From my side of the television screen, as a fan, I was ever so fond of his work in all three characters he portrayed in Prisoner, and also as Gail’s Dad Rob Lewis, the man who taught Charlene all she knew as a mechanic back in the glory days of Neighbours, where he first came to my attention actually even before I fell in love with Prisoner.
I’m aware though that, aside from Prisoner and Neighbours, he had a long career on TV stretching back to the early days of Australian television, as the article which first drew the news to the attention of most of us details. I guess he’ll be in particular fondly remembered by Australians who were growing up then for his work on popular children’s series of the time like The Magic Circle Club and Adventure Island, in the way that you generally feel warm about anything that takes you back to happy memories of when you were a child.
Amongst other TV work prior to Prisoner, such as The Sullivans and Against The Wind (where I thought he was great in a very different role to his time on Prisoner and Neighbours as the morose, drunken (and therefore totally inept!) ship’s surgeon), as many an actor did in those days, he did the rounds of those classic Crawfords cop shows of the 1970s – Division 4, Matlock Police, Bluey and Cop Shop - the cast lists of which if you have a look on the IMDB read like a who’s who of just about anybody who was anybody in Australian television of the time, and more recently post Neighbours he popped up in the likes of Blue Heelers.
Alongside this though, as the article relates, he evidently had a very busy and productive career on stage, working in a number of big musicals and also extensively for the Sydney and Melbourne Theatre Companies, for which he seems to have been highly regarded, and was even nominated for an Erik Award (the Australian equivalent at the time of the UK’s Olivier Awards) for one of his performances.
In my own experience of his work, many moons ago on Neighbours and more recently through my longstanding devotion to Prisoner, all I can say is that he simply struck a chord in my heart. I’m afraid I’m not at all objective in respect of my favourites amongst the Prisoner cast. Actually that’s a bit of a redundant statement, as I guess in terms of anyone’s preferences, by very definition that they’re your favourites must mean that there’s at least some degree of subjectivity involved!
Nevertheless, I rate a character and an actor by how much they make me care about them, the degree to which they move me in any kind of a way, on any kind of level, whether that’s as a baddie or a goodie or as somebody just getting through the day. By that yardstick, Ernie Bourne really made me care about the people he played in Prisoner, especially as Mervin Pringle, but I was also amused by the little glimpse we got of him in Prisoner’s very early days as Dr Crawe, and I was touched by his cameo as Peter Hope a little later, and so that’s why I’ve ever such a soft spot for his contribution to the show.
The characters Ernie brought life to weren’t heroes in the conventional sense of the most popular, great barnstorming heroes of the show, but they were heroes in my heart, for making me laugh, cry, feel for them in their awkwardness and cheer them along for their quiet courage in overcoming their limitations and ignoring the odds stacked against them, and in daring to follow their dreams in spite of it all.
I think Ernie excelled in making the ordinary extraordinary, in his roles as that timeless little guy who rarely features in the annals of greatness, although there is a greatness in his ordinariness, as without him and millions like him life, and in this case Prisoner, would be so much the poorer. I’m so thankful for his contribution to the show for that, and so sorry that it’s only now that I’m getting around to saying so properly.
A few blogs ago I mentioned in passing how brilliant I thought he was in his brief little visit to the very early part of the series back in episode 22 as Dr Crawe, the doctor who breaks the news to Lizzie about her “dearly beloved” brother Angus’s demise. I’ve always loved Dr Crawe’s brilliantly deadpan response to Lizzie’s gentle enquiry as to whether Angus had anything to say before he passed away:
“Well as I recall, Mrs Birdsworth, his exact words were, ‘Tell her she doesn’t get a cracker…I got no sister!’”
…leaving Lizzie to fume about “the old bastard” being as “tight as a fish’s bum to the grave…and he got the last word again!”
Leaving Dr Crawe behind to make what he will of that (!), Ernie’s next appearance in the show comes some 170 episodes later, in the guise of Doreen’s hapless (or should that be hopeless?!) pen friend, named, with wonderful irony, Peter Hope! No relation to that dastardly Peter Thief who was always responsible for stuff going missing, or Peter Prop who Amanda Muggleton and Julieanne Newbould laughed about in their hilarious commentary for episode 293 on the DVDs!
Back to episode 192, penned by George Mallaby, another of my most favourite writers of the series (I think he writes with such wit and flair, and I also reckon he rocks as intense social worker Paul Reid for that matter – even his pipe has gravitas! – but that’s a whole other blog – keep to the point Lily!), we find Doreen in a tizzy over the fact that the special pen friend with whom she’s struck up a warm correspondence has asked for a photo of her.
As she laments to Judy, “And the camera hasn’t been invented that could make me look 5’10”, 36-24-34!” When I was little, my parents used to laugh at me because I was 22-22-22! I’ve got a bit more shape to me now, I hasten to add, unfortunately in all the wrong places! Anyway, back to poor old Doreen, an unkind person might question the benefit of Meg’s offer to take lots of close ups of her (other than height-wise!) – clearly channelling your future evil self under the influence of devilish mindbender Dr Jonathan Edmunds some 258 episodes later there Meg!
However, when Meg overhears Doreen arranging with Peter over the phone to meet him in a park by the lake, Erica bizarrely decides (in the way that only Erica could!), that an appropriate punishment for this would be for Doreen to have a lovely afternoon out to keep that date with Peter, personally escorted by her good self, as it’s not like she’d have anything better to be doing like run a prison or anything!
I love that bucolic scene in the sun dappled park as she seeks her amour. Spotting a pleasant enough looking young chap she thinks she’s spied him, but he goes off with another girl, and so her face is an absolute picture when she comes face-to-face with her escort, a man in midlife crisis mode busting some brave sartorial moves with a bright blazer and clutching a manbag, like a prototype of Kath & Kim's Kel Knight!
I think there’s something so comical, almost crashingly excruciating but also deeply touching about the whole premise, thanks to some lovely writing and production, but also the cleverness of Colette Mann and Ernie Bourne’s performances.
I love it when he asks her whether she likes Bach and the breezy way she replies, as if she has any idea what he’s going on about, “Oh I could take it or leave it, you know!”
But he’s so sensitive and understanding, and the irony is that although they seem outwardly like chalk and cheese, Peter taps into that lacking that Doreen has of much of that in her world, fording their differences to the common ground they share in their mutual loneliness and isolation. As Peter soulfully remarks, “One doesn’t have to be a resident of the Bastille to be a prisoner you know…”
I love how he talks like a hero out of a Barbara Cartland novel! And so they discuss the transience of life and Peter wonders wistfully, “I wonder if you’ll disappear too…”
I love Doreen’s reply to this, “Ah well if I do you’ll know where to find me!”
Underwhelmed by the whole encounter, Doreen lets him down gently, with that old staple, “I think you’re a nice enough bloke, but you’re just not my type, you know?”
We know, Doreen, we know!
On to episode 193, Judy and Doreen have a little chat about it where it’s clear that she does like Peter as a friend and that they are united in being lonely people just looking for a bit of company. However, Doreen’s horrified when Peter turns up at the prison in the middle of their recreation period when the women are all out in the garden. Doreen whines, “I told him I never wanted to see him again!”
I love how Lizzie laughs, eyeing her would-be suitor, “I can’t say I blame you!”
Needless to say, things don’t go at all well during their second meeting in the interview room. Attempting to break the ice, Peter asks how she’s been keeping. I love the way Doreen rolls her eyes and tuts, “I only saw you a couple of days ago!”
