Top Ten: Characters with Disabilities

With minority groups represented by one black character or a handful of lesbians, you could be forgiven for assuming there were more cuddly animals in the Prisoner end credits than characters with disabilities.. when in fact, it’s probably about the same.

1. Tracey Belman
Wentworth’s one and only wheelchair whinger. Not from any physical cause, but a psychological one, as demonstrated when Joan startled her so much she jumped out of her chair and ran across the room screaming. The wheelchair did suggest tokenism, but the character seemed so unlikeable and unsympathetic that I doubt any group would wish her to be a role model for them.
See also: Jenny Hartley's battleaxe Nanna, supposedly bed-ridden, but with a tendency to walk around or climb in the window frame, whenever Jenny wasn't around.

2. Georgie Baxter
Always in trouble with a quick temper, it wasn’t until her spell in Wentworth that anyone realised her anger stemmed from misunderstandings (including a particularly embarrassing one where Judy Bryant almost found herself eating the poor girl) and from frustration at not knowing what people had said. Though it’s surprising the characteristic ‘deaf’ voice didn’t make anyone wonder. I don’t think the actress had a hearing impairment herself, which makes her performance all the more interesting, and a refreshing look at deafness from a different perspective (the effects on the person).

3. Debbie Peters
Another Deaf character, brought into the prison during the awful dance marathon. Her character had no real dialogue or substance, and she had little more to do than look cute and vulnerable. Rather than a positive portrayal of a child coping with deafness, she was used more as a plot device during the bomb scare (to be rescued by Joan/Judy) and as an almost token image of the Deaf kids, who it seems would be magically cured by the mysterious machine the money was being raised for.

4. Lori Young/ Maynard’s baby
Yet another example of deafness, and again a child used as a prop or plot device to illustrate mother Lori’s post natal depression (and subsequent problems accepting the child’s deafness). Lori was later introduced to some Deaf children and, as if by magic, was instantly cured of her bad feelings. Almost as impressive as her ability to hold onto her stomach contents while watching the patronising “pick up the blue pencil” parlour tricks the kids were made to perform.
See also: When Lisa Mullins lost her voice (while suffering from hysterical aphasia) she suddenly was able to chat to Lorilei Wilkinson in fluent sign language. Apparently she knew this because her parents were both Deaf.

5. Belinda Johns
What name can you give a blind character? Stick an ‘e’ and an ‘a’ in the word ‘blind’ and that’ll do. Belinda was inside for possession of illegal firearms, though it transpires she’d got inside deliberately to seek revenge on Sonia Stevens. Thankfully the actress’ performance was far more convincing than the storyliners’, and it really did seem as though someone had done some research. (Nice examples of other characters guiding her correctly into rooms, etc.)

6. Matt Denson
One of the baddies holding Kath Maxwell. A very different kind of blind person, who tended to listen to people by pointing his ear at them, and seemed to like going outside to chop wood. An embarrassing stereotype of a blind person, especially after the excellent effort that went into Belinda Johns.

7. Merle Jones
Not a physical or sensory disability, I guess you could describe Merle as having a learning difficulty. She was child-like in her behaviour, initially unable to read and write, with a dangerous temper fuelled by her frustrations. Taken advantage of by other people, whether using her for muscle, teasing her, or people in her past sexually abusing her. An excellent performance by the actress, and some outstanding writing, especially with her relationship with Kath Maxwell, which managed to be sympathetic without the schmaltz.

8. Laura Gardiner/ Brandy Carter
Mild mannered librarian turned Jeckyll and Hyde-like into loud, gum chewing prostitute, and back again. She had Multiple Personality Disorder, which I understand is rare, usually a symptom of psychological trauma, often from childhood abuse. However, it seemed to appear in Prisoner as a bit of light relief, in an unsympathetic and almost tasteless way. Fortunately the actress was superb, giving convincing performances of two very difficult characters.

9. Anne Griffin
I’m not entirely sure what was wrong with this character, but something was for sure. She would often hallucinate (seeing baby Megan in the tumble dryer was a particular favourite) and you could never quite tell if what she was saying was true or fantasy. She sealed the entrance to the escape tunnel during one of her strange phases, trapping some women down inside during the fatal tunnel collapse. In the end she went the same way as many other inmates, to the psychiatric hospital.

10. Bev Baker
Not sure if you class this as a ‘disability’ as such, but ‘psychopathy’ can certainly be described as a mental illness. Bev ‘The Beast’ Baker is probably the best example of a psychopath in the series, and was violent towards people for nothing more than her own amusement. A fantastic performance by the actress provided some genuinely frightening scenes, but sadly her time in the series was far too short, and she was promptly replaced by another dangerous (but far less charismatic) character, Angel Adams.

In all, the portayal of characters with disabilities was a bit of a mixed bag. The biggest problem seemed to be that the characters were introduced then written out within a very few episodes, so the real issues could not be explored properly, leaving just the more entertaining or sensational elements. A pity, because some of the performances were very good, and there was potential for some interesting developments with the storylines and with the other characters too.