Talk:Rising Damp

Labour candidate

In episode 6 of the first series, Stand Up and Be Counted, the posters featuring the picture of the Labour candidate has the name 'airbrushed' out electronically - you can see the movement within the process. I presume whatever name was used back then (1974) is in someway 'politically sensitive' in today's climate.

The original script named him Jones but the credits refer to him as 'Labour candidate'. I don't imagine this obliteration was there in 1974 - it's too well done, unless it's been tidied up since then. Either way it seems odd that this character's name should be deemed unsuitable post-production.

Any ideas?

Gary W. 26th April 2006

Yes! According to The Story of Euston Films "Labour MP Tom Pendry sued Yorkshire Television over series 1 finale "Stand Up And Be Counted", which originally featured a Labour candidate with the same surname. All references to the character's name are removed in the extant version".

Peter 17th January 2015 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Solness (talk • contribs) 06:51, 17 January 2016 (UTC)

Cause of rising damp

IANAE, but I didn't think cavity wall construction was a cause of rising damp Tpholland 13:17, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

I don't know about Great Britain, but here in America rising damp means that ground water has found its way into brickwork that is of less than high quality and porous, or has been neglected.. This is generally prevented by building the foundation of dense stone (concrete in newer structures) using dense bricks that do not easily absorb moisture, and/or using a layer of cement mortar that blocks the rising damp. Unfortunately some old structures are built with brickwork directly in contact with the soil.Saxophobia 02:45, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes, here in Britainland rising damp means the same. Most building materials are porous to varying degrees so ground moisture will permeate up through the structure. To stop this a Damp Proof Course (DPC) is inserted in the walls above ground level and if the floors are in contact with the ground a Damp Proof Membrane (DPM) is inserted. A typical UK house has a twin leaf brick or block wall with a cavity and wall ties and two DPCs. The floor is typically solid concrete with a DPM or wooden raised above ground level on plinths, each plinth having a DPC. DPCs and DPMs are normally some kind of plastic. The cavity gives thermal insulation and prevents falling water from penetrating the inner wall.

Getting back to the Rising Damp series though, the tile implies a run down and getting worse building and, I think, by further implication a worsening personal situation. CPES (talk) 06:04, 26 September 2014 (UTC)

Rigsby's cat

Sorry, could anyone explain the connection between seeing eyes in the night when putting the cat out and Ringo Stars medium selling album "Goodnight Vienna?"?? The link does nothing to explain this, so therefore is a bit superfluous, making me think it's actually linked to the wrong thing? Cheers. --GeologyTom 10:22, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Goodnight Vienna was a catchphrase from a radio programme from (I think) the 50's. Classical music was broadcast from Vienna and at the end of the show the British announcer would say Goodnight Vienna. This became a saying for something being finished or ended eg he walked in front of the bus and it was goodnight Vienna.

Rigsby called the cat Vienna so that no matter how bad the weather or what was outside, at 10 o'clock he would open the front door, put the cat out and say Goodnight Vienna. Audiences in the 70's would have understood this inference but it is a bit obscure now ( A Quinlan).

I thought everyone knew that, it's a fairly well used saying. Mtaylor848 (talk) 17:56, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Surely in this context, according to Rigsby's explanation, it's Goodnight Vienna as far as trying to put the cat out goes, he doesn't say it. (Kmitch87 (talk) 15:10, 9 March 2010 (UTC))

Err No, the meaning is as Rigsby says in the correct line "if he sees another pair of eyes out there then its Goodnight Vienna." i.e. the owner of the eyes another cat or what ever has had his chips, to use another well known expression,(or is it?) 81.111.127.132 (talk) 16:53, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Having never seen Rising Damp, or perhaps not remembering seeing it, I was confused by the 'Vienna' bit just now. Is the consensus that 81.111.127.132's interpretation above is correct. I suspect that 'another pair of eyes' may imply a queen (cat). I suggest that the meaning of the phrase should be established and perhaps a succinct explanation on the Wiki page would be appropriate. At the moment the text is confusing for Brits let alone anyone else. CPES (talk) 04:44, 26 September 2014 (UTC)

Meaning of the name

I always thought there was a subtle doubling meaning involved, something to do with men in bachelorhood rising "damp" in the mornings. Or is that just my skewed mind at work?--Kotniski (talk) 12:14, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

I think that's a bot too obscure Mtaylor848 (talk) 16:41, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

The title is just a reference to the run-down type of cheap lodging house that was common at the time. Although a 'landlord', Rigsby's pocket obviously isn't deep enough to be able to afford the upkeep of the building and hence it hasn't had the maintenance needed to prevent structural decay. Rigsby is a poor man living of the meagre rents that his equally poor tenants can afford to pay him.

