The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin is a novel and 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 certain subplots in the novel were considered too dark or risqué for television and toned down or omitted from the TV series. Comedy is the use of humor in the form of theater, where it simply referred to a play with a happy ending, in contrast to a tragedy. ... David Gordon Nobbs (born March 13, 1935) is a British comedy writer. ... Leonard Rossiter (born Liverpool, England, October 21st 1926 - died London, October 5th 1984) was a distinguished British actor, most widely known for his comedy roles in two British television series of the 1970s. ... John Barron (December 24, 1920 – July 3, 2004) was an English actor. ... The Honourable Susan Frances Harmer Nicholls (born November 23, 1943 in Walsall, Staffordshire) is a British actress, most known today for her long-running role as Audrey Roberts on Coronation Street. ... Geoffrey Palmer, OBE (born in London, England on June 4, 1927) is a British comedy actor, noted mostly for his extensive career in situation comedies. ... Trevor Adams (died 15 December 2000) was a British actor, best remembered for his portrayal of Tony Webster in the hit BBC series The Fall and Rise of Reginal Perrin, which he played throughout its entire run. ... Bruce Bould is a British actor, best known for playing David Harris-Jones in the television sitcom The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. ... Tim Preece (born 5 August 1938 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire) is a British actor prominent in the 1970s on television. ... Founded in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company Ltd (a privately owned company), subsequently Incorporated and nationalised in 1927 as The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC, also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world. ... This is a list of television-related events in 1976. ... See also: 1978 in television, other events of 1979, 1980 in television, and the list of years in television. For the United States network television schedule, please see 1979-80 United States network television schedule. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... Leonard Rossiter (born Liverpool, England, October 21st 1926 - died London, October 5th 1984) was a distinguished British actor, most widely known for his comedy roles in two British television series of the 1970s. ... David Gordon Nobbs (born March 13, 1935) is a British comedy writer. ...

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.

The plot hinges on the mid-life crisis experienced by Perrin as he becomes desperate to escape his dreary life. He lives in a suburb of south London called Climthorpe and commutes each day to Sunshine Desserts where he works as a sales executive. Each morning he gives a different excuse as to why he's late [1], which become increasingly bizarre throughout the first two series - reflecting the decline of both British Rail and his own mental health. (Likewise, more and more letters disappear from Sunshine Desserts' office sign.) He constantly daydreams in a Walter Mitty style and part of the narrative demonstrates what the voices in his head are saying. Although he appears to love his wife, he fantasises about running away with his secretary, Joan Greengross, and doesn't care about the consequences of his actions at work. London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom. ... Norbiton is a place in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. ... Logo of British Rail British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997. ... Sunshine Desserts was the fictional company for which Reginald Perrin worked in British sit-com The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. ... Walter Mitty is a fictional character in James Thurbers short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, published in 1941. ...

The Show's Background and Influence

At the end of the first series he fakes his own suicide by leaving his clothes on a beach in Dorset and running into the sea. (While this was coincidentally similar to a stunt pulled at around the same time by maverick MP John Stonehouse, neither was Nobbs inspired by Stonehouse nor Stonehouse by Reggie: the novel was written before Stonehouse's faked suicide in June 1974 but not published until 1975. The phrase "to do a Reggie Perrin" did enter the vernacular, however, no doubt assisted by the media circus that surrounded the Stonehouse affair.) For other uses, see Dorset (disambiguation). ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... John Stonehouse (1926 - 1988) was a British politician and minister under Harold Wilson. ...

The series also introduced a number of catchphrases that have entered popular culture in the UK including Perrin's reflexive apology for a late arrival at the office, his boss CJ's "I didn't get where I am today..", the fawning David and Tony with their alternating "Great/Super", and Perrin's brother-in-law Jimmy coming round for a bite to eat due to a "bit of a cock-up on the catering front".

