Ronnie Barker - Fave Sketches

[Michelle]

This one comes to mind from an episode of Porridge

MO: Suffer from any illness?
Fletch: Bad feet.
MO: Suffer from any illness?
Fletch: Bad feet!
MO: Paid a recent visit to a doctor or hospital?
Fletch: Only with my bad feet! ?
MO: Are you now or have you at any time been a practicing homosexual.
Fletch: What, with these feet?

Fooking Genius

Michelle

[Deuce Bigolo]

Far to numerous to mention but this one on a blog caught my eye

"an elephant on a lorry has done a ton on the M1.

Motorists are being asked to treat this as a roundabout"

Seemingly simplistic but just try coming up with the initial idea then you realise the brilliance behind it

cheers
B....OZ

[mart]

Great one Michelle.
Is that the episode that also has the specimen bottle biz?

Mart

[Guilbert]

I have been listening to and watching comedy for about 40 years, and
I think I know a fair bit about comedy.

I have to say that the writing in Porridge, and the performances from all the
actors, are of the hightest quality, and to me it is only second to Fawlty
Towers in the situation comedy area.

Too many wonderful lines to mention but I love the closing lines of the "lost
tin of pineapple" episode.

Fletch: Its a plant

Mackay: No its not, its a tin of pineapple chunks

Goodbye Ronnie and thanks for all the laughs.

[steve56]

its got to be the one where he has to guess a mans wife name at a party.

[mart]

Credit where credit is due. The partnership of Dick Clement and Ian le Fresnais has given us some great TV (and radio) comedy.
And superbly served by Ronnie Barker in two creations.

Mart

[Pervert]

The reason I used the term "lead balloon" is because the sketch was a rather nasty attack on Mr Barker, accusing him of keeping the best lines for himself and for being a hypocrite (after the list of code words for sexual parts, the Barker Ninnie says "This is because this is a family show and we don't believe in smut."). The man undoubtedly did like smutty humour, of the seaside postcard variety. I think the NTNON sketch was the same sort of attack that "right-on" comedians later used to chase Benny Hill out of television. (Comedians like Ben Elton with his cringing monologue about breasts, and who later relied so much upon the knob gag).

I think Barker did the right thing retiring when he did. A number of his contempories---Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe, Leonard Rossiter---died young. He at least had 15 or more years of retirement to enjoy.

[Arnold Layne]

Just as Fletch in Porridge, I never watched Open all hours,
I had this wierd dream of Richard Beckinsale greeting him at the pearly gates, "You took your time Fletch!" just loved Porridge, one of my fave comedys ever.

[steve56]

porridge yes in fact i taped the film when it was shown in the 80s when i had a betamax tape.so many episodes were good havent a fave.

[laralatex]

For me it has to be the bloody sketch they keep over playing now on 'The Beeb', the four candles one. But the other one me and Jim reallly liked was the Mastermind one where he answered the correct question, one question behind, if you get my drift!