New Faces, Old Hands

Three new prisoners arrive at HM Slade Prison, old lag Norman Stanley Fletcher, newbie Lennie Godber, and the experienced, but slightly dim Heslop. Fletcher tries to use his experience to get a cushy number.

What a great start, surely one of the most loved and greatest sitcoms of all, it's such a funny first episode, here we learn the format, get introduced to the characters and see those unique opening credits for the first time.

It is full of funny scenes, but surely the greatest moment has to be that sequence where Fletcher tries to pull one over on The Medic, how on Earth John Bennett managed to keep a straight face is beyond me.

I haven't watched this show for years, I'd forgotten just how funny it was.

9/10.

Porridge the series begins properly as three new arrivals go through induction under the sharp eye of prison officer Mackay in the first episode. Cyril Heslop, who is thick, Leonard Godber, who is a newbie and Norman Stanley Fletcher, the old hand who has done time before.

Fletcher takes it upon himself to give Godber tips on how to survive doing his time and win little battles. This includes trying to get a cushy job, getting better food by saying you are Muslim or Jewish and have comfortable footwear by complaining you have bad feet.

The funniest scenes are with Fletcher and the prison doctor. Fletcher is asked if he has any ailments, he replies bad feet. Is he a practising homosexual? With this feet he calmly replies, no one would have me!

Fletcher tries to worm his way to the Governor's good books by pretending to be an expert on fish and animals but he makes a pigs mess of it.

Even after forty years this episode made me laugh pout loud.

Fletcher, Godber, and Heslop are inducted into HMP Slade.

This is a very strong first episode that sets the scene and introduces several characters nicely.

The main objective of New Faces, Old Hands is to introduce Fletch, Godbar, McKay and Barroclough, the central characters, and the writers do it with a tiny bit of exposition and a lot of good humour.

Fletch has the best material, with his banter with the prison doctor being a highlight and the end result of his attempt to ingratiate himself with the Governor.

Heslop's stupidity provides another strong aspect of the character dynamic and this is used to great effect with a number of well timed lines from Brian Glover.

Ronnie Barker is in wonderful form as always and the supporting cast are all excellent.

For me it's an 8.5/10, but I round up.

It's a while since I've watched the whole series through ..... do the episodes get any better? I've given a 9/10 here to give myself room, just in case they do.

You could probably get by without watching the pilot, Prisoner and Escort, as good as it is, but so much happens in this episode that it is pretty much essential viewing to get the gist of what is going on.

We meet Lennie Godber for the first time, played marvellously by Kate Beckinsale's father. We are also introduced to Heslop, whose interjections are golden gems of scriptwriting genius and immaculate timing. The other important character we see for the first time is the governor. "You've got to get to know your governor", Fletcher advises.

Best joke - a telling visual gag with a dinner tray that expands upon the interplay in the pilot between Fletcher, the prisoner, and Barraclough, the warden. Also worthy of mention is the brilliant early scene in which Mackay spells out the daily routine to the new inmates. The rapid-fire cross talk between Fletcher and Mackay, after the warden asks if there are any questions, is a great example of this old-time skill of English comedy.

We can already see why this show is just so, SO good!