Shark Bytes

The third series wasn’t that bad, really. There was still enough good writing and cast chemistry to keep the standard up, albeit with a set of characters long familiar from two previous seasons. The catchphrases had begun to grate just slightly, but seeing the same characters in the ‘caring, sharing’ commune setting trying to get to grips with their essentially neurotic selves was often excellent comedy. Plenty of satirical swipes at ‘new age’ therapies and commune life, too. The last show’s stark, downbeat ending was a fitting finale to three fine series of a television classic, and there was no need whatsoever to revisit (with the extremely belated and completely superfluous Legacy Of Reginald Perrin) such a neatly self-contained body of work. Never Jumped.

The first series, while Reggie is going off the rails, is hilarious. However, as soon as he fakes his suicide the series loses the situation where most of the laughs come from, i.e. Reggie's job at Sunshine Desserts. He also loses daily contact with 'pompous prig' Tom and his mother-in-law 'the hippopotamus', and so the programme ceases to be 'great' or 'super'. The second series at Grot was much weaker, and the third series in the commune was useless except for the final episode when some of the first series's jokes are brought back

The third series was definitely a series too far (and don't get me started about the fourth series). As this is the first posting for this series, I'd better give a brief synopsis of the show. Broadcast by the BBC between 1975 and 1979, Reginald Perrin stared Leonard Rossiter as the eponymous anti-hero, a surburbanite who reacts to the onset of his mid-life crisis by (in series one) indulging in outlandish behaviour at work and eventually faking his own suicide, assuming the identity of his fictional cousin Martin Welbourne and remarrying his wife; (in series two) working on a pig farm disguised as a country yokel and founding, and then trying to destroy, Grott, a company that manufactures and sells absolutely useless products and; (in series three) founding a archo-syndicalistic commune. Quirky is the word that best describes the show; rarely is it hesterically funny; rather, the addition of each character and situation results in one realizing the utter futile and endearing nature of life. Jimmy Anderson, Regie's brother-in-law (played by Geoffrey Palmer), is a fantastic character: a down-on-his-luck ex-army 'chap'("bit of a cock-up on the catering front") whose fear for the safety of British civilization in the face of "foreign surgeons (headshrinkers, who ought to be locked up), Wedgwood Benn, keg bitter, punk rock, glue-sniffers, 'Play For Today', Clive Jenkins, Roy Jenkins, Up Jenkins, up everybody's", leads him to establish a private army for when "the balloon goes up". Another classic is Regie's boss at Sunshine Deserts, C.J., a pompus, shrewd git with the ability to be shamelessly sychopantic if the situation calls for it; his catchphrase involves him holding forth on any issue under the sun and the role it played in his climbing the career ladder; thus, "I didn't get where I am today by selling ice cream tasting of book-ends, pumice stone and West Germany." or "I didn't get where I am today by tasting liquid thats only been tested on pencils." As I mentioned at the beginning, the third series was a bit disappointing. There were far too many supporting characters, each being wheeled out for a joke and wheeled away again. The second series is, for me, the pinicle of Reggie Perrin. Warning: the BBC resurrected Reggie Perrin in 1996. It was a disasterous series: as Rossiter had died in 1984, the character of Reggie had to be killed off; a farce involving his will and testement provided the plot; the actors looked too old; and the writer forgot to put in some jokes.

I was in my late teens when this first came out and I was unable to appreciate it. I have just watched all three series again on DVD and the experience was a revelation. It captures key elements of social history and handles them with rare skill. The tedium of a commuters lot along with the pettiness of corporate affairs are portrayed vividly and their effects on our hero Reggie Perrin and his response to the rat race, is something, most of us can identify with. The humour is surreal and sometimes black but also has traditional farce and slapstick thrown in. The result is a satisfying blend and just when you think that it might begin to flag, the energetic Leonard Rossiter lifts it once more. I have hear from others that the 2nd and particularly the 3rd series are not as good but I disagree. Although the original idea is lost, once the characters are developed you could put them into any scenario and it would still work, and indeed it does! The icing on the cake is C.J. who is an absolute delight and makes it worth watching just to see him - I didn't get where I was today without watching it just to see him!!

