Synopsis
Watch Porridge (1974–1977) online on iFILM — the BBC1 sitcom written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, starring Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale. Barker plays Norman Stanley Fletcher, a career criminal who has done this before and has no intention of making prison any harder than it has to be. Beckinsale is Lennie Godber, his young cellmate at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland — doing his first stretch and still figuring out the rules.
Fletcher's rules are simple: stay out of Mr. Mackay's way, avoid owing anything to anyone, and always know where the next cigarette is coming from. Three series and two Christmas specials follow the two men navigating a system that is built to grind people down — mostly through sharp writing and Barker's flawless comic timing.
In a 2004 BBC poll of the 100 greatest British sitcoms, Porridge landed at number seven. That ranking still feels about right. Stream all episodes of Porridge online on iFILM.
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