Porridge (TV series)

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Porridge

Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher
Format Comedy
Created by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais
Starring Ronnie Barker
Richard Beckinsale
Fulton Mackay
Brian Wilde
Sam Kelly
Tony Osoba
Michael Barrington
Country of origin Flag of the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes 20 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time 30 minutes per episode
Broadcast
Original channel BBC1
Original run 1 April 1973 – 5 March 1977
Chronology
Related shows Going Straight

Porridge was a British situation comedy that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1973 to 1977, running for three series, two Christmas specials, as well as a feature film. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, it stars Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale as two criminals in the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland.

In a 2004 BBC poll of the 100 greatest British sitcoms, it was voted number 7. "Doing porridge" was British slang for a spell of imprisonment in the 70's, as porridge was once a traditional breakfast in UK prisons. It was followed by the sequel series, Going Straight.

Contents

[edit] History

Porridge originated from an idea used in a 1973 series called Seven of One, also starring Barker. Each of its seven 30-minute episodes saw him playing a new character in a different setting.

In the second instalment, "Prisoner and Escort", a prisoner, Norman Stanley Fletcher (played by Barker), was being escorted from London to Slade Prison by two warders: the easy-going Mr Barrowclough (Brian Wilde) and the stern Mr Mackay (Fulton Mackay).

After a long train journey, Fletch asks to relieve himself at the tiny station where the prison minibus is waiting to take them to the prison. He relieves himself into the petrol tank, and when the van stops in the middle of the moors, Mackay strides off to the prison for help. Fletch encourages Barrowclough to spend the night in an abandoned cottage. Here, Fletch escapes and spends the night running around the moors. He eventually discovers a second empty property and hides within it. Fletch finds that he is not alone, and prepares to attack his companion. Only then does it become obvious that the other resident is Barrowclough, and that the cottage is indeed the same one from which he had set off. Back at the prison, Mackay tells Fletch that the petrol tank was fuller than when last checked, and that it was 'definitely not 5-star'. Thus started the humorous conflict between Mackay and Fletch.

A year later, when the BBC were looking for a premise for a sitcom in which Barker could star, this episode was chosen. (The first Seven of One programme was also developed into a series: Open All Hours.)

[edit] Television

[edit] Basic premise

H.M. Prison Slade Front Gatehouse (in reality the former St Albans Prison Gatehouse)
H.M. Prison Slade Front Gatehouse (in reality the former St Albans Prison Gatehouse)

The central character of Porridge is Norman Stanley Fletcher, described by his sentencing judge as "an habitual criminal". Fletch's cellmate is Lennie Godber, a naïve inmate serving his first prison sentence, whom Fletch takes under his wing. Mr Mackay is a tough warder whose bark often turns out to be worse than his bite, and with whom Fletch often comes into conflict. Mackay's subordinate, Mr Barrowclough, is more sympathetic and timid — and therefore prone to manipulation by his charges.

Each episode begins with a narration by the judge (voiced by Ronnie Barker):

"Norman Stanley Fletcher, you have pleaded guilty to the charges brought by this court, and it is now my duty to pass sentence. You are an habitual criminal, who accepts arrest as an occupational hazard, and presumably accepts imprisonment in the same casual manner. We therefore feel constrained to commit you to the maximum term allowed for these offences — you will go to prison for five years."

The prison exterior shown in the title sequence (and some episodes) is that of Maidstone Prison, which was also featured in the BBC comedy series Birds of a Feather. In the episode "Pardon Me" Fletcher speaks to Blanco in the prison gardens: this sequence was filmed in the grounds of an old brewery just outside Baldock on the A505 to Royston. The barred windows closely approximated a prison. This property has since been demolished. The 1979 film was shot entirely at Chelmsford Prison (Essex UK).


[edit] Crimes and punishments

Below is a list of the crimes various characters were in for and the sentences they received.

  • Fletcher - Theft: stole a lorry (tractor trailer) and crashed it into a row of gardens when the brakes failed (5 years)
  • Godber - Breaking and entering (2 years)
  • Blanco - Wrongly convicted of murdering his wife, although he did kill his wife's lover; a crime for which he was not convicted.
  • Hislop - Robbery (3 years)
  • McClaren - (3 years)
  • Keegan - Murder: poisoning his wife
  • Jarvis - Football hooliganism (5 more years)
  • Harris - Mugged an old lady - but it went wrong when he found she had a brick in her handbag and successfully pinned Harris down.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Episode list

Each episode 30 minutes except where stated.

[edit] Pilot

[edit] Series 1 (1974)

Title Airdate Description
New Faces, Old Hands September 5, 1974 It's Godber's first time in prison and Fletcher is going to show him the ropes.
The Hustler September 12, 1974 Fletch's gambling enterprise runs into trouble at the hands of Ives and Mackay.
A Night In September 19, 1974 Set entirely in Fletch and Godber's cell, this episode sees the two ponder life in prison
A Day Out September 26, 1974 Fletch, Godber, Ives and some other prisoners go out on a work party, but Fletch escapes for a pint.
Ways And Means October 3, 1974 New prisoner McClaren proves troublesome, and Fletch decides to help him out but ends up on the roof.
Men Without Women October 10, 1974 Fletch fancies himself as a bit of an agony aunt and is called upon by his fellow inmates to help out, before discovering his own marriage is in trouble.