Peter pleads with her that they are both lonely, but an exasperated Doreen spits back at him, (a tad harshly!), “Yes I’m lonely, but I’m not desperate!”
However, in the episode following on from this, not to be beaten, Peter bravely returns to the prison to offer Doreen the hand of friendship now. You can’t fault the guy for trying! He sure does live up to his name! Hope that is, not Peter! Sorry all you Peters out there!
He explains to Erica that he realises he was making a fool of himself but whereas others were laughing at him behind his back, Doreen was honest enough to tell him the truth about what she thought of him. Well, she didn’t hold back, that’s for sure! I really felt for him in that scene in the Governor’s office. Again it’s so excruciatingly embarrassing but my heart really melts for him at the same time. I think Ernie is so good at this kind of stuff in the show.
The beauty of it all is that this sets up one of the funniest one-liners of the series as Colleen comes to collect Doreen. When she tells her that Peter Hope is here to see her again, and she’s no choice over the matter as it’s by order of Mrs Davidson, through her teeth Doreen seethes, “When will that old rocker learn to leave me alone?!”
Without missing a beat, Colleen retorts dryly, in her matchless way, “That’s no way to talk about the Governor!” Brilliant, brilliant stuff!
So there’s a lovely little conclusion to all this as under duress, Doreen is taken to the Governor’s office and Peter thanks her for making him take a good look at himself to see how ridiculous he was, and ventures that he’d like to continue their friendship. He’s so sweet about it when she obviously isn’t keen, insisting, “Look, don’t feel bad about it. I understand - it was just a thought…”
Shaking her hand, he thanks her for all she’s done for him and tells her, “I think you are a very nice person!” Bless!
Swiftly withdrawing her hand, Doreen disagrees but she does add sincerely, “Oh but I did enjoy your letters!” Nevertheless, she’s still keen to make a sharp exit! And other than politely also thanking Erica for her time, that’s the last we see of poor old Peter (No!) Hope! I hope he found a nice lady friend out there more appreciative of what he had to offer!
I love this little storyline for the comedy value of the ‘odd couple’ premise, how Doreen’s chickens well and truly come home to roost for exaggerating the truth about herself to begin with, but also how thanks so much to the pathos that Ernie manages to bring to the role, underlying the humour of it all, it’s also so incredibly touching (but excruciating at the same time!).
Just as he has the chance to explore in much greater depth during his time in the show as Mervin, there’s so much heart and decency in the hopeless Peter Hope that I find utterly disarming. And so as much of a big old dag as he is (but hey aren’t we all to some extent?! “Speak for yourself, Lily!” I hear you cry!) I can’t help but feel for him as he treads his awkward and uncomfortable little path through the show, bless him.
And so to the role that he’s best remembered for in Prisoner, Mervin Pringle, the little chef with a big heart. I know not everyone feels the same way about him (but then as I’m always saying it would be an awfully boring old world if we all had the same likes and dislikes!) but the much maligned Mervin won my affection for his warmth, humour and the surprising depth of his courage and determination at times that belied his bumbling exterior.
I must admit, he’s not my favourite prison cook – that honour goes to Mrs O’Reagan, but that’s another whole other blog! – and I did find Ray Proctor quite endearing and entertaining, but for me Mervin was the most loveable of the Wentworth kitchen chiefs. As I hope I’ll be able to show you, I think there was so much more to him than just a blundersome foil for the women’s antics and the man who (evidently incomprehensibly to some Prisoner fans!) won Joyce’s heart and happiness.
“The cook’s a colourful little chap!” remarks Delia observantly in episode 636 on Mervin’s return from his honeymoon in Europe like something that’s just fallen off the back of a Von Trapp Family tribute lorry, complete with vivid red Tyrolean hat and larey shirt that Fraulein Maria would have hit the high doh for the chance to fashion out of some drapes! Do not adjust your television set! I believe that some Prisoner fans are still in therapy years after their first sight of the bedazzling ensemble!
Speaking of the Von Trapps, I’m quite at home here because only on Monday night I was at Singalonga Sound of Music in Edinburgh, for about the millionth time! It sure is one of my favourite things! I love the whole adult panto-esque absolute joy of it all - boo-ing the Nazis, hissing the Baroness, the mad people who take photos of the screen as if it’s a live show and not a film we’ve all seen about a billion times over already and shine their torches at it at the bit where the family are hiding in the crypt and the Nazis are looking for them, not to mention the random things folk shout out!
The other night, when it got to the part just before the interval where Maria sadly takes her leave of the big house, thanks to the conniving of that bad old Baroness (HISSSSSS!), one guy cried out melodramatically (with great feeling it has to be said!), “Think of the children, Julie!”
I think my favourite instance of this was at a show in Glasgow a few years ago, when a big macho Glaswegian who’d obviously been dragged along by his wife got caught up in the emotion of the moment when the Captain tears down the Nazi flag from his house and rips it in two, and called out passionately, “On yerself, big man!” (English translation: “Bravo, old chap!”) How we all laughed and cheered at the same time, because it was so funny, but pride-making and almost moving at the same time, in a silly old sort of a way!
A bit like how I feel about the character of Mervin in Prisoner for that matter, because I laugh along with some of his daft old antics, feel deeply for him at times, but am also quite proud of him too for what he stood for in his own unassuming way.
One of the things he’s best remembered for (whether that’s in a positive or negative light, depending on your point of view!) was his slapstick comedy side, and there was plenty of that in evidence from when he first arrived in the show in episode 523!
I love how when he turns up for his interview, he assumes that shiny new Head of Department Andrew Fry is there for the job too (almost on a par with when Pixie Mason mistook Erica Davidson for an inmate in episode 402!), good naturedly commenting, “I don’t care what I do as long as I get the job. Reckon you feel the same way too, eh?!”
I love Andrew’s dry reply, “Well as I’m not in the job market just at the moment I can sincerely wish you the best of British!”
Amazingly, in spite of his nervousness (but then aren’t interviews scary biscuits?! Fair play to anyone who’s never been nervous in an interview and has no empathy with Mervin here!) he manages to impress Meg enough, thanks to his fabulous references and it would seem the want of anyone better, to win the day and amazingly be invited to start straight away! It was lucky he brought his chef’s knives along with him!
I must say, they must have a super-efficient vetting section in Corrective Services, given that Mervin was only filling out the forms detailing his previous employment when he first arrived! No wonder so many dangerously unbalanced psychopaths find their way onto the staff over the years!
He doesn’t exactly get off to a rocking start as he flounders out of his depth, including a hilarious bit of slapstick where he burns his rissoles (very painful when you do that!) and manages to set fire to his teatowel in the process of rescuing them!
Less than impressed with him, Lexie titters, “If that bloke’s ever cooked for more than two or three people in his life I’ll eat Boy George’s bow!” That begs an innuendo but I’m so not going there!
And so he admits to the women that he has never had to cook for such large numbers, indeed he has something of a phobia about it, and has never even been in charge of anyone in his life, that people were always telling him what to do, and so he’d “doctored a couple of references” to get the job.
Marlene feels sorry for him and agrees they should help him out and cover for him as “everyone deserves one go at least” (good on you, Marlene!) but Lexie’s still less than keen. However he assures her, emphatically, “I promise I’ll practice at home until I can cook for a whole army. I need this job Lexie, it’s my last chance to prove I can do it.”
Bless him! Well, he’s got me shouting for him, at any rate! Go, Mervin! However, I guess a lot of people who dislike Mervin with a passion will be chanting that for a whole other reason!
