|
From bit-part to bitch-part, Colleen is often criticised for switching from Jeckyll to Hyde overnight, then back again. But does this dispute among fans overshadow an otherwise underrated character and an excellent actress?
I have to say that Colleen Powell was one of my favourite characters. She managed to grow from an occasional background extra, to a fully-fledged main character, developing a nice line in dry wit along the way and a great sense of sarcasm (the script writers must have had a great time writing for her). On top of this, the actress was surprisingly talented (though I feel her potential was often under-used), and she had the ability to give convincing performances despite some very unconvincing storylines.
Among Prisoner fans there is some controversy about her character, as there's disagreement about whether she suddenly changed into a ‘bad’ officer just to plug the gap between Vera and Joan. I don’t think this is strictly true (she was never really a ‘nice’ character to begin with), but I can’t help feeling the writers nonetheless followed a formula, where there'd be one ‘good’ officer and one ‘bad’ officer at all times. Before Vera’s departure, Colleen had been barely noticeable (both to viewers and inmates), except for the occasional burst of stroppy union protests. When Vera was due to leave, Colleen seemed to be suddenly thrust centre stage, and while her nastiness may have gone mostly unnoticed in the background before, it suddenly became a major part in all the action. She even got herself a "Vinegar"-like nickname ("Po-Face") while she made life unpleasant for everyone, making and carrying out threats, using an informant, and other things the old Colleen may have done but somehow managed to keep out of the main storylines. When Joan arrived, Joan’s (much more sinister) nastiness easily stole the limelight, and rather than have Colleen compete with her for ‘chief baddie’ (and thus reduce the impact of both, and the balance of good/bad officers) the writers gave Colleen’s nastiness more of a backseat ride. There are those who disagree, and various other theories, which is why this subject is such a controversial one, but this is simply my interpretation.
Her trademark hairslides were sadly not evident in her early appearances. When she first appeared, she had scraped-back hair and John Lennon glasses. Later, she had sprouted a horrific perm that could have made babies cry. When we look at her daughter Jenny in her canary yellow disco pants and crimped hair, you can almost see which side of family the ‘style’ gene comes from.
She had a few major storylines, most memorable was when Jenny was abducted and raped, then the woman who’d been involved was put inside Wentworth, where Colleen was working. Yes, it’s highly unlikely she’d end up in the same prison, and it was potentially a very interesting situation that I felt was never explored as fully as it could have been.
Later on, Colleen left husband Patrick and his bouffant hairdo, and moved in with Meg, and started an affair with a prisoner’s husband who happened to be putting up some shelves in the flat. Yes it’s a very small world in that part of Australia.
Later still, after getting back with her family, they were blown to pieces in a car bomb intended for Rick Manning. This, along with the shock of what were clearly different people claiming to be her husband and kids, caused her to hit the vodka bottle, and provided us with some examples of excellent acting. I remember the classic image of Colleen in a drunken state in her flat, slurring and swigging vodka, with only one hairgrip in. (A sign of a good actor, when they can convey so much with only the use of hair accessories.) Unfortunately this was let down by the writing. When she was caught by Ann on duty with a hipflask, her alcohol problem seemed to disappear suddenly overnight. And within a remarkably short time she was being taken out to dinner by an estate agent with yellow teeth. “All part of the service”. (Not like when I was selling my house - they used to just phone me, not update me over a candlelit meal.)
She also had her fare share of amusing storylines too, like when a mad bomber was running around in the prison. He bound Colleen in boiler room (where else?) and sellotaped her mouth up (something a lot of people had probably considered before) using tape that “nobody has ever got out of before” he said, shortly before she spat it off.
There was also a plot to set up Joan. Surprisingly, the last time a similar scheme had been tried, Officer Heather Rodgers had been sacked by Erica, as “even considering this course of action is unforgiveable”. Interestingly, Erica seemed to have forgotten this and was involved as much as Colleen, Meg, Steve Fawkner and Bea.
On one occasion, just after acting governor Powell had Joan exactly where they wanted her – oops, Colleen managed to run over an old drunken man on her way home. Joan of course happened to be passing and witnessed the whole thing. (“I saw you kill that old man. Now what did you want to see me about, governor..?”)
Her affair with handy man Chris Young was not her only temptation in the series. In trying to persuade Jim Fletcher not to report her for striking a prisoner, she tried to tempt him quite blatantly with her feminine charms. And later we witnessed the Wentworth babe subjected to the outrageous flirtation by Phil Collins lookalike, Geoff Carlson at Woodridge.
She was the first officer to use the PA system (fond memories of Gladys in Hi-de-hi), which always seemed an expensive and rather drastic installation for the sake of one jokey incident before being forgotten about and never used again.
Her final (and possibly pottiest) storyline came on her last day at Wentworth, when a Nazi was running around the corridors after somehow getting into a maximum security prison with a gun and a comedy German accent. At the climax of the action Colleen sprang to life and floored him with a pillow case. Has to be seen to be believed, but what an excellent way to leave the series!
Return to top of Page
|
