No Joan fergusson otherside is very humane
Feel so sorry for Rita. She really was a breath of fresh air for the show when she arrived. Heard people rave about her for years but glad to have experienced her era for myself.
Felt
Rita does some fabulous acting during these cancer scenes!
the last ep is even better
@Heather Elliott She played a part in a series called " Murder Call " as a medical examiner. Her character was nicknamed " Tootsie " and she was great.
It's a shame that characters like Brumby have to ruin the series
Rita wasn't acting as she really had cancer. The actress who played her was brilliant though
@Heather Elliott who does she play?
Tom is excellent, a great character, and his scenes with Merle are very heartwarming.
Merle is superb as usual, very fine acting.
And Joan's reaction to being sent to Coventry is also top notch acting.
With only three episodes left, these episodes are much better than much of what came before in the entire series.
The scenes with Rita, and her cancer brings back many memories to me. I lost my first partner due to Bile Duct cancer back in 2005. Seeing how Alice feels so helpless with trying to help Rita reminds me of how I felt. I just wanted to wave a magic wand to make everything better, but you can't.. Thankfully we had 7 happy years together and I'll always treasure that. Not ashamed to say I've been in tears watching this story line, but I've also been laughing so much whilst watching the whole series !!!! I have not only just laughed at PCBH, but also at others viewers comments. Many thanks to all of you that have made me PMSL !!! XX Biggest thanks of all has to go to PCBH 95 for downloading this series for letting the rest of us to enjoy !!
Wow just wow
I lost my dad and my husband, both to lung cancer, in 2014 and only just under 7 weeks apart. I know what it's like to feel helpless while you just sit and watch.
God bless to you hunnie xxxxx
I lost my beloved mommy to ovarian cancer last year and three months later my beloved doggy suddenly and awfully to suspected cancer. They just couldn’t find it in time 😢
Well said. I second that
Powerful acting from Glenda,One of the best episodes of PCBH ever.
"I don't have to, Joanie!" Merle. lmao
As a terminal cancer patient I can relate particularly, to this episode, and must say it was very well researched and sensitively handled; When they sit you down and tell you, it is a bombshell, but, we human beings are incredibly resilient, and after a period of processing the enormity of it, we find our own ways to deal with it, and using the time we have remaining to the best effect. 20 out of 10.
💕
23:30. Rita may be dying but her soul is still intact. Ferguson sold her soul a long time ago and is basically dead inside.
Love Rita and the beginning of kaths redemption :)
This storyline with rita is really getting to me, as just been through it all with my dad. I love Merle x
This is my first go-round with pcbh. I never thought that it would be ending on this note. 20 years ago I was diagnosed with cancer and was going through the same things as Rita .-listening to the person say "Okay breathe".I've heard that so many times in the past 20 years it's burned in my brain. What they show is very realistic. it's exactly what you go through: the CAT scans, the radiation ,the needles. But cancer is not an automatic death sentence .20 years ago they said not to make any long-range plans; they can only give me 5 years at most. and here I am 20 years later watching pcbh with people from around the world. who would have thought. I don't know what eventually happens with Rita but I'll be finding out very soon. I hope she survives. Kudos to Glenda.
Glad to hear you kicked cancer's ass. I wish more people could.
@@LeadMineGal I just saw your post .Thank you very much. Hasn't been easy but then again nothing ever is .if I might ask where are you from? I'm an American.
@@eugenedegeorge5084 Me too. I live in Massachusetts.
@@LeadMineGal I'm only a few states away from you. I'm here in New Jersey. I've talked with a few Americans on my 692 episode run. Have you finished the last episode yet I put up a final post.
@@eugenedegeorge5084 Well hello, neighbor! No, I haven't seen the ending yet, I'm trying to savor the last few episodes. I know I'm going to miss it when it's all over with. I started watching in May 2018 and have finally reached the end.