There’s another classic bit of subtle as a sledgehammer slapstick a little further on in episode 526 where Marlene and Lexie decide to play a joke on him by putting liver salts in his sugar bowl, but things get out of control as he’s put it on Ann’s tray which has been taken to her office. I thought Ann was a bit of a prole who preferred to get down with the workers and take her tea in the staff room, but then perhaps she had a lot of paperwork to get through that day and was too busy to leave her desk!
When they ‘fess up to what they have done, Mervin hares off and bursts into Ann’s office, but it’s too late as she dollops a mound of it in and it erupts in an effervesence of Earl Grey like Mount Vesuvius on a bad day…if Mount Vesuvius disgorged tea that is! In saying that, if Mount Vesuvius belched tea I’d be moving to Naples tomorrow with my giant teapot as I’m a bit of a tea jenny myself!
The look on poor old Mervin’s face is absolutely priceless! That’s one of those moments I so wish Erica was still in the Governor’s chair though, because she’d have laid an egg! Tell you what though, either our Ann’s not terribly thirsty and she’s taking her tea in a baby teacup, or she’s got an incredibly sweet tooth and that’s a desert spoon she’s using to sweeten her tea, judging by the size of the spoon in proportion to the cup!
That reminds me of that funny story that Sheila Florance told in The Great Escape Tour show about the funniest thing she’d ever witnessed on the show, featuring Jude Kuring. She recalled that Peta Toppano’s character Karen was being kind to Jude’s character Noeline, and was making her a cup of tea. She remembered it as Karen making tea for Noeline and Karen asking how many sugars she took, to which Noeline snorted, “Seven…I’m a bit of a diabetic!” It’s the way she tells it! Honestly, I reckon Sheila Florance could have made reading the phone book entertaining!
Another opportunity for Ernie to show some great visual acting comes a little further on in episode 579, after Mervin has won the cooking contest and Daphne has sweetly made a cake for him to congratulate, or rather “congradulate” him, as she’s spelt it on the cake! Again Mervin’s face is a picture as he bites into it and finds it to be a trifle dry, shall we say, judging by the KERUNCHING sound! I think Ernie was brilliant at using his wonderfully expressive face to full advantage at moments like this!
Again I know it’s not the most popular storyline amongst the wider fanbase (I guess I’ll need to be focusing on something more crowd-pleasing soon before I find solitaire’s the only game in town and I’m just wittering away to myself on here!) but I actually love the whole cooking contest plot as a bit of a comic caper and some fluffy escapism, with some impressive bite from Joyce too during the course of proceedings into the bargain.
Beforehand, never having much confidence in himself at the best of times, poor Mervin is a total bag of nerves and frets about making a fool of himself in a little scene in the prison kitchen in episode 577. With the knack that the more childlike characters in the show often have of being quite perceptive and saying the right thing at just the right time, not confined by the prejudices that bind others (a nod to that Shakesperian convention of the wise fool), it’s actually Daphne who perks him up and gives him the inspiration to give it a go, chiding him:
“I don’t know why you say things like that, Mr Pringle. Geez, if I could cook as good as you I’d be going in contests all the time all over the world. I wouldn’t be hiding myself away!”
Off the back of this, there’s a joke which does date the show a little, but is still quite funny nonetheless. Mervin decides he’ll have a go at practising there and gets the women to help him, saying he’ll start with the roux (a mixture used as a thickening agent in sauces, soups and gravies and the like – hark at Delia Smith in the corner!). Lurch chimes up, “You think you’re gonna win a contest cooking a bloody ‘roo!”
Well, it would put a spring in their step! Arf arf arf!
As Willie and Daphne bicker away, Mervin thinks better of it and decides that he’d be better off practising at home, which cues a funny little scene as he does just that in his little kitchen when we move on to episode 578. As Joyce gamely tucks into his first attempt, it becomes apparent that all hasn’t gone according to plan, as, frustrated at himself, he grumbles:
“See, I was right! The meat’s like leather, the vegetables are overcooked…it’s a mess! Even you could have done it better!”
I love the look that Joyce shoots him for that backhanded compliment! Great stuff!
Mervin does show something of the courage and determination belying his bumbling exterior when, after a bit of encouragement from Joyce and not wanting to let anyone down who are cheering him on back at Wentworth, he presses on with appearing on the show, in spite of the fact that under the stress and strain of it all he has an epileptic seizure just before leaving the house.
When they arrive at the studios, I love Joyce’s comment about the presenter that she thought he’d be taller, just as people always say about people on television (speaking of which, quite randomly, the Queen is tiny in real life, but yes she does have a lovely complexion, just as folk always say!). In Joyce’s case though, fair play to her being able to make such an assessment, as the guy’s sitting down at the time!
So we’re introduced to Mervin’s wonderfully scenery chewing opponents, snooty Jonathan and “French” Francois - although as Peter Russell-Clarke reassured Mervin a little later, “You might be interested to know the little Froggy bloke doesn’t come from France (you don’t say!)…he comes from Ballarat!” Great stuff!
Speaking of Peter Russell-Clarke, I love how in my early days of watching these episodes, as a Pom I didn’t know the guy evidently making a special guest appearance they’re obviously making such a big fuss over from Adam! It’s a bit like all those guest appearances by Aussie sports stars in Home & Away when I’m like, “Que?!” But then I’m sure some folk must have the same reaction to most of my gibberings, whether or not they’re from the UK!
So Peter Russell-Clarke was indeed a celebrity chef in Oz at the time, and amazingly as his Wikipedia entry mentions even cooked for the Prince of Wales at his Silver Jubilee dinner, but since then has apparently found greater notoriety than appearing in Prisoner and cooking for Prince Charles put together after a blooper reel of him channelling Gordon Ramsay and turning the air blue was uploaded to YouTube! I would have included the link but I'm far too much of a lady! It's not too hard to find though if you do a search on there! I honestly thought my delicate ears were going to fall off at such profanity!
Now all that malarkey would’ve been enough to make Mervin’s lobster blush! Oh that reminds me of that terrible joke, “Why did the lobster blush? …Because the sea weed!” Ho ho! They’re coming thick and fast now! “Make it stop, Lily!” cry you!
I must say, no stranger to such things myself, as I’ve proved just there (hello Mr Kettle, I’m Miss Pot, and may I say you’re looking awfully black today!), there is a case for the scriptwriter to be shot for the presenter’s cheesy asides about Mervin having a “captive audience” at the prison and that if everything doesn’t go well he could still make a great bowl of porridge! *Groan!*
Anyway, I think it’s so fabulous when Mervin does overcome the odds stacked against him and wins the day, with Peter Russell-Clarke observing that Mervin “probably reckons it’s easier to climb Mount Everest barefoot than to cook on national television” but that he’d won his heart as well as his stomach! Yay!
I think it’s so sweet when they all wave down the camera to the women watching back at the prison too. I’m sorry, but I’m a sucker for a bit of feel-good escapism amidst all the perpetual nastiness that goes on in Prisoner! What I enjoy so much about the show is its broadly varying tone and style at times. There really is something in it for everyone, no matter what kind of mood you’re in or whatever your disposition, even a big old soppy sook like me!
However, my favourite moment from the cooking contest actually comes before the winner is announced, where Joyce mounts an impassioned defence on Mervin’s behalf in the face of the scorn of his opponents:
“Mervin Pringle is one of the finest men that ever walked this earth and even if he doesn’t win the contest he’s got more talent in his little finger than you two have got in your entire bodies!”
