The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin

I didn't get where I am today without knowing a good show when I see it!

What average Joe suffering through the daily grind does not have a bit of Reggie Perrin hidden inside, boiling and bubbling just under the surface?

Reginald Perrin is perhaps the most thoughtful character ever seen in a comedy series. He is a deep and complex man.

Supporting characters each have an unforgettable "trademark" (for lack of a better term)... Sometimes direct, sometimes symbolic -- the creator of Reggie Perrin effortlessly distills the essence of real life oddities.

Brilliant and funny. On the whole, this is the only British comedy I put ahead of MONTY PYTHON and FAWLTY TOWERS. Reginald Perrin is worthy of such a supreme compliment. A sitcom Masterpiece. All else is just Grot.

Comedy-City, Arizona! Super! Great!

The late, great Leonard Rossiter will always be remembered best in the classic sitcom, Rising Damp, but the BBC's The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin is also not to be missed.

Reggie was quite different to the many other TV comedies of the seventies in the fact that the programme (adapted from the writer's novels) continued the story in a 'serial' fashion which was that of middle-aged, rebel, Reginald Perrin, who suffers a breakdown with hillarious results and resorts to faking his own death. This all happens in the first series but i'm sure that many laughs beyond Reggie's original six misadventures.

Let's try to get the BBC to release Reggie on American format DVD!! Apparently, BBC America is responsible for all commercial content in the States, and I was given the following information by BBC in the UK.

Write or call:

BBC Worldwide Americas 747 3rd Avenue 6th floor NY, NY 10017 USA Tel: 001 212 705 9300 Fax: 001 212 888 0576

It's available in the UK, I just think they don't realize what a fan base there is here in the US. I just re-read both "The Fall and Rise of" and "The Return of" for the hundredth time, but I'd give anything to own the series.

PBS aired the series in '79 and '81. I wandered into the first episode by accident and was immediately hooked. And since this was the age when VCRs still cost over a thousand bucks, I had no option but to try and memorize the series....

And then recite the lines to my friends who'd missed the two seasons that aired.

PERRIN was possibly the first series to use seemingly unconnected visuals to illustrate a character's state of mind, a trick later used in series like DREAM ON and ALLIE McBEAL.

I'm still struck by the role the surf plays in PERRIN as a place to dump old cares, worries, and lives in exchange for new lives. The final sequence of the second season has also stayed with me-- Reggie and his wife go to the beach to assume new lives, then discover an entire beach full of people doing the same thing. Reggie smiles and says "Look Elizabeth, it's catching." In the past 20 years, when things looked bleak, I'd think of finding my way to that beach....

That the series is finally on videotape is fantastic. That there is a third season I never knew about is beyond words!!!!

Reginald Perrin is a middle-aged man in a bland job who has a bland existence, a boss who speaks in slogans, a marriage that has seemed to have lost its spark, and a grown daughter whose husband is unbearable company. He also finds himself constantly daydreaming about his attractive young secretary.

Unlike Al Bundy of "Married With Children", though, Reggy does not plan to suffer in silence. Instead, he plans and executes an escape. He fakes his own death and assumes that his new life will be full of fun and adventure. However, with no references since he essentially has no past after his "resurrection", he finds he can only get a job as an assistant to a pig farmer. Also, he finds himself missing and drawn back to his wife/widow.

The comedy is quite British. If you don't appreciate that kind of humor you won't like this series, but it seems quite relevant even though it was made over 35 years ago. It pokes fun at what and who society finds valuable and why, and the scenes of Reggy talking things over at night with his cat are hilarious.

There is one big difference between Al Bundy and Reginald Perrin though - Reggy Perrin really does love his wife and she loves him. Their tenderness and fondness for one another shines through regardless of what else happens. I haven't seen this show aired in America for about 30 years, and then it was only shown on PBS as far as I know. Recommended for all who have dreamed of something better for themselves, find society to be at times - or always - ridiculous, and love British comedy.