So very near to the end now ! Very sad ! Thank you to the person who downloaded all the episodes I have really enjoyed watching them ! Saw them all when I was a teenager in the late 70s early80s but I missed the last twenty Or so ! But now I have a chance to see them for the first time ! Thank you very much again ! Really enjoying them !
Rita’s description of “that moment isn’t stopping” literally cried like a baby!
Perfect acting ❤
There's been some sad storylines in this but I think Ritas cancer is the saddest of all
Loved the teacher. He was a lovely man to both Merle and Rita.
Karen Nicholls a nice guy in real life - he used to come in to my cafe every weekend
Nice to know some people are actually like they portray.
@@jfletch9108 did he speak in that strange American/Irish/Westcountry English accent he has?
@@Redsleather yes 🤣
Agreed. A super character who might have been a major player had the series continued.
So. We’re almost there. And a programme I’ve used as my comfort over the past five years since my dad died of cancer. I watched it back in the 80’s when I was a teenager. And me and my mum and grandfather were addicted. My dad wasn’t so keen lol. But since dad died in 2019 I’ve watched over and over and over.
And it’s strange, it’s my comfort, yet he passed away of NHL. So watching Rita really hits home for me. But my goodness she’s fantastic . It seems so real.
I really wish some of these characters now were in it earlier, so we could have had them for longer. Such as Rita , merle, Marty, I know he was in it before, but I mean this Marty and for longer. And also lurch , but the personality she has now.
And for gerda Nicholson, what an absolutely fantastic actress, beautiful, graceful and elegant. And sadly she never grew to learn what a cult classic this brilliant programme would become. I used to get to the latter section of the programme missing Bea and lizzy and Helen and Chrissie and Erica and Jim fletcher etc…. Now I’m going to start over, and I will miss Rita, Merle, Marty, lurch, chook, Lexi etc…. And yes, even Joan
Alice cooking Rita something "real nice" cheese on toast lol
It's simple and easy. Its probably not too rough on.her stomach. I love that in the morning.
I mean it is Alice
I’d love a round of cheese on toast right now
Biscuit! When I was younger, we had, and still have a product here called Bisquick. It's a baking mix that you can use to fix biscuits and pancakes and other yummy things, in spelling one week, we had the word biscuit and half of the class misspelled it bisquits. Our teacher told us we watch too much TV
Lol obviously you didn't listen your still watching
Merle is the best actress she deserves an award for the role she plays.she does it so well.😊
‘You’re dying, I’m dying, even the the bloody Freak’s dying’ Haha 😂
I love it when Joan winces after someone delivers her a home truth. The narrowing of the eyes....the pained look of realization....Maggie Kirkpatrick had The Freak's facial expressions down to a tee.
I didn't realise what an amazing actress glenda linscott was till she got this storyline at the end and Maggie Kirkpatrick
Love the freaks face when they told her to get lost😁😁😁
"I don't have to Joinie!"
You know you’re finished when even Merle talks back
"None of us are as young as we used to be" - BURRRRRRRRN.
Welcome back Merle, youre brilliant. So sad its nearly all over.
"So sad its nearly all over."....My thoughts exactly.
Big divvy merle
Rita Connors is up there with Bea Smith as Top Dogs.
Both Glenda and Val are top class actresses. Ritas cancer storyline is very heartfelt and compelling to watch.
It’s sad that the teacher Tom joined the cast so close to the end I enjoy his scenes
I like him too. Some of the people posting comments don't like him for some reason.
@@ajs41 I think his phoney American accent is one reason
@@Redsleatheraccents often mix when people are well travelled, and he was in the forces, so it is believable.
I have been watching pcbh for 2 years off and on. Since episode 30 I have been watching this show non-stop. I am on the last 3 episodes , and it breaks my heart to see my favorite, beautiful character Rita suffering the way she is. It hurts even more to see the newly transformed Lurch suffering seeing her best mate, and top-dog go through a battle that she is helpless to assist her in. I can only anticipate these last 3 episodes being earth- shattering. My favorite show of all time. P.C.B.H. I love you.❤
39:55 Oh I miss those awesome storms. I lived in Brisbane 2005-2011. The storms in Oz are amazing!
