So they've remade The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. Only now it's just called Reggie Perrin and it stars Martin Clunes. Now, I really like Martin Clunes, so I'm in a bit of a quandary. I want to be supportive, but I just can't. The original Reginald Perrin was incredibly dark. The character himself was a realistically unlikeable man trying hard to seem like he was a nice man and the running jokes (a farting chair, for example) were well-placed and timed. Reggie 2009 just doesn't work. The main problem with the new series is the women. The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin relied heavily on women's subordination and on his personal thoughts on them, be it wanton lust or sheer disgust. The women were flattened into small characters and stereotypes. In no way am I saying that this is right. Modern drama should change to reflect the power that women now have, but with so much of the story so reliant on outmoded gender relationships, the series itself flounders without them. I say out with the new and in with the old. If you want to see a genuine fore-runner of modern comedy then look up the original. Oh, and check out his natty suits.
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