1/5 Preoccupied with sex
  by Philip Martin (Pennsylvania, USA)
I watched the first episode and half of the second, and they were preoccupied with sex. Not wholesome entertainment.
Philip Martin

5/5 Quirky! Brilliant!! Laugh Out Loud!!!
  by F. S. L'hoir (Irvine, CA)
Finally! The BBC has brought us hitherto deprived NTSC viewers "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin," one of the most imaginative British comedies of all time (and if this statement be hyperbole, well, Tough City, Arizona!). In addition, the Beeb (May it continue to flourish!) has also provided us with legible subtitles so that we can fully appreciate every benighted word uttered by the inspired Leonard Rossiter and his delightfully daffy supporting cast, which includes a young(ish) Geoffrey Palmer for whom time had not yet gone by entirely.

It is difficult to believe that the series was first launched in 1976, since the theme of man's alienation from the increasing complexities (and banalities) of an industrialized and mercenary society seems as valid today.

The first two years of the series are so brilliant that they merit the five stars that I have given it. However, the criticisms leveled by other reviewers are true: material has indeed been cut from the series; not merely scenes, but whole episodes. I definitely recall what must have been the sequel to the third year (shown on PBS years ago), in which Reggie again does a flit and escapes this time to a small town where no one knows him, and, one-by-one, the usual suspects join him. In this series, as I recall, the catch-phrase "[Whatever] City, Arizona" was caught by every one of the characters, including Geoffrey Palmer, whose deadpan addition of "Arizona" to expressions such as "Panic City" was so funny that similar catch-phrases entered into my own vocabulary, much to the bewilderment of my friends who had not seen the show. As disappointed as I was not to re-experience these episodes, I was nonetheless gratified to know that I had not imagined that something was definitely missing!

The aforementioned criticisms notwithstanding, seasons one and two will leave you laughing beyond the edge of tears. They are so good that they compensate for any shortcomings of omission or commission on the part of the BBC, to whom we should be thankful for bringing us Reggie Perrin in any form.

Well worth the price of laughing gas!

4/5 This set contains abridged episodes
  by Laird A. Scott
This is NOT a complete series. I have an unabridged copy of season three. It is about nine minutes longer than season three on this set. Four of the episodes run under 30 minutes and are complete. Three of them run over 30 minutes, and scenes were cut out to shorten the total time. Some very funny bits have been scrapped. Moreover, the story would have better continuity if the purchase of the neighboring houses were shown.

I have seasons one and two on VHS tape, but haven't compared them to the dvd yet. If memory serves me right, there's another scene with Reggie's cat, which is missing from this set. But I could be wrong. When I find the time, I'll check.



5/5 The Fall & Rise of Reginald Perrin - The Complete Series
  by S. Snyder (Columbus, Ohio USA)
EXCELLENT! I had never seen any of the Reginal Perrin series, and my husband kept insisting that we needed to watch it. We had a "Perrin Marathon" and watched the complete series in about a week's worth of evenings... TOO FUNNY! You have to enjoy British comedy to really appreciate the show. It's interesting to see how some of the later British comedy characters were formulated from characters in this series. Will go back often to watch an episode or two, when a quick "pick-me-up" is needed!! The Brits have done it again! "SUPER!" "GREAT!" "I didn't get where I am today by giving bad reviews" --- watch the show, you'll understand...

4/5 Four and a half stars of mirth
  by Daniel Raphael
This was a series that I saw most of back in the 70s, when it was on TV. Remembering it, I decided to indulge some nostalgia--and was not disappointed. There are four discs in this set, three of TV seasons, and an additional one showing interviews with people who worked with Mr. Rossiter, plus extracts from various of his comic routines. Additionally, there is a short "Christmas special" skit on this disc.

Everyone has their preferences, and I liked the first and second seasons best. Reginald Perrin begins as a very unhappy executive at Sunshine Desserts, lusting for his secretary, guilty about his feelings because he is married to a very nice lady, and he suffers from the meaningless routine that includes frequent demeaning appearances before his tyrannical, quirky boss, C. J. (who is my favorite character). As the series is titled, events play out Reggie's fall from a regular life, into what appears despair but then sends him on an upward slope as the owner of a rapidly growing empire selling worthless things. The strength of all this is the characterization carried by Mr. Rossiter's very expressive face and voice...plus a good handful of other, sufficiently offbeat relatives and coworkers. The third disc is the final incarnation of Reggie's struggle for meaning, as he has liquidated his empire and decides to form a sort of commune and therapeutic homestead for middle-class people.

I recommend this for some good laughs, though the technical quality is not the best. It is, after all, a program produced decades ago when DVDs didn't even exist, and the picture quality is accordingly less than perfect. That is the only reason I didn't give it five stars outright.