Look out it's The Freak!

[mr 420]

I think that if you asked the average person on the street to name a character out of Prisoner, 9 times out of 10 the answer would be "The Freak!" IMO she is the face of Prisoner and it would of been a far more boring place had she not been in it.

[The~Governor]

Originally Posted by mr 420

I think that if you asked the average person on the street to name a character out of Prisoner, 9 times out of 10 the answer would be "The Freak!" IMO she is the face of Prisoner and it would of been a far more boring place had she not been in it.

Agreed. The Freak IS Prisoner

[ScottishMermaid]

The freak had two different personalities in and out of work for a good reason. As she explained herself, she was once a good officer - 'straight down the line.' But her girlfriend (a prisoner in Queensland where she was based at the time) was murdered by fellow inmates. From then on, Joan began to despise all prisoners for the animals as she saw them to be. Thus, she made it her mission to make all prisoners suffer the consequences of this murder.

It is possible that the character was at the early stages of a mental breakdown which took years to manifest. I think the reasoning behind her split personality was very well explained apart from one thing...the other screws. She was always very nasty to them too. On the outside she was pretty friendly to most people as long as they were to her too..yet with her colleagues, there was no love lost...she did not like any of them even to start with. I do find that rather inconsistent but oh well...

Many people have criticised the show's ending...saying that it would have been better if she was brought down by someone tougher like Bea, and that her end was too easy...Personally, I like how it was done. The woman was clearly mentally deranged and unstable, it is understandable that she became much less careless thus easier to catch out.

[jamie_leigh44]

hmmmm, well, i agree that Joan is one of the best characters in the shows history, and i havent finished yet, but what people dont notice - especially in the beginning is that she was quite nice.... Steve Faulkner and her got along quite well to begin with - so maybe she just prefered the company of men, didnt she and Len murphy get along until he realised she was a lesbian? before she'd finished her first shift either meg or coleen was saying to the Erica about how butch joan appeared - to which Erica replied that joans personal life is not sometime we can judge (paraphrased but you get the jist) so before she'd done ANYTHING wrong both the staff and the prisoners were talking maliciously about her... and she's probably dealt with that everywhere.

then when she was a bit bad she only hurt people who crossed her... she didnt want anything to do with drugs, she told nola so, and still bea was on her case, even tho they'd happily used other screws for trafficking goods before. she allowed them to gamble... made it easy in fact and only wanted a cut, but bea was adamant she'd put a stop to that too. i'm deliberately skipping past the "molestation of doreen" (she tried to lie to Joanie and was to be punished...and she was quite annoying)

yes, she wanted hannah simpson, but apart from stroking her leg, what trouble did she really cause there? she eventually got her transfered. she didnt SAY anything more to the prisoners than vera ever had. and yes, she was a good screw - STRAIGHT DOWN THE LINE - until prisoners killed her girlfriend, that'd make anyone a little pissed. she was cruel, but so was vera, so were colleen and jim fletcher at times and Janet conway (and Jock) and neil murray, and len murphy and david bridges and even meg doled out a few slaps and insultys along the way.... why does Joanie get blamed for everything? because she was THE lesbian of the 80s.... (her character probably didn't do too much favours for LGBT rights lol) because unlike Meg she didnt care what people thought of her? i'm not sure why, but it sure makes good television!


i think the character is great and i try to make sense of her behaviour here, probably not done too well, but hey ho...

[jamie_leigh44]

oh and also... i seem to remember at one stage Erica said the women COULD gamble... coz what was the harm, they could make little allowances and keep a book... wherever happened to that??


but when Joanie does it, shes a monster...


JL

[ScottishMermaid]

lol, god knows! By the end of the show the women were not allowed more than a day in solitary as it was deemed excessive...yet I remember bea on several occasions being sent there for 2 weeks at a time, lol.

[lostus]

Does anybody else think that Joan went very soft in the last 20 or so eps? I watched Prisoner up until ep530 or so in the 80`s then the DVD`s come out, with the last episodes, so it was a big jump. There were no familiar prisoners, Joyce Barry was in the top four of the closing credits and Lurch was talking a lot more. But the thing that stuck out was how...tired? Joan seemed. I have heard that the Blackmoor storyline had an effect on her.

