2 May 2010

Reggie Perrin Series 2 is promising

Series 2 of Reggie Perrin, the modern remake of the 70s classic, is now being filmed at Teddington Studios and I went to see it.

The studios, not surprisingly, are in Teddington on the river by the lock, and so it is easy for me to get there for recordings. It's little more than a 15 minute walk. I've seen a few things filmed there but not for a little while so I jumped at the chance to see Reggie Perrin with it's great cast and solid writing team.

Martin Clunes heads the cast and, frankly, dominates the show despite the good people behind him. But he plays the lead role so that is good.

He also added a lot to the filming with his bemused expressions at other actors' mistakes and his ad libs, sadly too rude to repeat here!

Series Two continues to mimic the 70's original without directly copying it so there are many familiar features and catch-phrases but a lot of new things too, such as the love interest for Reggie's wife.

The filming went well with only one fit of the giggles to extend the retakes, though most scenes were shot twice for little or no apparent reason.

We had a warm-up guy to keep us amused between takes but while he was quite good I am not sure that he was needed as the breaks were short, unlike at Karen Taylor where the breaks were so long at the warm-up guy got cold.

The humour in Reggie Perrin comes from the situation and the rich dialogue where every word is important, rather than from any overt punchlines or slapstick. This means that there are few audible laughs but the situation and the script sustain the comedy and the drama throughout and the show is well worth watching.

7 comments:

  1. when will series 2 air?

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  2. Please confirm the started date for Series 2

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  3. Can't wait for this!

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  4. Jesus - seen the trailer a couple of times and can't believe they have commissioned another series of this. Saw the filming of one episode of series 1 and the audience reaction was so utterly lukewarm you would think they would have got the hint.

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  5. Reggie Perrin returns on Thursday 14 October. The comments on it are mixed but I think it's worth giving a go and if you don't like it then simply watch something else.

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  6. Looking for a picture of Clunes as Reggie and got this site. Can't believe peolple find it funny. l know it would be miles better seening it filmed, but the series itself? No way.

    Jamie

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