Leonard Rossiter.com
~
Three official web sites in one
~
His Life & Career - Reginald Perrin - Rising Damp

Reggie Online: The Official Reginald Perrin web site

Scene-by-Scene Guide, including DVD Captures Gallery

Series Three, Episode One
Click on a thumbnail image to view it full-size.


 
Episode One:

Scene 1: Reggie and Elizabeth are walking the Dorset countryside as Mr. and Mrs. Gossamer, dressed in raincoats, wigs, false teeth and hats. Reggie tries to thumb a lift, but the car drives straight past. They sit on a roadside bank, with aching feet, and tired bodies. Both are fed up with their new lives. Reggie suggests they go back to being Perrins, sell the Grot empire and live off the profits of its sale. Elizabeth agrees. They both remove their false teeth, and as if a great burden has been lifted from their shoulders, they sigh with relief.

..
Scene 2: The Perrins are staying at a seaside hotel, and are seated in the hotel garden, sipping champagne. Elizabeth is happy, but Reggie keeps sighing. Pressed for an explanation, Reggie says there is something that he feels he must do for society, some project that will make the name of Perrin ring out for prosperity. Unfortunately, he has yet to discover what that plan is.
..
Scene 3: In the bank, a cashier closes his window for lunch, and a large man, in his frustration, barges into the front of the next queue, in front of Reggie. The man behind Reggie makes an argument out of it, and the two men quarrel, and almost come to blows, with Reggie stuck in the middle. Suddenly, the two men are silenced by Reggie's exclamation. He has had the revelation of a community for the middle-aged and middle-class where people can learn to live in peace and harmony. The two bickering gentlemen have given him his new mission in life. He shakes both men's hands, and rushes out of the bank, leaving the two men shaking each other's hands - a symbol of things to come.
...
Scene 4: Reggie and Elizabeth are in a restaurant. Reggie is shy to announce his brilliant idea to Elizabeth, and keeps plying her with champagne. Eventually he tells her his idea, and Elizabeth thinks it's marvellous. She asks what sort of community it should be, and Reggie's mind wanders to different sorts of possible communities including Hari Krishnas, Red Indians and mushroom-sniffers. He decides it should be a suburban community in an ordinary house. Elizabeth agrees, and they toast their agreement. Watch video
..
Scene 5: The excited couple are looking round an empty property in Botchley. Reggie is reading from the estate agent's description of the house. They decide it is the house they were looking for, and Reggie sets off to recruit the staff for the community, while Elizabeth furnishes the house.
.
Link: Reggie rings C.J. from a public phone box, but Mrs. C.J. answers. She tells him she last saw her husband busking to cinema queues, so Reggie sets off to look. He wanders the streets of London, casually observing the local buskers on each street. When he hears a man singing the line "Let me tell you, I didn't get where I am today..." he knows he has found C.J.
Scene 6: Reggie treats C.J. to a drink in the local pub, but C.J. insists on paying with his financial rewards obtained from busking. He corrects Reggie when he calls him a tramp, suggesting 'street entertainer' instead. Reggie offers C.J. a job, and C.J. laughs. He is sceptical, but is attracted by the salary, especially after the barman returns C.J.'s payment for their drinks, which included three pesetas, two pfennigs and a shirt button. Despite having to sleep in a tent, and not getting where he is today by being nice, C.J. becomes the first member of the community.
.
Scene 7: Reggie is walking across a London park when he spots a man feeding popadums to the local starling population, It is Doc Morrissey, now calling himself 'Professor', as it pays more at the local college. Reggie insists that psychology is the Doc's undiscovered metiere, and talks him into joining the community.
Scene 8: Reggie has called round to Tony Webster's flat, where he is being somewhat pretentious about his job. He tells Reggie he is just off to Frankfurt on business, namely import/export. He turns down Reggie's offer of a job, and sets off for the airport. As he picks up his briefcase, a pile of literature falls out promoting the UniWarm central heating system. Tony admits he is working for them on a commission-only basis, and accepts Reggie's job offer. He also accepts on behalf of his wife, Reggie's old secretary, Joan.
Scene 9: Reggie is in the home of the Harris-Jones's. David and his wife Prue are sitting closely on their settee, hand-in-hand, and wearing matching jumpers, shirts and trousers. They have a son, called Reggie in Reggie's honour. They become the latest success in Reggie's recruitment drive.
Scene 10: In their newly-furnished home at 19 Oslo Avenue, Botchley, Reggie and Elizabeth are enjoying a relaxing cup of tea together. Elizabeth asks Reggie about his new recruits, but Reggie is reticent to tell her it is all the 'old mob'. She is persuaded that they will prove their worth, and that they should all be accommodated in the house, as part of the community. The doorbell rings, and their son-in-law Tom enters. He has come round to crawl to Reggie for a job, as he has been unable to get a job in advertising, even after his snappy slogans at Grot became cults. Reggie gives him the job he has come crawling for.
...
Link: Outside 19 Oslo Avenue, cars, taxis and a motorbike arrive. Tom, Linda, Tony, Joan, C.J., Doc, David and Prue are all amazed to see each other. Reggie opens the garden gate and welcomes them inside. Tents arepitched - eventually. Watch video
Scene 11: The staff are all settled in, and Reggie is holding a meeting in the living room to designate everyone's jobs.including C.J. as the work therapist, Tony as Culture officer, Joan as Music therapist and David Harris-Jones in charge of Sex. When David has regained consciousness, Reggie asks for suggestions and comments from the staff. No one speaks, except Elizabeth, who asks if anyone would like a cup of tea.
...
...

Move On To Series 3, Episode 2 >>>
Return To Series Guide page
Return To Index page