For those who remember it, a reminder that the the ITV sitcom Rising Damp could not be made today. Not so much would not be made, but could not be made. An interesting piece because it doesn't really answer the question of why the sitcom couldn't be made today. Maybe it's all a case of TTIT - Two Tier Identity Tolerance.
‘Rising Damp was sitcom gold – it could never be made today’
It is 50 years since the transmission of the first episode of Rising Damp, the ITV sitcom featuring Leonard Rossiter as Rigsby, live-in landlord of what used to be called “rooms”. Fifty years since the first appearance of the frayed grey cardigan, the tightly shut little purse, the decrepit cat, the hands on the lower back, head thrown back, eyes rolling with an exclamation of “Myyyyy God”.
It didn’t take long after that first appearance for Rising Damp to become one of the very few ITV sitcoms to enjoy both public popularity and critical approval, and for Rossiter to transition from noted character actor to star. Rigsby was a unique and somewhat difficult character – so was Rossiter...
It’s hard to picture an actor like Rossiter thriving today. How the hell could someone so spiky exist in a world of employment tribunals, HR concerns and complaints to Equity?
Likewise Rigsby in the modern world, 50 years on, would be a bad fit, though an entertaining one. The youthfully randy foibles of Alan and Philip, and the simmering sexuality of Miss Jones, would now seem positively healthy. Imagine Rigsby encountering pronouns or working-from-home or ADHD. One feels the head tilting back, the hands sliding towards the lower back, the eyes beginning to roll. Myyyyyy God.
It is 50 years since the transmission of the first episode of Rising Damp, the ITV sitcom featuring Leonard Rossiter as Rigsby, live-in landlord of what used to be called “rooms”. Fifty years since the first appearance of the frayed grey cardigan, the tightly shut little purse, the decrepit cat, the hands on the lower back, head thrown back, eyes rolling with an exclamation of “Myyyyy God”.
It didn’t take long after that first appearance for Rising Damp to become one of the very few ITV sitcoms to enjoy both public popularity and critical approval, and for Rossiter to transition from noted character actor to star. Rigsby was a unique and somewhat difficult character – so was Rossiter...
It’s hard to picture an actor like Rossiter thriving today. How the hell could someone so spiky exist in a world of employment tribunals, HR concerns and complaints to Equity?
Likewise Rigsby in the modern world, 50 years on, would be a bad fit, though an entertaining one. The youthfully randy foibles of Alan and Philip, and the simmering sexuality of Miss Jones, would now seem positively healthy. Imagine Rigsby encountering pronouns or working-from-home or ADHD. One feels the head tilting back, the hands sliding towards the lower back, the eyes beginning to roll. Myyyyyy God.
13 comments:
...and Citizen Smith (of the Tooting National Front) would have to be re-filmed as a documentary, not a comedy.
I can remember Rising Damp, but I never was an avid fan of TV in those days. That's an infectious enthusiastic review of the series, though, and perhaps I'll have a look at a couple of episodes if I can find them.
I never saw ‘Rising Damp’ (I think we Scots had something else in its place) but the article seems to fit with the general tendency of today’s commentators to curl up like salted slugs at any hint of the outdated attitudes of the 1970s.
In a similar vein, I wonder how ‘Citizen Smith’ would be received now (we did have that: the BBC was more open to English culture than our local ITV company).
Similarly "Till Death Do Us Part." could not be remade.
The PTB think that us thickies, having been indoctrinated by their education system, instead of laughing and mocking the blatant racism, might take it seriously and be converted to be right-wing , far- right-wing, then extreme-right-wing, and on into the region for which no adjective exists. Hyper, Ultra, Inter-stellar, or even Inter-gallactic.
DJ - I don't think I watched Citizen Smith very often because I don't remember much about it. No doubt at the end there would be an invitation to share experiences of the issues raised by the 'documentary'.
Sam - as I remember it, it was Leonard Rossiter who lifted it and made it popular. Not hilarious but he was good.
Macheath - "the general tendency of today’s commentators to curl up like salted slugs" ha ha, I like that, yes they do. I'm not sure how they would take Citizen Smith, although I don't remember it well enough to make a guess.
Doonhamer - I think ultra-right-wing could appear. Maybe that's how Starmer sees Margaret Thatcher.
I saw only a few bits of it. I do remember Rossiter in Reggie Perrin.
dearieme - I remember Reggie Perrin quite well, he was good in that.
For my money, his best performance was in ‘Le Pétomane’, the story of the 19th century ‘professional farter’ Joseph Pujol, who performed to sell-out audiences at the Moulin Rouge.
Interesting trivia: both Peter Sellers and David Niven had previously expressed interest in playing the character but were advised against it by their agents. While Peter Sellers had form in that area (‘Revenge of the Pink Panther’ lift scene), the thought of the suave David Niven playing the role does rather raise an eyebrow (at least until you remember the scatalogical army barracks pranks described in his autobiography).
Macheath - I didn't know he'd played that role. I haven't read his autobiography, but I can't see David Niven in the role, but Peter Sellers - 'Revenge of the Pink Panther’ lift scene demonstrated his prowess.
Beeboids must have kittens when they see Rigsby's attitude to Philip, especially at the start of the series! The constant references to Philip's colour and race made the series a balancing act between all the lodgers, who never agreed with him and should have set the ground rues of modern TV, not just letting writers kow tow to PC and wokery!
Anon - yes it did make the series a balancing act between the lodgers and Rigsby and modern TV could have stayed with that with minor updating.
Re David Niven: I thoroughly recommend ‘The Moon’s a Balloon’. I’m not usually a fan of celebrity memoirs but this one is very well-written, permeated by dry wit and occasionally hilarious.
Macheath - thanks, I'll give it a go. I've just checked and there is a Kindle version.
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