# Rising Damp (1974)

> A cowardly, scheming landlord in a seedy northern bedsit has his pretensions repeatedly punctured by his long suffering tenants.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/2417

## Facts

- Seasons: 4
- Episodes: 28
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Eric Chappell
- Network: ITV1
- Cast: Leonard Rossiter, Frances de la Tour, Richard Beckinsale, Don Warrington, Elizabeth Adare, Ian Lavender, George Sewell, Robert Gillespie
- TMDB rating: 7.7/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071041/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: wry, deadpan, acerbic, cringe comedy, irreverent

## Synopsis

Rising Damp (1974-1978) is a British sitcom created by Eric Chappell for ITV1, a four-season comedy of thirty-minute episodes set in a seedy bedsit in northern England. Leonard Rossiter plays Rigsby, a cowardly, conniving landlord whose lofty airs and petty schemes are constantly undercut by the tenants who share his shabby house. Frances de la Tour as Ruth, Richard Beckinsale as Alan and Don Warrington as Philip form the long suffering household, and their clashes with Rigsby over rent, food, status and romance drive the comedy. Each episode is a self-contained piece built on the same confined rooms, with the landlord's bluster repeatedly deflated by the people he is supposed to command. The series carries the sharp, grubby texture of a 1970s British kitchen sink comedy, with a wry, deadpan register and a steady undercurrent of class resentment and money anxiety. Fans of Fawlty Towers, Steptoe and Son and Keeping Up Appearances will find the same pleasure in pompous authority undone by ordinary people. It is a compact, character driven sitcom that rewards viewers who enjoy sharp dialogue, awkward confrontations and a landlord's endless humiliations.

## Shows like Rising Damp

- [Bottom (1991)](https://ember.film/tv/4078)
- [Men Behaving Badly (1992)](https://ember.film/tv/745)
- [15 Storeys High (2002)](https://ember.film/tv/858)
- [Him & Her (2010)](https://ember.film/tv/31142)
- [Steptoe and Son (1962)](https://ember.film/tv/3171)
- [Not Going Out (2006)](https://ember.film/tv/1309)
- [Saxondale (2006)](https://ember.film/tv/2383)
- [One Foot in the Grave (1990)](https://ember.film/tv/4327)
- [The Good Life (1975)](https://ember.film/tv/2628)
- [George and Mildred (1976)](https://ember.film/tv/2296)

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