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
Ways and Means (Porridge) wintergreen. Ways and Means (Porridge) "Ways and Means" is an episode of the BBC sitcom "Porridge". It first aired on 3 October 1974. In this episode, Fletcher intends to help new prisoner McLaren, a wild Scotsman. The episode opens with Fletcher and several other inmates sewing fishing nets. Fletcher complains to Barrowclough, who is supervising them, but Barrowclough scolds Fletcher by saying it's his own fault that he lost his trusted position at the farm. Barrowclough also expresses shock at new prisoner McLaren's prison infraction of assaulting a prison officer by dunking his head in a pot of soup. McLaren