Go Joycie! Which brings me to something else I appreciate so much about the character of Mervin. I know others disagree and/or reach for their sick buckets at the very notion, but I really think Mervin and Joyce were a match made in heaven, and I’m actually quite moved by how much they care for each other, which I think really shines through all their ups and downs, trials and triumphs during their time together.
I think it’s lovely that Mervin’s very first appearance in Prisoner in episode 523 features Joyce as she helps him check in for his interview, but I really love their first intimate scene together in the prison kitchen a few episodes later in episode 526, when their attraction to each other and how well matched they are is so evident. Joyce hears strange noises coming from the kitchen late at night, and discovers Mervin busying away practising the fine art of soufflé making.
Joyce gasps, “A soufflé! Oh could you show me how to do it? Mine always seem to flop in the middle!” I know the feeling, Joycie! She adds, sadly “…not that Norm seems to notice…but I’d like to get it right just once…” and you get a real sense of how fed up and unhappy she is with her lot, pre-empting her sigh to Mervin onwards in episode 535, “Nothing ever changes with Norm!”
Back to their little encounter in episode 526, I love their mutual delight at the perfect soufflé Mervin has managed to make, with Joyce reassuring Mervin that she understands now why Mervin was working back so late, “You can’t rush a work of art now, can you?”
So chuffed at finding someone on his wavelength, Mervin agrees, “Yes cooking is a work of art isn’t it? That’s what I’ve always thought.”
Joyce starts to leave him to it, but Mervin calls her back, “Mrs Barry…there’s enough for two…” I love how Joyce blushes, “Mr Pringle!”
I think that Joy Westmore and Ernie Bourne really had such lovely chemistry working together, even from the very outset in these very early days of Joyce and Mervin’s relationship and in revisiting the path of their love for this blog, I’ve discovered all over again just why, along with Lizzie and Sid Humphrey and Erica and Andrew Reynolds, they’re amongst my most favourite Prisoner pairings, the hopeless romantic that I am!
What I love so much is that, a bit like real life, it isn’t perfect and the road doesn’t run smoothly for them, there are complications (not least the fact that Joyce is still married to poor old Norm at the time that Mervin comes into her life!) and major setbacks and blows along the way.
Indeed they are awkward and hesitant (as Mervin admits to Joyce in episode 536, “Joycie, I’m so awkward with words if I…if I could only…if I could only say it in a soufflé!” Aw!) and they have their spats and disagreements at times (one of my favourites being when they fall out in episode 570 over Joyce’s refusal to cross the picket line to bring in supplies for the women during the strike, with an exasperated Joyce telling Mervin in no uncertain terms where he stands, “Mervin Pringle you can jolly well catch the bus home, and don’t expect to find a meal waiting when you get there…or a musical!” – fighting talk indeed!). However, that’s what makes it even more satisfying to me when it does come right for them in the end.
I love it when they finally get around to admitting their feelings for one another in episode 537, and Joyce explains just what it is that attracts her to the little chef and would prompt her to take such a major life change as to walk out on her long marriage to Norm, “I can talk with you Mervin. With you…not to you. I’ve been talking to Norm for years now and I don’t think I want to any more.”
Although I feel sorry for poor old Norm, as he didn’t really know what had hit him, I also have a lot of sympathy for Joyce too, unfulfilled and in a rut, now that her son had grown and left home finding she has little left in common with the man she’d been married to for so long, but good on her in having the courage to change her lot and take such a chance on happiness when a man comes along who makes her feel special again.
I love how it shows how human beings are flawed, no less so, if not more so when it comes to matters of the heart, and that poor Norm is left a casualty of this becomes so apparent a little later on, but for all that I can’t grudge Joyce the love and joy she finds with Mervin. Hey, if even her son Jim can grow to accept it in the long run, who am I to argue?!
Speaking of how the road to true love for them is somewhat rocky, I love Joyce and Mervin’s first major rammy in episode 546, kicking off, as these things often do, over something so silly. Joyce makes up her mind that she’d love to return the compliment that Mervin has been paying to her by making her so many lovely meals, in resolving to cook for him instead. The fact that she opts to do this in Mervin’s own kitchen, and decides to have a major tidy up of all of his things in the process too, doesn’t bode well for things to come!
So Mervin is more than a little put out when he returns home to a pristine flat (after all, it might have been a mess, but it was his mess!), especially when he discovers that she’s thrown out his precious collection of recipe clippings that he’s been collecting for years! However, things go even more disastrously wrong when Joycie seriously burns her sweet in his best $75 copper pan that he’d saved for weeks to buy, as he laments!
Joyce sniffs that he shouldn’t have let her use it then, to which Mervin snaps, “I wouldn’t have if I’d have known you were going to muck it up…look at it..it’s buggered!”
Stung by his shocking language (!), Joyce snaps back, “Don’t you swear at me, Mervin Pringle!”
His rattle well and truly out of the pram, Mervin sniffs that he’d loved that pan and he’d been wanting one for years, which is more than enough for Joyce, as she hollers, storming out, “I don’t care about your precious pan! I’ll buy you another one…and send it to you!”
That told him Joycie! You know, I enjoy their spats just as much as their moments of harmony. I think Joy and Ernie with their brilliant grasp of situation comedy play these scenes so well together, and I reckon this is one of their best!
They soon kiss and make up, as after how close he came to losing her in the Ballinger siege, Mervin realises what really matters, vowing to Joyce in such a moving little moment in episode 553, “From this minute I’ll make it my responsibility to see it never happens again. I won’t leave your side for a single moment…day or night. What I mean is I’ve realised I can’t bear the thought of being away from you Joyce…”
Bless! And so they agree to move into Dennis’s flat when he moves in with Meg, in the house swapping equivalent of musical chairs they all seem to be playing at this point in the series! However, such is the way of Prisoner, and most soaps in general for that matter, that just as their happiness seems sealed they’re dealt another blow, as onwards in episode 580 their wonderfully carefree dance in the staffroom for just the joy of being together is interrupted by the ringing of a telephone. That’s Prisoner shorthand in almost giant neon letters that it’s not going to be good news, as proves to be the case when Joyce learns that Norm has had a heart attack.
Tellingly, although Norm’s lady friend Beryl is there, it’s Joyce he asks to see when he comes round, and while she rushes off to see him, Beryl confirms to Mervin that even after all that time and in spite of everything Norm would never marry her because he’d never get a divorce from Joyce.
When the news finally comes through that Norm didn’t survive a second heart attack that he has soon after, and Joyce and Beryl, united by their grief, collapse into each others arms, poor Mervin is left standing there like a spare part, Ernie playing so well across his face the mixture of emotions that undoubtedly would be coursing through Mervin in that moment.
Later on, back at home, Joyce tries to reassure Mervin that her feelings for Norm are just fond memories from the fact that they’d spent more than half their lives together. However, Mervin understandably feels so insecure and mentions what Beryl had told him at the hospital and indeed points out the fact that Joyce wouldn’t marry him either, but Joyce is too much in shock for Mervin’s concerns to register very much with her.
Mervin’s day gets even worse though when he finds himself having to contend with Joyce’s resentful son Jim. I remember at first being quite surprised at this appearance of a grown up son of Joyce and Norm’s out of nowhere, as I’d remembered her telling Meg in episode 508 that the reason why she was so upset at the thought of Meg considering having an abortion is that she’d had an abortion herself as a young girl and as a consequence of it going wrong could never have children of her own.
