Dick Clement

Patrick Tilley, What ever happened to the likely lads? London : British Broadcasting Corporation, 1974, Paperback. Fell open at page 50, brilliant: 'It seems sad when you realise the only way people can tell the difference between you and everyone else is by the colour of your curtains'. On this occasion Thelma and Bob are having mauve and seaweed green instead of yellow.

The Bank Job on DVD. After the disappointing “War,” Jason Statham rebounds nicely in this entertaining heist movie as the leader of a group of small-time London crooks given the opportunity for a big score by breaking into the safe deposit vault of a local bank. Watching the gang prepare for and execute the robbery is only the beginning of their adventure as they soon discover that the owners of the boxes include the city’s largest porn producer and his friends, a high-class madam and show more a vengeful black militant, both of whom kept their sensitive blackmail material protected in the bank. In addition to being hunted by the legitimate police, the gang must find a way to placate the even more dangerous criminals, the crooked cops on their payrolls and the government agents seeking to keep hidden the contents of the boxes and silence anyone who knows their secrets. It’s a complex puzzle that maintains a good balance between action, humor, violence and mystery. The fighting skills that Statham has displayed in his previous work are shown briefly in the one fight scene, but are hardly missed and would have been out of place as the problems his character faces require more thoughtful resolutions.
Based loosely on a true story from the 1970s, I was surprised that the DVD did not include at least a short piece on what really happened or what the producers think happened. All of the London papers, including the Guardian, Telegraph and Daily Mirror, had stories on the robbery when the film was released.

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Porridge was a British television sitcom which ran from 1974 to 1977; followed by a feature film and a spin-off show. Novelizations of those original shows were published based on Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais's scripts. Three Helpings of Porridge is an omnibus edition of these novelizations (Porridge, Another Stretch of Porridge & A Further Stir of Porridge).
As you can perhaps tell from this convoluted description this isn't an ideal introduction to the highly regarded comedy; third-hand show more porridge at best. Seek out the DVD or the original scripts instead. show less

Novelisation of the TV series, just as good because it's written by Dick Clement. Made me laugh out loud.