Ever-Decreasing Circles

I've been watching Ever-Decreasing Circles, a BBC situation comedy which ran from 1984 to 1989. It's set in the south of England, and its protagonist is a rather uptight, fussy, squeaky-clean suburbanite named Martin Bryce, played by Richard Briers (left, below). He's a narrow-minded man, but idealistic in his own manner-- to the point of absurdity, at times. (In one episode, he discovers that a public right-of-way, long forgotten, runs through his back garden-- and he insists on signposting it.)

The fuel for most of the stories is Martin's jealousy of Paul Ryman, his neighbour. Paul is an easygoing fellow who runs a hair salon, and who seems to be effortlessly proficient at just about everything. He's obviously fond of Martin, but can't help teasing and provoking him.

The main cast is completed by Martin's wife Ann, who sees the ridiculous side of her husband but remains devoted to him, and a couple named Howard and Hilda-- an absurdly lovey-dovey married couple, who take enormous pleasure from their spectacularly mundane lives, and who always wear matching knitted sweaters. For all of Martin's jealously of Paul, the five main characters seem to spend a great deal of their time together, often sitting together in the pub.

The show received good ratings-- twelve million people watched the last episode. However, it doesn't seem to have been repeated very often (if ever) despite being warmly regarded by anyone who has occasion to write about it.

Sometimes it's called a "dark" show. A Guardian retrospective (quoted on its Wikipedia page) says it had "a quiet, unacknowledged and deep-running despair to it that in retrospect seems quite daring." I think this is a huge exaggeration-- at best! In my view, the show is actually very upbeat, especially by the standards of British sit-coms. There is no real antagonist, and all of the characters are likeable and basically happy with their lives. Perhaps a Guadian reviewer is bound to see nothing but repression in stable marriages and ordinary routines? But, then again, that's not the only reference to the show's "darkness" I've come across. All I can say is that I don't see it myself.

It's by no means a hilarious show, or a classic of comedy-- it's no Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses, or Reggie Perrin. But I'd rate it above many British comedies which are more lauded-- Dad's Army, Last of the Summer Wine, The Vicar of Dibley, and so on. It's definitely in the top tier.

I've written about situation comedies on this blog before. I think the situation comedy is an admirable format, one that affords great scope for exploring the human condition and social history. Situation comedies have this advantage over movies and novels-- that, being episodic, they tend not to focus on some major crisis in a person's life. After all, most of life isn't a major crisis. Situation comedies tend to confine themselves to the broad plains of life, where most of it actually happens, as opposed to the heighest peaks and the lowest valleys. This makes them a celebration of the spaciousness of life.

I'm a big fan of English situation comedies especially, and part of this show's appeal to me is its very Englishness. Martin is an English archetype-- rather like a more assertive version of Charles Pooter from Diary of a Nobody. Other particularly English aspects include the English Civil War reenactment in the episode "Cavalers and Roundheads", and the many episodes set in an old-fashioned English pub-- all soft lights and brown, subdued furnishings.

Watching decades-old shows like this always fills me with a sense of nostalgia and anxiety. I'm not sure to what extent this is warranted, or to what extent it is exaggerated.

Sexual mores, for instance, seem to be in a permanent decline through the entire history of television-- a decline reflected in (and undoubtedly encouraged by) television shows. In Ever-Decreasing Circles, there is a constant playful flirtation between Martin's wife and Paul. In several episodes, however, it's shown that Paul (despite being something of a playboy) has not got the slightest intention of seducing her, and indeed greatly respects the integrity of the marriage. In at least two episodes, Howard and Hilda (who are usually comically pleasant) show a determination to shun one or other of the group when they believe adultery has taken place. Although this is portrayed rather comedically, they remain sympathetic characters, and there's no suggestion that they are bigots. On the other hand, when Martin is duped into believing that he has committed adultery (as a prank by a colleague), he offers his wife a divorce-- and this is shown as noble.

Here is another interesting aspect of the portrayal of Howard and Hilda-- although they are shown as blissfully happy, it's very much an old-fashioned marriage where the husband is the authority. In fact, Hilda is shown to be the one who insists on this, despite Howard's occasional reluctance. And this, too, is portrayed rather positively-- quaint, rather than demeaning.

When it comes to cultural standards, as well, I can't help detecting a decline when I watch television shows from previous decades. Again, I don't know if this is real of merely perceived. But, to take an example, in one episode Martin refers offhand to "that Pope" who persuaded Atilla the Hun to turn back from the gates of Rome. I was surprised to hear such a recondite reference-- at least, today I would consider it to be a recondite reference. Was it less so back when this episode was made, or did the scriptwriter just decided to throw it in despite being a recondite reference? It's hard to say.

The same applies to national and local distinctiveness. Do I see signs of their decline everywhere because I am so terrified of cultural homogenization? Or is it really happen? Or is it some combination?

In one pub scene in Ever-Decreasing Circles, the characters are shown to be waiting for the shove-ha'penny board to become available. Shove-ha'penny is a traditional English pub game-- I've never played it myself. When I encountered the reference to it in Ever- Decreasing Circles, I couldn't wondering if this would be a rather archaic reference today. And, indeed, this depressing report from 2009 seems to suggest this is true.

On the other hand, when I visited Tunbridge Wells last year, I was relieved to find that the "good old English boozer" still endures-- indeed, that many aspects of English life which I assumed to be on the way out seem to be in rude health.

So are my fears of cultural homogenization exaggerated? Is it simply that things change, as they have always changed? Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis (Times change, and we change with them) is an ancient proverb-- as well as being Jacob Rees-Mogg's first tweet.

But, even if things have always changed (as of course they have) is the pace of change in our era unusual and excessive?

Big questions, I know. At any rate, I can warmly recommend Ever-Decreasing Circles.