The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin: The Complete Series

At last! All three seasons of the groundbreaking BBC comedy are finally available on DVD! Desperate to break free of his dull marriage and the daily grind, Reginald Perrin tries absolutely everything to get a fresh start-including faking his own death. Failing to escape, Reggie finds himself trapped in an endless-and endlessly funny-cycle of failure and success. Leonard Rossiter (Rising Damp) stars as the middle-class middle manager facing a major mid-life crisis.

Based on the novels by David Nobbs
BBC Television comedy detailing the fortunes of Reginald Iolanthe 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', 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.

Season 1
Hippopotamus (Aired 8 September 1976) - We meet Sunshine Desserts Sales Executive Reggie Perrin. Reggie is a middle class middle manager who is not taking stress of the new exotic ice campaign too well. He finds himself battling his boss and a mid-life crisis at the same time.
Nightmare in the Park (Aired 15 September 1976) - Reggie has plans for a nice peaceful weekend, but family and friends soon take its toll on Reggie's stress level. The family ends up going to a safari park , and it is everything but enjoyable. His family begin to think that Reggie needs a long holiday.
The Sunday Extraordinary Business Meeting (Aired 22 September 1976) - Reggie wants to act on one his favorite fantasies, so he asks Joan to come over to the house when Elizabeth is away visiting her mother. He has it all planned in his mind, but reality has other ideas, and Joan ends up crawling down a drain pipe.
The Sunday Extraordinary Business Meeting (Aired 29 September 1976) - Reggie wants to act on one his favorite fantasies, so he asks Joan to come over to the house when Elizabeth is away visiting her mother. He has it all planned in his mind, but reality has other ideas, and Joan ends up crawling down a drain pipe.
The Speech to the British Fruit Association (Aired 6 October 1976) - Reggie's stress levels are increasing, because of an important speech he must deliver to the British Fruit Association. He begins to make plans for the future, and figures out how to get rid of stress. He makes a fool of himself during the speech, then steals a Sunshine Desserts truck, so he can sabotage C.J's fishing trip.
Trying a Frenchman, Welshman, Scotsman and an Italian (Aired 13 October 1976) - Reggie has disappeared and is presumed dead, but he is very much alive. He assumes a veriety of disguises as he roams the north countryside, but he strangly finds himself missing his wife and Sunshine Desserts. He must go back, but how?
The Memorial Service (Aired 20 October 1976) - Reggie now disguises himself as Martin Wellborn and attends his own Memorial service. He finds himself falling in love with Elizabeth all over again.

Season 2
Remarried and Back at Sunshine Desserts (Aired 21 September 1977) - Reggie is back at Sunshine Desserts, and running the Reggie Perrin Memorial fund. He begins to feel the stress of pretending to be Martin Wellborn. He begins to act strangly again, and wants to tell Elizabeth who he really is.
Elizabeth's New Admirer (Aired 28 September 1977) - Martin's true identity of Reggie is revealed, and is promptly sacked by CJ. He find a new job working as a real estate agent, but is fired by his son-in-law. He now has a job cleaning out stalls on a pig farm. Elizabeth must now go back to work. She finds a job at Sunshine Desserts, but Reggie thinks she is having an affair with her boss.
Jimmy's Offer (Aired 5 October 1977) - Reggie shows up to work at the Pig Farm with a black eye. Mr. Pelham finds out who Reggie really is and sacks him. CJ makes a pass at Elizabeth and she loses her job at Sunshine Desserts. They both deciede to do something together to make a living. Jimmy then give Reggie a great idea.
The Unusual Shop (Aired 12 October 1977) - The Perrin's decide to open an unusual shop. He wants to sell rubbish. The first Grot shop is opened to unexpected success. Soon Reggie is rich and doing the things he likes to do, plus he gets to help old friends.
Re-Involvement (Aired 19 October 1977) - Reggie's business is doing well. He is having a great time. Sushine Deserts has gone bust, and he hires his old friends and enemies from Sunshine desserts, and Reggie is now content. Or is he?
The Four Untrustworthy Men (Aired 26 October 1977) - Reggie is bored with his success. He now wants to destroy his Grot empire by hiring people completely unsuited for key jobs. The whole scheme backfires on him in the standard Grot logic, and he is now even more successful.
Extreme Solution (Aired 2 November 1977)- Reggie want a change and tries to kill Grot by his old standby methods. He gives confusing interviews, dresses up as a women, and kisses Joan right in front of Elizabeth. Nothing seems to be working. Reggie is running out of ideas.

Season 3
The Great Project (Aired 29 November 1978) - Reggie finds success is turning sour. He decides to open a community of peace and love for the middle aged and middle class so everyone would get along. Perrins is born.
Staff Training (Aired 6 December 1978) - The staff of Perrins undergo a rigorous training period. Finally, the day dawns when the first guest arrives - but he flees in panic.
The Trickle of Visitors (Aired 20 December 1978) - When Perin's starts taking off, Reggie gets invloved in the guests problems while drawing ire from the staff.
Communal Social Evenings (Aired 27 December 1978) - Things start to go wrong at Perrin's, and now a string of Councilmen threaten to close Perrin's forever. Reggie must save the Perrin's community.
Timebomb (Aired 3 January 1979) - Success continues to grow, but wayward guests are now present. A thief and a femme fatale threaten to ruin the existence of the project.
Episode Six (Aired 17 January 1979) - Problems hit Perrins. Guests leave in droves, the staff are taken ill with dysentery, then local yobs decide to get their own back on Perrins Peacekeeping Force.
Episode Seven (Aired 24 January 1979) - The community is wound up, and the staff return to normal lives. C.J. gets Reggie a job at his brother's firm Amalgamated Aerosols, but again, the beach beckons.

Written by David Nobbs
Directed by Gareth Gwenlan, John Howard Davies
Produced by Gareth Gwenlan, John Howard Davies
Original Music by Ronnie Hazlehurst
Costume Design by Janet Tharby, Christian Dyall

"...But the joy of watching Leonard Rossiter as Perrin is undimmed. With false nose that isn't, and mouth like the grin of a Halloween pumpkin, his face by itself is a piece of theatre." - Christopher Hudson, Evening Standard.

"As the central character, the bored ice-cream executive, Leonard Rossiter has the splendidly mobile features of a man suffering from a terminal case of social indigestion." - Peter Dunn, Sunday Times.

"He spits, pops his eyes, flares his nostrils, and generally comports himself like a crazy ugly. I still haven't worked out why he is funny, but he is." - Clive James, Observer.