However, when I checked she does actually explain to Meg at the time that that was why she had to adopt instead, which would be a better explanation for his appearance than my one that they’d found him under the gooseberry bush and he was actually an alien from outer space! Sorry, I must’ve been watching too much of The X Files lately! Hurrah for retro TV box sets!
So dismissing Mervin as a “useless nitwit” (I’ve heard some Prisoner fans call him worse though!), an understandably volatile Jim blusters passionately at him, “How could she leave Dad for a spineless prat like you?!”
After they get through the awfulness of the funeral, including an embittered Jim totally snubbing his mother, further upsetting her at an already overwrought time (not to mention Mervin’s terrible timing straight after the funeral in trying to pressure Joyce into agreeing to marry him and showing her the house he’s bought them!), tragedy strikes again for them in episode 586 as Joyce is the victim of femme fatale Eve Wilder’s savage attack on her and is left at death’s door herself, after one of the most brutal assaults in the whole series, I’d say.
In the aftermath of this, as Mervin waits for news at the hospital, in a heartrending monologue he pours out his feelings to Ann, Ernie showing his mettle at this kind of stuff in contrast to his equal deftness at all the froth and bubble of the other side to Mervin:
“You know, I’ve been thinking a lot this afternoon about Wentworth and how lucky I was…to meet Joyce I mean. Not many good things have happened in my life but meeting her was so wonderful. I’ll never forget the siege when I was so terrified that something would happen to her. That’s when I realised how much I loved her. I was so happy when I knew she was alright….”
This is one of those countless occasions during the course of the show where Prisoner gets so uncannily real for me and has something really quite truthful to say on a human level about a character like Mervin in a situation like that, there’s so much honesty and heart in the writing and performance I think.
Ann tries to reassure him that Joyce will be fine, but Mervin replies, “I hope so. It might be selfish but I don’t know how I’ll manage if she doesn’t make it…” My heart really goes out to Mervin here because you really get a sense that he would be a lost soul without her.
As the thread of this storyline continues into episode 587 (again so well written by Dave Worthington I think, not only in the events surrounding this, but also in following Willie Beecham in the raw aftermath of losing May Collins), there’s an almost unbearably touching moment when he places an engagement ring on Joyce’s finger and kisses it as she’s still lying in a coma after her surgery. I think it’s one of those Prisoner moments that are so powerful and well done that you almost feel intrusive for watching it.
Joyce’s son Jim turns up again and launches another salvo at Mervin, times of great emotional strain often bringing out the worst in people in that way. An unrepentant Jim won’t even tone it down when Mervin points out that Joyce is lying there and they should really take their fight outside. Not placated, Jim insists, “I’m not leaving. You’re the one who shouldn’t be here!”
However, in his own quiet way, Mervin stands up to him, “When your mother wakes up she’ll want to see someone she knows and loves and after your behaviour at your father’s funeral, I’m not sure you’re the right person!” which sends him on his way.
A little while later having had time to think on it and weigh up just what really matters at a time like this, a more contrite Jim sheepishly returns and painfully concedes, after explaining that he’s understandably upset having to cope with this just after losing his father, “She seems…er...happier with you than she did with Dad. I suppose that’s a bit hard to accept sometimes.”
I find it quite moving when Mervin suggests he draw up a chair so that when Joyce wakes up she’ll see both of them there, and Jim quietly thanks him, as the two men who mean the most to Joycie in the world keep their vigil by her side.
A really lovely moment comes in episode 589 when Joyce finally wakes from her coma and finds the ring he’s placed on her finger. Mervin admits, “When I saw you lying there I was terrified I was going to lose you,” to which Joyce affirms, “One thing all this has made me realise, life is too precious not to take the chance of happiness when it comes…(how true!)…I’d love to marry you Mervin, I really would, more than anything else on earth!” Aaaaah!
Way back in episode 532, Joyce comments to Mervin, “All I can say to you Mervin Pringle is the girl who marries you is going to think all her Christmases have come at once…” and I’m sure now that she’s got that bling on her finger she’d totally agree with herself!
What I love is that, probably the key to the success of their relationship in the long term, I don’t think theirs was an uneven partnership. Indeed I reckon their love for each other was every bit as strong on both sides, as evidenced by Joyce’s equally impassioned, almost primeval threat to Lou Kelly when Mervin’s life was on the line during the riot in episode 600, “You touch Mervin and I’ll kill you Kelly. I swear by everything that’s sacred I’ll kill you!” delivered with such conviction by Joy Westmore that it fairly made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, showcasing just what she was capable of when she was given the right material.
Even I can accept that as much as I love Joyce I think she was very underused in the show and could have been given more opportunity to show her inner strength like that. For instance, I don’t think her feelings towards Eve Wilder on her return to work just before the riot were properly explored in the way that they might have been in the earlier days of Prisoner, in comparison with, for instance, how they dealt with Meg’s feelings towards Chrissie Latham across episodes 65 to 72 (although I know that a lot of folk even have a major beef with that whole premise!). Then again, it just makes me appreciate all the more these occasions when characters like Joyce really are given the chance to shine!
I love how in the lead up to the wedding, all that matters to Mervin is her happiness, as he proves in episode 607 when she confesses to him that she’s been getting in such a state about having to do the bridal dance that she’s been having bizarre nightmares where he waltzes off with Joan (!!!). You’d think a waltz would be no problem to our Joycie given what a demon tap dancer she is, but maybe she fell off the sink too many times! Ha ha ha ha! Dear me, I really think if it’s at all possible I may be getting worse!
Anyway (!!!), Mervin reassures her, “Listen love, if you’re that worried we can do without the waltz. I want the wedding to be the happiest day of your life. We could get married in an elevator if you like!” Awwww!
There’s another nice quote from Meg further on in episode 612, as she’s chatting with Mervin about how they’re going to have their work cut out having to protect Kelly, Maggot and the soon to arrive Kath Maxwell from the women, given the grimness of the nature of their crimes and the enmities that will be at play, in stark contrast to the loveliness of Mervin and Joyce’s forthcoming nuptials, and she comments, deeply, “It’s a world away from white weddings, decorated cakes and happiness, isn’t it Mervin?”
As I’ve said so many times already (ad tedium, no doubt!) I just love that dramatic juxtaposition of darkness and light that I think Prisoner consistently does so well.
And so to the happy day itself in episode 617… As chance would have it, coincidentally I honestly just happened to reach episode 617 in my casual beginning-to-end run of the show last Wednesday night, just around the time I'd had confirmation of the news of Ernie's passing, which was quite uncanny, but somehow even more special to be watching the character of Mervin at such a happy time in his life, if that makes any sense at all.
Anyway, on with the episode, and for anyone prone to bouts of nausea at this kind of thing…look away now! Erm…that’s if you’re of that mould and you’ve managed to make it this far in the first place without disgorging what you had for breakfast already – in which case, bravo you! I must say, the easily excitable person that I am, I found myself getting really excited for them in the run up to the wedding in the episodes beforehand - a busy old time for Prisoner in any case with the arrival of Kath, the imminent departure of Bob Moran (alas!) and the whodunnit mystery of who flushed the Lou! Sorry, that was awful! I told you I was getting worse!
I actually think that episode 617 rocks in its own right as a standalone episode – there’s so much going on. In a way, perhaps stretching a little, it reminds me a bit of episode 165, and not just because Joyce and Mervin marry in a very similar, if not the same, church to the one where Meg and Bob tied the knot. In both cases it’s a time of considerable upheaval in the prison, there’s an unlikely escape attempt being planned and each episode is crowned by a set piece cliffhanger.