[edit] Series 2 (1975)

Title Airdate Description
Just Desserts October 24, 1975 Fletch is appalled when some nerk nicks his tin of pineapple chunks.
Heartbreak Hotel October 31, 1975 Godber attacks another prisoner after receiving a Dear John letter from his girlfriend.
Disturbing The Peace November 7, 1975 The prisoners are overjoyed when Mackay leaves on a course, until they meet his replacement who Fletcher has met during one of his past stints in prison.
No Peace For The Wicked November 14, 1975 Fletch's attempts to get a bit of peace and quiet are constantly interrupted.
Happy Release November 21, 1975 Mackay is desperate to prove that Fletch is faking an injury to get out of work, and Blanco devises a plan for revenge.
The Harder They Fall November 28, 1975 Godber is a clear favourite to win his boxing match until genial Harry Grout has different ideas.

[edit] Christmas Special (1975)

Title Airdate Duration Description
No Way Out December 24, 1975 45 Mins A planned escape causes all kinds of trouble just before Christmas.

[edit] Christmas Special (1976)

Title Airdate Duration Description
The Desperate Hours December 24, 1976 40 Mins Fletcher, Godber, Barrowclough and the governor's secretary are held hostage by a mad prisoner with a home made gun.

[edit] Series 3 (1977)

Title Airdate Description
A Storm In A Teacup February 18, 1977 Grouty recruits Fletch to solve a problem regarding some missing pills.
Poetic Justice February 25, 1977 Fletch is irate to discover that his new cell-mate is the judge that sentenced him.
Rough Justice March 4, 1977 A kangaroo court is set up to convict Harris for stealing the judge's watch.
Pardon Me March 11, 1977 Blanco refuses parole, so Fletch sets up an appeal committee to get him pardoned.
A Test of Character March 18, 1977 Fletch is determined to help Godber pass his History O-level, so he has Warren steal the papers.
Final Stretch March 25, 1977 Godber is finally released on parole, but Fletch is suspicious about his daughter's holiday plans.

[edit] Going Straight

Main article: Going Straight

In 1978, a follow-up series to Porridge was made, entitled Going Straight. This featured Fletch having been paroled and attempting to remain on the straight and narrow. It also featured Richard Beckinsale returning as Godber, in a relationship with Fletch's daughter, Ingrid (whom he married in the final episode), and Nicholas Lyndhurst as Fletcher's dim son, Raymond. The episodes regularly saw Fletcher offered temptations to commit crime and followed his reluctance to find work. The series lasted six episodes, and generally was not as well received as its predecessor. Following the sudden death of Beckinsale, Ronnie Barker decided not to proceed with a second series though the first series did win a BAFTA in March 1979 just days after Beckinsale died. A visibly upset Barker told the audience at the ceremony that the loss of Beckinsale meant he could not celebrate the award.

[edit] Life Beyond the Box

In 2003, a mockumentary, Life Beyond the Box, was produced. It detailed how Fletch's life had panned out in the 25 years since his release. The majority of the programme featured the surviving cast members, in character, with Ronnie Barker featuring in the last few minutes as Fletcher.

[edit] Film

The last "episode" of Porridge was made in 1979 as a feature film, shot entirely on location (Chelmsford Prison, Essex, UK). All the regular sitcom warders and inmates were involved, with the exception of Lukewarm and Harris. There was also a new governor, played by Geoffrey Bayldon.

In the film, Fletch and Godber are forced by another inmate to escape from prison and then have to try to break back in before they're found by the police. Because Godber had been released in the final series episode, and yet was back in the same prison and in the same cell with the same cellmate again, the film fits into the original run of the show, and not after.

Three one-off characters made an impact in the film. Rudge, played by Daniel Peacock, was a young, timid prisoner in the Godber mould, seen arriving for his three-year stretch for shoplifting at the beginning of the film. He came into his own when he showed his outstanding football skills during the game which led to the breakout. Oakes, played by Barrie Rutter, was the violent armed robber who arrived in the same van as Rudge and was sprung for the breakout, unwittingly taking Fletcher and Godber with him. Beale, played by Christopher Godwin, was a new prison officer who subscribed to the firm approach to the job, but proved easy to manipulate into recommending a celebrity football match.

Unlike the television episodes, the film is not a BBC production, with no references to the corporation on the DVD release (2003).

[edit] See also

[edit] Essential viewing for prisoners

Porridge was immensely popular with British prisoners. Erwin James, an ex-prisoner who writes a bi-weekly column for The Guardian newspaper, stated that:

"What fans could never know, however, unless they had been subjected to a stint of Her Majesty's Pleasure, was that the conflict between Fletcher and Officer Mackay was about the most authentic depiction ever of the true relationship that exists between prisoners and prison officers in British jails up and down the country. I'm not sure how, but writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais [...] grasped the notion that it is the minor victories against the naturally oppressive prison system that makes prison life bearable."

He also noted:

"When I was inside, Porridge was a staple of our TV diet. In one high-security prison, a video orderly would be dispatched to tape the programme each week. If they missed it, they were in trouble."

[edit] Contributions to the English language

The script allowed the prisoners to swear without offending viewers by using the word "naff" in place of ruder words ("Naff off!", "Darn your own naffing socks", "Doing next to naff all"), thereby popularising a word that had been recorded at least as early as 1966.[1] Ronnie Barker did not claim to have invented it, and in a television interview in 2003 it was explained to him on camera what the word meant, as he hadn't a clue.

A genuine neologism was "nerk", which was used in place of the more offensive "berk" (Cockney rhyming slang, short for "Berkeley Hunt"). Another term was "scrote" (presumably derived from scrotum), meaning a nasty, unpleasant person.

[edit] Novelisations

Novelisations of the three series of Porridge were issued by BBC Books, as well as an adaptation of Going Straight.

[edit] References

  1. ^ naff. a, Oxford English Dictionary, Draft Revision June 2003

[edit] External links

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