History Series / EverDecreasingCircles

Although, as a "sofa sitcom" in the 1980s, it was somewhat at odds with a comedy landscape populated by such series as ''Series/TheYoungOnes'' and ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'', it drew audiences of over 12 million at its peak, and Creator/RickyGervais has named the series as a personal favourite.

* LawfulStupid: Martin has moments of this, most notably in the Series 4 episode "The Footpath", in which he discovers that his house was built over a public footpath. He promptly puts a signpost indicating the path in his front garden and a stile over the fence in his back garden. It is not until a representative from the local Council tells him that only they can put up footpath signs, and that they have no plans to do so since the footpath became defunct when the house was built in the 1970s, that he removes the sign.

* NightmareSequence: In Series 4's "Half an Office", Martin is convinced he will be sacked after blowing up at his boss for taking away half of his (already small and shabbily-furnished) office, and reacts uncomfortably when Paul offers him a job in his health studio if he should get the sack. That night, he imagines himself as a corrupt, womanising gangster/brothelkeeper whom Ann announces her intention to leave; the dream also features Paul as Martin's grovelling doorman, Hilda as one of his tarts, and Howard as Martin's father.

In the triple-length series finale, Martin's employer merges with another firm and he is transferred to a new office in Oswestry; though initially reluctant to leave the Close, he is swayed when Ann reveals that she was carrying their child.

* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: It is implied in several episodes that Ann married Martin because he helped her through a difficult time in her life, and although she finds his obsessive nature vexing at times, she remains as devoted to him as he does to her.

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Howard and Hilda Hughes, as well as Dan and Diana Danby from "House to Let", and Pam and Peter, Martin and Ann's neighbours before Paul.

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Howard and Hilda Hughes, as well as Dan and Diana Danby from "House to Let", and Peter and Pamela, Martin and Ann's neighbours before Paul.

** The under-13 football teams Martin coaches always seem to end up on the receiving end of these; the first episode, "The New Neighbour", opens with a buoyant Martin dropping off his dejected players. In Series 4's "Relaxation", Paul finds a match report from 1981 in which Martin's lads lost 7-0.

* ABNegative: In the Season 1 episode "A Strange Woman", Paul is taken away in a police car in the middle of the night. He reveals the next day that he is a registered blood donor with a rare blood type, and had to be fetched to donate to an accident victim.

* BrilliantButLazy: Paul has shades of this; although he is able to succeed professionally with seemingly minimal effort, he tends to lose interest just as a venture is showing real signs of success, and begins searching for a new challenge. (In the Season 2 episode "A Married Man", Paul's estranged wife Sue explains to Ann that this trait is why she left Paul and ultimately divorced him.)

* ChristmasEpisode: Season 2's "The Party", in which Paul hosts an enormous Christmas party and Ann volunteers the Bryces' house to accommodate some of the many guests.

** The under-13 football teams Martin coaches always seem to end up on the receiving end of these; the first episode, "The New Neighbour", opens with a buoyant Martin dropping off his dejected players. In Season 4's "Relaxation", Paul finds a match report from 1981 in which Martin's lads lost 7-0.
** In the Season 2 episode "The Cricket Match", Martin's cricket team soars to victory thanks to a century from former Cambridge Blue Paul, leading to accusations from the opposing side that he is a [[SuperRinger ringer]]. (Martin, meanwhile, is out for a duck after a bizarre umpire ruling.)
** Later in Season 2, the episode "Snooker" sees Martin storming to victory over snooker novice Paul in a pub tournament, only to be equally heavily defeated by Howard in the final.
* DarkHorseVictory: In the Season 2 episode "Snooker", Martin is delighted to discover that, for once, Paul is hopeless at something, and he breezes past him on the way to the final of the local pub snooker tournament, confident in his ultimate victory. However, Howard's anger at being perceived as a loser reaches boiling point after an incident at work, and he proceeds to [[CurbStompBattle demolish Martin in the final]].
* DisasterDominoes: In the Season 2 episode "Housework", Martin's ambitious attempt to give his house a thorough spring clean while Ann is in hospital quickly turns into this. Although he meticulously schedules both the cleaning and his usual contributions to the social lives of the Close residents, his lack of experience with cooking and cleaning means that the house is soon in complete chaos and his schedule quickly falls by the wayside.

* HappilyMarried: Although Ann finds Martin's enthusiasm for organisation frustrating at times, they clearly love each other. Howard and Hilda are also happily, if somewhat quirkily, married. Averted with Paul, who is separated from his wife Sue (she appears in Season 2's "A Married Man" to ask for a divorce so that she can remarry).

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: In the Season 4 episode "Jumping to Conclusions", Hilda [[MistakenForCheating misinterprets an apparent secret meeting between Paul and Ann]] and relays the news to Martin. Martin decides that Ann would probably be happier with Paul and decides to let her go, telling Ann in his farewell note that he will always love her. Fortunately, Ann and Paul are able to track Martin down and set the record straight before he can make the separation permanent.

