The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin

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!!!!

There is no shortage of excellent sitcoms - the U.S. gave us Seinfeld, and Soap, the Brits Good Neighbors, Fawlty Towers and Butterflies. The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, rises above even these, and is a true masterpiece of television.

What makes The Fall and Rise so exceptional is its incredible depth. While other shows were content to earn certain points and then coast (e.g. Seinfeld acts as a catalog of ridiculously mutated and twisted social convention, but rarely moves beyond it) The Rise and Fall never lets up on its observations, criticisms and offering of wild and crazy solutions, providing a hero who sees everything wrong with the world and is desperate and willing to change as much as possible.

The absurdity of corporate culture, suburban monotony, flaky post-hippie child-rearing concepts, condescendingly manipulative advertising and marketing, sexism, racism, class conflict, are hung, drawn and quartered for laughs. And Leonard Rositter's posturing and snarking make it surreal. It is Voltaire, Brecht.

Of course, the hero's plans rarely turn out as he expected, and Perrin is constantly thrown off course as each of his absurd plots is met by an even more absurd response from the world. Rositter's Perrin reacts with even more absurdity, all the while stammering and mugging to underline the fact that, well, that's life.

The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin, is a must to television viewing as Mozart is to music, Citizen Kane to cinema, and Dickens to reading. You will probably like it, but even if you don't, it will do you great good, and be the yardstick by which you judge all other related material.

David Nobbs' brilliant satire of modern life features the incomparable Leonard Rossiter as middle-aged, middle-class, middle-manager Reggie Perrin, who longs for a life that is just out of reach. Despite his best (and most bizarre) efforts to break free from the insipid conformity that he sees all around him, he never quite succeeds. Perrin is surrounded by one of the finest and funniest ensembles in the history of British comedy - you'll find most of your friends, family and enemies represented here. As Reggie's fatuous boss (a character that anticipated the Dilbert comic strip by about 20 years) would put it, "I didn't get where I am today without appreciating one of the finest British sitcoms ever." Outstanding writing and hilarious acting make this one of the greats.

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.

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!