Quote: bigfella @ May 9 2009, 2:46 PM BST
I quite enjoyed the father in law siting on the sofa for some strange reason.
I like the father-in-law idea but he seems too posh to be scrounging. That aspect doesn't work for me.
Reggie Perrin - Series 1 Page 23
I think Martin Clunes is doing a great job and it's probably unfair to compare his performance to Leonard Rossiter's. But no doubt Clunes was probably expecting that sort of attention anyway.
I have mixed feelings about the actual show...I think it's got some great lines and is obviously well-crafted but for me the whole timbre is a bit off, and (dare I say it) old-fashioned.
By that I mean perhaps modern audiences need meatier stories than office plants and train class hierarchy. I personally like "Bam!" moments in comedy and will sit through an entire episode of innoffensive, milky script as long as there's a Bam! moment or two to keep the juices flowing. But this seems to just kind of meander. Which is fine if that's your bag, and no doubt the programme makers have taken their demographic into serious account, like everyone else.
I'll be watching till the end of course.
I don't mind the show, however I have just ordered original box set from play for a very reasonable £17.99. So if it's done anything it's reminded me how much I like the original. 
Quote: pedros @ May 10 2009, 10:33 AM BSTI don't mind the show, however I have just ordered original box set from play for a very reasonable £17.99. So if it's done anything it's reminded me how much I like the original.
Interesting point. Whenever a show is remade people claim that it is an insult to the original but if anything this has brought the 1970s version back into the spotlight and improved people's opinions of it.
Quote: Nick @ May 10 2009, 10:45 AM BSTWhenever a show is remade people claim that it is an insult to the original but if anything this has brought the 1970s version back into the spotlight and improved people's opinions of it.
Yes, that's true and that's never a bad thing (although I would've preferred the tie-in DVD release of the original to be uncut).
Quote: Nick @ May 10 2009, 10:45 AM BSTInteresting point. Whenever a show is remade people claim that it is an insult to the original but if anything this has brought the 1970s version back into the spotlight and improved people's opinions of it.
I hate to agree with Nick ('cos he doesn't like me) but I do think this is a good point. And as I said before, I like them both although last episode left me a little cold.
I'm still enjoying the show. I know it's not the greatest comedy ever but there's some great lines and good performances and all in all it's a pleasant, enjoyable way to pass half an hour.
Well I just watched the first two episodes of the original Rossiter series and it is far better. It's been a while since I last viewed them, but aside from the 1970s anachronisms it stands up pretty well.
Compared to the new version, old Reggie really starts to change and go along a journey; in episode 1 he is not expecting any visions or fantasies, and is as startled as the audience. 'Hippo' is not his general nickname for the mother-in-law; it pops into his subconscious. Essentially we see Reggie start off normally, bored in his routine and then experience his hiccups and fantasies which get more frequent and his behavious more extreme. Episode one ends with him letting out a full-blooded cry of anger/frustration. The new series just has him wandering about, bored - a cross between Victor Meldrew and Rick Spleen.
The original series is still unique. The remake is sliding into generic 'wacky sitcom' land by comparison. That's the main problem - if the original had never existed then this new one may be quite acceptable.
Edited by Aaron.
It is quite acceptable to a lot of people though. Both those who have read the books and/or seen the first adaptation and people who are coming to it new.
Another thing that struck me is the role of Elizabeth. In the original she senses immediately in the first episode that there is something wrong with Reggie. The new series just has her ignoring him with an 'oh Reggie's being sarcastic again' rolling-eyes type attitude, ignoring any warning signs. That's another thing that makes the original more realistic - and better.
Edited by Aaron.
Quote: Maurice Minor @ May 10 2009, 2:00 PM BSTAnother thing that struck me is the role of Elizabeth. In the original she senses immediately in the first episode that there is something wrong with Reggie. The new series just has her ignoring him with an 'oh Reggie's being sarcastic again' rolling-eyes type attitude, ignoring any warning signs. That's another thing that makes the original more realistic - and better.
Isn't a lot of that to do with the fact that she is too busy doing other things in the new series? The original Elizabeth was a bit of a doormat in the first series of the original which worked in the 1970s but wouldn't work now.
I'm not arguing with the fact that the original is a better series by the way. But I'm not sure what good it does comparing the two. Much better I think just to judge this series on its own merits.
Personally I think that Elizabeth's character could have been fleshed out more but I like the idea that she now has her own career and it is because they spend so little time together that Reggie looks elsewhere.
Maurice, you're comparing the two series too directly. This is not meant to be a remake of the TV version. I can't say I've read them so am not certain, but it strikes me that it's more of a modern take on the books. As Nick notes with Elizabeth's career, it's the premise updated to what's considered to be the more likely scenario today. The Rossiter series may very well be a better version all-round, but comparing exact details like the speed and way in which Reggie has his breakdown isn't really fair.
Quote: Aaron @ May 10 2009, 3:16 PM BSTI can't say I've read them so am not certain, but it strikes me that it's more of a modern take on the books.
I don't think so really but it is worth mentioning that in the books Reggie considers hurling himself under a train pretty much right at the beginning. So obviously his depression was there from the start.
Saying anything positive about this show and saying that it contains improvements on the original series is like saying that Rolf Harris' version of 'Stairway To Heaven' is better than Led Zep's original.
This show begs the question "Have David Nobbs and Simon Nye, two of their generations finest and most successful comedy writers, forgotten how to write a sitcom?"
And it quite clearly offers the answer "No."