** In the Season 3 episode "One Night Stand", a practical joke-loving co-worker of Martin's arranges for him to find a strange woman in his bedroom one morning on a business trip. Martin is horrified to discover his "indiscretion" and immediately confesses to Ann, who becomes cold toward him until Paul tricks the joker into admitting the truth in front of her.
** In the Season 4 episode "Jumping to Conclusions", Hilda sees Ann climbing over the fence into Paul's garden for a study session for her Open University course. She concludes that Paul and Ann are having an affair, and word works its way back to Martin. [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy Martin decides to leave Ann to what he sees as a happier life with Paul]], but is set straight before he can make the separation permanent.
* NightmareSequence: In Season 4's "Half an Office", Martin is convinced he will be sacked after blowing up at his boss for taking away half of his (already small and shabbily-furnished) office, and reacts uncomfortably when Paul offers him a job in his health studio if he should get the sack. That night, he imagines himself as a corrupt, womanising gangster/brothelkeeper whom Ann announces her intention to leave; the dream also features Paul as Martin's grovelling doorman, Hilda as one of his tarts, and Howard as Martin's father.
* NonIndicativeName: The houses in the Close all have names that evoke images of the countryside (Brooksmead, Hillview, Fircroft), which is at odds with their decidedly suburban setting. To Martin, they are an essential part of the character of the Close; to Paul, they are meaningless nonsense, and in Season 1's "A Strange Woman" he removes the sign with his house's name and burns it.

* SmallNameBigEgo: Martin becomes one of these in the Season 3 episode "Local Hero" after rescuing a drowning child from a canal and letting the resulting adulation go straight to his head.
* SuperRinger: In the Season 2 episode "The Cricket Match", Paul, a former Cambridge Blue, is drafted to replace an injured member of Martin's cricket team. He proceeds to score a century in a partnership with Howard to propel the team to victory, leading their opponents to accuse Martin of bringing in a ringer for what is supposed to be a friendly match.

* VacationEpisode: Season 4's "Stuck in a Loft" finds the Bryces, the Hugheses, and Paul and his GirlOfTheWeek going on a long weekend to a cottage in the countryside. Martin proves more adept than Paul at dealing with the cottage's plumbing and fireplace, and finds himself thoroughly enjoying getting the better of his neighbour for once, until he ends up... well, the clue is in the episode title.

Much of the series revolved around the one-sided rivalry between Martin and Paul; although Paul was never anything other than friendly toward Martin, Martin resented both the ease with which Paul seemed to accomplish everything and the minor changes he suggested to the established routine (such as sitting at a different table to their usual table in the local pub). However, he remained largely oblivious to perhaps the biggest threat of all to his way of life: the unspoken romantic tension between Paul and Ann.

In the triple-length series finale, Martin's employer merged with another firm and he was transferred to a new office in Oswestry; though initially reluctant to leave the Close, he was swayed when Ann revealed that she was carrying their child.

* CoolCar: Paul's white vintage MG.

** In the Season 3 episode "One Night Stand", a practical joke-loving co-worker of Martin's arranges for him to find a strange woman in his bedroom on a business trip. Martin is horrified to discover his "indiscretion" and immediately confesses to Ann, who becomes cold toward him until Paul tricks the joker into admitting the truth in front of her.

* SmallNameBigEgo: Martin becomes one of these after rescuing a drowning child from a canal and letting the resulting adulation go straight to his head.

{{BBC1}} sitcom written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey as a vehicle for Richard Briers, the star of their previous hit ''Series/TheGoodLife'', which aired for four series between 1984 and 1989. Briers plays neurotic control freak Martin Bryce, a middle manager at a valve manufacturer who manages a wide variety of social and cultural activities for the Close, a housing development in an unnamed London suburb.

* {{UST}}: Between Paul and Ann. Although Paul often flirted with Ann, and she was sometimes tempted to reciprocate, their mutual respect for Martin and his marriage to Ann prevented them from seriously acting on their impulses.

* HomemadeSweaterFromHell: Howard and Hilda were always seen wearing hideous matching jumpers.

* VitriolicBestBuds: Although Martin is often hostile toward toward Paul for the perceived threat he poses to his position as "leader" of the Close, as well as for his facetious sense of humour, Paul simply shrugs it off and is consistently genial toward Martin. Several episodes reveal that, deep down, Martin wishes he could be more like Paul, and actually does consider him a friend.

Much of the series revolved around the one-sided rivalry between Martin and Paul; although Paul was never anything other than friendly toward Martin, Martin resented both the ease with which Paul seemed to accomplish everything and the minor changes to the established routine (such as sitting at a different table to their usual table in the local pub). However, he remained largely oblivious to perhaps the biggest threat of all to his way of life: the unresolved romantic tension between Paul and Ann.