Middle aged, middle class Reginald Perrin is bored and exasperated by his job, and generally humdrum life. Leonard Rossiter is well supported by a number of characters as richly comic as himself. Most brilliant is his boss CJ, with his catchphrase I didn't get where I am today, which entered common parlance. Also notable are CJ's yes-men, confident Tony and insecure David, and Reggie's food scrounging brother in law Jimmy.
The first series' episodes I rate 7 to 9, the second 6 to 7, the third 4 to 6. My two favourites are in the first series. In 'The Sunday Extraordinary Business Meeting', wife Elizabeth is away, so Reggie invites secretary Joan round, hoping to consummate his long felt desires. Unfortunately, with Joan upstairs, various relations unexpectedly call. It has the air of a stage farce, one expects Brian Rix to be found hiding in the wardrobe. One caveat, I never did understand Reggie's infatuation with horsey Joan, Elizabeth is far more attractive.
'Trying a Frenchman, Welshman, Scotsman, and an Italian' gives Rossiter the opportunity to try out various disguises and accents. I was a bit startled when, at a job interview, he was asked if he drank, to which he replied only to excess. I've been using that quip for decades, without remembering where it came from, a case of unconscious plagiarism.
Perrin is often compared to Rising Damp and Fawlty Towers. I'd say far superior to Rising Damp, I'm sorry but I just didn't find anyone apart from Rigsby remotely funny. It's not as great as Fawlty (but then nothing is) because by the third series it had ran out of good ideas. I didn't get where I am today by not recognising when a series has outstayed its welcome.
The first series' episodes I rate 7 to 9, the second 6 to 7, the third 4 to 6. My two favourites are in the first series. In 'The Sunday Extraordinary Business Meeting', wife Elizabeth is away, so Reggie invites secretary Joan round, hoping to consummate his long felt desires. Unfortunately, with Joan upstairs, various relations unexpectedly call. It has the air of a stage farce, one expects Brian Rix to be found hiding in the wardrobe. One caveat, I never did understand Reggie's infatuation with horsey Joan, Elizabeth is far more attractive.
'Trying a Frenchman, Welshman, Scotsman, and an Italian' gives Rossiter the opportunity to try out various disguises and accents. I was a bit startled when, at a job interview, he was asked if he drank, to which he replied only to excess. I've been using that quip for decades, without remembering where it came from, a case of unconscious plagiarism.
Perrin is often compared to Rising Damp and Fawlty Towers. I'd say far superior to Rising Damp, I'm sorry but I just didn't find anyone apart from Rigsby remotely funny. It's not as great as Fawlty (but then nothing is) because by the third series it had ran out of good ideas. I didn't get where I am today by not recognising when a series has outstayed its welcome.