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The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin [BBC Comedy] (Complete)

Posted By: TopCat

Date: 25 Dec 2008 10:17:00

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin is a novel and a British sitcom starring Leonard Rossiter in the title role. Both book and TV series were written by David Nobbs, and the screenplay for the first series was adapted by Nobbs from the novel, though subplots in the novel were considered too dark or risqué for television and toned down or omitted, an example being the relationship between Perrin's daughter and his brother-in-law.

The original three series, all of the same name, were broadcast between 1976 and 1979; a fourth, The Legacy of Reginald Perrin, also written by Nobbs, followed in 1996.
Wikipedia

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073990

When Reginald Iolanthe Perrin set out for work on the Thursday morning, he had no intention of calling his mother in-law a hippopotamus. Yet that's exactly what he did do - and when the book (which opened with that very line) was adapted for TV by the BBC in 1976, Reggie's visions of that waddling, mud-caked hippo created one of TV's funniest images. On that level alone, the show is great comic entertainment - but there's so much more to enjoy besides.

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin is a situation comedy with a difference. The situation is that of a tired, middle-aged executive who, feeling suffocated by his repetitive commuter lifestyle, decides he wants out; the comedy comes from his attempts to actually do so. But this isn't just a series of half-baked plots - it's a continuing serial which follows every trial and tribulation of our anti-hero as he slowly descends into madness, then makes the one bid for freedom which might just save his sanity. And it's this satirical element that elevates Perrin from mere half-hour laugh-fest to poignant comedy drama; just as Reggie tries to prove there is more to life, the programme proves there is more to comedy than an endless stream of gags. We travel every step of the way with Reggie, feeling his frustration; celebrating when he breaks free; and empathising when he finally discovers that the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

The late, great Leonard Rossiter stars as Reggie, a role a million miles away from his most famous character - Rising Damp's lecherous landlord Rigsby - but every bit as memorable. The rest of the characters are somewhat more caricatured, from domineering boss, sexy secretary and stammering, sycophantic colleague, through to understanding wife, hippie son-in-law and scrounging brother-in-law. Yet this is not a criticism - they're played as caricatures because that's precisely what they are, with their catchphrases and repetitive behaviour only serving to heighten Reggie's sense of suffocation.

The show ran for three series, in which Reggie tried various ways of putting two fingers up to the world. There was also a spin-off, Fairly Secret Army, starring Geoffrey Palmer, and a dire American version with Soap star Richard Mulligan in the title role. But perhaps most poignant was the fourth series, The Legacy of Reginald Perrin, which aired in Britain in 1996 and reunited all the original cast with one notable exception: Reggie himself. Sadly, Leonard Rossiter died in 1984, and another actor taking over the character was unthinkable, so here his family, friends and colleagues gathered to carry out the conditions of his last will and testament. The book was a joy as, despite Reggie's absence, his spirit lived on through the others; sadly in the TV adaptation, his absence was all-too apparent - without a fully formed central character, all the others were reduced to simple caricature.

Nevertheless, The Fall and Rise … stands proudly alongside other classic BBC comedies such as Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses, Dad's Army and Steptoe and Son.

– TV.com

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073990

Cast:

Reginald Iolanthe Perrin: Leonard Rossiter
Elizabeth Perrin, his wife: Pauline Yates
Joan Greengross, his secretary: Sue Nicholls
CJ, his boss: John Barron (CJ is fond of pompous statements beginning "I didn't get where I am today by …" – except when Reggie becomes his boss, whereupon he says "I didn't get where you are today by …"; also "Neither Mrs CJ nor I have ever…" and "We're not one of those dreadful firms that…"). Barron also played the role of CJ's brother FJ.
Tony Webster, "Great!": Trevor Adams
David Harris-Jones, "Super!": Bruce Bould
Mark Perrin, their son: David Warwick (Series One only)
Linda Patterson, their daughter: Sally-Jane Spencer
Tom Patterson, her husband: Tim Preece (first two series and Legacy) and Leslie Schofield (third series) (Catchphrase: "I'm not a … person.")
Jimmy, Elizabeth's brother: Geoffrey Palmer
Doc Morrissey, company doctor at Sunshine Desserts: John Horsley
Seamus Finnegan, Irish Labourer with a genius for management: Derry Power (Series Two and Three only)
Kenny McBlane, Scottish Chef at Perrin's: Joseph Brady (Series Three only)
Prue Harris-Jones, wife of David Harris-Jones: Theresa Watson (Series Three and Legacy only)

