Prisoner Cell Block H - The Edna Pearson Episodes [DVD]

 

 

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Just heard that these episodes are delayed until early 2010, maybe the reason is that the company responsible (Shock) weren't aware that the edited Edna episodes not only affect the episodes that the character appeared in but also a couple of others after the character leaves. The worst affected episode is 469 (which had an edited running time of approx 33mins instead of 45mins) and Edna doesn't even appear in this episode as she has departed in episode 468. Hopefully this is the reason for the delay and finally us fans can see all the storyline completely unedited.

Picking up on what the poster above said- it was actually channel 10 (not 9) that were threatened with a law suit after a lady called Emily Perry believed the character of Edna Pearson was based on her and her trial for posioning her husband. Although it never actually went to court, a deal was struck with grundy/network 10 that all furure screenings would have any scenes of Edna's storyline removed, they had already been broadcast unedited in Melbourne and Sydney but the rest of Australia had the edited versions. Although this deal only applied within Australia, the majority of UK ITV regions were also supplied with the edited episodes (Meridian and later on Channel 5 screened a couple of undeited episodes) and the episodes were also shown completely unedited in Sweden.

for those that don't know what we hopefully have here is the full and uncut version of the Edna pearson Episodes. In short without spoiling the plot when these episodes were to be shown they reflected details of a true life case, and the person who was on trial in real life threatened to sue Channel 9 as some of the stuff shown on Prisoner Cell Block were similar to hers.

Subsequently the episodes were cut down, scenes by seconds some by minutes, and even years later with repeats these have never been shown fully, even the Australlian complete collection metal case did not survive the edits and these were not shown in their entirety, so i am hoping that these stand alone episodes are to be released uncut for the first time

hopefully it is and we can see just what all the fuss was about all those years ago.

Episode 463 - Edna is taken to the rec room and introduced to the women, they talk to her about how unfair her conviction is.

Episode 464 - Most of the other women believe Edna is innocent, but Reb tells them they are gullible. Harry comes to visit Edna inside Wentworth; he assures her the appeal will be successful and she will be out soon.

Episode 465 - Edna tells Rachel that Harry is trying to get her out, she also tells her about her first husband. Mrs O'Reagan is impressed with Rachel when she does kitchen duty, but when she finds out who Edna is, she goes the Governor to have her taken off kitchen duty; Edna protests to Ann that taking her out of the kitchen will make it look as if she's not to be trusted. Back in the kitchen, Marlene pretends to have been poisoned to teach Mrs O'Reagan a lesson, but this only results in her being taken out of the kitchen as well. The women listen to a radio interview with Harry Pearson, in which he repeats his belief in Edna's innocence. Edna is visited by Harry: he suggests she tries to get work in the garden and points out an oleander to her, reminding her that it is a poisonous plant.

Episode 466 - Edna prepares a pot of tea with some of the leaves she picked from the garden, and when Marlene complains of a headache, she gives her some to drink as "peppermint tea". After lockup, Marlene starts to complain of stomach pains, but tries to get a good night's sleep rather than seek medical help. At muster the next morning, Marlene tells Edna the peppermint tea certainly did the trick as she puked up in the middle of the night! Joyce leaves Edna unattended for a moment as she takes her to collect more soap powder from the store room. Edna sees a cardboard tray with rat poison in it and deliberately drops a box of soap powder so she can empty the tray into her overall pocket. Edna brings some barley water for Marlene that she claims was brought in by Harry to "settle her stomach" and tells her to drink it.

Episode 467 - Edna assures Marlene that everything will turn out for the best and says how much she misses her husband Harry. She suggests to Marlene that she drinks some lemon barley water, but Marlene finds someone has stolen the bottle from her cupboard. Alice and Frances are both ill with severe stomach pains and vomiting. The women wonder why only Frances and Alice were taken ill and Marlene finds the stolen goods, including the barley water, in Frances and Alice's cell. Edna inquires after Marlene's health: Marlene lies and says she has been drinking the barley water as Edna suggested. Frances and Alice heavy Marlene to find out what was in the barley water. Marlene tells Judy she can see "flecks of stuff" in the barley water and says she thinks Edna has poisoned it: Judy agrees to take a look until Arlene clumsily knocks the bottle to the floor and destroys the evidence.

Episode 468 - Marlene cooks at the barbecue, all except for her own steak which is cooked by Bobbie. Edna notices this and digs up a root from the garden and shows Bobbie how to use an "old busher's trick" of prodding it thoroughly into the steak while it's cooking. Ann tells Meg that Edna's appeal has been upheld on the grounds that inadmissible evidence about her first husband was given at her trial. She tells Meg to collect her and she is free to go. The women congratulate Edna on being released. After the barbeque clear up Marlene starts to feel ill and collapses with stomach pains.

Episode 469 - Marlene won't say who poisoned her as she doesn't expect to be believed. The women watch news of Edna's release on TV, and Judy returns to the rec room to report that it is suspected that Marlene was deliberately poisoned. At breakfast, the women discuss what to do about Edna. Rachel thinks they should at least phone Harry to warn him. Rachel and Judy go to see Ann, but she wants proof of their allegations against Edna and says it looks to easy to blame her of any poisoning. Marlene asks Frances and Alice to tell what they know about the barley water. Rachel marvels at Marlene's cast iron stomach as Meg tells Joan there is new evidence against Edna - oleander twig was found near the barbecue.

Episode 470 - While Edna does not appear in this episode, it further brings her story to a conclusion.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Prisoner Cell Block H - The Edna Pearson Episodes [DVD]
when i saw this i was so lucking forward to watching it. but tbh it was a little bit disapointing, im still pleased i now see where the missing parts that i didnt see for the... Read more

Published 4 days ago by mike

5.0 out of 5 stars Aussie prison uncut
Episode 463-470 uncut as this storyline was cut for legal reasons so sit back you being sent to wentworth prison.

Published 18 months ago by cal2008

4.0 out of 5 stars edna the full story
The story in full and worth waiting for? I will leave that to you. I do hope that this story is not included in a later dvd set. Read more

Published 20 months ago by Mr. A. Fitzgerald

4.0 out of 5 stars "NEW" Prisoner
Over 25 years later we are treated to brand new Prisoner (sort of) These episodes were originally cut after their initial transmission in Australia due to a woman claiming that... Read more

Published 23 months ago by Glen Allen

4.0 out of 5 stars Edna's Story
Some material is repeated on this DVD probably to make Edna's story clear. I found it enjoyable to learn about her story and would recommend it to all Prisoner fans.

Published 23 months ago by Mrs. J. M. Lewis

4.0 out of 5 stars Great show....but where's the logic!!!
Don't get me wrong...I'm a massive PCBH fan and love the show and it's characters as much as the next fan but I can't for the life of me understand the logic in showing episodes... Read more

Published 23 months ago by An Avid Rock Fan

4.0 out of 5 stars Presentation of Episodes 463-470
As most of you who are buying this are most likely to be fans of this show, I won't bore you with the details of the missing scenes, previous customer reviews have already covered... Read more

Published on 9 Feb 2010 by Mr. J. M. Pinn

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