![]() Of course if you are seeing the late 1970s as a period of a melt down of values in the face of relentless consumerism and the unceasing pace and demands of life then where do you go once you hit the 1980s? Goodness is that the time? Time for a drink. He is the one eyed man in the kingdom of the blind. There is a way in which a person on the perpetual brink of a mental breakdown, living in a society which has already fallen over the edge is bound to be successful. Hoarding rifles in preparation to launch a right wing reign of terror in the event of national collapse isn't the most promising comic material either - although they have a fair stab at it.Īs a comedy this worked better on TV and since timing is the essence of comedy I suppose I could simply have been reading too slowly.or too quickly, as a picture of national life in the 1970s and early 80s it is unfailingly grim. That coupled with the description of the identikit housing estates leaves the impression that alcoholism is the only legitimate life style choice Brezhnevism for all!. ![]() Then there is the sexual relationship between the uncle and his (adult) niece, which because of his neediness and her joyless acquiescence is disturbing and unsettling. Mind you, I've seen people laugh over that too. Like watching an animal in too small an enclosure at the zoo repeat the same actions ceaselessly. I found the repetition wearying and the effect depressing rather than comic. He recreates the same psychological situation even to the extent of consistently and exclusively employing people that he's worked with, and hated working with, before. Martin Clunes (Doc Martin) stars in this modern take on the classic British comedy The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. Strange things happen.įrom here on Perrin has repeated successes running various businesses, which rather like the original desert company, provide fundamentally flawed products including a training centre staffed by the flawed and incompetent ,catering to the bored middle classes, and a chain of shops selling goods that are shoddy and expensive.Īll these businesses have the same problem which is that Perrin is self-destructive. Perhaps the man recently released from prison for fraud having faked his own suicide and then hiding next door to his own house which he could access via a wardrobe was inspired by this programme. Also features Martin Clunes, Fay Ripley, Lucy Liemann, Kerry Howard, Jim Howick and more. Written by Simon Nye and original creator David Nobbs. Naturally the only possible escape from this situation is for him to fake his own suicide by abandoning a pile of clothes on the beach before moving back in with his wife under the pretence that he is his own long lost Brazilian identical twin brother. 12 episodes (2 series) BBC One reimagining of the 1970s comedy about a frustrated office worker. ![]() Reginald Perrin is a burnt out business man on the brink of a nervous breakdown, employed as a senior wage slave for a desert manufacturer to which he commutes daily while struggling with the crossword. Having dim, yet warm memories of this being on the telly when I was child ( "I didn't get where I am today.") I bought this omnibus edition only to find it slightly disappointing and ultimately depressing.
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