Do you get them in the winter as this was August time
Tom's brilliant. He's been given some great lines.
The scene at 35 mins, I thought the theme from The Incredible Hulk was wafting in!!
Rodney getting caught up in the net outside was 'LOL funny'!
FINALLY FOUND THE HAUNTING TRACK FOR THE LAST FEW EPISODES ITS CALLED (SILK TOUCH) MUSIC FROM PRISONER CELL BLOCK H.
but ritas storyline is getting to me i feel like crying :( why her why
Emotional episode with regards with Rita. Poor Freak the end is near.
Poor Freak she got what she deserved. Geat storyline and brilliant acitng from Rita.
The Freak deserves it all! 👏🏿
@@janetbatchelor950 "acting"🤣
Joan gets sent to Coventry. Priceless.
Great acting from Maggie when she tries to speak but nothing comes out.
My mother often sent me to Coventry, I can relate.
Mr Lucas teaching old school on the blackboard with Merle. Nowadays he'd probably be doing that on an iPad lol.
Lol how things change
Funny, I was just speaking about that with my mother. Kids now don't learn maths, English, history and science like I did. So many are illiterate and can't multiply 5 x 6 without a calculator.
@@karennicholls8532 too true. We had to memorize our times tables.
@karennicholls8532 I've having to show mine how to read a bus timetable as they're aren't taught it in school now
This was a great episode. Ferguson knows she's lost all power and respect from the prisoners and other officers. I know that other viewers have stated that PCBH wasn't as good since Bea, Lizzie, Vera, Doreen, Judy and so on, all left, but I feel that the series has been really good again recently. Yes, it's different, but that doesn't mean PCBH is rubbish. I feel it's going to end on a high, and that's good. Will be sad when it ends, but if it had continued it possibly would of gone down hill again. All long term series change as characters come and go.
Chris.C so true what you state. Through in the later years there was some good storylines with great acting. I like to think the series went through good and not so good periods.
Since when did they respect her?
@@davidbaker3837 - I think the poster was referring to the women's respect for her authority, and that she had the power to make their lives miserable, rather than respect for her as a person. By this time, her power was slipping and she knew it.
It was not that , by this stage you could see the political correctness coming into tv shows and 1986 was nowhere near the 1979 to 84 stage . The show felt more soapy by this stage and it was NOT a soap originally , it was very much toned down by this stage.
Also many in Australia even felt the year before the show was just becoming too soapy and had lost its edge , hence why it was cancelled in late 1985 .
Reno meeting and beating the Minister is The Prisoner equivalent of that bit in The Matrix where Neo 'believes'.
Every top dog of Wentworth has died one way or another it must be a cursed role🤣
Apart from Minnie and cass and though unknown sonia stevens
"I'm Rita the Beater, I'm gonna beat the hell out of it" and I have to believe that she did just that. (Yes I KNOW it's only a TV series but damn I got very invested in some of these characters. It's made me realize why my grandmas got so invested in some of their "stories"/soap operas and I used to kid them about it)
So glad Merle is back! I like her.
What an episode! Possibly my favourite. So well done
I watched cell block back in 1979 and have just finished watching it again. Absolutely love it. May well watch it all over again was upset when it ended.
1/7/17 - Atmospheric music in the hospital while Rita was being treated, was effective and moving.
I'm not sure Rita setting up Fergo is gonna be realistic? I'll have to wait and see?
The Spanish flamenco music is an unusual choice to accompany Rita puking into the toilet.
When Rita was given the books, the music was a bit like the 'lonely man' tune from the original 'The Incredible Hulk', TV series.
Pcbh is a very good advertisement for fellow humans to strive to live at peace with each other, even though that's impossible without heavenly regeneration.
It must be awful to die young of a terminal illness without an eternal hope.
There's a longer pause before the theme tune starts at the end of the episode. I've noticed it the episode before as well.
Oh good, I wasn't the only one who heard The Incredible Hulk theme homage!!!
