Porridge

Porridge (1973)

4 mistakes in season 3

(2 votes)

A Test of Character - S3-E5

Plot hole: Fletcher and Warren steal what they think is the right paper, so Godber can study it before he sits the exam. They are adamant that he has a very short time to go through it as they have to put it back before anyone misses it. After Godber refuses to cheat by reading it, Fletcher berates him, throws the paper on the cell floor, and storms out. What happened to replacing the stolen exam paper?

Pardon Me - S3-E4

Character mistake: "Blanco" Webb refuses parole on the grounds that, under Home Office rules, that would mean he had to admit to murdering his wife, a charge he vehemently denies. However, he accepts a pardon from the Home Office issued on the recommendation of the prison governor. Surely someone like Blanco, a man who quotes Home Office regulations by chapter, paragraph and verse, must know that a pardon is a remission of all punishment for a crime committed by the person being pardoned? By accepting a pardon he is admitting his guilt in exactly the same way as he would have been had he accepted parole.

Final Stretch - S3-E6

Factual error: Lennie Godber goes before the parole board on a Monday morning and is in his cell that afternoon telling Fletcher the good news - he made parole. That is impossible. The parole board will meet, interview the prisoner, then take depositions from other interested parties - the prison governor, psychologists, and so on. They will then consider their decision and if they approve parole they will then pass their recommendation on to the Home Office who will approve or decline it. All this takes three or four days at least, so there is no way for Godber to know that day, nor to pass the news on to Fletcher.

Fletch: I haven't been so put out since my son Raymond crept back into school one night and had a prior peek at the exam papers.
Godber: Did he?
Fletch: Yes he did! And he still didn't bleedin' pass.

More quotes from Porridge

Trivia: Fletch has a teenage son by the name of Raymond who was never actually featured in the show. He did turn up in the follow-up, "Going Straight", and was played by Nicholas Lyndhurst, aka Rodney Trotter from Only Fools and Horses.

More trivia for Porridge

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