What a great piece! It's the only comedy box-set I ever bothered buying from that golden period for some reason, but I agree it is the finest British sitcom of any era, and as you say, a very consistent quality through the whole run. I am old enough to have seen it at the time, and so looking back at these programmes I suppose it is a bit of a reminder of how the average living standard has increased while average standards of behaviour have gone down the toilet. The bedsit-and-no-ensuite world depicted would have been pretty normal for most students and single people from my memory as a working class youth back then.
What marked it out and gave it longevity, as you point out, is the real depth of the characters. The writer makes them all in their turn the butt of a joke or has them display their own petty vanities and self-deceptions. I suspect that he was this good because he lived and moved amongst people of all classes and stripes and saw for himself. He probably even caught the bus most of the time, as would most jobbing actors as well I bet.
I haven't watched it for a few years so thank you for the reminder! I particularly love the Dinner at the Grange episode. I think if I recall, Rigsby turns out to actually have some of the social graces after all, impressing Ruth with his dancing and chivalry more than expected.
And wasn't there one called Goodnight Vienna or something, with confusion over his missing moggy?
The whole series is just imbued with charm and generosity of spirit for me. Wonderful television.
Haha, well old age has its blessings and curses! I must go back and watch this one. As you say, every episode was crammed to the rafters with crackling dialogue and gags in a way that would make a modern “comedy” scriptwriter’s head explode. Thanks for bringing it all back.
Splendid synopsis, and very 'you' ie definitely in your voice not ChatGPT or whatever.
I always wondered what Rigsby saw in Miss Jones - he pursued her but did not conquer IIRC. The real-life Leonard Rossiter was apparently a very successful ladykiller. Who can forget his dancing Army officer in Barry Lyndon? Or the era-defining Reggie Perrin ?
The comedy world today is absorbing news of Graham Linehans arrest at Heathrow so thanks for the Fr Ted mention, I've mentioned this essay on Steve Sailer's X comment on Glinner
You mention the show partly being a portrait of national decline, and this is something that as a boy from Australia I sensed but couldn't yet articulate when watching reruns of things like Fawlty Towers, The Young Ones or even The Goodies; the people's lives in these shows seemed to have this grimy, musty, shabby and somewhat dispiriting character that was absent from the literally 'sunnier' and more optimistic feeling of 80's-90's Australia. Maybe it was partly the 70's brown tones and mothy-looking tweeds? Of course things have also gone downhill a bit over here since then too.
Great show, and article. Rigsby is one of the great comic creations. I was amazed to recognise Rossiter in two Kubrick films, 2001 and Barry Lyndon. I also named my tom cat "Riggs", after the protagonist of Lethal Weapon, but often call him Rigsby when he's being more than usually silly.
There's something so good-natured about the show, human and decent: this is the kind of thing I think of on the rare occasions I talk about human goodness etc., not the awful anodyne creepy leftie stuff about diversity and tolerance and equality. It's like the difference between one of Rembrandt's shabby, powerful self-portraits, and clip art, that ghastly flat cartoonish crap you see everywhere today. A few years ago one of my colleagues was trying to explain the show to a revolting sjw colleague, as you can imagine she was totally baffled.
Iirc the original name for Rigsby was Rooksby - hence the title of the pilot.
One thing I enjoyed (& I’m pretty sure it came up more than once) was Rigsby boasting about his youthful sporting prowess (doubtless a complete fabrication) with the phrase “If it wasn’t for the war, who knows what I could’ve done”.
Rigsby is a classic lead sitcom character whom we’re not supposed to like but actually do, very much. Examples include Basil Fawlty, Captain Mainwaring, Alf Garnett, & David Brent. I’m sure there are more!
Thank you for the walk down memory lane and the links to your favourite episodes - I’ve already started watching one which means I haven’t finished your article yet! A lot of work has gone into this article and it is making me look at the series with fresh eyes - thank you. 🙏🏻
As you say it treats the British people properly unlike the anti-white racist horror shows of Alf Garnet etc etc etc that are completely unwatchable today as the anti-white social programming is so in your face as to be almost physically painful.
I know they are not a series, but there were two versions, one BBC and one ITV, of Hardy's Mayor of Casterbridge. Have you watched either of these? The earlier one starred Alan Bates as Henchard, and Ciaran Hinds did the 2003 ITV version.
Typical Hardy tragedy but worth watching. Did you have to study any Hardy novels in school?