And does anyone else think as far as nastiness per capita (Nastiness on equal averages regardless of episodes) Jock Stewart was worse than Joan? He had zero redeeming qualities and was willing to go an extra mile to stalk and terrorize ex-prisoners. I looked forward to revisiting the Jock episodes when they were on a year or so ago and found his storylines a lot more brutal and raw. Whereas Joan was a lot more with the mind games. If you watch closer you will notice her physicality
is something she does only rarely.And as mentioned before - She was a different person outside work (Well 9 times out of 10 anyway)I think in a way that after people were surprised by this, it weakened the perception if her character, only a little Anyhoo just an opinion.

[jamie_leigh44]

i agree to some extent Lostus - I think the villain in Joans character HAD to be diluted, otherwise she would have been like Jock or Len and had a limited run....

whereas Vera whose character was shown to have flaws and a heart lasted a long time. I also might point out that while Joan didn't kill anyone (except for that one man she shot in self defense) Vera killed Anne Yates very early on. and while she probably wouldn't have gone to jail for this... manslaughter or maybe accidental death... she certainly kept her mouth closed and it didn't seem to affect her at all after those couple of episodes (and Yates was a friend of sorts to Vera) - I'm only at episode 480 so if Joanie does begin killing people off - don't tell me... i like a surprise here and there!

She could be brutal sure enough (especially when Latham made her lose her temper), and cruel. but Vera was also very cruel. its my opinion that the women took it upon themselves to get in Joans way, if they had just let her be, there would have been less trouble. and I'll just rant for a couple minutes about MEG JACKSON MORRIS - she acted like a complete bully to Joan. sly looks and devious situations and bitchy comments, no wonder the woman couldn't stand her... all the while dancing about in a mullet and slapping Reb Keane (I'm aware she was under hypnosis, but still, she was a bitch) at least Joyce tried to be nice... MEG was just a playground thug.

oh well, i think (where i am now) the villain within Joan is about the right balance. she's not too bad not too good and i especially liked her doggies (not what happened to them tho... the saddest moments of the show) and i look forward to seeing a lot more of her...

JL

[lostus]

I wont give you any spoilers, well I will try.but I got my hands on all the eps from Edna Pearson onwards and am up to ep 631. Joan still hasnt changed too much there, She has gone through some temporary personality changes, But I did see the last couple of eps a few years ago and due to circumstances she could only be described as pathetic by the last 3 or 4 episodes...I guess tired and fed up and beaten.

Your Meg Morris rant was spot on. She didnt do a lot to try and help Joan, sure early on she tried to connect and it seemed in times of Joans need , they seemed to get along, but Meg was a smug suckup to the gov and tried being one of the gang when it came to the prisoners, basically covered all her bases and if there was someone that nobody liked she would gang up with the crowd. That smug grin when she `did good` always irritated me. I have worked with many `good guys` like her that dont give time of day to those who are unpopular.

Now while we are griping and ranting, let me say this - Prisoner didnt stop at episode 450 or 500 or whatever area people stop talking about it - Lizzie,Bea,Doreen and Judy were all the foundation, yes but it took me a lot of motivation to start watching when it got to around episode 530 and beyond. Maybe because Nora Flynn had an annoying look about her, But I kept at it and now am as engrossed as people were with the earlier eps. The transformation of Kath Maxwell is really interesting, I am slowly
getting used to Rita Connors over-the-top larrikin ways, though I was at first a bit disappointed she encouraged drugs, thus ending a top dog tradition, but she tightened her belt a little after....A lecture from a doctor/handyman... Moving on.... But my point is It`s almost propaganda by ignoring that there were eps without the old favorites. There is a few small patches where I yawned for a few episodes but the same went for some of the earlier ones as well. No I cant stand Lexie Patterson (Actually she becomes more annoying as the series goes on) The snobby Jenny Hartley girl framed for murdering her grannie is SOOOO over the top in her prissiness and do-gooderness that I was hoping for the death sentence and laughed when after she was released she played her version of `hardened ex-con` "I dont think things can be the same Ann, I`m ever so sorry" Please! Merle is just...Merle...Julia Blakes character is somewhat an old Hartley character, but slightly less annoying...Sounds like I AM saying later eps sucked, but dont even start me on Susie Driscoll or Georgie Baxter. I do like Willie and May (Though I should`nt, Willie is a pain),Chook, Rita,Lurch,Lou Kelly (That`s another post in itself),Lorelei and Jessie Windom. These are names that may be strange at ep 480 (Except for Kellyand Lurch)but I do get sick of Facebook pages devoted to the first 400 eps while proclaiming to be fans of the WHOLE series, yet none of the weird names about are ever mentioned. Except for Rita once in a while.

