C/D: The Fall & Rise Of Reginald Perrin

The last lines in the last episode of the first series are just so powerful, Pauline Yates' character talking about how Reggie wasn't happy being Reggie. And those moments where Rossiter's character shudders and howls with rage - they're so chilling, so palpable.

Quite. Yeah, it's been forever since I've seen both this and Rising Damp but I loved them both. I was very pleased when I watched a very old b/w-era Avengers episode to discover Rossiter was in it.

high point of rossiter spottage = "2001 a space oddyssey", surely? OMG reggie perrin is in space!@#

Hey, that's right! I knew that but had forgotten about it for some reason.

http://www.pf757.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/lr/Film.htm

He is this small but distinctive prescence in a lot of films and tv programmes. Did the TV ads he did w/joan collins ever get put on DVD I wonder. the sad thing is that whenever you see him, you can't help thinking "it's rigsby!!"

Brittania hospital!

http://www.pf757.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/lr/Britannia.htm

http://www.pf757.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/lr/Film.htm

He is this small but distinctive and somehow extremely likeable prescence in a lot of films and tv programmes. Did the TV ads he did w/joan collins ever get put on DVD I wonder. the sad thing is that whenever you see him, you can't help thinking "it's rigsby!!"

Brittania hospital!

http://www.pf757.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/lr/Britannia.htm

I'm with N. on this. Let's not talk about The Legacy Of Reginald Perrin.

He's rather wonderful in that episode of "Steptoe and Son", "The Desperate Hours", as this burglar who parallels 'Arold by having a millstone-father in tow.

I need to see more "Rising Damp"; have only seen a scattering of episodes through the years, whereas "Perrin" I loved as a child when it were being repeated in c. 1990. I bought the DVD boxset recently, and watched the first episodes before packing up to go back to university, and wow, it was even better than I had remembered: of course, I can now appreciate it in more depth as an adult.

And Stevie, who speaks of those moments of Reggie's despairing explosions of rage is spot-on; there is an epiphanic one of these to close the series' first episode. Made all the more moving for the build-up of small moments throughout; a great part where he lunches at some restaurant...

I sense also that EDC actually developed itself somewhat more interestingly in its later series than did 'Perrin'. Isn't the 3rd series of 'Perrin' (commune one) meant to be something of a step-down from the first two?

I'd love to see the program again as I've not seen it since I was young.

What kind of social archetype does Mark represent? The character feels like it's zeroing in on a very specific type of the time, but I can't quite build the profile.

It's been a while since I saw it, isn't he wearing a t-shirt that says 'Wedgewood Benn for Pope' or something the first time we meet him? I got the impression that he's meant to be a stereotypical baby boomer as seen by older generations - a layabout, trendy leftish politics that don't have any real substance behind them, generally transient and unwilling to commit to anything

and I guess the idea is that his disdain for joining the rat race is typical of his generation, almost de rigueur, but Reggie's decision to drop out is incongruous and therefore comic? What if a conventional middle-aged, middle-class man decided to reject society's values and try to find himself, like the younger generation were doing at that time?

Had to remind myself, had completely forgotten he existed, he's barely in it, just a couple of scenes. His character seems to be "generic 70s guy from a different sort of sitcom who just doesn't work in this one" so not surprised they dropped him.

Remembered also that the pretentious names of the grandchildren are Jocasta and Adam. Was Adam an unusual name in the 70s? Seems such a regular name now, but guess I cannot think of many Adams of the mid 20th century - Adam Faith?

seems like it had a pretty meteoric rise from 68th most popular boys in the UK in 1964 to 12th most popular in 1984, so I guess it probably seen as a 'trendy' name at the time

https://www.ukbabynames.com/boys/adam

Had to remind myself, had completely forgotten he existed, he's barely in it, just a couple of scenes. His character seems to be "generic 70s guy from a different sort of sitcom who just doesn't work in this one" so not surprised they dropped him.

Yes, I was googling the character to remind me what he looked like and I couldn't find any images of him.

It's been a while since I saw it, isn't he wearing a t-shirt that says 'Wedgewood Benn for Pope' or something the first time we meet him? I got the impression that he's meant to be a stereotypical baby boomer as seen by older generations - a layabout, trendy leftish politics that don't have any real substance behind them, generally transient and unwilling to commit to anything

A bit like Alan from Rising Damp, ironically.

In Butterflies (78-83) Nicholas Lyndhurst plys Adam, the younger son of Wendy Craig and Geoffrey Palmer.

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/303x170/p0ky0bvg.jpg

In Butterflies (78-83) Nicholas Lyndhurst plys Adam, the younger son of Wendy Craig and Geoffrey Palmer.

That's the other character I was thinking of.

Definite mid 70's Noel Edmonds vibe there

https://i2-prod.dailypost.co.uk/incoming/article6845586.ece/ALTERNATES/s1227b/Noel-Edmonds-2.jpg

ah shit I didn't mean Mark, I meant Tom, the son in law

Kind of like a less psychotic version of Keith from "Nuts In May".

Growing up in a commune and going to Woodcraft Folk, I have met many Keiths/Toms, it was the 80s and early 90s, so I suppose we just had the remnants of the tribe.

There's a 95 percent probability that these types are on social media terfing it up in 2025

So can you guys educate me a bit on this type? I'm assuming middle class, possibly into folk music, leftish?

My parents had a thing about ppl from their generation they called "muesli types", very into healthy living abd therapy, is this kind of that?

Kind of like that but probably voted Liberal rather than Labour.

I feel like this type of guy either voted for the Liberal party or was a Marxist-Leninist with nothing in between. Whichever way they voted their politics were high-minded and idealistic. Jeremy Corbyn is obviously the most prominent example of this type over the last 10 years and I don't think you can fully understand people's reactions to him (both positive and negative) without appreciating that a large % of British people instantly recognise him as such.

See also Jim Hacker's lefty daughter in "Yes, Minister".