The Desperate Hours (Porridge)

"The Desperate Hours" is the second Christmas special of the BBC sitcom Porridge. It first aired on 24 December 1976.^[1] In this episode, Fletcher and Godber are in trouble for brewing liquor in the lead-up to Christmas, but are caught up in a hostage situation in the Governor's office. It was the only episode of Porridge to air in 1976.

Synopsis[]

It is nearly time for Christmas, and Fletcher has been making wine for the prisoners of Slade Prison. The Governor, who is strictly teetotal, has a zero tolerance on illicit drinking in Slade Prison. After Mr Barrowclough fails to discover alcohol in Fletcher and Godber's cell, Fletcher reveals to Godber that he hid the booze in their metal bedpost. Unfortunately, Mr Mackay catches them in the act, and takes them to see the Governor.

It turns out that the Governor is feeling ill with an upset stomach, and has to keep running to the toilet. Urwin, the new trusty, comes in with the Governor's cup of tea. As the Governor is making another visit to the toilet, Urwin reveals his plan. He produces a gun and takes Barrowclough and the Governor's secretary, Mrs Jamieson, hostage.

Urwin makes Mackay leave and forces Barrowclough to phone the nearest RAF base to demand a helicopter and £10,000 in used notes. Word soon gets out about the kidnapping; however, Fletcher and Godber are also implicated in it. Mackay arrives with several cups of coffee, which Urwin accepts. One of these cups is drugged, and intended to knock out Urwin, but Barrowclough messes up the procedure and Fletcher drinks it instead and falls asleep.

While Fletcher is fast asleep, it is revealed that Barrowclough has been having an affair with Mrs Jamieson. Upon waking up, Fletcher requests to look at Urwin's file. It turns out that he has been recommended for psychiatric treatment several times before, but has been turned down. Fletcher persuades Urwin to give him the gun and to give himself up. Godber is amazed at Fletcher's bravery, but Fletcher knew the gun was a fake as he saw Urwin make it in the hobby shop. Fletcher fires the gun in the air to prove his point, and the shot hits the ceiling, showering them with plaster, meaning that the gun was in fact loaded. Luckily, no one is hurt.

Later, Barrowclough visits Fletcher and informs him that Urwin is now receiving psychiatric treatment like he requested. Also, the charges against Fletcher and Godber of brewing the illegal alcohol have been dropped. Barrowclough asks Fletcher to forget about the affair between him and Mrs Jamieson. Fletcher points out that he was asleep during this revelation, but then calls Barrowclough "Henry", revealing that he was not entirely unconscious and had heard the conversation.

Episode cast[]

Studio filming[]

Studio filming for The Desperate Hours was completed in a single evening session at BBC Television Centre during the period October to December 1976. A striking feature of the set design for the studio audience was a bucket suspended above the prison governor's office area, with a long cord and pulley system attached and unknown contents held within, which would, no doubt, be pulled and discharged at some time during the performance. In fact, it was not used until virtually the end of the show. The pre-filmed film sequences were shown in sequence at the appropriate time on monitors suspended from the lighting bars in the ceiling, above the heads of the audience.

Part way through the recording, during filming in the prison governor's office, a technical fault developed and everything suddenly stopped. After a pregnant pause, Ronnie Barker stepped out off the set, away from his fellow performers and technicians, and stood in front of the audience, apologising and explaining that there was a problem which would take a while to resolve. He then, completely spontaneously, gave an ad lib to the audience which was so lucid and funny that everyone was roaring with laughter as much as when the filming had been taking place. It was actually almost a disappointment when the floor manager came out to call him back to work and the remainder of the filming resumed completely seamlessly, without any impetus from the studio audience's reaction having been lost. Watch the episode to see where the bucket does its job.

References[]