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The Worst Episodes of Porridge

Every episode of Porridge ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Porridge!

Porridge is a British situation comedy broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977, running for three series, two Christmas specials and a feature film also titled Porridge. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, it stars Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale as two inmates at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland. "Doing porridge" is British slang for serving a prison sentence, porridge once being the traditional breakfast in UK prisons. The series was followed by a 1978 sequel, Going Straight, which established that Fletcher would not be going back to prison again. Porridge was voted number seven in a 2004 BBC poll of the 100 greatest British sitcoms.

Genre:Comedy
Network:BBC One

Lowest Rated Episodes Summary

The worst episode of "Porridge" is "Ways and Means", rated 7.6/10 from 173 user votes. It was directed by Sydney Lotterby and written by Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement. "Ways and Means" aired on 10/3/1974 and is rated 0.1 point(s) lower than the second lowest rated, "The Hustler".

  • Ways and Means
    7.6/10 173 votes

    #1 - 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.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • The Hustler
    7.7/10 197 votes

    #2 - The Hustler

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/12/1974

    Ives is such a loser that if Elizabeth Taylor had triplets, he'd have been the one in the middle. But there's no way he's going to be left out of Fletch's gambling enterprise.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • Rough Justice
    7.7/10 133 votes

    #3 - 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.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • A Storm in a Teacup
    7.8/10 140 votes

    #4 - 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.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • Heartbreak Hotel
    7.9/10 165 votes

    #5 - 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

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • New Faces, Old Hands
    8.0/10 222 votes

    #6 - 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.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • Men Without Women
    8.0/10 179 votes

    #7 - 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.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • Poetic Justice
    8.0/10 141 votes

    #8 - 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.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • The Harder They Fall
    8.1/10 154 votes

    #9 - 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.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • A Test of Character
    8.1/10 129 votes

    #10 - 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.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • A Night In
    8.2/10 207 votes

    #11 - 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.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • A Day Out
    8.2/10 192 votes

    #12 - 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?

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • Just Desserts
    8.2/10 159 votes

    #13 - 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'.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • No Peace For the Wicked
    8.2/10 155 votes

    #14 - 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.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • Pardon Me
    8.2/10 145 votes

    #15 - 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.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • Disturbing the Peace
    8.3/10 161 votes

    #16 - 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.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • Final Stretch
    8.3/10 135 votes

    #17 - 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.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement

  • Happy Release
    8.7/10 187 votes

    #18 - 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.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Ian La Frenais, Dick Clement