Porridge (TV series) Porridge (TV series) Porridge is a British sitcom, starring Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale, written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and broadcast on BBC One from 1974 to 1977. The programme ran for three series, and included two Christmas specials and a feature film of the same name (in the United States, the film was released under the title "Doing Time"). The sitcom focuses on two prison inmates, Norman Fletcher (played by Barker) and Lennie Godber (played by Beckinsale), who are serving time at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland. The show's title is a reference to both
Bowler (TV series) social circles. Bowler (TV series) Bowler was a short-lived British Sitcom which originally aired on ITV in a single series of 13 episodes between 29 July and 21 October 1973. A situation-comedy, it was a spin-off from "The Fenn Street Gang" featuring George Baker as East End criminal Stanley Bowler. Released from prison after serving a prison sentence, Stanley Bowler sets about trying to 'better' himself. The basic premise of the series revolves around Bowler's attempts to develop (and to project to others) a more cultured personality, as he tries (but fails) to understand the fine arts, and to move