The BEST episodes of Porridge
Every episode of Porridge ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Porridge!
"Fletch", sentenced to a five year stretch at HM Prison Slade in darkest Cumbria, is determined to keep his head down, do his time and not let the b******s grind him down. But it's not so simple when you're an old lag. His naive cell-mate Lenny Godber needs to learn the ropes, skives and scams; evil Prison Officer Mackay can't be allowed to run things his own way and warden Barrowclough is just too weak-willed not to have his good-nature exploited... Starring Ronnie Barker, Fulton Mackay, Richard Beckinsdale and Brian Wilde.
#1 - Pardon Me
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/11/1977
Old Blanco is doing time for the murder of his wife. He still swears he wasn't guilty. Now he's up before the Parole Board and it looks as if he's sure to be released. Blanco surprises everyone by turning down parole when it's offered to him. He explains that, if he accepts parole, he'll also be admitting that he was guilty of a crime for which he was wrongly convicted. He insists that he'll only leave prison if he's offered a full pardon. Fletcher comes up with a plan to help him.
#2 - A Storm in a Teacup
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/18/1977
When a bottle of pills goes missing from the Doctor's surgery, Harry Grout is worried that investigation of the theft by the prison authorities will jeopardise some of his activities. Grout insists that Fletcher must find the pills and return them before the warders can take action.
#3 - A Test of Character
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/18/1977
Godber is working hard for an extra O-level. Fletcher tries to persuade him that cheating would be a good way of ensuring success in the examination. Godber isn't convinced.
#4 - Poetic Justice
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/25/1977
Fletcher's new cellmate turns out to be the judge who sentenced him to five years in Slade Prison.
#5 - Disturbing the Peace
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/7/1975
When Mr Mackay leaves Slade Prison, Fletcher thinks that "happy days are here again". Until, that is, he meets Mr Mackay's replacement.
#6 - Men Without Women
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/10/1974
Fletch fancies himself as a bit of an agony aunt and is called upon by his fellow inmates to help out with affairs of the heart.
#7 - The Harder They Fall
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/28/1975
Godber takes up boxing and wins a place in the prison championship, so Fletcher sees a chance for a bit of a flutter. Then Harry Grout takes an interest and insists that the fight is 'fixed'. When one of Grout's rivals takes a similar interest in Godber's opponent, it looks as if nobody can win. Fletcher, however, has other ideas.
#8 - Happy Release
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/21/1975
Fletcher is having a spell in the prison hospital with a broken ankle. He's sharing a ward with old Blanco, who tells him that another inmate has swindled him out of his belongings in a crooked card game. Fletcher hatches a plan to recover Blanco's belongings and to take revenge on the culprit.
#9 - No Peace for the Wicked
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/14/1975
It's Saturday afternoon and Fletcher looks forward to a quiet read. Everyone else seems to have other ideas about how Fletcher should be spending his time.
#10 - The Hustler
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/12/1974
Ives is such a loser that if Elizabeth Taylor had triplets, he'd be the one in the middle on the bottle. But there's no way he's going to be left out of Fletch's gambling enterprise.
#11 - Final Stretch
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/25/1977
Godber is due to appear before the parole board, but a fight with another inmate puts his parole in jeopardy. It's up to Fletcher to save the day.
#12 - Ways and Means
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/3/1974
Who would want to spend eight hours a day sewing fishing nets? Not Fletch, who is hell-bent on a cushy job in the library.
#13 - New Faces, Old Hands
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/5/1974
“Twenty-three and you want to go straight? What kind of talk is that? You've got your whole life in front of you!” It's Godber's first time in prison, and Fletch is going to teach him the ways.
#14 - Rough Justice
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/4/1977
Fletcher is worried that Judge Rawley might rob him of his main source of income - writing letters for illiterate inmates.
#15 - Just Desserts
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/24/1975
There's an outbreak of petty pilfering from the inmates in Slade prison. Fletcher is disgusted - after all, stealing may be a job on the 'outside', but it's despicable when it happens 'inside'.
#16 - Heartbreak Hotel
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/31/1975
Godber gets bad news from his girlfriend. Fletcher tries to provide help and advice, but perhaps daughter Ingrid might provide a more suitable solution to Godber's problems
#17 - A Night In
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/19/1974
Fletch explains to Godber that the best way to cope with his first night in prison, is to see it as just a "quiet night in". Trouble is, Godber's got another 698 to go.
#18 - A Day Out
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/26/1974
The rest of the working party are thrilled to have a day out, but Fletch is masking indifference - what's so exciting about digging a ditch anyway?