The New Adventures of Lucky Jim

Big things were expected of the talented Enn Reitel in the early '80's. This short-lived B. B. C.-2 series cast him as Jim Dixon, an ex-University lecturer struggling to make it in Swinging '60's London. Dixon is no 'dedicated follower of fashion', as he wears glasses and tweed suits with leather elbow patches. Kingsley Amis' character was intended as a spoof of the 'angry young men' movement of the late '50's. Ian Carmichael played him in a memorable 1957 film. Reitel was perfectly cast as the quick witted, face-pulling Dixon, Anthony Sher guest-starred along with Clive Swift, and the stunning Glynis Barber. It helped that the show was written by people who'd actually lived through the 60's. It captured perfectly the heady flavour of 1967, with opening titles played against footage of dancing flower-people, backed by an Alan Price song called "Where Do I Go From Here?". Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais's scripts, whilst hardly in the same class as their earlier stuff, were funny. But there was no second series. Dick and Ian went to I. T. V. The following year to write 'Auf Wiedershen Pet'. Reitel provided voices for I. T. V.'s long-running 'Spitting Image'.