Rising Damp

- Season 2

(1975)

Having failed again to get a date with Philip, Ruth is unhappy so Rigsby, to arouse her, blows in her ear but she just thinks there's a draught. Alan and Philip have been on a double date and Philip is annoyed that Alan is so inexperienced with women that they only ended up playing scrabble. Philip lost his virginity on his fourteenth birthday. Alan only got a bike for his. To prove he is not afraid of women Alan enters Ruth's room in his dressing-gown but hides in the wardrobe when Rigsby also goes in and, on discovery, pretends he was sleep-walking. Alan's ...

Following an argument in which the tenants accuse him of being uncharitable for not wanting to contribute to Ruth's charity tin, Rigsby lectures Philip on the white man's bounties to Africa and explains how he fasted for a week in the desert in the war. Philip then challenges him to fast for forty-eight hours and confiscates his food. Rigsby attempts to cheat by stealing the cat's food and eating an apple from Ruth's room, which turns out to be wax. He gets Alan to put out leftovers for him, but Philip substitutes food that has gone off. Eventually Rigsby wins his bet...

Rigsby is cynical when both Ruth and Alan get into physical fitness regimes but, having failed to open a pickle jar, which Philip does with ease, he is persuaded to take exercise to impress Ruth. This leads to a boxing match with Philip, Ruth promising to date the winner. Not being keen on this idea Philip throws the fight but Rigsby does his back in before he can take Ruth out so she whisks Philip away in his place.

Ruth gets engaged to short but romantic Desmond and Rigsby is jealous. The boys suggest he compete by reciting poetry to her but she feels he is mocking her and announces that she will be moving out to live with Desmond. Rigsby tries to put Desmond off by claiming that Ruth is an alcoholic who can get violent but Desmond's love for Ruth means that he can take this in his stride and Ruth leaves the house, having caught Rigsby trying to chat up Brenda, an artists' model and potential new tenant - by quoting the same poetry that he used with her.

Alan and Philip do not share the fawning Rigsby's high opinion of the new tenant, suave, ex-Colonial, Seymour, who borrows money from them and owes rent. Seymour appeals to Rigsby's snobbery by promising him golf club membership and tries to turn him against Alan by planting Philip's wallet on him. When Rigsby is also robbed, Philip sets a trap and exposes Seymour as a thief and a con man.

Whilst Alan and Philip are intrigued when Rigsby brings in a load of expensive new furniture, new lodger Brenda takes it to be a sign of her landlord's wealth and expects him to take her out to dinner. Claiming that Vienna is unwell he suggests a romantic night in instead but this is ruined when bailiffs come to re-possess the furniture which he has not paid for.

After scaring the gullible Alan with a joke werewolf hand, Rigsby tries to spook him even more by telling him about the house ghost, the Grey Lady. Philip persuades Alan to put on a long dress and a bonnet to impersonate the ghost, to scare Rigsby, which he does on several occasions, including at a séance Philip has stage managed. Rigsby then calls in the vicar to exorcise the ghost but the vicar only catches Alan and Brenda kissing on the sofa. By this time Rigsby has found the dress and bonnet so that the Grey Lady makes one final appearance.

Following a lonely Christmas spent with only Vienna as company, Rigsby is visited by the milkman, Fred, wanting his money, and post woman Gwen, who delivers a card - sent by himself - but declines to kiss him under the mistletoe. Alan and Brenda return from spending Christmas with his parents and both, separately, give him bath salts as a present. Philip comes back with a girl-friend Lucy, assuming they would be alone in the house. He tells Rigsby he has a present for him in his room and Rigsby wrongly believes this is Lucy. As she is black he imagines she has just ...