Honestly, I’d rate that sequence where Bongo comes flying out of the back of the lorry on that trail bike, stunningly filmed in slow motion, as one of the best stunts of the whole series – stunt supremo Glenn Ruehland well earning his wages there I’d say. Prisoner really blows my mind when it’s as good as this! *Jots down mee-mo to self about devoting a whole blog to this one episode some day!*
Anyway, back to the task at hand, before Mervin and Joyce make to the altar, there’s what I think is a fairly entertaining scene getting a bit of mileage out of that old chestnut of folks being nervous on the morning of their wedding.
As she realises Mervin is going to elaborate lengths to keep his back to her in their little apartment, Joyce asks him what on earth he’s doing, and so he explains that it’s because it would be bad luck for him to see her in her dress before the wedding. As Joyce points out, “Well, it’s a bit hard to avoid when we both live here dear!”
I love it when she tries to hug him but he tells her to take off her dress first, to which Joycie giggles, “Oh Mervin!” – the saucy minx! A little impatient at his antics, Joyce does scold him, “We’re both in enough of a fluster without you going on about old wives tales and superstitions!”
It’s all too much for a highly strung Mervin though, as all of a tizzy, he splutters, “Alright, let’s do it properly. Let’s open all the umbrellas in the house, bring in a truckload of black cats!” The supreme irony of all this being that there’s an upside down horseshoe dangling from the middle of the ceiling as all this is going on!
And so to the beautiful wedding of Mervin John and Joyce Edith at last! *Big happy sigh from Lily!* I just can’t help myself, I’m a sucker for a bit of old fashioned romance, especially where it comes to two people who aren’t in the full bloom of youth but have finally found true love and beaten all the odds to come together in their quest for the happiness that I’d say that everyone deserves at least a little bit of in this life. I reckon it gives hope to us all! I’m not going to make any pretence of any impartiality whatsoever in respect of my stance of this!
I love the tender way it’s shot in soft focus (or as Who’s Who less effusively puts it in their outline of this episode, with lashings of Vaseline slopped on the camera lens!), and I think the bride looks absolutely radiant in her lovely dress. Sorry, I know I’m in Pixie-channelling overdrive, but I also adore the love, pride and happiness in their eyes in the looks they exchange as the vicar reads their vows. Bless!
Crashing myself back down to earth with a bump, I love the slight fluff by the vicar that they didn’t even correct when it’s repeated in the recap before the mugshots in episode 618, “In the name of the God, I declare them to be husband and wife…”
In the name of the God of what? The God of Australian television serials?! All hail to Reg Grundy then! Or if it’s the God of mushily romantic moments on camera, I guess that would the bloke who invented Vaseline! Who, so that you’ll all sleep well tonight, was a chappie by the name of Robert Chesebrough, who proudly proclaimed (and rightly so!) in his 1872 US patent application, according to his random old Wikipedia entry, “I, Robert Chesebrough, have invented a new and useful product from petroleum which I have named Vaseline!” Hurrah! Let’s hear it for Mr Chesebrough! That was Edam good idea! *Chortle!*
And what a feast the post wedding feast is onwards in episode 618! I love it all – Uncle Perc (fabulously played by Vic Gordon - the Daddy of Jacqui Gordon in real life, who of course was the Bambi-esque Susie Driscoll much earlier on in the show - evidently relishing a fun little cameo in the show after playing a string of judges and doctors!) running around with that mutant video camera on his shoulder (he must’ve had shoulders like Atlas by the time he was finished!), the extras gamely grooving on down in the background to the strains of a non descript backing track (if I were them, I would blame it on the boogie!), not to mention Jim Barry in a drunken sleep nursing a giant paper ball, as one does, of course!
Ah, but there’s a lovely intimate moment with the two newlyweds cuddling on the couch after all the guests have gone and they’ve finally hustled Uncle Perc out of the door. Blissed out, Mervin sighs, “Oh Joycie…I couldn’t be happier…” And I couldn’t be gladder for them after everything they’ve been through.
Even Joan gets in the spirit of things later on in episode 621 when she returns to the prison in an especially good mood after her round of golf with Andrew Hinton, showing some genuine keenness to see Joyce and Mervin’s wedding video (and not for any sarcastic reason, I hate to tell you, Freak fans!), commenting, (with not inconsiderable irony, it has to be said!), “It’ll make a pleasant change from all the death and destruction we usually see on the television!”
So cool when Prisoner does things like that! Not when you’re a fan of the dark side of the Freak I guess! For myself though, I think that has to be one of my all time favourite Joan moments! *Insert :twisted: emoticon there, if you like!*
Speaking of Joan and her relations with Joyce and Mervin, there’s quite an amusing little subplot which kicks off in episode 637 when, much to Mervin’s dismay, Joyce takes pity on Joan and offers her unlikely lodgings in their spare room, after The Conquerors had burnt down her house back in episode 623, she found Terri Malone hadn’t renewed her home insurance when they were living together, and in the aftermath of her good friend Andrew’s demise in episode 635 she’s asked to leave his house by his daughter Jenny and has consequently found herself homeless and reduced to living out of a suitcase (I think that’s what’s called a run of bad luck!).
Mervin grumbles, “A few days with that woman could be the end of a man!”
Later in the episode, noting his kindness towards Merle, Joyce chides him, “I don’t know why you don’t show that sort of compassion to poor Joan!”
Aghast, Mervin exclaims, “Poor Joan?! That’s like feeling sorry for a shark when it’s taking your leg off!”
As proves to be the case when after playing an uneasy game of house for a few episodes the roles are reversed in episode 647, when a more solvent Joan is ready to sign the papers to buy their place as was originally intended once she’d got herself sorted out, but unfortunately for Joyce and Mervin by this point they have to admit to her that the finance has fallen through on the house they were hoping to buy and now they’ve nowhere else to go.
All heart, of course Joan is intent on kicking them out anyway, in spite of Joyce’s initial kindness towards her in taking her in in the first place, but after initially crumpling, Joycie regroups and hits her with some home truths, “You’re only here because we took pity on you! Alright, we may not be the best people in the world to live with, but you’re not exactly a barrel of laughs either!” rounding off by insisting that they’re staying so she’ll need to get used to it! Great stuff!
However, Joan ensures that this arrangement becomes untenable by episode 651 when Joan calls in the decorators to paint their bedroom, forcing them out onto her sofabed. This cues a funny little scene where Joyce and Mervin are making the best out of a bad situation by snuggling down on the sofabed as Joan enters the living room and tuts, “And what am I supposed to sit on?”
This triggers a rapier retort from Joyce, “You’ve got something to sit on, Joan. You just haven’t got anywhere to put it!” Excellence! One of my favourite lines from Joycie there!
Joan snaps back, “Oh you think this is a huge joke don’t you?” to which Mervin chuckles, “Life would be pretty hard if you couldn’t see the funny side of things, Joan!”
Joan spits, “Well if you’re not out of my flat by the morning Pringle you’ll find out just how hard!”
I love how unbothered Mervin and Joyce are at this stage, as they exchange looks and go, “Ooooooooooh!” If they were Scottish and living here anytime in the last ten years, they’d put their wrists up to their chins so the backs of their hands were together, elbows pointing outwards and wiggle their fingers as they said that, in homage to a brilliant local comedy show called Chewin’ The Fat! Trust me, everybody does it in these parts!
