Porridge (1974)

It's hard to believe that there were only ever twenty episodes of this classic British comedy ever made. Ronnie Barker ("Fletch") is fantastic as the habitual criminal sent to Her Majesty's Prison "Slade" - perched in the northern reaches of England - for five years. His cellmate is the honest, but supremely naive "Godber" (Richard Becksinsale) and the series depicts their antics surviving the authoritarian regime of "Mr. Mackay" (the outstanding Fulton Mackay) in his uniform, and "Grouty" (the comically menacing Peter Vaughan) on the inside. Dick Clement and Ian la Frenais have created a wonderfully pithy, cynical and enjoyable observation of their determined struggle not to be ground down by the system. A superb ensemble cast led by the wonderfully hapless prison officer Brian Wilde ("Mr. Barrowclough") introduce us to different themes for each of the editions ranging from pinching a tin of (much sought after) pineapple chunks; their own kangaroo court with the thief amongst thieves "Warren" (Sam Kelly) and an almost constant battle to keep control of the supply of toilet rolls! The humour is dark and potent, flighty and flimsy - but there is always a wonderful spirit about the characters, an integrity, that keeps these half hour comedic adventures as funny now as they were when penned almost 50 years ago. A bit like Croft and Perry's contemporary "Dad's Army", this is another inspired example of a BBC sitcom that you can watch over and over again...