Porridge was developed from an earlier series Thick As Thieves which Clement and La Frenais had written for John Thaw and Bob Hoskins. Made and shown by LWT in early 1974, the six part series featured the adventure of two ex-cons. Although it was much praised, ITV execs felt the writing was too clever and may have gone over the heads of the intended audience. The BBC were looking for a major comedy series from the duo to replace The Likely Lads and so very much welcomed Porridge. Having researched the background to their potential series by visiting several top gaols, the writers became increasingly depressed and unsure they could get any comic mileage from the idea. However it was then they remembered what a prisoner told them when asked how he got through the day, “Little victories” he’d replied going on to detail several small moments that had wrong-footed the staff and made the day. This became something of a catchphrase and “work ethic” for Fletcher. Obviously the true experiences of the daily grind of a prison was diluted for television as was the language especially given Porridge‘s pre-watershed slot . “Naff off!” became the expletive of choice in the same way “smeg” is used in Red Dwarf. Later it was given “Royal approval” when Princess Anne reportedly used it to a photographer. “Fletch” and Godber also favoured the use of “nurk” to describe the Prison Officers. A “charmless celtic nurk” in Fletcher’s book, his arch nemesis was the hard-nosed Scottish Chief Warden Officer McKay played with tremendous appetite by Fulton McKay. The pressure of their situation undoubtedly got to the prisoners, being literally captive and very definately in a place they don’t want to be. As Fletcher once said he’s only there because its an “occupational hazard”. Whilst he realises he made a mistake, he attributes it to the being caught rather than the crime itself. The one exception to the daily grind is enjoyed by the prison’s Mr Big “Genial” Harry Grout played with just the right amount of intimidating menace by Peter Vaughan. “Grouty” is a tobacco baron and bookmaker and feared by all with perhaps the exception of Mr McKay. Grout enjoys the luxury of his own well-decorated and upholstered cell and is guarded by two heavies known to Fletcher as “Samson and Delilah” one being a meat-headed heavy the other “Jackdaw” the complete opposite whom presumably sees Grout as a chance for protection. Fletcher and Godber’s general frustrations are dealt with in two very accomplished episodes. In No Peace For The Wicked, Fletcher is unable to spend a quiet Saturday afternoon to himself. A succession of visitors to his cell – including “defrocked” dentist Mr Banyard, the illiterate “Bunny” Warren played by Sam Kelly, a deputation from the Home Office and David Jason’s “Blanco” Webb only add to his frustration. Finally Fletcher’s anger manifests itself when he throws the unfortunate Prison Chaplin off the landing. Fortunately the reverend is caught by the safety netting. Richard Beckinsale’s Lenny Godber experienced his fair share of disappointment and frustration too. In the episode Heartbreak Hotel he attacks “Genial” Harry Grout’s henchman “Jackdaw” with a soup ladle after being teased for being dumped by his fiancee Denise who in turn has married a rival suitor. Godber, on something of a rebound, turns his attentions to Ingrid Fletcher when she visits her Dad. Clement and La Frenais followed up the success of Porridge with the more modest Going Straight. The story of Fletcher’s rehabiltation it is less well known and rarely repeated outside UKTV Gold. Notable for an early comedy performance by Nicholas Lyndhurst as Fletcher’s young son Raymond. The series ends with Godber marrying Fletcher’s daughter Ingrid. In the last episode, which Dick Clement later described as one of his personal favourites, Fletcher is under pressure to do one last “job” that would allow him to pay for the wedding (which a sense of personal pride dictates he should). There’s a touching scene when Godber asks Fletcher to be his best man, pointing out that after three years as “cellies” they know each other best. Appearing to be going ahead with the crime after all, the most dramatic scene sees Fletcher have an ephiphany in a pet shop. Observing all the caged birds, he is haunted by life behind bars. For once he decides this time he really is going to go straight and buys a canary which he later symbolically sets free. Successful though the series was, Going Straight had a very tough act to follow. In 1979 Dick and Ian wrote a big screen version of Porridge. Although not up to the standard of the TV series it was, like The Likely Lads, a good deal better than the average sitcom to big screen transfer. As a new decade began Clement and La Frenais moved on to new ideas. Next time: how Quadrophenia director Franc Roddam inspired Clement and La Frenais to write a series that became a success on ITV in the Eighties and twenty years later on the BBC. Auf Wiedersehen Pet. Read last week’s celebration of Clement and La Frenais here.
