Porterhouse Blue
Encyclopedia
Porterhouse Blue is a novel written by Tom Sharpe
, first published in 1974. There was a Channel 4
TV series in 1987 based on the novel, adapted by Malcolm Bradbury
. The novel itself has a sequel, Grantchester Grind
, but Porterhouse Blue has a stand-alone plot.
, the Head Porter
of a fictional Cambridge college
, Porterhouse.
, the Head Porter; Lionel Zipser, a research graduate student
; Sir Godber Evans
, the Master; Lady Mary, the Master's wife; the Dean; and Mrs. Biggs, Zipser's bedder
.
For the first time in five hundred years, the master of Porterhouse fails to name his successor on his deathbed before dying. He succumbs to a Porterhouse Blue - a stroke brought about by overindulgence in the college's legendary cuisine
. Sir Godber Evans
is appointed as his successor. Sir Godber, egged on by his zealous wife, Lady Mary, announces sweeping changes to the centuries of college tradition, much to the concern of Skullion and the Fellow
s, who plan a counter-attack
on the proposed contraceptive machines
, women students, and canteen.
Meanwhile, the only research graduate student
in the college, Lionel Zipser, visits the hard-of-hearing Chaplain
and explains his fixation for Mrs Biggs, his middle-aged, large-breasted bedder
, through a megaphone
, and is therefore overheard by the whole college. Mrs Biggs is not within earshot, but nevertheless senses that something is up from Zipser's awkward behaviour around her every time she comes to clean his room and especially when she teases him sexually, the climax of which is when she asks him to help her take off her bright red PVC raincoat from behind, which prompts him to reach around her and - at least in the TV mini-series - almost touch her large breasts.
While Sir Godber congratulates himself on having defeated the traditionalists, investigative journalist
Cornelius Carrington is brought in on the pretext of helping both parties, while secretly having his own agenda.
Meanwhile, having been advised to pick up a foreign student, so as to avoid his predatory lust for Mrs Biggs that could end badly, Zipser visits an array of public house
s in search of a condom
and later wakes from a drunken stupor
in possession of two gross of condoms. He tries many ways to get rid of them and eventually inflates them with gas
from the gas fire in his room and floats them up the chimney
, not realising that some get stuck in the chimney and the rest float down into the college quadrangle. Fearing for the good name of college, Skullion spends the night bursting the inflated condoms.
At this point it turns out it is Mrs Biggs who is the predator, as she sneaks up to Zipser's room in the middle of the night and wakes him up. To his amazement she undresses and, despite his protests, promptly enters his bed and lies on top of him. Unfortunately, while undressing, she has lit the gas fire, which takes a short while to ignite the inflated condoms stuck in the chimney, causing an explosion that demolishes the Bull Tower and kills her and Zipser in their moment of passion.
When Skullion refuses to open the main gates of college to let the fire engines
in and continues to burst the inflated condoms, he is fired. He takes his revenge by giving a shocking revelatory interview on Carrington's live television
show. After the new master refuses Skullion's pleas to let him keep his job, Skullion offers shares that a former master left him. Sir Godber flatly refuses, but then has a fatal accident. Skullion, although not entirely to blame, quickly leaves. Two senior academics find the dying Sir Godber who whispers them one word: Skullion. They agree that, in accordance with college tradition
, Skullion has been named the new Master of Porterhouse.
When Skullion is visited by the college officials with the good news, he thinks they have found out his involvement with Sir Godber's death and whilst they are telling him about his great fortune, he has a debilitating Porterhouse Blue himself. Nonetheless, he is installed as the Master and the college find that the shares he'd offered to Sir Godber are worth more than the cost of rebuilding the Bull Tower, so Porterhouse's traditions are firmly re-established.
for Channel 4
in four episodes. It starred David Jason
as Skullion
, Ian Richardson
as Sir Godber Evans
, Barbara Jefford
as his wife Lady Mary, Charles Gray
as Sir Cathcart D'Eath, and John Sessions
as Zipser. Also appearing were Griff Rhys Jones
as Cornelius Carrington, Paula Jacobs
as Mrs. Biggs, Paul Rogers
as the Dean, John Woodnutt
as the Senior Tutor, Lockwood West
as the Chaplain, Willoughby Goddard
as Professor Siblington, and Harold Innocent
as the Bursar.
The title song "Dives in Omnia" (cod-Latin for "Wealth in all things") was sung by a cappella
group The Flying Pickets
. The series won an International Emmy and two BAFTA
Awards (including Best Actor for David Jason). The television adaptation has been released on DVD
and VHS
.