However, Joan has something of the last laugh as a dishevelled Mervin and Joyce turn up at Wentworth the next morning thanks to Joan calling a plumber at the crack of dawn who turned the water off so they couldn’t have a shower - incidentally, I love Joyce’s towel with “Prisoner Wardrobe” clearly written on it! Fancy Joyce stealing one of the prisoners' towels! Tut tut! ;)
This proves to be the last straw for them and good old Meg offers to take them under her wing until they’re sorted out, but even though on agreeing to this, Mervin remarks, “Joan’s going to think she’s won!” and Joyce points out, “Well, she has!” they don’t really seem all that concerned, in that Joan hasn’t won in any meaningful way in that they still have each other and they’ll be much happier not sharing a roof with her anyway.
Mervin and Joyce’s last really cute moment together I think comes in episode 690, just as the series is drawing to a close. Joyce pushes him into having a “man to man” chat with Harry Grosvenor to ascertain whether Harry’s intentions towards Lurch are “strictly honourable”!
Mervin’s so awkward about it and nearly brains Harry as giving him a fright he causes him to bump his head under the sink he’s fixing! I love the way a concerned Joyce looks on as they have their little conflab and how all’s well that ends well as Mervin gives him the nod of approval. I think it’s so sweet and says much about how much they really care about the women, not to mention how Mervin will do anything for Joyce, no matter how uncomfortable he feels about it himself, especially if he can see it’s out of concern for the women’s best interests.
Which brings me to a facet of Mervin that I reckon is oft-overlooked when people think about him, I think because he wasn’t in any way ostentatious or flashy about it. I truly believe that beneath that jittery, bumbling exterior, the much mocked and maligned Mervin did show enormous amounts of courage, determination and decency during his time in the show, which I find all the more impressive because it was played down.
For starters, I think he was incredibly brave every day of his life that he showed up for work in the prison, knowing the risks he was taking with his epilepsy that he stood to lose everything if it was discovered, even putting himself in physical danger in that environment if he had an attack, but he was so determined not to be beaten or be in any way limited by his condition.
As he pleads with Lexie back in episode 524 soon after he first arrives in the prison and before his epilepsy becomes apparent, “I need this job, Lexie. It’s my last chance to prove I can do it.” And, much to his credit, prove it he did, IMO.
After Joyce finds out about his epilepsy in episode 558 as he feels he must tell her after he’s had a seizure in the prison in front of the women, Mervin fills us in on just what a time of it he’s had of it over the years, struggling with people’s prejudices over his condition, not least his sad experience with girlfriends over the years, including one who treated him as if he should have been in a freak show after she’d witnessed him having an attack. In a very thought provoking little monologue, he explains to Joyce:
“You get used to it I suppose…the side glances, trying to work with people who think you’re mentally retarded. That’s why I’ve changed jobs so many times. Look there’s nothing wrong with me except these attacks.”I think from that you can so completely see what has made him the way he is, why he has so little confidence in himself, but admire him all the more for trying so hard not to let it get the better of him. I believe there is something actually quite inspiring about his quiet courage to get through the day in the face of what he had to put up with, without showing any bitterness about the hand he’d been dealt with in life or the way he’d been treated at the hands of others.
I think Mervin also showed some courage and decency in the way that on occasion he would stand up to the nastiest villains on the show. Not for the only time in the series, he shows some bite in episode 575 when Lou Kelly tries to goad him into revealing what Lexie has on him after her charmless little spell of blackmailing him over his epilepsy.
He vehemently warns her, “Now you listen to me, I don’t have to put up with this sort of rubbish from you. And if you or Patterson try to blackmail me again you’ll find out I can be a lot tougher than you think!”
And again in episode 590, overwrought after everything he’s been going through in the aftermath of Eve Wilder’s attack on Joyce, after overhearing Kelly gloat over Ann Reynolds’ departure, he leaves her in no doubt as to what he thinks of her:
“You people make me sick. You don’t appreciate anything! Things would be worse for you if it wasn’t for Mrs Reynolds. She’s done more for you than you deserve. And she’s too much of a lady to go seeking credit for it. You disgust me Kelly. You try to destroy everything that’s decent, don’t you?!”
After Lou and Lurch depart, I love how Barbie Cox looks at him feelingly and says, “Poor Mervin!” She speaks for me there at any rate as my heart really goes out to him in that moment, as I can really feel how much turmoil he’s in after almost losing Joyce in such an appallingly savage way.
I think this little sequence speaks volumes about the character of Mervin, his innate decency, his loyalty to Ann and how much respect he had for her in her efforts to make things better for the women. Moreover, I think Ernie, in conveying Mervin’s tumult of emotions so tellingly here, really shows how much passion and depth he brought to what made the little chef tick in moments like this, for which I don’t reckon he’s generally given much credit.
His backbone wasn’t confined to standing up to Lou, as he even took on the Freak on occasion, one especially juicy moment coming in episode 582 when, not in the best of moods after he’s been rattled by his plans to settle down with Joyce and buy a house together going wrong in the wake of Norm’s demise, provoked by Joan’s sarcastic aside about the amount of time he’s had off lately – “It just that you seem to have time for everything else other than what you’re employed to do!” – he snaps at her, “Mrs Reynolds gave permission for that contest, and for this morning’s time off, and if you’ve got any complaints about me, go and do your darnedest, otherwise shut up and keep yourself out of my business!”
Yay Mervin! He didn’t miss her and hit the wall there! Brilliant stuff! I love it when he has the opportunity to show some bite like that, all the more so because he’s usually so mild-mannered and unassuming!
I think Mervin really did have some fire in his belly, especially when he felt that the women or anyone he cared about was getting a raw deal, as he demonstrates in episode 569 during a row with Joyce over the union blockade of the prison, affirming passionately “What I do believe is that there are only three people on this staff who really care for these women, and I think that’s disgusting!”
Which leads me to something else I admire so much about him (being such a softie for most of the goodies in Prisoner as I am!), how much he really did care and show compassion towards the women.
There’s one particular instance of this which stands out for me in episode 557, when he’s showing so much kindness and sensitivity towards Nora Flynn, devastated at losing the baby that she’d wanted so much, and in the course of trying to console her, reveals so much about himself in terms of his backstory and what makes him tick, in what I think is a key monologue for the character of Mervin:
“I know how much that baby meant to you and I know what it’s like to lose someone that close. My Auntie Nellie, you know, she was the only one who ever thought about me. Could she make a jam tart?! She used to let me help her. Everyone thought I was a bit strange, you know, a young boy interested in cooking. But she helped me for years and…and then she passed away and, well, after that I couldn’t do a thing and in fact I felt like giving up, but I’m glad I didn’t because gradually I realised that if I could make a jam tart as good as hers then it’d be like a tribute, you know, to her memory. So just think, you should never give up you see?”
I think there’s something so touching about somebody showing so much consideration to another human being and reaching out them like that when they’re at rock bottom. In opening himself up to her and sharing a little bit of his life experience, in his own unassuming way Mervin tries to instil in her a little bit of hope to keep going, and I find that so moving and impressive. I really do reckon that he had so much depth, character and indeed value in terms of his contribution to the show, thanks so much to these revealing little moments amidst all his usual froth and bubble, not least to the heart Ernie put into bringing him to life.
I think Mervin’s finest hour as regards showing his honour and bravery comes in episode 677, when he finds himself as the last man standing, the best hope that the forces of goodness have in blowing the whistle on the corruption of Joan’s final reign in the Governor’s chair.
