For after last week’s conciliation with wife Nicola, the storm clouds that have surrounded a beleaguered Reggie look like they may finally be about to break and let the sun shine through once more. Calling in to see Groomtech’s Wellness Person, Reggie finally bares his soul, getting all those frustrations off his chest. As hates go, it’s an impressive list: “Death, ear-phones, endless cobbled together leaflets, the sense that love is the answer coupled with the searing hatred of so many things… and people, disposable razors, world over-population, fear of briefcases, fantasies – often violent, dark places, over-lit places, trains with windows you can’t open, people who call me ‘Regg-a-mama-wing-wah’, the urge to scream and a nostalgia for unwanted erections.” A cycle-path as it happens, for after a re-think about the real origin of his weltschmerz and the conclusion it’s down to physical rather than mental causes, Reggie buys himself a bike to ride to work. There are two downsides – a crumpled suit, or ‘Crumpaline’ as he brands it, and severe saddle soreness – but even these problems evaporate when called into boss Chris’s office. An almost incredulous Reggie listens as his superior opens up and reveals that 12 months after being head-hunted from the animal food sector he has to give a critical business report on the company’s progress, the trouble being he knows nothing about what Groomtech actually does. Reggie has one of his flash fantasies, imagining Chris as a ridiculous clown, but this time it’s not just negative feelings bubbling up as with the wrecking ball that he likes to imagine hitting his mother, it’s actually the case. Chris is a fool, yet finally a humble one. The plea for assistance is like a shot in the arm of vitamin ego for Reggie’s confidence. His input has been recognized and in coaching Chris he has a chance not only to save his boss’s neck, but the neck of every employee in the company. Visions of his dumb secretary Vicki busking on the street with the ever-fawning Anthony and Steve give immense pleasure to Reggie – the appointed saviour of men’s grooming products. Inviting himself over to the Perrin household at the weekend, Chris drops one last bombshell: he’s blown Reggie’s entire budget on an order of cheap, disposable razors, so priced because they are about as sharp as his business acumen. It’s a ‘man and the hour’ situation and Reggie rises brilliantly to the challenge, suggesting the duff products be marketed to teenagers as ‘My First Razor’. Surrounded by his underlings, Chris boasts how his idea for ‘My First Razor’ has secured the company’s future just as Reggie walks in. Instead of then acknowledging the truth, an ungrateful Chris mocks Reggie and adds insult to injury by inviting Jasmine, and only Jasmine, out for a celebratory meal. The episode ends with a shell-shocked Reggie walking back into his office, closing the door and screaming at the top of his voice. The writing’s on the wall. But those aside, you really feel for Reggie’s dilemma while having a laugh at the same time. In fact, the best line of the entire run features in episode five. It’s a great set-up. Reggie has dared to tell Nicola a few truths and confessed that he a) likes porn, and b) doesn’t really care for his cadging father-in-law William. Enter William, who gets to hear Reggie’s opinion of him straight from the horse’s mouth – at a raging Nicola’s insistence. Silence for a moment, and then William speaks. “483, isn’t it?” he responds. It was such a funny line, so perfectly timed, that I cheered. Check out our review of episode 4 here.