@@DistantCousin oh good.
I love how Rita facing her own mortality is evolving her past all the petty stuff. And dear Merle, made me laugh when she wrote ''yore nuts'', not because of the spelling mistake but because it was quirky and sweet. Enjoying how she and Tom are both left handed, so is my dear mother, not often you see that. Awwwweeee at Mrs P putting her best tap dancing foot forward and not reporting Harry under the circumstances. These final episodes are very strong, almost up there like the early days. And the end of this eps sees the FINAL storyline begin....
10th January 2024.
I swear Joan fergersun has so many layers to her personality. I know she's usually horrible, but then, she has her soft side...loves animals ( which is ALWAYS a plus)!! and kids. Sometimes I can't help but feel sorry for her.
Jewel Haines yeah like the scenes at the 38/39 min mark when all the staff ignored her 😩
Agree 👍
My cold wee heart is breaking for Rita 😢
I know all the viewers are upset about Rita’s cancer. Same here. But, with this being the homestretch of my 28th run of the series, I have been watching the “Rita Chronicles” very closely the past few runs. And I realized something that probably nobody else has noticed.
From the moment she entered the show, Rita began showing signs of being sick. She has slight dizzy spells, her appearance changes back and forth from healthy to gaunt & sweaty. If you go back to 600 or so, and scan scenes with Rita, you can clearly see her declining health.
I watched Wentworth before seeing this. It explains some of the characters that didn't totally make sense ...
Well doesn’t Meggy Pops know how to tell a RIOTOUS story “Don’t bloody park here again!” WHOOOOOOOPPPPPPP WAAAAAHHHHH OOOOOOOOOHHHHPPPP
Hahaha. Doing their best "hilarity acting"!
Im crying my frigging eyes out right now.
It is bloody sad, isn't it? People thought Prisoner was just about a bunch of tough bitches in prison, however there was a lot more to it if you looked into the private lives of many of the characters.
This episode is very grim and very moving..
14:57 What a cheek Brumby has! If I were one of the women,I'd be saying "excuse me Brumby, but you can just shut the fuck up, you were the one who did the dirty on your mate just so you could get out, sorry isn't enough".
By Reynold's not backing her senior officer, its led to more trouble. She does this alot. Because she doesn't like the officer - doesn't fully back her." None of us are as young as we used to be..." - sums Prisoner up
Reynolds has backed Ferguson many times, saving her and getting her reinstated
Stop this canoodling at once!
Joyce was hilarious. I've never known anyone of any age in real life use the term "canoodling".
@@karennicholls2296yea, I agree. She’s the only one I’ve heard use it 😂
21:50 Just noticed something. You can see the toilet in the punishment cell from the table in the Reward Cell. Which is, of course, where the women sit to eat their meals. I can imagine the writers and the stage hands having a good laugh when they set that one up.
Speaking about someone whilst they're in the room is very British... and also so, so middle class. Will never be upper class, I promise you
38:39 That's right Joan, you don't have a friend in the world. Thats where your toxic personality gets you
She never really did. What is getting to her the most now. is that she has no power. Nobody FEARS her and that was what fed her ego.
I think PCBH should have gone off air for 1- 2 years and returned. I can't believe towards the end it's starting to get good again, I even enjoyed the freak free episodes. They could have got Vera back as a bitter demoted officer. There was potential because look at the success of Wentworth. PCBH just needed a break at the time to re - group. It's the best series ever!
sure i see Rabbit in the background a few episodes back. Beas been back two..both with a tad too much maycup!
Angie x I think the only time Prisoner went bad was the Nora Flynn Era. Couldn't stand any of those women from Barnhust (Julie Eggbert was bearable). I still think that Ferguson was at her most evil around the time Sonia Stevens/Minnie Donavon were about. The series definitely ended on a high. The last 2 episodes are the best finale of any tv series by a long margin. You can see that the ending was planned a long time in advance, all of the storylines are tied up nicely. Lost count of how many times I have watched this series, still never gets stale!
