Episode 200 - Porridge - The Movie (1979)

Fletch Gets Out. Getting Back In Is the Tricky Bit. For its landmark 200th episode, Reel Britannia is heading behind bars for Porridge – The Movie, the 1979 big-screen outing for one of Britain's best-loved television comedies.

Ronnie Barker returns as the wily Norman Stanley Fletcher, still doing his best to serve his sentence with the minimum possible effort. Alongside him is Richard Beckinsale as the good-natured Lennie Godber, while Fulton Mackay's fearsome Mr Mackay and Brian Wilde's endlessly flustered Mr Barrowclough attempt to maintain something vaguely resembling order at Slade Prison. Peter Vaughan also appears as the quietly terrifying Harry "Grouty" Grout.

When Fletcher is persuaded to help organise a football match between the prisoners and a celebrity team, he naturally suspects that something is amiss. Before long, he and Godber are caught up in an escape plan that leaves them facing an unusual problem: not how to get out of prison, but how to get back in before anyone notices.

Directed by Dick Clement and written by Clement with Ian La Frenais, the film retains the warmth, sharp dialogue and beautifully observed characters of the original series. It is also one of those rare British sitcom spin-offs that feels like a proper film rather than an extended episode with a slightly larger catering budget. Join the Reel Britannia team as they celebrate episode 200 in their familiar warm, conversational and lightly irreverent style.

This episode and the complete Reel Britannia back catalogue are available wherever you download your podcasts and at: https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/reelbritannia

Follow the podcast on X at @rbritanniapod. Special bonus episodes are also available through the Reel Britannia Patreon, where your support unlocks even more British film discussion.

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