Rising Damp - Series Three
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: C- Episodes: C+
This is
the third in the series of four for the British series Rising Damp. Rising Damp – Series Three apparently
picks up where series two left off with a stuffy, self boasting, landlord
Rupert Rigsby (actor Leonard Rossiter) being his same old, self involved,
person. The series is well written and does not bore, but though the series
entertained the atmosphere was a bit dated.
The boarding house seems to be constantly bombarded in chaos with the
zany cast of characters; some young, some old, and some are man-eaters. This reviewer will admit, however, that the
appreciation for this integrated cast of British actors grew with each episode. Overall the series was entertaining but not
outstanding.
The most
excellent part of this series is the great actors and their abilities, which
were fully utilized for this season of the series. Hilarious situational comedy situations are
established from the very start with Rigsby’s odd fights with fellow tenants
and even more mind boggling courting attempts with the returning love sick
woman Ruth. Rising Damp embodies British stuffy humor in the best possible way.
There are
seven hilarious episodes in this 3rd installment to the series:
That’s My Boy
Stage Struck
Clunk Click
The Good Samaritans
Fawcett’s Python
The Cocktail Hour
Suddenly At Home
The DVD
features are adequate but not great, with the picture being gritty and the
sound hardly fixed up. The picture is
presented in 1.33 X 1/4 X 3 Full Screen that is annoying and should be the more
appropriate Widescreen (though understandably not shot in this manner) also the
picture is coarse with light/dark issues as well as color issues. The Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo boosted mono is
unimpressive and retains similar problems mentioned in the past as well as
high/low problems persisting throughout.
The extras are boring and might as well not exist only offering
simplistically production notes and filmographies.
If you
are a fan of the previous two series then Series
Three is a must have for all fans.
- Michael P Dougherty II