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
, Sacrist's Gate near Ely Cathedral
in Cambridgeshire
, Knebworth House
and Apethorpe Hall
in Northamptonshire
were used as locations in the series.
Tom Sharpe
Tom Sharpe is an English satirical author, best known for his Wilt series of novels.Sharpe was born in London and moved to South Africa in 1951, where he worked as a social worker and a teacher, before being deported for sedition in 1961...
, first published in 1974. There was a Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
TV series in 1987 based on the novel, adapted by Malcolm Bradbury
Malcolm Bradbury
Sir Malcolm Stanley Bradbury CBE was an English author and academic.-Life:Bradbury was the son of a railwayman. His family moved to London in 1935, but returned to Sheffield in 1941 with his brother and mother...
. The novel itself has a sequel, Grantchester Grind
Grantchester Grind
Grantchester Grind is a novel written by Tom Sharpe, a British novelist born in 1928 who was educated at Lancing College and then at Pembroke College, Cambridge.-Premise:...
, but Porterhouse Blue has a stand-alone plot.
Premise
A satirical look at Cambridge life and the struggle between tradition and reform, Porterhouse Blue tells the story of SkullionSkullion
Skullion is a central character in Porterhouse Blue and Grantchester Grind , two novels about life in the fictitious Porterhouse College at Cambridge by British novelist Tom Sharpe. For centuries, Porterhouse College has been renowned for its cuisine, the prowess of its rowers and the low level of...
, the Head Porter
Porter (college)
The majority of colleges at the universities of Cambridge, Durham and Oxford, as well as newer collegiate universities such as York and older universities like University of Bristol and St David's College, have members of staff called porters. There is normally a head porter and a team of other...
of a fictional Cambridge college
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, Porterhouse.
Characters
The central characters are SkullionSkullion
Skullion is a central character in Porterhouse Blue and Grantchester Grind , two novels about life in the fictitious Porterhouse College at Cambridge by British novelist Tom Sharpe. For centuries, Porterhouse College has been renowned for its cuisine, the prowess of its rowers and the low level of...
, the Head Porter; Lionel Zipser, a research graduate student
Postgraduate education
Postgraduate education involves learning and studying for degrees or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree generally is required, and is normally considered to be part of higher education...
; Sir Godber Evans
Sir Godber Evans
Sir Godber Evans is a central character in Porterhouse Blue and, posthumously, Grantchester Grind , two novels about life in the fictitious Porterhouse College at Cambridge by British novelist Tom Sharpe...
, the Master; Lady Mary, the Master's wife; the Dean; and Mrs. Biggs, Zipser's bedder
Bedder
The term "bedder" is short for "bedmaker" and is a housekeeper in a college of the University of Cambridge and the University of Durham. The equivalent at the University of Oxford is known as a "scout"...
.
Plot
Cuisine
Cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, often associated with a specific culture. Cuisines are often named after the geographic areas or regions that they originate from...
. Sir Godber Evans
Sir Godber Evans
Sir Godber Evans is a central character in Porterhouse Blue and, posthumously, Grantchester Grind , two novels about life in the fictitious Porterhouse College at Cambridge by British novelist Tom Sharpe...
is appointed as his successor. Sir Godber, egged on by his zealous wife, Lady Mary, announces sweeping changes to the centuries of college tradition, much to the concern of Skullion and the Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
s, who plan a counter-attack
Counter-Attack
Counter-Attack is a 1945 war film starring Paul Muni and Marguerite Chapman as two Russians trapped in a collapsed building with seven enemy German soldiers during World War II...
on the proposed contraceptive machines
Condom machine
A condom machine is a vending machine for the sale of condoms. Condom machines are often placed in public toilets, subway stations and airports as a public health measure to promote safe sex. Many pharmacies also keep one outside, for after-hours access...
, women students, and canteen.
Meanwhile, the only research graduate student
Postgraduate education
Postgraduate education involves learning and studying for degrees or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree generally is required, and is normally considered to be part of higher education...
in the college, Lionel Zipser, visits the hard-of-hearing Chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
and explains his fixation for Mrs Biggs, his middle-aged, large-breasted bedder
Bedder
The term "bedder" is short for "bedmaker" and is a housekeeper in a college of the University of Cambridge and the University of Durham. The equivalent at the University of Oxford is known as a "scout"...
