TV2 WINNING IN BARKER STAKES

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34151, 12 May 1976, Page 4

TV2 WINNING IN BARKER STAKES

(By

A. K. GRANT)

Television Two has opened up a decisive lead over Television One in the Ronnie Barker Stakes Handicap Steeplechase. Not only does it have "The Two Ronnies” on Saturday night; on Monday nights we get "Porridge.”

The latter programme has received glowing reviews from English critics (not that I am in the least influenced by the fact, oh no, I can make my own mind up, thank you very much, who do they think they are, staying over there with their high and mighty opinions?), and Monday night’s episode was a highly promising start to the series.

Prison is plainly an ideal situation for a situation comedy, incorporating as it does a hierarchical structure and characters whose roles and powers are sharply distinctive from each other. Much of the comedy in “Porridge” is clearly going to turn on the exercise of their powers by the prison functionaries and the avoidance of the incidence of that exercise by the prisoners. Unlike some of his previous impersonations — I never thought he was particularly funny as Lord Rustless — the role of Norman Stanley Fletcher is ideally suited to Barker’s talents.

As the poet might have said: Stone wall do not a prison make Nor iron bars a cage, But Ronnie Barker takes the cake

As Norman Stanley Page — I mean, Fletcher. :;s *

“Sutherland’s Law” was as good as ever on Monday night, although I was bored to note that Drummond is starting to flirt in his clodhopping way with the new secretary. One of the reasons why “Sutherland’s Law” is such good viewing

is the interest arising from I the tensions and conflict [generated by the odd nature of Sutherland’s job —quasipolice, quasi-judicial, quasi-partisan-legal. I have no idea how a system incorporating procurators-fiscal compares in practice with its English and New Zealand counterparts, but it certainly works as the basis for a television series. Add good acting, believable dialogue and strong plots and you have a series which is a credit to Caledonia.

The Minister of Electronic Diffusion (Mr Huge Churchton) announced yesterday the Government’s plans for the reorganisation of the news services of Television 1 3/4 and Television 2 2/3. The two services, said Mr Churchton, would be scrapped and merged into one service, to be known as the Robert D. Muldoon Memorial and LaudatoryNews Service and CostAccounting Consultancy. It would service both TVI 3/4 and TV2 2/3 and would comprise an effective strength of two reporters, one cameraman and a teamaking machine to be leased from the Broadcasting Council.

“There will be no question of political control over the new service," said Mr Churchton,” because we intend to ensure that there is no coverage of politics. Instead we hope to expand and develop hard-hitting and penetrating coverage of such crucial areas as A. and P. shows and. horticultural society competitions. We have also discovered that there is a huge amount of tapes and films of old news stored away in the archives, and we intend to screen as much as possible of this, in order to save the cost of collecting new news. Old news is good news, as far as we are concerned.” Asked whether the reorganisation would involve substantial redundancies, Mr Churchton said, “Not at all. Any broadcasting journalist who suffers a loss of function wili find that a benevolent Government has created a challenging new post for him in the Broadcasting Division of the New Zealand Forestry Service, so called not because it will do any broadcasting, but because it will be staffed entirely by broadcasters.”