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By David Hartwig
On Sept. 3 Great Britain’s Royal Mail issued a set of eight stamps commemorating the 50th anniversary of the British television comedy series Porridge.
First airing on the BBC between 1974 and 1977, Porridge follows the experiences of prisoners at the fictional men’s prison HMP Slade. Royal Mail calls the show a “beloved classic,” known for its dialogue, characters and the performances of the actors.
Each stamp in the set shows scenes from the series along with captioned one-liners.
The stamps are presented in four se-tenant (side-by-side) pairs. The stamps in one pair are valued at the first-class rate (currently £1.35); the stamps in another are valued at the second-class rate (currently 85 pence). A third pair has stamps denominated £2, and the stamps in the fourth pair are denominated £2.50 (the international standard rate for letters).
Porridge presents the habitual criminal Norman Stanley Fletcher, played by Ronnie Barker, who schemes to navigate life behind bars while outsmarting the prison authorities. Barker is accompanied by Lennie Godber, a naive young inmate serving his first sentence, played by Richard Beckinsale.
Other key characters include the bumbling prison officer Mr. Barrowclough, who is often sympathetic to the inmates, and the strict, by-the-book Mr. Mackay, a guard constantly trying to assert control over Fletcher and the rest of the prisoners.
Four stamps in the set present each of these four characters with one of their signature lines. Fletcher is seen on a first-class stamp with the line “Born free, till somebody caught me.”
A £2 stamp presents Godber and the quote “Little victories — you told me that.” Fletcher’s philosophy of little victories, or beating the prison system in any manner possible, helps the pair manage their time in prison.
The gentle soul Mr. Barrowclough, with his belief in human decency, is a regular victim of Fletcher’s schemes. A £2.50 stamp shows Barrowclough with the line “I sometimes wish I was in here with you lot.”
This position is juxtaposed by the second-class stamp showing Mr. Mackay along with a quote encompassing his egalitarian distrust of his fellow man: “I treat you all with equal contempt.”
Four other stamps give lines from classic scenes of the show. A second-class stamp shows Fletcher, Godber and fellow inmate Cyril Heslop, the latter whom Royal Mail says is “about as bright as a rainy day in Sidcup,” and presents Heslop’s famous line: “I read a book once, green it was.”
A first-class stamp announces that “There is a thief among us.” In the scene depicted on the stamp, Fletcher sits at a table next to a character named Lukewarm. “An ebullient and generous man with a talent for picking pockets, Lukewarm is awaited on the outside by his long-time partner, Trevor,” Royal Mail said in a presentation pack included with the issue.
In the presentation pack, Royal Mail explained that, other than the use of some outdated terms, the show’s portrayal of homosexuality “is surprisingly open-minded and affectionate” despite Britain being a “tough environment for a gay man” at this time.
A £2 stamp shows the quote “Free range? More like half a dozen there mate” and features Fletcher and Jim “Jock” McLaren, a mixed-race inmate whom Royal Mail calls “one of the most complex and relatable characters in the series.”
“An enthusiastic and talented footballer who openly discusses the racist abuse he has suffered throughout his life, McLaren is a man with a legitimate grievance against the world — one that his friend and mentor Fletcher is only too happy to help him get payback for,” Royal Mail said.
The remaining £2.50 stamp shows Fletcher and the prison doctor. In what Royal Mail says may be the show’s “best-known gag,” Fletcher responds “What, from here?” after the doctor demands Fletcher deposit a sample into a receptacle across the room.
A Porridge film based on the series was released in …
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