, through a megaphone
Megaphone
A megaphone, speaking-trumpet, bullhorn, blowhorn, or loud hailer is a portable, usually hand-held, cone-shaped horn used to amplify a person’s voice or other sounds towards a targeted direction. This is accomplished by channelling the sound through the megaphone, which also serves to match the...
, and is therefore overheard by the whole college. Mrs Biggs is not within earshot, but nevertheless senses that something is up from Zipser's awkward behaviour around her every time she comes to clean his room and especially when she teases him sexually, the climax of which is when she asks him to help her take off her bright red PVC raincoat from behind, which prompts him to reach around her and - at least in the TV mini-series - almost touch her large breasts.
While Sir Godber congratulates himself on having defeated the traditionalists, investigative journalist
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
Cornelius Carrington is brought in on the pretext of helping both parties, while secretly having his own agenda.
Meanwhile, having been advised to pick up a foreign student, so as to avoid his predatory lust for Mrs Biggs that could end badly, Zipser visits an array of public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s in search of a condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
and later wakes from a drunken stupor
Stupor
Stupor is the lack of critical cognitive function and level of consciousness wherein a sufferer is almost entirely unresponsive and only responds to base stimuli such as pain. This is often mistaken for delirium and treated with Haldol and or other anti-psychotic drugs...
in possession of two gross of condoms. He tries many ways to get rid of them and eventually inflates them with gas
Gas
Gas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
from the gas fire in his room and floats them up the chimney
Chimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
, not realising that some get stuck in the chimney and the rest float down into the college quadrangle. Fearing for the good name of college, Skullion spends the night bursting the inflated condoms.
At this point it turns out it is Mrs Biggs who is the predator, as she sneaks up to Zipser's room in the middle of the night and wakes him up. To his amazement she undresses and, despite his protests, promptly enters his bed and lies on top of him. Unfortunately, while undressing, she has lit the gas fire, which takes a short while to ignite the inflated condoms stuck in the chimney, causing an explosion that demolishes the Bull Tower and kills her and Zipser in their moment of passion.
When Skullion refuses to open the main gates of college to let the fire engines
Fire apparatus
A fire apparatus, fire engine, fire truck, or fire appliance is a vehicle designed to assist in fighting fires by transporting firefighters to the scene and providing them with access to the fire, along with water or other equipment...
in and continues to burst the inflated condoms, he is fired. He takes his revenge by giving a shocking revelatory interview on Carrington's live television
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
show. After the new master refuses Skullion's pleas to let him keep his job, Skullion offers shares that a former master left him. Sir Godber flatly refuses, but then has a fatal accident. Skullion, although not entirely to blame, quickly leaves. Two senior academics find the dying Sir Godber who whispers them one word: Skullion. They agree that, in accordance with college tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
, Skullion has been named the new Master of Porterhouse.
When Skullion is visited by the college officials with the good news, he thinks they have found out his involvement with Sir Godber's death and whilst they are telling him about his great fortune, he has a debilitating Porterhouse Blue himself. Nonetheless, he is installed as the Master and the college find that the shares he'd offered to Sir Godber are worth more than the cost of rebuilding the Bull Tower, so Porterhouse's traditions are firmly re-established.
TV mini-series
In 1987, Porterhouse Blue was adapted for television by Malcolm BradburyMalcolm Bradbury
Sir Malcolm Stanley Bradbury CBE was an English author and academic.-Life:Bradbury was the son of a railwayman. His family moved to London in 1935, but returned to Sheffield in 1941 with his brother and mother...
for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in four episodes. It starred David Jason
David Jason
Sir David John White, OBE , better known by his stage name David Jason, is an English BAFTA award-winning actor. He is best known as the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter on the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses from 1981, the voice of Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows and as detective Jack...
as Skullion
Skullion
Skullion is a central character in Porterhouse Blue and Grantchester Grind , two novels about life in the fictitious Porterhouse College at Cambridge by British novelist Tom Sharpe. For centuries, Porterhouse College has been renowned for its cuisine, the prowess of its rowers and the low level of...
, Ian Richardson
Ian Richardson
Ian William Richardson CBE was a Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's House of Cards trilogy. He was also a leading Shakespearean stage actor....
as Sir Godber Evans
Sir Godber Evans
Sir Godber Evans is a central character in Porterhouse Blue and, posthumously, Grantchester Grind , two novels about life in the fictitious Porterhouse College at Cambridge by British novelist Tom Sharpe...