I didn't get where i am today by knowing Reggie Perrin NEVER EVER JUMPED THE SHARK, but came very close with the legacy of reggie!! to an earlier post it wasn't doc morrisey that had rummagings with the daughter of Reggie but I'm afraid twas Uncle Jimmy (in the book)... A truly inspirational programme that is only bettered by Laurel & Hardy.. Where else would you get a game of football with only one team playing who actually conceded goals?? MAGNIFICO!!!

This show jumped when Reggie set up the commune. Up to that point, it is one of the funniest shows ever put on TV. By the way, I've noticed some comments by people who say they don't believe that Elizabeth would be fooled by Reggie in a beard, and I must say I wonder how closely these people were actually watching the show. Elizabeth was NEVER deceived by the beard; she merely pretended to be fooled because she knew Reggie was unhappy as Reggie. This fact is at the heart of the action of Series One's last three episodes.

The first series ended with Reggie disguised as Martin Welbourne remarried to Elizabeth, and it should have stayed there with the audience assuming he spent the rest of his life as Martin. In the second series they had to untie the loose ends and have him come back as Reggie. The second series had its moments (CJ sitting in the chair that makes rude noises, the return of the hippopotamus), but was not as good as the first. The catch phrases ("Great", "Super", "I'm (not) a whatever it is person.") gor overused. The third series had Reggie starting up a commune but had all the regular characters, relatives, old Sunshine Deserts colleagues, and was rather predictable. The first Reggie Perrin novel was also the best because it was written as a novel and then adapted for television, whereas the other two books were adapted from the tv series.

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin has to be my favourite television show - all the characters are superb. I do not, however, count the so-called "fourth series" since it was, if I recall, entitled "The Legacy of Reggie Perrin" and was hopeless. I agree the "commune" episodes were not altogether "great" or "super" but the final episode with Reggie going to work for C.J.'s brother F.J. was inspired.

Though this show was entertaining, I always have had reservations about seeing Reginald's ass in each opening scene. Why do the middle-aged, flabby British men like showing off there asses? Yuck. Otherwise the show was okay until the commune, which was stupid. C.J. was great. "I didn't get where I am today by.....(FILL IN THE BLANK")

Didn't Leonard Rossiter (Reggie himself) die after the 2nd season? But even before that, the show was in the air and heading for the gullet during the commune schtick. "I'm not a commune person." Before that, "Great!" "Super!"

One of the finest comedies ever. This show is one of examples people point to when they say that British TV is better than US.

Great show! Super! Reggie didn't get from Sunshine Desserts to Grot without knowing his comedy. Grot, expansion to the Continent with EuroGrot, and Seamus from the "land of the bogs and wee people." Could of used Doc to minister to the laughter... Have it on tape but would love to score the whole series on DVD! Also, for he uninitiated in all things Perrin, Leonard Rossiter was the somewhat jaded traveler in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Jumped when Leonard Rossiter died. Which is, I admit, in the 18 year void between series 3 and 4. Fourth series should never have been made - John Barron looked (no offence intended) almost in the grave and there were no jokes, just catchphrases. OK, commune series was not as good as the first two, but the final episode where everything is "totally fishslice" and "utterly eggwhisk" is still fantastic.

Nope, never jumped. BUT...for a show with such admirable writing (and a very clever premise), the show is guilty of a few bad sitcom conventions, namely the stock footage of the hippo every time Reggie's mother-in-law is mentioned. It was funny the first time, and maybe the second time, but soon became a cheap way of killing three seconds several times per episode. It's not unlike Urkel's "Did I do thaaaat??". Yes, it's that level of cheapness. And the fake beard was a bit much--as if his wife/widow wouldn't recognize him, especially 'in the bedroom'!

The show jumped when they moved on to the commune episodes. The laughs were just too forced. But I'll never forget how Reggie sells his son-in-law's wine at GROT. Left me laughing in tears!