Last night was the first episode of the Martin Clunes Reggie Perrin. There's no point in making picky comparisons - quite clearly Simon Nye has taken the spirit of Nobbs' original and thought what contemporary irritations would offer a Perrin of today (mobiles, laptops, managerial idiocy, etc.).

What suddenly occurs to me is that Gary - Clunes' character in Men Behaving Badly - was a Reggie Perrin in the making. Strip away the laddism, lager and Kylie jokes and there was the same bile and exasperation at The System. Scrape still more and the face of a Joseph K. - a faint Turin shroud after-image - grins knowingly.

What next? A Clunes Kafka?