, Barbara Jefford
Barbara Jefford
Barbara Jefford, OBE is a British Shakespearean actress best known for her theatrical performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic and the National Theatre, and her role as Molly Bloom in the 1967 film of James Joyce's Ulysses.-Early life:Jefford was born Mary Barbara Jefford in...
as his wife Lady Mary, Charles Gray
Charles Gray (actor)
Charles Gray was an English actor who was well-known for roles including the arch-villain Blofeld in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, Sherlock Holmes' brother Mycroft Holmes in the Granada television series, and as The Criminologist in the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show in...
as Sir Cathcart D'Eath, and John Sessions
John Sessions
John Gibb Marshall , better known by the stage name John Sessions, is a Scottish actor and comedian. He is known for comedy improvisation in television shows such as Whose Line Is It Anyway?; as a panellist on QI; and as a character actor in numerous films, both in the UK and in Hollywood.-Early...
as Zipser. Also appearing were Griff Rhys Jones
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...
as Cornelius Carrington, Paula Jacobs
Paula Jacobs
Paula Jacobs is an English actress whose television and film career has spanned four decades.Her father was J.P. Jacobs, whose company supplied all the elastic to Marks & Spencer...
as Mrs. Biggs, Paul Rogers
Paul Rogers (actor)
Paul Rogers is an English actor of film, stage and television.Rogers was born in Plympton, Devon, England, and later trained at the Michael Chekhov Theatre Studio at Dartington Hall and made his film debut in 1932...
as the Dean, John Woodnutt
John Woodnutt
John Woodnutt was a British actor.He was born in London, and at the age of 18 made his acting debut at the Oxford Playhouse....
as the Senior Tutor, Lockwood West
Lockwood West
Lockwood West was a British actor. He is the father of actor Timothy West and the grandfather of actor Samuel West....
as the Chaplain, Willoughby Goddard
Willoughby Goddard
Willoughby Wittenham Rees Goddard was a British actor whose trademark rotund figure was well known on television and in films for over 40 years.Goddard was born in Bicester, Oxfordshire. He played Mr...
as Professor Siblington, and Harold Innocent
Harold Innocent
Harold Sidney Innocent was a British actor who appeared in many film and television roles.After attending Broad Street Secondary Modern School in Coventry, Innocent worked for a short time as an office clerk...
as the Bursar.
The title song "Dives in Omnia" (cod-Latin for "Wealth in all things") was sung by a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
group The Flying Pickets
The Flying Pickets
The Flying Pickets are a British a cappella vocal group, who had a Christmas number one hit in 1983 in the UK Singles Chart with their cover of Yazoo's track "Only You".-History:...
. The series won an International Emmy and two BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
Awards (including Best Actor for David Jason). The television adaptation has been released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
.
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Sidney Sussex College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England.The college was founded in 1596 and named after its foundress, Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex. It was from its inception an avowedly Puritan foundation: some good and godlie moniment for the mainteynance...
, Sacrist's Gate near Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral is the principal church of the Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and is the seat of the Bishop of Ely and a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon...
in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, Knebworth House
Knebworth House
Knebworth House is a country house in the civil parish of Knebworth in Hertfordshire, England.-History and description:The home of the Lytton family since 1490, when Thomas Bourchier sold the reversion of the manor to Sir Robert Lytton, Knebworth House was originally a genuine red-brick Late Gothic...
and Apethorpe Hall
Apethorpe Hall
Apethorpe Hall in Apethorpe, Northamptonshire, England is a Grade I listed country house, dating back to the 15th century.The house is built around three courtyards lying on an east-west axis and is approximately by in area...
in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
were used as locations in the series.
See also
- Tom SharpeTom SharpeTom Sharpe is an English satirical author, best known for his Wilt series of novels.Sharpe was born in London and moved to South Africa in 1951, where he worked as a social worker and a teacher, before being deported for sedition in 1961...
- Grantchester GrindGrantchester GrindGrantchester Grind is a novel written by Tom Sharpe, a British novelist born in 1928 who was educated at Lancing College and then at Pembroke College, Cambridge.-Premise:...
- Poppleton UniversityPoppleton UniversityPoppleton University is a British fictional university in the column that Laurie Taylor writes for Times Higher Education. Taylor's column, referred to as "like Nelson’s, one of the truly great columns" by author Malcolm Bradbury, and "suavely mischievous" by The Independent newspaper, satirically...
- List of fictional Cambridge colleges