Series One (8 September - 20 October 1976)

The first series was based on Nobbs's novel The Death of Reginald Perrin, retitled The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin to tie in with the TV series and retains its new title to this day.

The plot hinges on Perrin's mid-life crisis as he tries to escape his dreary life. He lives at 12 Coleridge Close, part of the "Poets Estate" in a south London suburb called Climthorpe, a development different from those around it only by having the streets named for famous poets. He commutes to Sunshine Desserts where he works as a sales executive. Each morning he is 11 then 17 then 22 minutes late (increasing with each series) yet each morning he gives a different excuse. These become increasingly bizarre ("defective junction box, New Malden" being one of the more plausible ones) reflecting the decline of both British Rail and his own mental health. He enters the office building under the "Sunshine Desserts" sign, which, as the series progresses, loses more and more letters.

"Reggie", as he is known, daydreams in Walter Mitty style. Part of the narrative demonstrates what voices in his head are saying. Although he appears to love his wife, he fantasises about his secretary, Joan Greengross. As his behaviour becomes more erratic, he is unable to dictate letters without uttering words like "breast". Far from being offended, Joan welcomes the attention, adjusting her posture to show her figure.

The endless marketing campaigns for bizarre products, satirized in reports from the product research department, combine with Reggie's relations with his oppressive boss "C.J." and his yes man subordinates to drive him over the edge. Ceasing to care about the consequences, he dictates offensive and condescending replies to customers.

At home things are no better. Despite his warm relationship with his wife Elizabeth he suffers from impotence. As pressures at work build, relations with his dysfunctional relatives deteriorate, especially with his incompetent brother-in-law Jimmy and son-in-law Tom, a man whose "political correctness" emphasises his pomposity. After a few reckless acts, including getting out of his car in the lion enclosure at a safari park, Reggie fakes his suicide by drowning, leaving clothes and personal effects on a beach. Before this he sends C.J. an anonymous threat containing the words "blood will flow", dumping loganberry essence into a stream while C.J. is angling. C.J. collapses and the company doctor, Doc Morrisey, pronounces him dead. C.J. opens one eye and says, "You're fired!"

Assuming diguises, Reggie encounters more of the banal and pompous side of life. Only as a buck-toothed farm labourer does he find fulfilment looking after pigs. Missing his wife, he assumes the identity of Martin Wellbourne, returned from South America, and visits her. He realizes he loves her still. Elizabeth, seeing through his disguise, is happy to have him back.

– Wikipedia

Series Two (21 September - 2 November 1977)

In the second series, he remarries his wife and they build a business, "Grot", which sells useless items, hoping it will be an interesting failure. Instead, the items are snapped up as novelties, Grot becomes a success, and Reggie ends up employing the staff from Sunshine Desserts, including his boss, C.J. This causes the Perrins to fall into the boredom that Reggie suffered before, so they fake a joint suicide. This series was novelised as The Return of Reginald Perrin. Leonard Rossiter insisted that the quality of the first series was better since it was a book adaptation, and insisted Nobbs write books for the subsequent series before he would consider appearing in them.

– Wikipedia

Series Three (29 November 1978 - 24 January 1979)

In the third series, novelised as The Better World of Reginald Perrin, Reggie and his wife open a therapy centre for bored middle-aged people. He is rehired by C.J's brother F.J. at Amalgamated Aerosols, with C.J. himself as Reggie's supervisor. The final scene sees him contemplating another trip to the beach.

– Wikipedia

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