Editing Ever Decreasing Circles (section)

==Synopsis==
[[Richard Briers]] plays Martin Bryce, an [[obsessive-compulsive personality disorder|obsessive]], [[middle-age]]d man at the centre of his local [[suburban]] community in [[Mole Valley]], Surrey.<ref name=guardian/><ref name=telegraph>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/9746219/Penelope-Wilton-on-working-with-Richard-Briers.html|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|title=Penelope Wilton on working with Richard Briers|first=Ellie|last=Pithers|date=14 December 2012|access-date=12 October 2022|url-access=subscription}}</ref> This relatively unsympathetic character was the antithesis of [[The Good Life (1975 TV series)#Tom Good|Tom Good]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/1157964/index.html|work=[[Screenonline|BFI Screenonline]]|title=Briers, Richard (1934-2013)|first=Graham|last=Rinaldi|access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref> Briers said that it was his favourite sitcom role.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/feb/18/richard-briars-a-life-in-clips|work=The Guardian|title=Richard Briers: a life in clips|first=Stuart|last=Heritage|date=18 February 2013|accessdate=12 October 2022}}</ref> The show's signature [[running gag]] (which appeared in almost every episode) was Martin walking past the telephone in his hallway and turning the receiver around.
 
Martin is married to the domesticated and patient Ann ([[Penelope Wilton]]) and has a settled, orderly lifestyle until he encounters their new next-door neighbour, ex-[[British Army]] officer and [[Cambridge Blue]] Paul Ryman ([[Peter Egan]]). Paul is everything Martin is not – adventurous, ''[[laissez-faire]]'', flippant, witty, handsome and charming; in the words of Martin, a "couldn't care less, come on life ... amuse me, merchant".<ref name=screenonline>{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1358165/index.html|work=BFI Screenonline|title=Ever Decreasing Circles (1984-87)|first=Graham|last=Rinaldi|access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref> He attempts to join in with the activities of Martin and his friends, but his fresh thinking causes Martin to see him as a rival who might want to "take over" Martin's self-appointed role as organiser. Martin's obsession with order and stability also leads him to get upset at Paul's minor changes to routine, such as sitting at a different table in the local [[public house|pub]]. Paul runs his own business, a [[hair salon]], and later, a health studio. Martin, by contrast, has a humdrum white-collar job at Mole Valley Valves, a company named after an area of [[Surrey]].

The other regular characters were Howard and Hilda Hughes ([[Stanley Lebor]] and [[Geraldine Newman]]), another married couple who generally add lighter humour to the plots. They are long-standing friends and neighbours of Martin's, who share some of his obsessiveness whilst having plenty of quirks of their own (such as often wearing "his and hers" matching outfits), but are also attracted by Paul's personality. Although Howard and Hilda are often seen as being rather timid, they have strong moral values and can be very forthright in chastising other characters (usually Martin or Paul) when they believe them to have done something wrong.

An undercurrent running throughout the series is the unresolved [[sexual tension]] and [[flirting]] between Paul and Ann. Martin sometimes seems oblivious to the attraction between Ann and Paul but in one episode, he wrongly believes that they have run off together.<ref name=guardian/> Martin leaves home, leaving Ann a note wishing her happiness and stating that he will always love her. Graham Rinaldi notes that "Briers' performance is poignant and genuinely moving as he wrestles with the character's inner turmoil."<ref name=screenonline/> Martin's relationship with Paul is double-edged. Paul is always friendly to Martin, who veers between thinly disguised hatred and grudging admiration. Paul also solves a marital crisis in one episode when Martin is tricked by a colleague into believing he had had a drunken [[one-night stand]] while away on business and admitting to Ann his infidelity. Paul cons the colleague into an admission of the trick in front of Ann, restoring her faith in Martin.

Central to the show is Martin's envy of Paul. Paul is shown to be significantly better than Martin at many things, notably [[cricket]], where Paul joins the local team and promptly smashes all the records that Martin proudly holds.<ref name=guardian/> The two later play in a [[snooker]] tournament, where Martin is delighted to find that Paul is useless (the tournament coincides with Howard's anger at being seen as "a loser", causing him to defeat Martin in the final). A parallel is drawn with an incident from Martin's childhood in which his own "gang" was taken over by a new boy.

The show also featured guest appearances by [[Peter Blake (actor)|Peter Blake]], [[Ronnie Stevens (actor)|Ronnie Stevens]], [[Victoria Burgoyne]], [[Ray Winstone]], [[Pamela Salem]], and [[Suzan Crowley]].

After four series, ''Ever Decreasing Circles'' ended on Christmas Eve 1989 with an 80-minute finale entitled "Moving On" ("New Horizons", on the DVD release) in which Martin's employer, Mole Valley Valves, merges with another company (Lee Valley Valves) and moves to [[Oswestry]]. Ann discovers she is pregnant and, despite Martin initially resenting the unborn child for forcing him to move away from The Close, the story ends with the couple bidding farewell to their neighbours. The final scene sees Martin standing in his empty hallway, going over to the telephone (the only thing left from the Bryces' ownership), and turning the receiver around, suggesting that Martin's obsessiveness will live on.<ref name=screenonline/>