Sit-Com Gold on the Big Screen

The latest TV comedy to be turned into a film is Absolutely Fabulous. I never found 'AbFab' particularly funny. More over-acting than comedy but each to his own of course.
It did start me thinking about the other TV sitcoms turned into films. The first I ever saw was On The Buses, where Stan (Reg Varney), Blakey, Jack, the miserable bald bloke who drove a motor-bike sidecar and his plain (is that ok?) wife, Olive, et al decamped from the bus garage to a holiday camp. My memories are vague now but I think the highlight was Stan blowing up the chalet when he dropped a fag in the toilet, which for reasons I cannot now remember had recently had a load of paraffin emptied into it. Inevitably Blakey was singed and, wait for it, said "I'll get you Butler." 
The film was pretty awful, but there again watching repeats of the original on ITV 4, reminded me that the TV series was terrible as well - and it proved that my mum was right about Stan and Jack's terrible table manners. Actually On The Buses was at its funniest in the take off by Paul Whitehouse and Harry Enfield.
Next was Porridge, and its film was pretty good. It can still make you laugh on a wet Sunday afternoon. The first Dad's Army was weak, nothing like as good as the peerless TV sit-com. At least though it was better than the truly awful film remake which came out earlier this year.
Monty Python was not my thing anyway, and I confess - shock, horror - I have never seen Life of Brian.
Are You Being Served still makes me smile, in an admittedly slightly dated politically incorrect way, and its feature film spin-off really (yes really) was not bad.
More recently the Inbetweeners films were rather good, although uncomfortable to watch with your teenage children.
Could it be that the Absolutely Fabulous film is better than the TV series? I have fond memories of Joanna Lumley from The New Avengers so might have to find out.

Dad's Army ok but not Porridge please - unless Stephen Fry plays Mr Grout

The jury is still out on whether remaking Dad's Army is a good idea, but with Bill Nighy well cast as Sgt Wilson I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.
For reasons I cannot entirely explain I am far less enthusiastic about the proposal this weekend to remake Porridge. Surprisingly only 16 episodes were made of what Ronnie Barker considered was his finest piece of work. Ian La Frenais and Dick Clement, the writers of Porridge, also wrote my other favourite, the underrated (Whatever Happened to) The Likely Lads. 
Apparently they will be writing the new Porridge, which will involve Norman Stanley Fletcher's grandson being caged in a 'modern' prison for (groan) cyber crime.
It's got potential embarrassment stamped all over it. Maybe the only way I could be convinced is if they find a convincing replacement for genial Harry 'Mr' Grout. Grouty was a wonderful character, obviously based on Mr Bridger the cultured crime boss ('while we are on the subject Governor, I notice that some of that young mob in E block don't stand for for the national anthem') who organised the heist in Rome from his prison cell in the iconic film The Italian Job.
The casting of John Le Mesurier as Sgt Wilson was inspired, and Bill Nighy is a pretty good effort at following up. Even more inspired was getting Noel Coward to play Mr Bridger in the Italian Job. So who on earth could the BBC get to play a modern day Mr Grout? Stephen Fry is surely the nearest modern equivalent to Noel Coward, and probably the only way I could give an updated Porridge a go.
In the meantime the Times this weekend reminded me of why I enjoyed Porridge so much -
Asked about an inmate convicted of poisoning, Godber says,
"Is that why they call him arsenic Riggs?"
Fletcher: "No, that's because he once sat on a razor blade."