Customer Reviews

Rising Damp - Series 3

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the third of four series of this classic 1970's britcom. For those unfamiliar, the late Leonard Rossiter stars as Rigsby, the jittery, fast-talking, slovenly, bigotted landlord of a run-down boarding house. In short, he's a man who's high opinion of himself has absolutely no basis in reality!

If you've enjoyed the first two series, you'll not be disappointed with this one. As with many britcoms, this is yet another one which only gets better as it goes on, with series three (and four) being the funniest ever. Series three consists of seven 25-minute episodes from 1977 and sees the welcome return of the man-hungry Miss Jones, who left halfway through series two to get married. Also returning are, of course, the two students who share the attic room: the suave, sophisticated African student, Philip; and the romantically clueless Alan. The other tenants, as before, arrive for an event-filled episode, never to be seen again. In "Stage Struck" (my favourite episode from this series), one such tenant is Hilary (played by Peter Bowles--To the Manor Born, Rumpole's Guthrie Featherstone), an out-of-work actor/playwright. Rigsby has little use for any of his tenants (save Miss Jones, of course, who can do no wrong in his eyes), and Hilary is no exception. Hilary has written a new play, but Rigsby's quest for and jealousy of Miss Jones (Hilary's new leading lady) leads him to raise questions among the other tenants as to Hilary's sexual orientation. Things backfire hilariously for Rigsby when Hilary finds out and decides to teach Rigsby a lesson!

In conclusion, Rising Damp is a superbly acted, hilarious 1970's britcom. It's one of our family's favourites, and it's one which, together with other 70's classics like Open All Hours and On the Buses, I would highly recommend to fans of British comedy who are looking for a welcome change from the endless reruns of the more popular britcoms.

I still LOVE this show after all these years! I like series 3 character developement...Alan is a little smarter, there aren't so many racial jokes about Phillip, and Mr. Rigsby is slowly growing a conscience and a heart.

While dated, Rising Damp is a first-rate British comedy. Not so well known stateside as those we see weekly on PBS, I found it to be truly funny...something I find lacking in a lot of modern American comedy. This was a good purchase and comes highly recommended.

I can't rate this item..I know nothing about it. I bought it as a gift for someone who likes British comedy shows.She seems to like it.