The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin 

Disillusioned after a long career at Sunshine Desserts, Perrin goes through a mid-life crisis and fakes his own death. Returning in disguise after various attempts at finding a 'new life', ... See full summary »

Stars:

Leonard Rossiter, Pauline Yates, John Barron

7 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Leonard Rossiter	...	Reginald Perrin 21 episodes, 1976-1979
Pauline Yates	...	Elizabeth Perrin 21 episodes, 1976-1979
John Barron	...	C.J. / ... 20 episodes, 1976-1979
Sue Nicholls	...	Joan Greengross 20 episodes, 1976-1979
Trevor Adams	...	Tony Webster 20 episodes, 1976-1979
Bruce Bould	...	David Harris-Jones 20 episodes, 1976-1979
Sally-Jane Spencer	...	Linda Patterson / ... 16 episodes, 1976-1979
John Horsley	...	Doc Morrissey 14 episodes, 1976-1979
Geoffrey Palmer	...	Jimmy Anderson / ... 13 episodes, 1976-1979
Tim Preece	...	Tom Patterson / ... 9 episodes, 1976-1977

Storyline

Disillusioned after a long career at Sunshine Desserts, Perrin goes through a mid-life crisis and fakes his own death. Returning in disguise after various attempts at finding a 'new life', he gets his old job back and finds nothing has changed. He is eventually found out, and in the second series has success with a chain of shops selling useless junk. That becomes so successful that he feels he has created a monster and decides to destroy it. In the third and final series he has a dream of forming a commune which his long suffering colleagues help bring to reality. Unfortunately that also fails and he finds himself back in a job not unlike the one he originally had at Sunshine Desserts.

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Plot Keywords:

sitcom | surrealism | disillusioned | british humour | suburb | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Official Sites:

Reggie Online

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 September 1976 (UK)

Also Known As:

Caída y auge de Reginald Perrin

Filming Locations:

Eldorado Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (21 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The streets in Reggie Perrin's neighborhood, the signs for which he is regularly seen walking by to and from work ("Wordsworth Drive," "Tennyson Avenue" and "Coleridge Close") are named after the famous British 19th century poets, William Wordsworth, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In the last episode of the series, when Reginald Perrin has taken another executive job in a large corporation, like the one he had at the beginning of the series, the street signs when he walks to work now read Liebnitz Drive, Bertrand Russell Rise and Schopenhauer Grove. These streets are named after the philosophers Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Bertrand Arthur William Russell and Arthur Schopenhauer.

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Quotes

C.J.: I didn't get where I am today selling ice creams tasting of bookends, pumice stone, and West Germany.

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Connections

Referenced in Comedy Connections: To the Manor Born (2006)

User Reviews

One of the All Time Classic Bricoms

There's nothing like Reginald Perrin. The only things that approach it are Ronnie Barker's stammering speeches in Open All Hours, or his cockney patter in Porridge, and John Cleese's tantrums in Fawlty Towers. Leonard Rossiter's gift for rattling off a screed like a machine gun is amazing. If Reg Parrin ever did walk into the sea he'd never drown because he never has to stop to take a breath!

Every episode is remarkably simialar. Elizabeth sends him off to work, to which he is invariably late. He fantasizes about his secretary Joan until he's called on the carpet by his boss CJ, who didn't get where he is by . . etc . . . who gives Reg the completely mad assignment of the day.

And then he goes home for the day, where his dinner, which is invariably rizotto, is interrupted by his nutty military brother-in-law's cockup on the catering front, or his pipe smoking son-in-law's latest attempts at nettle wine. And then he thinks about his weekend visit to his mother-in-law whom he pictures as a hippo. I know! It sounds about as boring as anyone's routine. What isn't boring is watching him slowly go into meltdown, and start spouting off like a volcano erupting. It just get's better and better as Reggie's life gets worse and worse.

Reg really does try to make his way through the day. But if you or I had days like his we'd probably turn our hand to eccentric occupations too. But hang on, because with every new twist in his otherwise monotonous road there will be another fall and rise in this roller-coaster ride of a comedy.