So when the wipeout happens (You will lose about 10 well known prisoners within what seems like a blink of an eye around the early 500`s) just stay with it and stay devoted so when you get to 692 it all falls in to place, unlike when i saw it fresh and did`nt know what the hell was going on.

[jamie_leigh44]

Thanx for the in depth response! my cousin "Scottish mermaid" was likewise telling me all about the later episodes saying that she actually prefers them to the older ones. I'm only at the end of UK volume 15. so bloody expensive to buy but its an addiction I'm glad i have!

I have to say that many of the foundations characters became very boring because they would simply go on cycles of emotions... especially Bea... i wasn't upset when she went, likewise Lizzie, though they could have given her a better exit.

Judy is beginning to get very repetitive now too... I'm deep among the Angel drama and while most people have a hatred for Doreen, i didn't mind her popping up now and again. though i think character wise she should have remained like the smarter and more put together character she was when Bea was on the run rather than her last visits inside. for me, that would have been a better end for her, finally grown up and independent. i don't think either Lizzie, Bea or Doreen got very good send offs actually, quite lame.

The only character i miss is Erica, and even she was becoming ineffectual as both gov and head of the department. I would have loved a cameo of Vera tho.

I'd happily trade all the old characters for the return of Chrissie tho
(i know that doesn't happen but she's still my number one!)

thanks for the backup on MEG finally, everyone seems to love her! I'm forever ranting on about her, but for me the worst era of the show was the Maxine Daniels era... god that bitch annoyed me! and she lasted sooooo long. she's probably number one on my hated list.

I look forward to all that happens next. I'm actually really liking the era I'm in now, i like Myra as top dog and i enjoy Reb. Bobbie doesn't bother me as much as she annoys some. Sonia Stevens is gone now along with Cass but they were both grand. Pixie was extremely irritating to begin with but i quite like her now. (i think of her as a later incantation of Marilyn Mason from the original eps who i loved.) and Kelly and Lurch are now becoming part of the action. Joan's just lost custody of the little boy but it was good to see her in a parental role... one that would have taken her outta wentworth... if only the women knew it!

One more thing about Meg! apart from being best friend of the prisoners and arch nemesis to Joan. could any more have happened to the bitch? born in prison, raped, held at gun point, knife point, stripped to her camisole, hypnotized, clocked off the head with objects, "beaten up" by Geoff butler shot, dead husband, behind bars, stalked, social worker, home burgled, bashed, cheated on, bitten by snake, poisoned by Evelyn.... - it's always about her! and she managed to get involved in everything sticking her nose in everywhere with that judgmental look on her face throughout! Chrissie should have killed her like originally planned! muahahaha

There was a time when the prison was filled with people only in to highlight certain issues and were chucked out an episode or two later, Blind women, Wheelchair bound, mental problems, journalists and radio hosts, Zara moonbeam... and they've started their clear-out where I'm at now and added Dot and Marleen to the mix... I'll try to stay open minded and i don't think Dot lasts much longer anyway... oh and I've just enjoyed Bev "the beast" baker.... sooo underused, that could have gone on for a few more episodes at least!

I didn't personally mind Suzie Driscol (at least she calmed Powell down) but Georgie Baxter?? can we say Frankie Rip off? and she lasted ages too... and that teacher... David Andrews! other unfortunate characters include but are not limited to Lainie with the tattoos.... Alison page with the coat-hanger and Vivian of "CAROLINE" fame... sometimes the choices for role and storyline were terrrrrrible! but as much as i complain, i still love it... there's a temptation to skip whole episodes as it surrounds these people, but you just cant because of all the other good stuff happening in-between.

lol, i do love to discuss this topic!

JL