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"Pardon Me" is an episode of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
Porridge. It aired on 11 March 1977. Blanco Webb is due to be
parole
Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
d, but he doesn't accept it, as he would be admitting his guilt. Fletcher and the rest of Slade Prison
petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication.
In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offi ...
to the
Home Office for Blanco to be
pardoned.
Synopsis
The episode opens during recreation hour where Fletcher is playing
Monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
with elderly
inmate
A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...
Blanco Webb. Mr Barrowclough tells them to finish up as it is locking up time in five minutes. Lukewarm, Blanco's
cellmate, scolds Blanco as he promised to make sure he has a clean shirt for his parole hearing the next day. Godber wonders why Blanco wasn't paroled years ago. Fletcher comments that it is because Blanco has always protested his innocence, whereas the parole board would prefer him to be guilty but ashamed.
That night, Godber asks Fletcher what Blanco was convicted of. Fletcher explains that Blanco
murdered
his wife and buried her in the freezer. Godber is horrified and can't understand it because Blanco seems like a nice old man.
Next day, Blanco has been granted parole. At first, they reminisce about 1959. Fletcher remembers that he sold a stolen car that year, and Godber remembers he was in
junior school
A Junior school is a type of school which provides primary education to children, often in the age range from 8 and 13, following attendance at Infant school which covers the age range 5–7. (As both Infant and Junior schools are giving Primary ...
. Blanco, however, bitterly remembers 1959 for the year he was incarcerated for something he didn't do, and refuses to accept his parole.
Fletcher meets Blanco on his
allotment and scolds him for his stubborn attitude. Blanco believes that Fletcher is after his
rhubarb and strawberries, but Fletcher promises to look after the allotment if Blanco is freed. Blanco remembers the time he grew grapes, but was forced to pack it in after making wine.
On Saturday afternoon, Fletcher, Godber, Warren and Lukewarm start the Campaign and Release of Old Webb (CROW). They ask Mr Barrowclough to sign the petition, but he refuses. Fletcher forges Barrowclough's
signature
A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...
.
Later, the petitioners are brought before the Governor, who disapproves of prisoners' petition groups. Barrowclough states that they have the right to, under the Penal Code. Fletcher warns the Governor that the feeling is so strong, it could cause trouble for the prison officers, especially as Blanco has threatened to go on
hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
in protest. Mr Mackay believes Blanco to be a “stubborn old fool” for refusing parole. The Governor believes it has been too long for a
retrial
A new trial or retrial is a recurrence of a court case. A new trial may potentially be ordered for some or all of the matters at issue in the original trial. Depending upon the rules of the jurisdiction and the decision of the court that ordered ...
to take place. Fletcher says that the campaign could make the Governor a celebrity, but Mackay puts an end to the meeting and orders the prisoners out. The Governor
shudders at the thought of an elderly man like Blanco going on hunger strike.
Barrowclough suggest to the Governor that an alternative to a retrial is for Blanco to receive a pardon from the Home Office. The Governor heartily agrees, but discovers that Barrowclough has signed the petition. Barrowclough passes this off as a
forgery, but admits it is his signature, making him look foolish in front of Mackay and the Governor.
Blanco has been finally pardoned by the Home Office. Before he leaves Slade Prison, Blanco bids farewell to his former inmates. Fletcher warns him not to seek
revenge on his wife's lover, the true
culprit
A culprit, under English law properly the prisoner at the bar, is one accused of a crime. The term is used, generally, of one guilty of an offence. In origin the word is a combination of two Anglo-French legal words, culpable: guilty, and prit or ...
. Blanco says that the lover died years ago, as it was Blanco who killed him.
{{Porridge
Porridge (1974 TV series) episodes
1977 British television episodes