"Rising Damp" (1974)TV series 1974-1978

Directors:

Vernon Lawrence
Len Lurcuck

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

2 September 1974 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Popular sitcom set in a seedy bedsit lorded over by the mean, vain, boastful, cowardly landlord Rigsby...

Plot Keywords:

Landlord | Sitcom

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Leonard Rossiter	...	Rupert Rigsby (28 episodes, 1974-1978)
Don Warrington	...	Philip Smith (28 episodes, 1974-1978)
Frances de la Tour	...	Miss Ruth Jones (24 episodes, 1974-1978)
Richard Beckinsale	...	Alan Moore (22 episodes, 1974-1977)

Runtime:

30 min (27 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG | Singapore:PG

Company:

Yorkshire Television (YTV)

Trivia:

The series was based on a stage play "The Banana Box", by Eric Chappell in which the role of the landlord, called Rooksby at that time, was initially played by Wilfrid Brambell before Leonard Rossiter took over later in the play's run.

Quotes:

Rupert Rigsby: [Describing the state of the nation] It's like being on the Titanic: confused orders from the bridge, water sloshing around in the engine room. At least they had a band.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Comedy Connections: Drop the Dead Donkey (#4.3)" (2006)

A truly great sitcom

Looking back now it is clear that most of the great comedies of the 1970s were made by the BBC. The commercial ITV network often had hit shows but few seem to have stood the test of time. In addition its nature as a patchwork of different companies perhaps made it difficult for comedies to grow and find an audience. Rising Damp is an exception to this; a comedy made by one of the ITV comedies that approached moments of pure genius and is just as funny now as when it was made.

A top rate cast worked well together to create characters that are funny and believable. In addition top quality scripts make every episode a gem.

A later film version simply did not work and should be avoided.