Yes, in the final year, but by that time I had really "checked out" of school and, to my embarrassment, didn't bother reading either of the novels (Casterbridge and Tess).
I can't remember much about it except it had a narky brain-dead wife constantly talking crap and disrespecting her husband but as she was against his "racism", i.e. his noticing things, she was seen to be better than him and the daughter and her boyfriend similarly were very rude to him and were essentially early versions of WEF muppets where everyone is seen as the same and the muppets have zero actual experience of the real world.
Garnet himself of course spouted nonsense or real facts but in such a way that they could safely be ignored as rants and his "workings" weren't shown i.e. how he had arrived at his conclusions and as far as I can recall he was either an unemployed layabout or was a pensioner and so was seen as not worth listening to so ageism was openly used to defeat his "unthinking" noticing. Today where most old people have been thoroughly propagandised to be WEF muppets ageism is of course a terrible thing that the woke are totally against but if the old ever woke up to the reality of what was done to them, as increasing numbers seem to be doing as the woke defend attacks on children, ageism will come back as a woke weapon as fast as you can say "smelly piss stained old bigot."
It was an early version of every soap today where the father figure is either shown as a bigot, a moron or violent or preferably all three whilst the women and the simps are shown as Nobel prizewinner material who constantly do things that woman or simps rarely if ever seem to do in the real world.
Incidentally I am a non-smelly non-piss stained old noticer so no offence to fellow old farts out there.
He was a Docker from what I recall. I don’t think he was ever unemployed. There is a clip online from the 80’s series where his black home help’s cousin is flying in for a job and Alf comments ‘4 million unemployed and they are flying them in.’ A perfectly sensible point, but would be dismissed by midwits as another example of Alf’s bigotry.
What a great piece! It's the only comedy box-set I ever bothered buying from that golden period for some reason, but I agree it is the finest British sitcom of any era, and as you say, a very consistent quality through the whole run. I am old enough to have seen it at the time, and so looking back at these programmes I suppose it is a bit of a reminder of how the average living standard has increased while average standards of behaviour have gone down the toilet. The bedsit-and-no-ensuite world depicted would have been pretty normal for most students and single people from my memory as a working class youth back then.
What marked it out and gave it longevity, as you point out, is the real depth of the characters. The writer makes them all in their turn the butt of a joke or has them display their own petty vanities and self-deceptions. I suspect that he was this good because he lived and moved amongst people of all classes and stripes and saw for himself. He probably even caught the bus most of the time, as would most jobbing actors as well I bet.
I haven't watched it for a few years so thank you for the reminder! I particularly love the Dinner at the Grange episode. I think if I recall, Rigsby turns out to actually have some of the social graces after all, impressing Ruth with his dancing and chivalry more than expected.
And wasn't there one called Goodnight Vienna or something, with confusion over his missing moggy?
The whole series is just imbued with charm and generosity of spirit for me. Wonderful television.
I'm really glad you to hear that someone else loves Rising Damp.
You're misremembering the episode at the Grange - it doesn't go well for Rigsby, I'm afraid.
The episode about Vienna going missing... you're probably thinking of "Clunk Click".
Oh, if only there were twice as many episodes for us to misremember!
Haha, well old age has its blessings and curses! I must go back and watch this one. As you say, every episode was crammed to the rafters with crackling dialogue and gags in a way that would make a modern “comedy” scriptwriter’s head explode. Thanks for bringing it all back.
Splendid synopsis, and very 'you' ie definitely in your voice not ChatGPT or whatever.
I always wondered what Rigsby saw in Miss Jones - he pursued her but did not conquer IIRC. The real-life Leonard Rossiter was apparently a very successful ladykiller. Who can forget his dancing Army officer in Barry Lyndon? Or the era-defining Reggie Perrin ?
The comedy world today is absorbing news of Graham Linehans arrest at Heathrow so thanks for the Fr Ted mention, I've mentioned this essay on Steve Sailer's X comment on Glinner
Rigsby: "Where is the permissive society. Its nowhere, all in the mind. I should know, I have looked for it". Superb writing!
"You've both got that same depraved expression."
That scene is just pure gold.
You mention the show partly being a portrait of national decline, and this is something that as a boy from Australia I sensed but couldn't yet articulate when watching reruns of things like Fawlty Towers, The Young Ones or even The Goodies; the people's lives in these shows seemed to have this grimy, musty, shabby and somewhat dispiriting character that was absent from the literally 'sunnier' and more optimistic feeling of 80's-90's Australia. Maybe it was partly the 70's brown tones and mothy-looking tweeds? Of course things have also gone downhill a bit over here since then too.
