show, with old sketches and some new material, supported by variety acts. Barker's unease with appearing as himself in the stage show led him to create a fictionalised version of himself to play instead. A second stage series took place in 1983. Barker was reportedly offended by a sketch called 'The Two Ninnies' on the BBC's Not the Nine O'Clock News, which mocked their act as being based on dated innuendo-based humour. After a tip-off from Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, Barker and Corbett opted to move with their families to Sydney, Australia in 1979 for the year to exploit a tax loophole and avoid paying the year's income tax. They performed their stage show for four weeks in Sydney and a further four in Melbourne; because of their existing popularity in Australia and what Corbett termed the Australian audiences' "[comedic] soul that still related to the UK," they made no changes to the routine. Barker made no other appearances that year and spent his time writing and engaging in recreational activities. Following the show's success, Kerry Packer commissioned a six episode TV series of The Two Ronnies in Australia for Nine Network. The show comprised material not yet shown in Australia from The Two Ronnies and new content targeted more towards an Australian audience. They returned for a second series in 1986. Barker and Corbett also starred in the short, mostly silent, films The Picnic (1976) and By the Sea (1982). By the Sea was Barker's tribute to the seaside postcard humour of Donald McGill and his most "personal" work. The show was also widely syndicated in North America by PBS and CBC, and in 1980 they appeared in the short-lived NBC variety show The Big Show; the two were glad the show did not last as they objected to the use of canned laughter by the American networks. Porridge, Open All Hours and other work Following the success of The Two Ronnies, the BBC let Barker decide what he wanted to do. The Two Ronnies took up one third of a year to produce, allowing time for Barker and Corbett to do a solo project each. Barker opted to produce some sitcom pilots shown as part of 1973's Seven of One. Two of these pilots, Open All Hours (written by Roy Clarke) and Prisoner and Escort (written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais) became series. Prisoner