The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976)

Fantastically funny

Disillusioned after a long career at Sunshine Desserts, Perrin goes through a mid-life crisis and fakes his own death. Returning in disguise after various attempts at finding a 'new life', he gets his old job back and finds nothing has changed. He is eventually found out, and in the second series has success with a chain of shops selling useless junk. That becomes so successful that he feels he has created a monster and decides to destroy it. In the third and final series he has a dream of forming a commune which his long suffering colleagues help bring to reality. Unfortunately that also fails and he finds himself back in a job not unlike the one he originally had at Sunshine Desserts.

• First Air Date: 1976-09-08
• Last Air Date: 1996-11-03
• Total Seasons: 4
• Total Episodes: 28
• Episode Runtime: 30 min.
• Network: BBC One
• Creator: David Nobbs