--- title: "Porridge" year: 1974 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/porridge" fi1m_id: "porridge" imdb_id: "tt0071036" tmdb_id: 2292 wikidata_id: "Q4347124" fi1m_score: 89 critics_reviews: 3 published: "2026-09-13" updated: "2026-09-20T21:06:02.514552+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Porridge (1974) Created by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais · 30m · Comedy ## Identity Porridge - **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/porridge - **Type:** Series - **Fi1m ID:** porridge - **IMDb ID:** tt0071036 - **TMDB ID:** 2292 - **Wikidata ID:** Q4347124 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071036/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/2292, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4347124 **Fi1m score: 89** · Critics: 3 of 6 reviews so far *In a sentence:* Ronnie Barker obeys the prison rules in a tone that suggests he wrote better ones > Ronnie Barker leads a prison sitcom with precise jokes and an affection for its characters that feels earned. The warders’ battles with Fletcher occasionally grow predictable, but Richard Beckinsale keeps the company worth having. ## Synopsis Norman Stanley Fletcher (Ronnie Barker) is serving a prison sentence alongside Lennie Godber (Richard Beckinsale), a younger inmate still learning how to live inside. Fletcher offers advice, looks for small advantages and deals with the officers who control their days. Mr Mackay (Fulton Mackay) and Mr Barrowclough (Brian Wilde) have different approaches to maintaining order, and the prisoners learn to work around both. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, *Porridge* follows the routines, disputes and friendships of prison life in half-hour episodes, with Peter Vaughan appearing as Harry Grout. ## Review *Porridge* is a sharply written prison comedy with enough kindness to make us care what happens between the jokes. Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais give Norman Stanley Fletcher the sort of intelligence that is useful when somebody else controls almost everything about the day. Ronnie Barker makes his efforts to secure a small advantage seem worth close attention, even when the advantage amounts to little. Much of the comedy comes from Fletcher trying to have the last word. The writing is careful about who knows what. Fletcher can read people quickly, and Clement and La Frenais build the exchanges around that skill. The official business soon becomes secondary to getting somebody to concede a point. The verbal sparring stays easy to follow because the immediate wants are clear. There is pleasure in seeing a familiar excuse adjusted for a different listener, particularly when the listener knows perfectly well what Fletcher is doing. Richard Beckinsale’s Lennie Godber gives Barker someone worth the trouble of explaining things to. His uncertainty keeps Fletcher’s expertise from becoming merely a succession of clever answers, and Beckinsale finds humour in listening without making Godber look vacant. Barker allows a trace of concern to enter Fletcher’s advice, then avoids making a ceremony of it. The affection between the men is persuasive because neither performance asks us to stop laughing and admire how touching it all is. Fulton Mackay and Brian Wilde make the two warders distinct comic opponents. Mackay gives Mr Mackay a vigilance that seems to sharpen whenever Fletcher speaks, while Wilde’s Mr Barrowclough appears almost grateful to be given a plausible explanation. We laughed hardest at Barker’s courtesy towards Mackay: he makes obedience sound like an insult. Mackay’s refusal to be charmed matters just as much, since Fletcher would be a tedious fellow if everyone obligingly lost every exchange. Sydney Lotterby’s direction gives the actors time to work through an exchange without hurrying them towards the next joke. The editors, among them John Dunstan and Howard Dell, leave space for a look to register after the line has finished. That restraint suits Barker, whose confidence can be funnier than the words he is about to say. The half-hour length gives these encounters enough room without requiring a new complication every few minutes. The limitation is that these personalities can settle into their allotted jobs too comfortably. Once the pattern of Fletcher’s manoeuvres and the warders’ responses becomes familiar, some exchanges take longer to reach the answer than they need to. Peter Vaughan gives Harry Grout a quiet authority that helps disturb that comfortable pattern. It is a modest complaint, but more noticeable when several episodes are watched together. The confined sitcom depends on people being unable to walk away from an argument, and imprisonment gives that convention an uncomfortable force. There are limits to how far a comedy this companionable will explore that discomfort. Its interest is in how people manage the daily company of others they have not chosen, and the actors make that enough. Watch an episode at a time, before Fletcher’s methods become as familiar to you as they are to the warders. *Fi1m score 89, published 13 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Porridge worth watching?