''Punishment'' is an Australian

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

made by the

Reg Grundy Organisation Reg Grundy Organisation (founded as Reg Grundy Enterprises, later known as both Reg Grundy Productions and Grundy Television and known informally as Grundy's) was an Australian-based multinational mass media company, primarily involved in tele ...

for

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

in 1981. Set in a fictional men's prison, the series attempted to present a male version of its female counterpart''

Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

'', which was set in a woman's prison. Attempts by the show's makers to differentiate the series from ''Prisoner'' saw ''Punishment'' imbued with greater realism; however, the formula did not attract high viewing figures. Network Ten deemed the new series a failure after only three episodes had gone to air, and it was quickly removed from the schedules. The remainder of the 26 episodes produced were shown out-of-ratings later that year. Unusually for a soap opera, the series was taped using the single camera technique. Grundy produced ''Punishment'' mainly to complement ''Prisoner'' in international sales, to a point that the pilot was initially telecast in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

before debuting in Australia.

KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is the seco ...

, the

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television station that helped launched ''Prisoner'' in the United States, originally expressed interest in doing the same with ''Punishment'';"Men Behind Bars", ''

TV Week ''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news. Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...

'', 15 March 1980 it is unknown if KTLA had screened any episodes of ''Punishment'', in light of its failure on Network Ten in Australia. The programme created by

Reg Watson Reginald James Watson (27 August 1926 – 8 October 2019) was an Australian television producer and screenwriter. He was executive producer on ''Crossroads (British TV series), Crossroads'' and created Australian media exports serials such as ' ...

was produced and directed by Alan Coleman. The regular cast featured many notable Australian actors.

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...

played a prisoner in the first two episodes. Kris McQuade played the girlfriend of Gibson's character and was phased out of the series after the first few episodes due to Gibson's departure.

Cast

- Rick Munro (2 episodes) *

Ken Wayne Ken Wayne (1925–1993) was an Australian actor of radio, theatre, film and television. He made his film debut in '' Sons of Matthew'' (1949) and appeared in a number of movies including ''Dust in the Sun'' (1958). He was also well known for hi ...

- Jack Hudson *

Brian Wenzel Brian Thomas Wenzel (born 24 May 1929) is an Australian former actor, comedian, director and singer. He has been in the entertainment business for 75 years, including circus, stage, television and film (including made for TV movies and theatrica ...

- Wally Webb * Stephen Yardley - Mike Rogers *

Barry Crocker Barry Hugh Crocker (born 4 November 1935
Official Barry Crocker website) is an Australian character actor, televisio ...

- Governor Alan Smith * Ralph Cotterill - Russell Davis *

Michael Preston Michael Preston (born Jack Davies; 14 May 1938) is an English international film and television actor, and singer, sometimes credited as Mike Preston. Life and career Preston was born in Hackney, London, England. He was a boxer and then bec ...

- Larry Morrison * Brian Harrison - Sam Wells * Michael Smith - Paul Wells *

George Spartels George Bernard Spartels (born 25 April 1954) is an Australian actor, presenter, director, playwright and children's musician of Greek descent on his father's ancestry, and English and Irish on his mother's. He remains best known for his role on ...

- David Roberts *

Julie McGregor Julie Anne McGregor (born 26 November 1948) is an Australian television actress and comedian, noted for her roles in comedy. Career In the 1970s, McGregor appeared in the Australian sketch comedy ''The Naked Vicar Show''. In the 1980s McGre ...

- Julie Smith * Kris McQuade - Kate Randall *

Cornelia Frances Cornelia Frances Zulver, OAM (7 April 1941 – 28 May 2018), credited professionally as Cornelia Frances, was an English-Australian actress. After starting her career in small cameos in films in her native England, she became best known for her ...

- Cathy Wells * Arthur Sherman - Andy Epstein * Anne Haddy - Alice Wells *

Penne Hackforth-Jones Penne Hackforth-Jones (5 August 194917 May 2013) was an American-born Australian actress and biographer. Early life Penelope Beatrix Hackforth-Jones was born in August 1949 in Greenwich, Connecticut, to Paul and Susan Felicity (née Gullett) Ha ...

- Heather Rogers * Lisa Peers - Roslyn Rowney

Episode list

Home media

Available at (National Film and Sound Archives)

References

External links

*
Aussie Soap Archive: ''Punishment''''Punishment'' at the National film and Sound Archive
{{Prisoner (TV series), state=expanded Australian television soap operas Network 10 original programming 1981 Australian television series debuts 1981 Australian television series endings Australian prison television series English-language television shows Television series produced by The Reg Grundy Organisation 1980s prison television series