Plot: What’s it about?
Rupert Rigsby (Leonard Rossiter) is a landlord, but he isn’t the kind of man you’d want to be a tenant for. He is rude, racist, and miserly, not an ideal person to share a building with. But he still manages to keep the rooms filled and in the case of Miss Jones (Frances de la Tour), one that has been around for a long while. Miss Jones loves the men that cross her path, falling for any she gets an eyeful of, except for Rupert, of course. That doesn’t dissuade him from trying to get into her good graces, but his advances have always failed. But for Miss Jones, times have been lean and she craves the attention of a man, which means the door is open, even ever so slightly, for Rupert to make his move. All this while fellow tenant Philip (Don Warrington) watches on and has a comment for it all. The potential romance isn’t the lone new development for Rupert, as he also finds religion and inherits a windfall, but will his love for Miss Jones ever be realized?
This is the fourth and final series (or season) of Rising Damp, so this probably wasn’t the ideal place to watch my first episodes of the show. Even so, I wanted to check it out and get a feel for the characters, so I viewed these last six episodes. I have to admit, the show was good, often hilarious and ends on a high note. All too often, even great shows wind up played out and end with a whimper, but Rising Damp doesn’t fall into that trap. Of course, since I haven’t seen the previous seasons, I don’t appreciate it all as much, so it is probably deserves even more praise. In these episodes, the best element was the performance of Leonard Rossiter, who is superb as the miserly landlord. This is easily one of the more memorable characters I’ve seen, to the extent that I will seek out the rest of the show, just to see more of his antics. This is the end, my friends, but Rising Damp is a very good show and this fourth series earns a high recommendation.
Video: How does it look?
The episodes are presented in full frame, as intended. This series was shot on video, like videotape, so the transfers don’t look that impressive. If you’ve watched many British shows from this era, you know to expect softness and a VHS type texture, so this isn’t the usual DVD level of crispness. Even so, this is by no means a bad presentation, as the image is clean and while soft, still displays solid detail, for the material. The colors aren’t that vivid and contrast is a touch dark, but overall, these episodes look decent and I doubt fans will be too disappointed.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio here is as basic as it gets, but that’s all the material needs. The show’s music and sound effects are audible, but don’t expect any kind of depth here. This is a mono soundtrack for a dialogue driven show from 1978, that should tell you all you need to know. The crucial element is the show’s vocals and since dialogue sounds clear in all six episodes, I can’t knock these audio tracks too much.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes production notes and cast filmographies.
