BBC remaking Reginald Perrin

[Bob The Skutter]

Looks like remake fever has spread to classic comedy now. BBC One are remaking The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, starring Martin Clunes.

BBC One announces today that it will revive the classic British sitcom The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin.
Martin Clunes will take on the title role of Reggie Perrin and lead an impressive cast including: Fay Ripley (Cold Feet), Wendy Craig (Butterflies, The Royal), Geoffrey Whitehead (Worst Week Of My Life), Neil Stuke (Game On) and Lucy Liemann (Moving Wallpaper).
Simon Nye, the writer behind Men Behaving Badly, will team up with the writer and creator of the original Seventies show, David Nobbs, to pen this reimagining which will transmit later this year.
The series will comprise of six 30-minute episodes and will be as relevant today as it was then.
Reggie Perrin retells the story of a sales executive on the edge. An average man finding it increasingly difficult to put up with the monotony of life, the disappointing marriage, the office grind and the daily commute.
Rebellion begins to build in his mind, in the form of increasingly surreal flights of fancy. And, slowly, Reggie begins to say what he really thinks, to his wife, to his boss, to his fellow commuters... and, most dangerously of all, to his new colleague, the beautiful Jasmine Strauss.

 

[Deckerd]

It'll probably be fine for anyone who never saw the original.

 

[El Chupacabra]

Remade sitcoms are for those who can't come up with anything original.

I'd kill for something new that was as good as Black Adder, Only Fools and Horses or The Office.

 

[Deckerd]

Yes I was thinking the same. Where the hell are all the new ideas? You'd think with the writing talent the BBC has access to, there would be some originality.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I think they're so busy looking for "Fresh and New" they're missing the established and experienced. But then again is all this remaking "fresh and new"

 

[Mr Light]

Hey, I remember watching this show as a kid! I think I only saw the first series though, according to wikipedia it went on for awhile. All I remember is him faking his death and not much after that. I still remember "Goodbye, Reggie!"

 

[Captaindemotion]

Hmmm, not sure about this. I mean, Clunes is a superb comic actor and it's great to see him reuniting with his Men Behaving Badly Writer Nye. And great also that the original writer has an input. But ... the original was such a great show that any remake is bound to fall short. Why not just do a new show in similar vein as oppose to an outright remake?

Remember the revival the Legacy Of Reginald Perrin that aired about a decade ago? It just didn't work, despite the return of fine actors like Geoffrey Palmer. Reginald Perrin seemed to require the brilliance of Leonard Rossiter - without him holding Jimmy, CJ etc together, it was just a show featuring a cast of silly eccentrics. Clunes is probably capable of performing a similar role, but the revival also showed that RP was somewhat of its day and reflected the trends angst of the 1970s. Yes, Pye is capable of giving it a modern twist and filling this Reggie with the worries of a modern 40 or 50-something male. But as I say, why call it Reginal Perrin?

Still, I'll certainly be tuning in for the first few eps anyway.