Although mainly produced on video and shot on studio sets, the series also incorporated innovative elements of surreal escapism through the use of film inserts, most notably during the numerous scenes in which, whenever his dreaded mother-in-law is mentioned, Reggie involuntarily visualises a huge hippopotamus wallowing in a river. (This is the same technique used to illustrate the dreams and reveries of the characters in the American TV medical comedy series Scrubs). Kay Sage. ... Binomial name Hippopotamus amphibius Linnaeus, 1758 The Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius a. ... Scrubs is an American sitcom that premiered on October 2, 2001, on NBC. It was created by Bill Lawrence, who also co-created Spin City. ...

Occasionally characters would exactly chorus verbally, another surreal tone, which was done skilfully enough to make it work comedically without affecting the verite of the show.

Series Summaries

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

In the second series he remarries his wife, and they build a retail business ("Grot") which sells useless items, hoping that it will be an interesting failure. Instead, the useless items are snapped up as novelties: Grot becomes a runaway success, and Reggie ends up employing all the staff from Sunshine Desserts, including his former boss, CJ. This causes the Perrins to fall into the same boredom that Reggie suffered before, so at the end of the second series they fake a joint suicide. This series was novelised as The Return of Reginald Perrin. For the person, see Yakov Karlovich Grot. ...

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. Although still very funny, it lacked the energy that the first two series had contained, and the ending saw Reggie come pretty much full circle and back where he started. He is rehired by CJ's brother FJ at Amalgamated Aerosols, with CJ himself as Reggie's supervisor. The final scene sees him contemplating another trip to the beach for another possible faked suicide. In 1982, as part of a show called The Funny Side of Christmas, there was a short, festive sketch featuring the regular cast crowding Reggie's house. The sketch appears to be set during Reggie's crisis and is out of synchronisation with the other episodes.

The fourth series, made long after Leonard Rossiter's death, shows the effect of Reggie's legacy: a fortune left to his friends and family but with strange conditions attached. This was largely seen as a failure by viewers, because time had moved on and the loss of Leonard Rossiter as the main character removed any affection for the series. Both book and series were titled The Legacy of Reginald Perrin.

A US version of the series was produced in 1983 as Reggie, with ex-Soap actor Richard Mulligan replacing Rossiter in the lead role. This article is about the country in North America. ... Publicity photo from Season 1 of Soap Soap was an infamous sitcom which ran on the ABC network from 1977 through 1981. ... Richard Mulligan (November 13, 1932 - September 26, 2000) was an American television and film actor whose career spanned 34 years. ...

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...")
• David Harris-Jones, 'Yes man': Bruce Bould
• Tony Webster, 'Yes man': Trevor Adams
• 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 fourth series) and Leslie Schofield (third series)
• 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 Four only)

Leonard Rossiter (born Liverpool, England, October 21st 1926 - died London, October 5th 1984) was a distinguished British actor, most widely known for his comedy roles in two British television series of the 1970s. ... The Honourable Susan Frances Harmer Nicholls (born November 23, 1943 in Walsall, Staffordshire) is a British actress, most known today for her long-running role as Audrey Roberts on Coronation Street. ... John Barron (December 24, 1920 – July 3, 2004) was an English actor. ... Bruce Bould is a British actor, best known for playing David Harris-Jones in the television sitcom The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. ... Trevor Adams (died 15 December 2000) was a British actor, best remembered for his portrayal of Tony Webster in the hit BBC series The Fall and Rise of Reginal Perrin, which he played throughout its entire run. ... David Warwick is an British actor, popular in the 1970s, best known for his recurring role in BBC television sitcom, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. ... Tim Preece (born 5 August 1938 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire) is a British actor prominent in the 1970s on television. ... Leslie Schofield as Chief Bast in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. ... Geoffrey Palmer, OBE (born in London, England on June 4, 1927) is a British comedy actor, noted mostly for his extensive career in situation comedies. ... Joseph Brady (October 9, 1928, Glasgow - June 12, 2001) was a Scottish actor. ...

See also

• Fairly Secret Army - Series featuring Geoffrey Palmer in a similar role to that of Jimmy and written by David Nobbs.

Fairly Secret Army was a short-lived British sitcom. ... David Gordon Nobbs (born March 13, 1935) is a British comedy writer. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin

• Official Reggie Perrin web site
• Entry at The BBC Guide to Comedy
• British Film Institute Screen Online