“I didn’t get where I am today without learning how to compromise.” “I didn’t get where I am today by biting people in the changing room.” “I didn’t get where I am today without knowing the Algarve when I see it.” “I didn’t get where I am today by wearing underpants decorated with Beethoven.”
CJ
Introduction
Initially, a novel entitled The Death of Reginald Perrin, the BBC adaptation written by the original author David Nobbs, hit our television screens in 1976 and ran for three series until 1979. Nobbs, who had previously written sketches for The Two Ronnies, had Ronnie Barker in mind for the lead role, but in the end, Leonard Rossiter was cast for the role. With echoes of the news story of the time involving the Labour MP John Stonehouse, who faked his death and fled to Australia to start a new life, this Lord Lucan-style comedy was ahead of its time. Nobbs avoids creating a time capsule; if you ignore the terrible fashion of the day, this comedy remains as relevant today as when it was first written.
This comedy is centred around Perrin, a man modelled on Charlie Chaplin’s little man. A disgruntled businessman who makes the arduous daily commute on British Rail and has to recount the delays of his rail journey to his secretary and wife. The opening credits allude to a more sinister ending with Perrin stripping off on the beach and jumping into the sea, but Reggie has to fight the daily grind before that happens. Packed with memorable lines and scenes, who can forget the phrase Super, CJ’s frequent use of “I didn’t get where I am today”, and Perrin’s daydream of seeing his mother-in-law as a hippopotamus?
The Art of Mayhem
Rather than being portrayed as a little cog in the wheel, Reginald is intelligent and fully aware of his life situation. Through the eyes of someone who is sinking into a depressive state, he exposes the self-delusion of those around him. Yet Perrin knew he was a rat in a maze but chose to jump into the pool of insanity, knowing that the only way to beat them was to join them. Nobbs brilliantly weaves the human and emotional with the surreal and absurd. A character is beautifully summed up by the tightly wound man making his way down Coleridge Close, past Tennyson Avenue and Wordsworth Drive into Station Road, with a rolled-up umbrella in one hand and, in the other, a briefcase bearing the initials RIP.
Bring Me Sunshine
Based on the novels by Nobbs, The Return of Reginald Perrin(1977) and The Better World of Reginald Perrin(1978), the 46-year-old Perrin works at Sunshine Deserts and lives in either Teddington or Norbiton. A sales executive who is suffering a midlife crisis. A man who loves his wife Elizabeth but fantasies about his secretary, Joan Greengross, played by the Coronation Street actress Sue Nicholls. Their dictation letter sessions are hilarious, with suggestive language and flirtation contrasted with aggressive replies to customer complaints. It is ironic as he has impotence in the bedroom.
Reggie’s life becomes more bizarre as the series continues, with Perrin getting out of the car in a safari park, getting fired from Sunshine Deserts, going on to work at sewage works, and then working as a pig farmer—punishment for faking his suicide. Assuming Martin Wellbourne’s fake identity, he returns to his wife. Elizabeth recognises him and welcomes him back. He then sets up his next business venture, where he poaches the employees of Sunshine Deserts and sets up the company Grot. A firm that sells useless goods. Products like square hoops, sprout wine and round dice. However, the products become a huge success, and Reggie tries to destroy the company, finally fleeing with his wife into alienation. The third series ends with Perrin being hired by CJ’s brother FJ at Amalgamated Aerosols, who works directly under CJ. Reggie instantly returns to his eccentric ways, and the final scene shows him contemplating another trip to the Dorset coast. The show was brought back in 1996 with a new cast and again written by David Nobbs, The Legacy of Reginald Perrin. It is a comedy that follows the recipients of Perrin’s will, a fortune that comes with bizarre conditions. Rossiter died in 1984 at the Lyric Theatre, London, before a performance of Joe Orton’s play Loot. He was 57.