** *Porridge* is worth watching for anyone who likes a comedy built on talk rather than incident, and we scored it 89. Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale make Fletcher and Godber a pair worth spending half an hour with, and Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais write exchanges that reward listening. Watch an episode at a time, since the warders' routines grow predictable over a run. **How long is Porridge, and what is it rated?** *Porridge* has episodes of about 30m. It is a comedy series. **Where can I watch Porridge in the US?** *Porridge* is not on any streaming or rental service in the US at the moment. It is available in 2 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is Porridge, and is it suitable for children?** *Porridge* carries a UK 15 certificate, so it is not intended for younger children, though the comedy is verbal rather than violent. The programme is about a prisoner talking his way round the officers who run his day, and our review found nothing frightening in it. Teenagers should be fine; the certificate reflects the adult setting more than anything shown. **How does Porridge compare to Steptoe and Son?** *Porridge* is the warmer of the two, while [*Steptoe and Son*](https://film.one/tv/steptoe-and-son) is the more painful. Both trap two men together who cannot walk away from an argument, but Fletcher and Godber have an affection the writing lets us see, where Harry H. Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell quarrel until it wears. Choose *Porridge* for company and *Steptoe* for comedy that draws blood. **What should I watch after Porridge?** After *Porridge*, try [*Steptoe and Son*](https://film.one/tv/steptoe-and-son) (1962, Fi1m 83): Two men trapped together, with sharp jokes and affection neither will acknowledge. Then [*Tampopo*](https://film.one/film/tampopo) (1985, Fi1m 84): Food, practical lessons and a generous interest in people who get things wrong; and [*Le Trou*](https://film.one/film/le-trou) (1960, Fi1m 88): For a harsher prison story, where practical knowledge determines whom to trust. ### Reviews we read (3) - **The Guardian** (90/100, inferred): Porridge remains an extraordinary programme nearly 40 years after its run. It crackles with finely observed characters and dialogue underlaid with mordancy that stops it ever being cosy. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/jan/18/porridge-ronnie-barker) - **The Telegraph**, Gabriel Tate (90/100, inferred): Porridge is the greatest ever British sitcom, a stroke of genius that found its audience in the mood for black humour. Barker displayed magnificent comic timing in an effortless manner as the wily old lag Fletch. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10842069/Porridge-the-greatest-ever-British-sitcom.html) - **Den of Geek**, Alex Westthorp (90/100, inferred): The critic hails Porridge as one of the very best British sitcoms and a true classic, crediting the sharp writing of Clement and La Frenais along with Ronnie Barker's masterful performance as Fletcher. It singles out the strong ensemble, memorable characters like McKay and Grout, and standout episodes such as the two-hander 'A Night In' for their depth and comedy. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/celebrating-clement-la-frenais-porridge/) ## Details - **Created by:** Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais - **Creator:** Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais - **Director:** Sydney Lotterby - **Writer:** Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement - **Editor:** Ray Millichope, John Dunstan, Howard Dell, Geoffrey Botterill, Geoff Higgs - **Producer:** Sydney Lotterby - **Cast:** Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher; Richard Beckinsale as Lennie Godber; Fulton Mackay as Mr. Mackay; Brian Wilde as Mr. Barrowclough; Peter Vaughan as Harry Grout; Tony Osoba as McLaren; David Jason as Blanco; Sam Kelly as Warren - **Runtime:** 30m - **Release (the US):** 5 September 1974 - **Genres:** Comedy ## Where to watch in the US Not streaming, renting or buying in the US at the last check. Also available in: AU, GB. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Steptoe and Son* (1962), Fi1m 83: Two men trapped together, with sharp jokes and affection neither will acknowledge. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/steptoe-and-son.md) - *Barney Miller* (1975): A police station full of fallible people, sustained by patient ensemble comedy. - *Tampopo* (1985), Fi1m 84: Food, practical lessons and a generous interest in people who get things wrong. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/tampopo.md) - *Le Trou* (1960), Fi1m 88: For a harsher prison story, where practical knowledge determines whom to trust. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/le-trou.md) - *Detectorists* (2014), Fi1m 87: Patient comedy about male friendship, small ambitions and kindness nobody makes a fuss about. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/detectorists.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/porridge