I will put this one on the "To Watch" list- it should be interesting to see a very young Don Warrington whom I see every year in "Death in Paradise".
I do recall Gabrielle Rose's chest!
Quite firm.
Great show, and article. Rigsby is one of the great comic creations. I was amazed to recognise Rossiter in two Kubrick films, 2001 and Barry Lyndon. I also named my tom cat "Riggs", after the protagonist of Lethal Weapon, but often call him Rigsby when he's being more than usually silly.
There's something so good-natured about the show, human and decent: this is the kind of thing I think of on the rare occasions I talk about human goodness etc., not the awful anodyne creepy leftie stuff about diversity and tolerance and equality. It's like the difference between one of Rembrandt's shabby, powerful self-portraits, and clip art, that ghastly flat cartoonish crap you see everywhere today. A few years ago one of my colleagues was trying to explain the show to a revolting sjw colleague, as you can imagine she was totally baffled.
We've all done a Rigsby impression. Hand on hip. Lean back and shake your head whilst saying 'Oh miss Jones' with a perverse intensity.
Great piece, thanks.
Iirc the original name for Rigsby was Rooksby - hence the title of the pilot.
One thing I enjoyed (& I’m pretty sure it came up more than once) was Rigsby boasting about his youthful sporting prowess (doubtless a complete fabrication) with the phrase “If it wasn’t for the war, who knows what I could’ve done”.
Rigsby is a classic lead sitcom character whom we’re not supposed to like but actually do, very much. Examples include Basil Fawlty, Captain Mainwaring, Alf Garnett, & David Brent. I’m sure there are more!
Happy days.
Thank you for the walk down memory lane and the links to your favourite episodes - I’ve already started watching one which means I haven’t finished your article yet! A lot of work has gone into this article and it is making me look at the series with fresh eyes - thank you. 🙏🏻
Yes a great show. I have it on disc.
As you say it treats the British people properly unlike the anti-white racist horror shows of Alf Garnet etc etc etc that are completely unwatchable today as the anti-white social programming is so in your face as to be almost physically painful.
At some point I am going to subject myself to that and do a write-up. I've only seen snippets and was always bored/repulsed.
I know they are not a series, but there were two versions, one BBC and one ITV, of Hardy's Mayor of Casterbridge. Have you watched either of these? The earlier one starred Alan Bates as Henchard, and Ciaran Hinds did the 2003 ITV version.
Typical Hardy tragedy but worth watching. Did you have to study any Hardy novels in school?
You might enjoy the BBC's 1973 series "Wessex Tales". I'm sure it will be available on YouTube.
It’s actually on BBC iPlayer as well.
Yes, in the final year, but by that time I had really "checked out" of school and, to my embarrassment, didn't bother reading either of the novels (Casterbridge and Tess).
I can't remember much about it except it had a narky brain-dead wife constantly talking crap and disrespecting her husband but as she was against his "racism", i.e. his noticing things, she was seen to be better than him and the daughter and her boyfriend similarly were very rude to him and were essentially early versions of WEF muppets where everyone is seen as the same and the muppets have zero actual experience of the real world.
Garnet himself of course spouted nonsense or real facts but in such a way that they could safely be ignored as rants and his "workings" weren't shown i.e. how he had arrived at his conclusions and as far as I can recall he was either an unemployed layabout or was a pensioner and so was seen as not worth listening to so ageism was openly used to defeat his "unthinking" noticing. Today where most old people have been thoroughly propagandised to be WEF muppets ageism is of course a terrible thing that the woke are totally against but if the old ever woke up to the reality of what was done to them, as increasing numbers seem to be doing as the woke defend attacks on children, ageism will come back as a woke weapon as fast as you can say "smelly piss stained old bigot."
It was an early version of every soap today where the father figure is either shown as a bigot, a moron or violent or preferably all three whilst the women and the simps are shown as Nobel prizewinner material who constantly do things that woman or simps rarely if ever seem to do in the real world.
Incidentally I am a non-smelly non-piss stained old noticer so no offence to fellow old farts out there.
He was a Docker from what I recall. I don’t think he was ever unemployed. There is a clip online from the 80’s series where his black home help’s cousin is flying in for a job and Alf comments ‘4 million unemployed and they are flying them in.’ A perfectly sensible point, but would be dismissed by midwits as another example of Alf’s bigotry.