+agella72 that's a fantastic compliment to the writers because the show was only actually axed about 20 episodes ago so this was all actually last minute rewrites and edits.
+Angie x sadly it was the network that was down on it. Had Network Ten been more cooperative I believe the show could not only have survived but indeed thrived.
It did get a little tired sometimes but there was still room for the show to move forward.
Should have took the break as soon as the 3 Barnhurst women came in Julie Nora & Willie, it went well crap that era when Flynn was top dog, as soon as Connors came in went as good as it was when Smith was in it, should have made more episodes and we could have seen the Freak become top dog..lol
"Slime bag"
"Roddy boy" LOL
I am loving these past few episodes. Love love love.
I noticed a lot of the actors on here are left handed...I wonder if theres a connection with artistic talent
@ Simosc2: Apparently yes. The best example being the genius known as Paul McCartney.
@23:20 Wow That MRI Scanner, Not much different from 2020, Rita date on Scanner 19.8.1986.? About right.
August 1986 would have been right. Outside scenes were done ahead of the sets inside the studios. The final scenes were taped in September 1986
Tom upon looking up at Alice : " How come I feel like Fay Wray? " 🤣🤣
23:33 That music. So haunting. Especially at the end. They used it a few episodes earlier when Merle got upset about being 'dumb' and it was powerful there as well.
Kath and Rita shud of had this kind of conversation ages ago
I guess Tom Lucas is a cross between Lt. Colombo and Mr. Kotter (Welcome back Kotter).
I loved Welcome back Kotter. Horshack was hilarious.
I loved welcome back kotter, especially the theme song.
Oh the good old days of proper tv instead of all this reality bullshit on bring back normal tv
I'm with you on that - so sick of TEN Network promoting bloody Australian Survivor, The Bachelor, etc.
Yep. Same here in the uk. All rubbish reality crap.
This is why I'm constantly watching prisoner over and over again. All shit on TV these days.
@@Mynewlife2025 I was thinking of watching it again to ive just got my tv mainly now for my gaming consoles
@@stevenweiler1379 I have a tv that came with the apartment but haven't even switched it on since moving in. As long as I've got WiFi. Unfortunately lots of the prisoner episodes have been wiped off, I watched episode 1 last night but there's no episodes till 200.
I can't believe I actually found a recent picture of Merle ( Rosanne Hull-Brown) !! She look's almost the same but a lot thinner and older looking and her hair is grey now but still adorable looking all the same!!
Indeed, she’s slimmed down a lot but is instantly recognisable
29:57 - Poor Rita them MRI Scanners are horrible. I have had a few MRI scans over the years. They are really horrible. It feels like you are in coffin and being buried alive. The sounds are scary and very very loud. Rita should of bin given ear plugs and something to cover her ears while inside the MRI scanner.
I have had about 6 MRI scans and eveytime l still freak out and feel scared everytime.
at 23:31 Rita should of bin given Ear plugs and something to cover her ears while inside the MRI Scan. Also the nurse or doctor should of handed her a buzzer - where if she feels the need to ring if theres any problems while inside the MRI scanner.
It was a CT scan, Not an MRI. The first MRI was introduced privately in Sydney in 1986
The nurse wasn’t even wearing gloves
The days of NO GLOVES during treatment...
Glad everyone realised there is power in numbers. What are Joan and Rodney going to do if nobody will obey them. They have no authority anymore.
Tho I love how they told the freak to get stuffed, there's no way any inmates would have dared try that 3 or 4 years ago.
Imagine if the teacher wrote you're a looney without knowing lol
Boom bam go merle
Almost through with this series. Hate to see Rita being ill.
I want to reach thru the screen and slap Rodney for the way he treats the women especially Merle. The women ought to report him to the Governor.
The beginning of the end for the Freak, She no longer has the strong threatening hold over Wentworth's inmates she held in the past.
They should have just wrote Lisa’s pregnancy into the story. It would have been easier than trying to hide it with creative camera blocking.
