The staff at Perrins are demoralised following the abrupt departure of Mr.Babbacombe. Reggie tries his best to instill confidence. The guests start to arrive - first up is Mr.Pelham ( Glynn Edwards ) the pig farmer Reggie used to work for. He is there because he has gone off pigs. Next through the doors is Thruxton Appleby ( Leslie Sands ) the textile tycoon, who hates being unlikeable. Another arrival is Bernard Trilling ( Frederick Jaeger ), head of comedy at a television station. He cannot stop thinking about comedy. How to cure them?
If any episode illustrates what went wrong with this show in its third year, it is this one. It is not bad as such, it simply is not 'Perrin'. A harassed boss trying to supervise incompetent staff whose hands are full trying to deal with troublesome customers. Sounds very 'Fawlty Towers' to me. Not to mention 'The Brittas Empire'. Whether by accident or design, the show was moving away from the original premise.
Tony's collection of topless photos ( plastered across the walls of his office. He is meant to be in charge of Culture ) resulted in that scene being deleted from peak-time B.B.C.-1 repeats.
Funniest moment - Reggie has Thruxton and shop steward Arthur Noblet ( Ron Pember ) swap places, with Thruxton asking for more fringe benefits for the workers and Noblet giving him short shrift. It fails, so Reggie and C.J. adopt the roles of management and union. Their row escalates as they get carried away, culminating in: REGGIE: I'm bringing everyone out! C.J.: You're all fired! REGGIE: All right, you bastard!
If any episode illustrates what went wrong with this show in its third year, it is this one. It is not bad as such, it simply is not 'Perrin'. A harassed boss trying to supervise incompetent staff whose hands are full trying to deal with troublesome customers. Sounds very 'Fawlty Towers' to me. Not to mention 'The Brittas Empire'. Whether by accident or design, the show was moving away from the original premise.
Tony's collection of topless photos ( plastered across the walls of his office. He is meant to be in charge of Culture ) resulted in that scene being deleted from peak-time B.B.C.-1 repeats.
Funniest moment - Reggie has Thruxton and shop steward Arthur Noblet ( Ron Pember ) swap places, with Thruxton asking for more fringe benefits for the workers and Noblet giving him short shrift. It fails, so Reggie and C.J. adopt the roles of management and union. Their row escalates as they get carried away, culminating in: REGGIE: I'm bringing everyone out! C.J.: You're all fired! REGGIE: All right, you bastard!
