Rising Damp


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For the eponymous condition affecting structures, see rising damp (structural).
Rising Damp

Main cast of Rising Damp
(l-r) Frances de la Tour, Leonard Rossiter, Richard Beckinsale, Don Warrington.
Format Sitcom
Created by Eric Chappell
Starring Leonard Rossiter,
Frances de la Tour,
Richard Beckinsale,
Don Warrington
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of episodes 28 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s) Yorkshire Television
(ITV Productions)
Running time 30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel ITV
Original run 2 September 1974 – 9 May 1978
External links
IMDb profile
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (November 2007)

Rising Damp was a UK television sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV, first broadcast from 1974 to 1978. It was adapted for television by Eric Chappell[1] from his well-received 1971 stage play, The Banana Box (retained as the working title early in the series[2]). The series was the highest-ranking ITV sitcom on the 100 Best Sitcoms poll run in 2004 by the BBC[3].

Contents

Basic premise

Rising Damp starred Leonard Rossiter, Frances de la Tour, Richard Beckinsale and Don Warrington.[4] Rossiter played Rupert Rigsby (originally Rooksby in the stage play): the miserly, seedy, and ludicrously self-regarding landlord of a run-down Victorian town house who rented out his shabby rooms to a variety of tenants. Beckinsale played Alan George Moore, a long-haired, naive, good-natured and amiable medical student who occupied the top room. Frances de la Tour was Ruth "Miss" Jones: a fey, whimsical spinster and college administrator who rented another room, with whom Rigsby was in love and to whom Rigsby proposed in the last episode.

In the pilot episode, a new tenant arrived. Philip Smith (Don Warrington) was a planning student who claimed to be the son of an African Chief. As a black man, he brought out the ill-informed fears and knee-jerk suspicions of Rigsby. However, the landlord quickly accepted his new tenant and henceforth regarded him with a wary respect... wary because of Philip's intelligence, smooth manners and especially because Miss Jones was attracted to the handsome sophisticate. Of these four principal actors, only Beckinsale was a new recruit - the others had all played their roles in the original stage play.

Other tenants occasionally lived at the house but never became permanent residents, often appearing only in a single episode. The series is in the British comedy tradition of having failure as a key underlying theme, each of the characters having lives of quiet desperation.

Frances de la Tour temporarily left the series in 1975 due to theatre commitments, and was 'replaced' by occasional other tenants. She returned for the final two series.

Characters

Rigsby

Rigsby is the landlord of the house. Rigsby is a dour, tight fisted character with particularly right wing views. In the film he states he believes hanging should be reinstated in public. Rigsby is suspicious of anything unknown, particularly Phillip, who is black, suave and intelligent. Although Rigsby is by no means racist, he is suspicious of Phillip because of his different culture. Rigsby is an ardent British Patriot, believing himself to be a lost member of the British royal family, he is also an enormous snob, and obsessively pre-occupied with being middle class, which although he is the proprietor of a boarding house is perhaps a stretch too far. Rigsby appears to adopt an 'old school tie' attitude, although this is likely to be just a front as there is no mention of any public school connections (one can only assume, if Rigsby did have any, he would mention them frequently). Rigsby is a seedy man, who has little romantic interest over Miss Jones, and only a sexual interest, he spends most of the series trying to prove to her otherwise, usually with no avail.

Miss Jones

Miss Jones is an educated college administrator, who has always remained a spinster. She is a romantic, but only gets male attention from Rigsby, which although she sometimes enjoys, she mostly seems to find it an annoyance. Like Rigsby, Miss Jones, carries pretensions, believing herself to be better then the life she leads and to be reasonably sophisticated. The comedy uses pathos to touch upon the sad, failing life of Miss Jones, in one episode she gives money to a man she has romantic interest in, knowing full well he is conning her, but craving male attention to a point where she is willing to effectively pay him for it. Miss Jones openly fancies Phillip, frequently cooking for him (much to the annoyance of Rigsby) however unfortunately for her, this is not reciprocated, however she does find solace in Phillip's superior intellect and the two appear to be friends. Besides being a sexual interest of Rigsby, Miss Jones is also a social interest to him, being a she is genuinely middle class, (seemingly upper middle class), Rigsby sees her as a sophisticate and any courtship with Miss Jones would be a social as well as sexual conquest.