A camera crew tipped off into doing an exposé about conditions in Wentworth have managed to talk the Minister into filming within the prison and thanks to a quick witted cameraman they manage to hide the video tape within the prison before Joan wises up to what they’re doing and has a chance to confiscate it. There then remains the problem as to how to smuggle the incriminating tape out of Wentworth, which is where Mervin finds himself on centre stage in this storyline.
With Meg, Marty and Joyce out of the picture and Delia likely to be under close scrutiny, Mervin’s the only one left for the job to spirit that tape to safety. In spite of the consequences he faces, indeed they all face, if it goes wrong, he vows, “I’m going to get this out no matter what it takes. It’s about time I stood up and was counted!”
Good on you, Mervin! There’s a bit of tension and drama though as Rodney actually searches his bag on his way out of the prison and even finds the tape, but is too dozy to realise what it is and lets him through with it. As Mervin heads for his goal, the penny finally drops and Joan tries to have him stopped, but in a triumphant drive through the prison gates just in the nick of time, by a hair’s breadth he makes it to safety with his precious cargo! YES!!! What a hero!
So in a way, in the chain of events that this ignites, you could even say that the hapless little chef was a bit of a giant killer, in playing his own key role in laying the path that lead to the ultimate downfall of the Freak in that delicious conclusion to the series some 15 episodes later! Respect!
I think I’d like to close my little nod to everything I love about the character of Mervin with something that I enjoy most about life, anything that makes me smile! And one of my very favourite scenes featuring Mervin that especially makes me smile, indeed laugh out loud, features his disastrous first date with Joyce from back in episode 544.
Even at the very outset, before Joyce even shows up, I love that little touch of Mervin getting in the mood by having a bit of a boogie to the completely inappropriate Country and Western style music, then he’s all of a fluster when a knock at the door heralds the arrival of his fair lady, our Joycie! He gets himself into a right state spraying aftershave in his eye, so Joyce thinks he’s winking at her when he greets her at the door!
When he finally remembers that he ought to invite her in (!) Joyce is less than impressed to find the place in total disarray with newspapers strewn all over his sofa, but I love how he’s made an effort to make the little dinner table in the centre of the room all pretty, so that’s okay then!
It’s so sweet when he produces a bottle of champagne, gushing gallantly, “Only the best for my lady!” but then it goes all wrong, as it ends up being more than his chivalry gushing at her when he pops the cork and gets champagne all over her hair!
I think she ought to quit while she’s behind, as the saga continues after the meal when rising from her chair she bumps him on the chin, and then when he pulls her in for a kiss on the couch his watch catches in her hair!
Poor Mervin tries to explain to her, “I’m not very good you see with women. I always frighten them away! The trouble is it’s so awkward isn’t it? The more you want it to be right the more you seem to muck it up!” Bless! I can so completely identify with that!
However things go from bad to worse as when Joyce moves closer to reassure him, he accidentally barges her with his shoulder, and then as she gets up to leave she has to point out to him that he’s standing on her foot!
At the end of her tether, Joyce tries to let him down gently, in a hilarious exchange of lines, “I’m not angry, Mervin. It was a lovely dinner, but it’s getting late…”
What’s so funny is Mervin’s reply to this, “But it’s only just after 8!” I’m laughing again as I type! I honesty think that’s one of the most comical exchanges in Prisoner! It sure tickled my funny bone at any rate!
What I think really shines through the whole sequence is Joy Westmore and Ernie Bourne’s absolutely spot on comic timing and I just feel all happy inside just thinking about it! What I especially love is that thanks again to the heart they put into their performances, it’s not done in a cruel way, so you end up really caring for the characters and feeling sorry for them at the same time as laughing at the big old jumbly muddle they make of themselves!
And so that’s just about everything I love about the character of Mervin in Prisoner and why I’ve got ever such a soft spot for him. I’m sorry I’ve rambled on so much about him (even by my standards!) but I really wanted to show that I think there’s so much more to him than just Joyce’s gormless love interest, how entertaining I find him and more importantly how moved I am by the decency, honour and quiet courage that he stands for during his time in the show.
As the poet Ted Hughes once wrote to his son Nicholas:
“The only calibration that counts is how much heart people invest, how much they ignore their fears of being hurt or caught out or humiliated.
And the only thing people regret is that they didn’t live boldly enough, that they didn’t invest enough heart, didn’t love enough. Nothing else really counts at all.”
Moreover, even aside from how much time I have for his contribution to Prisoner, from what I could tell from my distance as a fan, Ernie Bourne came across to me, much like Mervin, as a warm, funny, decent man.
In the Australian press coverage following his death last week, I liked how his daughter Sally-Anne Bourne (herself in Prisoner too as Myra Desmond’s daughter Kay) was quoted in the Herald Sun as relating how his sense of humour was still intact even after he’d taken ill. She recalled, “One day, one of the nurses said, ‘What can we give you for the pain?’ He said, ‘How about $10,000?’”
Also, his peers spoke very warmly of him in the tributes they paid to him, with his Adventure Island and The Magic Circle Club co-star Nancy Cato also quoted in the Herald Sun as saying, “I mean it with every fibre of my being that I loved him more than anyone I ever worked with,” which I thought was lovely.
Simon Hall from the fan organisation Partners In Crime recalled in their most recent update that when he had the opportunity to meet him at the party in 2004 for the Silver Jubilee of Prisoner that he was warm, friendly and delighted to mingle with the fans on the night.
I’m so thankful that we got a little flavour of that from the footage of the messages that some of the cast sent to the fans from a party at Barbara Jungwirth’s home back in 1991, that I happened to upload a little section of to YouTube a fair while ago in the context of someone asking about Kate Hood on the old Recroom forum. For anyone who hasn’t yet seen it, here it is.
One of my friends didn’t know any of the characters he played from Adam when I first showed him the full footage of the barbecue, but he took to him straight away. I couldn’t get over it! “Who’s that?” he asked, adding, “He’s absolutely mental!” (Which is a good thing in our world!)
He decided from this and since he’s been enjoying his work on Prisoner too that he would love to meet him and have a good old drink with him down the pub! That means he was alright by him, and indeed is just about as fine a compliment as a Scotsman who likes a drink can pay another person!
He really was so very high on my list of the stars of Prisoner that I would most have liked to have met too, as I thought he came across as so lovely and approachable, which was a major plus point for somebody like me who can be almost as self conscious as Mervin in real life!
Speaking of my friends, allenmx made this little video of some of his work and especially some of the highlights of his time on Prisoner that he uploaded to YouTube in tribute to how much we thought of him. We were laughing about the choice of backing track, Morecambe and Wise’s Bring Me Sunshine, because any scenes featuring the divine Mrs Davidson and the characters Ernie played would of course be Erica and Ernie! How apt is that?!
It’s also apt because he did bring us so much sunshine and so many smiles through his contribution to the show, and as an English poet by the name of Joseph Addison once wrote:
“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.”
I’m so thankful for the many years of pleasure he gave me as a fan through his on and off screen contribution to the world of Prisoner and also his broader body of work, and it's nice to think, as with all the other stars who are sadly no longer with us, that something of his spirit will live on as long as people are able to enjoy watching the show. And, to a fan like me, that was what I think was the importance of this particular Ernest.
Rest In Peace
I think that encapsulates why I’m so fond of Mervin, because through all his times of laughter, sadness, tribulations and triumph, he was all heart, and I only deeply regret the fact that it was Ernie’s sad passing last week that has prompted me to getting around to saying so.
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