What from over here? (Porridge)

Member Name: freediveheaven

Product:	Porridge
Date:	27/05/09 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pure gold

Disadvantages: None

Porridge is probably my all time favourite British comedy, actually scratch that, Pheonix Nights is number one this is number two.
Porridge starred the brilliant Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher a small time criminal from Muswell Hill in north London who spent his whole life in and out of prison. The show has Barker in Slade Prison in the bleak Cumberland Moors doing a five stretch and the opening episode has him arriving and going through the processing with young naïve Lennie (Richard Beckinsale) who is destined to be Fletch cell mate and the old lag will tech him the ways of prison life and the fact that the screws are the enemy.

The brilliance of this comedy is down to the casting of Fulton Mackay as Mr Mackay the strict Scottish prison officer and enemy of Fletch. He is superb in the role and the interaction between the two is pure gold, the bower story is a classic example of perfect comedy timing from Barker, even though I know the punch line I still laugh.

This is a quality comedy which unfortunately ran its time too soon and led to a rather poor spin off about life on the outside and then the far too early death of Beckinsale.

Summary: Classic comedy