Going Straight
Encyclopedia
Going Straight is a BBC
sitcom which was a direct spin-off from Porridge
, starring Ronnie Barker
as Norman Stanley Fletcher
, newly released from the fictional Slade Prison where the earlier series had been set.
It sees Fletcher trying to become an honest member of society, having vowed to stay away from crime
on his release. The title refers to his attempt, 'straight' being a slang term meaning being honest, in contrast to 'bent', i.e., dishonest.
Also re-appearing was Richard Beckinsale
as Lennie Godber
, who was Fletcher's naïve young cellmate and was now in a relationship with his daughter Ingrid
(Patricia Brake
). Her brother Raymond was played by a teenage Nicholas Lyndhurst
.
Only one series, of six episodes, was made in 1978. It attracted an audience of over 15 million viewers and won a BAFTA award in March 1979, but hopes of a further series had already been dashed by Beckinsale's premature death earlier in the same month.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcom which was a direct spin-off from Porridge
Porridge (TV series)
Porridge is a British situation comedy broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977, running for three series, two Christmas specials and a feature film. 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...
, starring Ronnie Barker
Ronnie Barker
Ronald William George "Ronnie" Barker, OBE was a British actor, comedian, writer, critic, broadcaster and businessman...
as Norman Stanley Fletcher
Norman Stanley Fletcher
Norman Stanley "Fletch" Fletcher is the main character in the popular BBC sitcom Porridge, and the less-successful spin-off, Going Straight...
, newly released from the fictional Slade Prison where the earlier series had been set.
It sees Fletcher trying to become an honest member of society, having vowed to stay away from crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
on his release. The title refers to his attempt, 'straight' being a slang term meaning being honest, in contrast to 'bent', i.e., dishonest.
Also re-appearing was Richard Beckinsale
Richard Beckinsale
Richard Arthur Beckinsale was an English actor, best known for his roles as Lennie Godber in the popular BBC sitcom Porridge and Alan Moore in the British sitcom Rising Damp....
as Lennie Godber
Lennie Godber
Leonard Arthur "Lennie" Godber was a character in the popular BBC sitcom Porridge. He was played by Richard Beckinsale.Godber is from Birmingham, supports Aston Villa F.C., has an O Level in geography, and studies for a history O Level while in prison. Before he was arrested he shared a flat with...
, who was Fletcher's naïve young cellmate and was now in a relationship with his daughter Ingrid
Ingrid Fletcher
Ingrid Rita Godber was a character in the BBC sitcom Porridge, played by Patricia Brake.Ingrid is Fletch's eldest child . She often visited her father in Slade Prison, oblivious to her appeal to the other inmates, much to her father's despair. It was on one of these trips that she met Fletch's...
(Patricia Brake
Patricia Brake
Patricia Ann Brake is an English actress.Her first prominent television role was as Julie Pinfield in The Ugliest Girl in Town , a short-lived sitcom made for the American ABC network...
). Her brother Raymond was played by a teenage Nicholas Lyndhurst
Nicholas Lyndhurst
Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Rodney Trotter in Only Fools and Horses, Gary Sparrow in Goodnight Sweetheart, and as Adam Parkinson in Carla Lane's series Butterflies...
.
Only one series, of six episodes, was made in 1978. It attracted an audience of over 15 million viewers and won a BAFTA award in March 1979, but hopes of a further series had already been dashed by Beckinsale's premature death earlier in the same month.
Episode list
| Title | Airdate | Description |
|---|---|---|
| "Going Home" | 24 February 1978 | Fletch, having been paroled, makes his way home from prison. On the train, he bumps into Mr Mackay and an old friend. |
| "Going to be Alright" | 3 March 1978 | Fletch visits his probation officer and reveals his wife has left him, and borrows Godber's lorry to drive to Essex to dig up a buried stash of ill-gotten gains. |
| "Going Sour" | 10 March 1978 | Fletch is diverted from his own problems when he comes across a young runaway girl (Roberta Tovey Roberta Tovey Roberta Tovey is an English actress and singer who has appeared in many films and television programmes. One of her better-known roles was that of Susan, the granddaughter of Dr. Who in the 1960s films Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD... ) in his local cafe and tries to set her on the straight and narrow, with debatable success. |
| "Going to Work" | 17 March 1978 | Fletch is set up with a job by his probation officer as a night porter, but can't face starting his first ever conventional job. |
| "Going, Going, Gone" | 31 March 1978 | Fletch, while at work, recognises an old fellow inmate (Nigel Hawthorne Nigel Hawthorne Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role he won four BAFTA Awards during the 1980s in the... ) and does his best to prevent a crime from occurring. |
| "Going off the Rails" | 7 April 1978 | Fletch almost falls off the straight and narrow on the day Godber is to marry Ingrid when he assists an old friend with a bank raid, but has a change of heart before it's too late when he walks into a pet shop and the sight of all the animals in cages reminds him of years he has spent in prison. |