Alan

Alan is a likeable young medical student. Rigsby treats him with mistrust, mainly because of Alan's permissive, left wing views. Alan has little luck with girlfriends, but is content with his life. Alan hails from a middle class family and appreciates music and arts. Although Alan is academically successful, socially he is somewhat inept, appearing to have few friends outside of the lodging house. Alan occasionally confides his problems with Rigsby, who is always unsympathetic. On one occasion however Alan is defended by Rigsby, when an incondecent father of one of his girlfriends finds out the two of them have been having sex, Rigsby sends the man out of the house with a 'flea in his ear', defending Alan, apparently because Rigsby was offended the man assumed Rigsby to be Alan's father. Alan is immature and Rigsby does become somewhat of a strange father figure for him.

Phillip

Phillip is a second generation African immigrant from Croydon, although for most of the series he claims to be the son of an African tribal King. Phillip largely fabricates a Walter Mitty style life for himself, glamourising his unremarkable background. Miss Jones, Rigsby and Alan all willingly believe him, but outsiders never seem to. Phillip is an intelligent, educated man (more so then the moderately educated Alan and Miss Jones), he is sophisticated and suave, this makes Rigsby suspicious of him, particularly as Miss Jones openly fancies him. Phillip does not reciprocate Miss Jones' romantic interests.

Film

A feature film was made in 1980, but due to the death of Richard Beckinsale the year before, his role, though not his actual character, was taken by actor Christopher Strauli. The film's theme song features lyrics by series creator Eric Chappell and was released as a 7" single. The B-side features comedy dialogue between characters Rigsby and Miss Jones.

In the movie, Philip is revealed not to be a chief's son after all, and to be from Croydon rather than Africa, adopting his false persona in order to start a new life and gain some respect. When Rigsby finds out, he refuses to believe Philip doesn't come from Africa and continues to pretend he does.

The film parodys many of the story lines in the television series.

Setting

The exact setting of Rising Damp is never made clear. It is perhaps not important being as the setting very rarely moves outside of the house. All that is known is that it is set somehwere in Yorkshire, following a few refrences to the fact, including Alan mentioning he commutes via Yorkshire Traction, a former bus system used in South and West Yorkshire, in particularly around Barnsley. It is implied that the setting is a large city, indicating that it could perhaps be set in either Sheffield, Bradford or Leeds. The house is set close to at least one university. The setting is most likley either Leeds or Sheffield. Most Yorkshire Television programmes of this era were usually set in Leeds.

List of Episodes

Pilot

  • The Lodgers Broadcast (2 Sep 74)

Series 1

  • Black Magic (13 Dec 74)
  • Charisma (20 Dec 74)
  • A Night Out (27 Dec 74)
  • All Our Yesterdays (3 Jan 75)
  • The Prowler (10 Jan 75)
  • Stand Up And Be Counted (17 Jan 75)

Series 2

  • Permissive Society (7 Nov 75)
  • Food Glorious Food (14 Nov 75)
  • A Body Like Mine (21 Nov 75)
  • Moonlight And Roses (28 Nov 75)
  • The Perfect Gentleman (5 Dec 75)
  • The Last Of The Big Spenders (12 Dec 75)
  • Things That Go Bump In The Night (19 Dec 75)

Christmas Special

  • For The Man Who Has Everything (26 Dec 75)

Series 3

  • That's My Boy (12 Apr 77)
  • Stage Struck (19 Apr 77)
  • Clunk Click (26 Apr 77)
  • The Good Samaritans (3 May 77)
  • Fawcett's Python (10 May 77)
  • The Cocktail Hour (17 May 77)
  • Suddenly At Home (24 May 77)

Series 4

  • Hello Young Lovers (4 Apr 78)
  • Fire And Brimstone (11 Apr 78)
  • Great Expectations (18 Apr 78)
  • Pink Carnations (25 Apr 78)
  • Under The Influence (2 May 78)
  • Come On In - The Water's Lovely (9 May 78)

Re-runs & DVD

As of 2007 the series is still frequently repeated on UK terrestrial and satellite channels (though sometimes with noticeable cuts[citation needed], possibly due to some of the material being perceived as racist) and the complete series has been released on Region 2 DVD and Acorn Media is releasing it on region 1 DVD in North America as well (see below).