Noticed on Rita's scan that it said 19th August 1986. This would have been originally aired in November of that year,just a thought. What with losing Slasher and Bongo and now cancer,Rita has certainly been through the mill.
It aired late at night in March 1987.
Conversate isn't a word to use in that context, he would use "converse!""I don't feel like conversing, not conversating".. Though he stated it "means no talking", when in fact they're talking by communicating through chalk and black board...Teachers *rolls eyes*
Maxwell in this scene at the start wearing a wedding ring
Such wonderful acting...im in tears watching this. :(
... tragic yet true: really gonna miss Freaky Fergie's sneers & contemptuous jibes. Almost feeling sorry for the grande dame!
Pity Patsy didn't come back for a special appearance as Erica. That would've been the icing on the cake...
been looking for the lovley piano orchestra piece used in this ep eventully found it its called countryside in winter it was used in the scene with lucas and winter who had a char in the reward cell beautiful piece of music for that scene and fitted it perfectly
After all the attempts is the freak FINALLY getting her just desserts?
Merle and Tom both left handed 😊
Rodney is like Violet Elizabeth Bott in Just William; "I'll scream and scream until I am thwick!"
The mention of a quarter of a million bucks at the end of this episode is the beginning of the end for Ferguson. The last time I saw this was some 28 years ago, but I remember the ending pretty well. Not long to go now.
Such a great episode: Merle’s back home in Wentworth where she belongs with people who actually care about her; Alice has come into her own as a character with such a lovely friendship with Rita and a fella who freely owns up to past hideous behaviour (couldn’t be me but good luck to her); and Ferguson and Rodney have completely lost their power-tripping grips.
I like Teacher Tom - the instrument for a lot of good. Love his relationship with Merle.
I do think Merle is the most fully-realised and best acted character in the series ... and that’s down to actress Roseanne Hull-Brown:
“The introduction of Merle into Wentworth caused a furore when critics and the producers differed on how far the mentally retarded character could be taken. Viewers were sympathetic and professional observers felt it was an area previously neglected. Actress Rosanne Hull-Brown said, 'I was horrified when I first read the breakdown of the character. They described Merle as unloved, aggressive and dangerously violent. She only read comic books and had a vocabulary of two-syllable words. Her imprisonment might have seemed harsh, but bit-by-bit her lot improves and she benefits along the way. I think we've handled her just right.'” Source: www.wwwentworth.co.uk/library/tb15.htm
I love the girls ignore the freak. She deserve everything she get
But I do love Merle, oh she does make me chuckle!!
do u know they made the best series 689 to 692 especially wiv rita and kath and merle scene did upset i cried cos of the storylines and that leaving music gets me they shud of made mre
Canoodling 😂😂😂😂😂
Feel kinda sad that PCBH is coming to an end, tho glad that it went out on a high note and kept the legacy of the show intact. Wouldn't have wanted it to be like The Simpsons or Grange Hill where both shows were near flawless for 10 years and then went downhill. I remember the strange mix of sadness and excitement I got watching PCBH coming to an end 1st time round. I had those same mixed feelings when The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire came to an end. Always sad when your fave show ends,but glad at the same time that its gonna end on a high note. No doubt many Game of Thrones fans will be feeling like that with the last season coming up soon.
your right there @ kblogg 777 grange hill was never the same after gripper stebson
love the music over the thunderstorm.
I wonder who composed it and what the name of the music is...
Poor Rita. I saw my Grandmother suffer from Breast Cancer and watched what the chemo did to her, it can make you as sick as the cancer itself though it wasn’t what killed her. It’s an insidious disease. I feel sorry for Joan, she’s become a bitter woman and there is compassion there. Vera and Joan have a few parallels both had repressed childhoods and were loners outside the job but felt a connection to kids and animals. It wasn’t the person that made them sadistic, it was what was done to them. They were villainous characters but the most memorable of the show. I like Tom, he has a good philosophy on life. I thought I was the only leftie - Tom and Merle as well. Rather a sobering episode.