Interviewed in 1978, Leonard Rossiter said: "I depend on the script 100%. Without it, I can do absolutely nothing.". He could have been slyly commenting on the third season of 'Perrin', which was on the whole threadbare in terms of comedy.
The staff of Perrins is getting ready for the big day when their doors are opened to the world. Elisabeth begs Reggie to give her brother a job. Poor old Jimmy is still trying to organise a private army for when 'the balloon goes up', but has an unerring knack of trusting the wrong people - they invariably rob him blind. The latest is Tim 'Curly' Beamish ( a character who would, by the way, resurface in Nobbs' Channel 4 spin-off, 'Fairly Secret Army', played by Jeremy Child ). Reggie finds Jimmy living on a barge, and puts him in charge of Perrins' physical fitness department. Old soldiers never die, and Jimmy annoys everyone by playing a bugle as soon as the sun rises each morning.
Reggie also engages a cook, McBlane ( Joseph Brady ), a brawny Scot whom no-one can understand ( "Up your clunge!" is one of his favourite sayings ).
A new problem occurs - snooty Mr.Penfold ( Arnold Peters ) and Mrs.Hollies ( Joyce Windsor ) of the Residents Association object to the presence of a 'perfect world' on their doorstep. What to do about it? One of the better Season 3 offerings, mainly because Reggie's encounter with the neighbours allows him to be wonderfully rude, just like when he was in 'Sunshine Desserts' and 'Grot'. The scene where Tony, Tom and C.J. impersonate West Indians to scare off the residents is usually edited out of repeats.
What to make of McBlane? He seems to have wandered in from another show entirely. Unlike 'Seamus Finnegan', he is a stereotype with no redeeming features, being a cleaned-up version of Mike Myers' 'Fat Bastard' from 'Austin Powers'.
James Warrior has appeared in many David Nobbs-scripted shows down the years. Here he is 'Mr.Babbacombe' the undertaker, and the first guest at Perrins. He looks forward to meeting the others, but there aren't any. Some of the staff have to pretend to be guests. Babbacombe isn't fooled. The episode ends with Reggie letting out a loud, long scream, which was how the first season instalments used to end.
Funniest moment - David Harris-Jones' impersonation of roadie for a rock group. It is too ridiculous for words!
The staff of Perrins is getting ready for the big day when their doors are opened to the world. Elisabeth begs Reggie to give her brother a job. Poor old Jimmy is still trying to organise a private army for when 'the balloon goes up', but has an unerring knack of trusting the wrong people - they invariably rob him blind. The latest is Tim 'Curly' Beamish ( a character who would, by the way, resurface in Nobbs' Channel 4 spin-off, 'Fairly Secret Army', played by Jeremy Child ). Reggie finds Jimmy living on a barge, and puts him in charge of Perrins' physical fitness department. Old soldiers never die, and Jimmy annoys everyone by playing a bugle as soon as the sun rises each morning.
Reggie also engages a cook, McBlane ( Joseph Brady ), a brawny Scot whom no-one can understand ( "Up your clunge!" is one of his favourite sayings ).
A new problem occurs - snooty Mr.Penfold ( Arnold Peters ) and Mrs.Hollies ( Joyce Windsor ) of the Residents Association object to the presence of a 'perfect world' on their doorstep. What to do about it? One of the better Season 3 offerings, mainly because Reggie's encounter with the neighbours allows him to be wonderfully rude, just like when he was in 'Sunshine Desserts' and 'Grot'. The scene where Tony, Tom and C.J. impersonate West Indians to scare off the residents is usually edited out of repeats.
What to make of McBlane? He seems to have wandered in from another show entirely. Unlike 'Seamus Finnegan', he is a stereotype with no redeeming features, being a cleaned-up version of Mike Myers' 'Fat Bastard' from 'Austin Powers'.
James Warrior has appeared in many David Nobbs-scripted shows down the years. Here he is 'Mr.Babbacombe' the undertaker, and the first guest at Perrins. He looks forward to meeting the others, but there aren't any. Some of the staff have to pretend to be guests. Babbacombe isn't fooled. The episode ends with Reggie letting out a loud, long scream, which was how the first season instalments used to end.
Funniest moment - David Harris-Jones' impersonation of roadie for a rock group. It is too ridiculous for words!