Unfortunately for fans, many of the TV episodes only exist in the form of copies with grainy pictures and badly distorted sound, the original master tapes apparently having been wiped. Labour MP Tom Pendry also won a libel action against the programme when it portrayed a Labour candidate (played by Michael Ward) with the same surname in an unflattering light; his name is edited out of the broadcast version when it is repeated.

Meaning of the title

Main article: rising damp (structural)

Rising damp is a condition caused by ground moisture rising up a masonry wall by capilliary action. It often occurs where there is no damp-proof course (DPC) or where the DPC has been damaged or bridged. Older houses, such as depicted in the show, were built without damp-proof courses or with a barrier material that is liable to failure.

In the temperate/wet British climate, water infiltration into a house can be a problem, particularly in houses without a cellar or crawl space beneath them. The result of water penetrating the inner wall is visible as a darker patch on the plaster lining of the inner wall, usually starting at floor level on the ground floor and rising up from there, hence the term. In extreme cases, salt leached out of the wall forms crystals on the surface of the plaster as the water evaporates. Needless to say, the appearance of rising damp everywhere in a house is a symptom of neglect, age, decrepitude etc.

DVD Releases

DVD Title Country of Release Region Date of Release DVD company Catalog Number Notes

All DVD releases are single disc, unless otherwise indicated.
Rising Damp - The Complete First Series  United Kingdom 2 May 7, 2001 Granada Media
The Very Best of Rising Damp  United Kingdom 2 September 16, 2002 Cinema Club Compilation Release
Rising Damp - The Movie  Australia 0 February 17, 2003 Umbrella
Rising Damp - The Works  United Kingdom 2 June 14, 2004 Cinema Club 4-disc set of series 1-4; Missing Christmas episode.
Rising Damp - The Movie  United Kingdom 2 November 19, 2004 ITV DVD
Rising Damp - The Complete TV Series PLUS the Movie  United Kingdom 2 November 21, 2005 ITV DVD 37115 20253 5-disc set of the complete series (including Christmas episode) plus the movie[2]
Rising Damp - Series 1  United States 1 January 10, 2006 Acorn Media
Rising Damp - Series 2  United States 1 June 6, 2006 Acorn Media
Rising Damp - Series 3  United States 1 January 16, 2007 Acorn Media
Rising Damp - Series 4  United States 1 July 17, 2007 Acorn Media
Rising Damp - The Movie  United States 1 January 15, 2008 Acorn Media

^ This includes includes the film version, since Carlton had acquired the rights to the film, and through the mergers of the various ITV companies Granada Television subsequently acquired the rights to both the Carlton and Yorkshire Television archives.

Miscellaneous

  • Rigsby’s cat is named Vienna. The name comes about (as Rigsby informs us) from when he goes to put the cat out on a cold, dark winter's evening - if there is another set of eyes out there then it's Goodnight Vienna.
  • Rigsby's first name is Rupert, which is revealed in the film and in one episode where Rigsby's estranged wife turns up after hearing that he is to inherit his uncle's estate.
  • Eric Chappell defended Rigsby by saying he "was not a racist or a bigot, but he was prejudiced and suspicious of strangers. But he accepted Philip, and his only concern afterwards was that he didn't get a legover with Miss Jones."
  • Richard Beckinsale was not in the fourth series.
  • There are twenty eight episodes in total (this includes the pilot).

See also

References

  1. ^ Writer Eric Chappell http://www.itv.com/BestofITV/comedy/RisingDamp/default.html Retrieved 24/09/07
  2. ^ The Banana Box working title [1]
  3. ^ Rising Damp, highest ITV comedy ranking http://www.bbc.co.uk/sitcom/top11to100.shtml Retrieved 24/09/07
  4. ^ Cast of characters http://www.itv.com/BestofITV/comedy/RisingDamp/default.html Retrieved 24/09/07
  5. ^ YouTube link to episode of Peter Serafinowicz show with impression of Ralph Fiennes in the guise of Rigsby.

External links







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