Reggie Perrin

I'd kept away from the reboot of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin until yesterday. Partly because it looks a bit cheap, but mainly because it seems like yet another pointless reboot/remake. Do we need another series about the exploits of Reginald Iolanthe Perrin? 

No, not really. And having now caught an episode (well, three) of the new series, I can say wholeheartedly that there is a lot wrong with it. For a start, the title. Reggie Perrin. What was wrong with the original title? Or did the producers think that the population is now too dumb to pay attention to a title longer than two words?*

And some of the backing characters are truly atrocious. Over-blown, completely unrealistic and over-acted. Less can be more; the danger with these hyper characters is the whole thing becomes completely unbelievable. And we don't care about Reggie's breakdown because his world is disconnected from anything even approaching reality. 

Then we have the production values, or lack thereof. Perhaps the producers blew the budget on the primitive title sequence**. Because the rest of the production looks for all the world like the production team went out and robbed the My Family sets rather than coming up with their own. Almost impossibly, this looks cheaper than the original. It probably is. Hell, it probably cost the same as the original. And I'm not talking about figures adjusted for inflation. 

But strangely, it works. Flawed, maybe. But very watchable. And laugh out loud funny in places. And there is one reason for this - much like the original, it is down to the lead actor. Martin Clunes makes this programme work. 

Mercifully, he doesn't try to mimic Leonard Rossiter. Instead, he plays Reggie Perrin in a calmer, less frenetic way. Almost as a man too nice and too intelligent for the world he finds himself in. Whereas the original Reggie Perrin raged against the world and was largely fuelled by frustration, this incarnation is an altogether more earnest creation. You feel as if Reggie just wants the world to be a nicer place, and a place where he is accepted and respected. He's not angry with the world; just a bit disappointed by it and the people in it. Personally, I feel more empathy with this interpretation of Reggie than with the original. 

It is definitely worth a view, even if you are a fan of the original (as I am). And having now seen half the series, I am genuinely intrigued to see what direction they take it in...

*This is probably true. Both that the producers thought this, and that people now are too dumb to cope with a long title...

**The original title sequence was truly iconic. The remake's looks like My First Animation. Something not helped by the funked up remix of the theme.