Search - The Fall & Rise of Reginald Perrin: The Complete Series on DVD

Politically corrected, so as not to offend the easily offend

Gene | Overland Park, KS, USA | 06/18/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I waited for decades, literally, to be able to see the complete series again ... only to find it had been bowdlerized. Shame on them.

What is particularly galling about this censorship, is that the portions removed were making fun of the types of people who would flee a neighborhood just because somebody "different" moved in. Apparently, somebody who had no clue as to what was really going on, saw CJ in blackface and Tom with a turban, and decided that we would be scandalized by seeing it.

Leftist censorship is no better than rightist.
"

Don't you just hate "pre" reviews?

Michael D. Kelley | Leesburg, Florida | 02/17/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"And yet... I'm doing one anyway, based on the television series and NOT the quality of the DVD set (which at this point is unknown). However, we can make some good guesses here and guesses which are at least valuable in deciding whether or not you'll be interested in this.

First of all, this is as English a series as it comes. Absolutely no attempt is made to "Americanize" it, so if you have trouble understanding English accents (and even *I* do at times) or dislike the English sense of humor then stay well aware from this.

Otherwise, this is a *superb* show, equally on par with Fawlty Towers as one of the best the English has to offer. It's sharp satire but not "crazy" in the Monty Python sense. Reginald is a man who gets fed up with the middle class rut he's living in, and fakes his own death to get away from it all -- except he can't get away from it all and no matter how he tries to fail he keeps succeeding even more. It stars the late Leonard Rossiter who is absolutely brilliant in this -- actually, the entire cast is superb.

The show is a hidden treasure -- here in the States there were two VHS tapes released fifteen years ago which covered only the first half of the series (the "fall" of Reginald). Then you could buy a PAL set of this (assuming you had the ability to play it) but that's gone out of stock as well. This NTSC DVD set looks to be the entire show and worth every penny. Buy it today before it goes out of print again!"

Great! Super! Britcom fans rejoice!

W. Zwirko | 03/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first saw TFARORP many years ago when the Dallas PBS affiliate KERA imported it, and it is completely on par with "Fawlty Towers" and "Ab Fab" as far as comedic worthiness while breaking through traditional sitcom barriers.

Reginald Perrin (as portrayed by Leonard Rossiter) is a middle-aged, middle manager at a London-area dessert factory who couldn't be more dissatisfied with the banality of day-to-day life. So he comes up with a plan to end it all (without really ending it all).

Rossiter is genius and the rest of the casting couldn't be more spot-on -- these are characters that will stay with you always (and that you'll probably recognize from your own lives).

And if you think "Saturday Night Live" is a catch-phrase factory, wait 'til you catch yourself trying to work the cleverness of Reggie and company into your conversations!

Like "The Office," they tried to "American-ize" this program in 1983; unlike "The Office," it failed. But while "Reginald Perrin" dates back to the 70s, I've seen the first few episodes again quite recently and it holds up superbly as a satire of the working world."

Essential Viewing

Mitch Stone | Santa Paula, California United States | 05/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am relieved. Whenever you get a chance to revisit an old TV series or movie, you hope that it lives up to your fondest recollections. I remember "The Fall and Rise" from the 1970s as one of the most original and funniest things I'd ever seen on TV. Now, thirty years later, it finally arrives on DVD for American viewers, and we have an opportunity to check our realities.

The series is often compared to "Fawlty Towers," but aside from it coming from the same decade of British TV comedy, this comparison isn't fair, really -- "Fawlty" was then and probably still is today the greatest TV comedy series of all time. You could write a PhD dissertation on "Fawlty," and I'd wager someone already has.

The writing isn't quite as sturdy and consistent as "Fawlty," and some of the humor is dated, a bit broader than we might have remembered it, and also particular to British events and individuals of the period. In that respect, the series has not worn as well as "Fawlty." But "Fall and Rise" takes an entirely different approach to its troubled central character. Where "Fawlty" is episodic, "Fall and Rise" was based on a novel, which gives the story a more conventional arc -- a beginning, middle and end, as we all learned in high school English. Without giving too much away to those who haven't seen the series, it's the story that wins us over in the end.

Much has also been said about the comedic genius of Leonard Rossiter, which doesn't need to be repeated. Also no need to compare Rossiter to John Cleese -- they are both stratospheric -- and much of the reason to watch "Fall and Rise" is to see Rossiter at his best, navigating the endless agonies of our hero, Reginald Iolanthe Perrin (initials RIP, which I haven't seen mentioned before).

So I am relieved. This series is still very funny, very original, and essential viewing for any fan of the darker side of British comedy."