Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4171 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-10-01
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 175 minutes

Special Features
4:3 Full Frame
DVD 9
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Mono English
Dolby Digital Mono
Exclusive Interview With Ronnie Barker
Scene Selection
Artist Profiles
None

Synopsis
This collection presents the entire first series of the classic 1970s comedy Porridge, starring Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale (Kate's father) as prison inmates. Lennie Godber (Beckinsale) is the new kid on the block, and, luckily, tough guy Norman Stanley "Fletch" Fletcher (Barker) is looking out for him. Episodes include: "New Faces, Old Hands," "The Hustler," "A Night In," "A Day Out," "Ways and Means," and "Men Without Women."

Customer Reviews

ignore at your peril
As a child Porridge always signified the end of fun and bedtime. This was the show your parents wanted to watch and you hated because 'it was just people talking.'
Watching it now (I am 32) this is comedy of the highest calibre. From the wonderfully grumpy seasoned prisoner Fletch (Barker), ex army screw...sorry warden, Mr. McKay, the green, first timer Godber (Beckinsale) and the ever nervous and powerless Mr Barraclough (Wilde) the core of the show is timeless. It's all about men without women and biding your time. It is fully aware the warders are as much prisoners as the convicts ('who's been 'aving your old lady while you've been on nights then?) and for a 70s sitcom highlights some poignant issues.
As with all sitcoms of this era there are some minor racial jokes that are less than 'enlightened' but as they are from the mouths of such realistic characters it always feels the opinion is the characters and never the writers. The dialogue is fast and sharp and flows from the actors as if it was second nature. I have recommended this DVD to a lot of the young 'nerks' in the office and all have loved it. And rightly so, it's a joy.

Simply the best
Only Fools and Horses often gets voted the "best commedy series of all time", but I think it should be Porridge. Such an accolade could be awarded solely for the inimitable Ronnie Barker's performance as Fletcher - in real life a soft and well-spoken, almost timid character, he is hardly type-cast for the role of a sharp-tongued cockney rogue, yet he acts the part so well it is a shock hearing him speak normally. And there is also the ingenious writing of Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (the writers also behind The Likely Lads and Auf Wiedwersehen Pet), who were at their creative peak, writing well-crafted one-liners that make most of today's commedies appear primitive and dull in comparison (forgiving the occasional slightly politically-incorrect line). And besides the commedy there is the harsh reality of their predicament - the plots and moral undertones of each episode of Porridge so well crafted, that it parrallels the creative geniuses of Ilk and Petrov, Russian commedy writers of the 1920s, with similar portrayals of the social "underclass" imbued with commedy and satire. The superb performances of Ronnie Barker, Richard Beckinsale (Godber), Fulton Mackay (Mackay!) and Brian Wilde (Barrowclough) alone make it the most memorable tv series, as well as being applicable to everyday life - chiefly, keep your nose clean, and don't let the buggers grind you down... or more generally, (in episode 5 "Ways and Means", trying to tame McLaren) - turn the other cheek! It is more than just a commedy, it is a lesson in life!

This DVD sadly excludes the pilot episode of porridge "Prisoner and Escort", to which some reference is made in the series. That said, as you learn in the DVD extras (also theres a small interview with Ronnie Barker), the pilot episode was made before the idea of the series ever came about, and was part of a series of one-offs starring Ronnie Barker called - "Seven of one", from which the brilliant Open all hours was also an offspring.

Episode One here is perhaps the best program of all 3 series - without a dull moment, almost every sentence uttered by Fletcher raising laughs - for me the best line being:

Barrowclough: "Next of kin"
Fletcher: "My beloved Isabel... the little woman... not that she's so little mind you... I said to her, you know Isabel, I shall never get over you... ...I'll have to get up and go round!"

Many mavelous performances by Ronnie Barker !
A wonderful timeless classic. Brilliant performances from Ronnie Barker that'll make you watch this DVD again and again. A definate must see.