When surveying a building prior to putting it onto the market, Estate Agents (who would be doing the advertising and selling of the house) would commission a structural survey of the property to decide its true market worth. Rising damp, if found, was a fault that significantly reduced the market value of a property, due to the cost of rectification, and so it was mainly the poorer end of the housing market who were unable to afford to have any rising damp eliminated. So the title 'Rising Damp immediately suggested to the viewer that Rigsby's 'establishment' was at the lower, if not bottom end, of the housing market and that it was quite possible it would eventually be marked for demolition. By implication Rigsby was probably therefore, poor, and equally likely, his tenants were poor too - students Alan and Phillip, and gentlefolk in 'reduced circumstances' - Miss Jones. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.7.147.13 (talk) 22:46, 23 June 2012 (UTC)

Christmas special

Added episodes, but does anyone know which DVD is Christmas episode is on? Apparently it's not on the complete Series 1 to 4! Jemthepen (talk) 20:45, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

as noted in the DVD release table in the article, it's included in the DVD set entitled "Rising Damp - The Complete TV Series PLUS the Movie" - I think it was included on the "Very Best of" compilation release as well Etron81 (talk) 14:25, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Setting

Yorkshire Traction also worked significantly in Lincolnshire, and the Humber straddles the two counties (which, after construction of the Humber Bridge were reorganised as Humberside). I am not sure if it is right to assert it was set in Yorkshire, it could have been in either? SimonTrew (talk) 15:08, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Rigsby also supports Leeds Utd. he almost through a bottle through the TV when they were beaten by Bayern Munich 92.7.107.238 (talk) 20:22, 30 November 2010 (UTC)

I've always presumed it was set in Leeds - university city, Yorkshire Traction (West Yorkshire + Barnsley ie the old West Riding), Rigsby supporting Leeds United, Yorkshire accents of other characters) by a process of elimination I'd say it's quite obvious that Leeds is the only (university) town that fits the bill — Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.52.204.245 (talk) 20:16, 9 November 2011 (UTC)

On a few occasions, Rigsby says "there's nothing between here and the Urals". Although there is obviously continental Europe between Britain and the Ural mountains, he is uneducated and may not know that. However, it must be on the coast, otherwise he could see that there is land in all directions. Where is it stated that it is in a university town/city, rather than being near one? Alan supporting Leeds United and considering them his team does not mean he has any real tie to Leeds; thousands of glory hunters support Manchester United without having ever been to Manchester, not having any connection to it. Cleethorpes and the Humber are mentioned, but it isn't stated that the house is in Cleethorpes or on the Humber. 31.69.3.39 (talk) 17:08, 11 October 2012 (UTC)

It's not that he thinks there is no land between his house and the Urals. It's that the Urals is the next highest point across Europe, northern Europe being relatively flat.165.225.76.55 (talk) 15:06, 18 July 2018 (UTC)

Rigsby's character

I have reverted the text. To call Rigsby a 'stereotypical racist' is to misunderstand his character. Rigsby was never seen to dislike Phillip because of his colour, but because Phillip was everything Rigsby wasn't but aspired to be (Suarve, Sophisticated, Educated) he treated him with mistrust.

In resposnse for the justification of changing the text "by no means racist", I would strongly disagree with this. "He constantly makes derogatory comments in regards to Philip's skin colour.", I would disagree. While comments he made were often un-PC, they were never mallicious, perhaps he was a man of his generation, My Grandad used all sorts of un-PC terms, but he wasn't a racist. I think to say this is misunderstanding and over simplifying the plot.Mtaylor848 (talk) 21:19, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

Exactly, he wasn't a racist, he was a failure. All four main characters were failures, but none of them were malicious.--EchetusXe 16:18, 25 December 2011 (UTC)

If Rigsby had been racist he wouldn't have given Phillip the room. Rigsby was ignorant and to some extent, bigoted, but he wasn't really racist. Neither was he a 'bad' man, as he often helped out Alan and Phillip with favours. And Miss Jones especially so, although with her his motives weren't always entirely honourable. Rigsby was just an average, relatively uneducated normal person of his generation, one that had lived through World War II and seen great changes in Britain and the world, many of which he disagreed with, and who, pathetically, was just trying to survive the rapidly changing times with no previous experience of these sort of changes to guide him and still relying on the Boy's Own Paper from his earlier years for his role models and stereotypes.

Almost exactly the same 'racism' issue is dealt with in Love Thy Neighbour, because, with the exception of members of the armed forces who were stationed overseas, or were in the RAF, which had numerous members with various skin colours, many British people outside of London or Liverpool - then the worlds greatest sea ports - had never even met a black or coloured person before. Many would not have known that the terms 'wog', 'nig-nog', 'sambo', etc., were as insulting as they actually were, and many would have thought these terms were just nick-names for these sort of people, with no racist insult meant.

It's probably a fair comment to make that the racism issue in Britain only really started becoming a problem once the media took hold of it. Of course, there had been Oswald Mosley and the Black Shirts in the 1930s but later groups such as the National Front only really gained large memberships once the media started 'highlighting' the issue in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Prior to this, any 'racism' encountered tended to be isolated occurrences brought on by arguments between individuals. Most Britons simply didn't care what colour a person was.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.7.147.13 (talk) 23:31, 23 June 2012 (UTC)

Multiple issues banner

This page has a multiple issues banner but I found it easy to read and full of information. It certainly describes the Rising Damp series well and comprehensively. I suggest that all that is required is some copy editing to improve it. CPES (talk) 04:29, 26 September 2014 (UTC)