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'A Bit Of Fry And Laurie - Series 1 [1989]' starring Stephen Fry. (StaEAN 5014138303204)

Jeeves And Wooster - The Complete Collection [1990]

It is great - this series is as funny as I remember it ! I loved renting the VHS of the best bits when at university a few years back . The surrealism , the satire and the unadulterated madness just creases me up every time I watch. These guys are the absolute tops - even when skating on thin ice with comments on drugs & homosexuality the writing & delivery is such that only the ultimate kill joy would object. Control & Tony are just great as is the Dallas parody involving Peter & John. A tiresome piano player getting decked is just very comic as is the Neighbors spoof and those crazed Yuppies ruminating over ' state of Telford . ' Period pieces get gagged up with Marjorie falling off a horse. In the hands of anyone else this material would have been decried as terrible , stupid and unfunny - but with Mr Fry & Mr Laurie you are in fits of laughter from the word go. This is parody for the late 1980's/early 1990's and has not really dated. Never mind Carry On London - why not just let these two write a few film scripts and appear in those instead ? They are just an excellent comic double act and I cannot recommend this top notch series to highly - especially at this great price ! Well done Amazon !

"I've been watching the first series of A Bit of Fry & Laurie."
"Have you. Have you indeed. Indeedy."
"Yes."
"And?"
"It's very funny."
"And?"
"They look very young. Very young. Indeed."
"Well it was the late eighties."
"Ah, the Eighties. Do you know I used to have a pink shirt."
"Did you, Jeremy."
"My name's not Jeremy."
"James?"
"No."
"Geoff?"
"No."
"Andrew?"
"Warmer. No, but it is hilarious and hasn't date. At all."
"How tall?"
"What?"
"How tall?"
"No. At all."
"Oh ha ha ha ha."
"(?)"
"Why hasn't it dated, Alan?"
"No, still wrong. Well it's because they use very few contemporary references and hardly ever as the crux of the joke."
"Like Ricky Gervais?"
"No."
"Harry Hill?"
"No. Often they also seem rather prescient."
"Prescient?"
"Well, at one point, Fry gives a satirical piece to camera as a politician which could as well be a speech from last week in which Gordon Brown or some other minister outline the current ills of the world."
"Could that just be the comedian's touching on perennial social problems and inadequacies of a government state?"
"Possibly, possibly."
"Look, is this review going to carry on like this. I mean it's a half decent idea to use this dialogue instead of proper paragraphs, but if the intention is for you to sound like Mr. Fry and myself as Mr. Laurie, it's clearly failing because this bit sounds like it should be spoken like you, though less erudite."
"True. But what you've touched upon is the other innovation - the generally fractured nature of their sketch comedy."
"Go on."
"It isn't often that their material reaches a purposefully satisfactory conclusion. Like the Pythons they're experimenting with the format, often interrupting a sketch before the end, either themselves in order to criticise their own words to camera or each other or through some outside influence. In one episode, an audience member starts threatening them with legal action for plagiarising his writing and it's done well enough, at least at first, that you're not sure if its something which actually happened on the day. Is that a long enough paragraph for you?"
"Better. Much better, Nigel."
"It doesn't all work. The Control and Tony spy characters haven't quite warmed up yet and the vox pops which appear between sketch don't go anywhere after the initial flurry and end up only being fitfully funny. But it's just particularly refreshing to see comedy that doesn't talk down to the viewer and assumes a certain level of intelligence."
"So you'd recommend it then would you?"
"Yes."
"Douglas?"
"No."
"Arthur?"
"No."
"Norris?"
"No."
"Horris?"
"No."
"Boris?"
"No."
"Well that is your name then?"
"Rosemary."
"That's not very funny."
"Well we're not real comedians, and neither is the person typing this into his computer. Depending upon your point of view..."

A Bit of Fry and Laurie stands up pretty well in comparison with current sketch shows. There's a good range of character sketches, much wider than with shows like Catherine Tate and Little Britain, and some clever Two Ronnies style word play. Hugh Laurie at the piano is a highlight as are the ridiculous 80s businessmen which is a great send-up of management speak. If you like sketch shows this is definitely worth a look.

This is the best DVD you'll ever buy. The sketches are timeless classics, whose brilliance goes sadly unnoticed by the general public... but those who've discovered it will enjoy all the more for the exclusive feel of these sketches. They do combine some regular visual puns and buffoonery but for the most part it's the plays on words, twisting meanings and leading you in the wrong direction ever so playfully that's the fun part of this series. The only thing wrong with it is the overlong and slow Control sketches, and the fact that you can't easily pick sketches to fast forward to. But the quality of the rest more than makes up for it - the christening sketch is such a great parody of 80s yuppies, Mr. Simnock and his cocoa is beautifully drawn and achingly funny, with lots of the unexpected: "Ninety-two years old and I've never had oral sex." The doctor's surgery and Mr. Smear's complaint to the headmaster ("my son is soiled now - I'd like you to replace him") are some of the best sketches ever written - they mislead, twist and amuse all at once, and are delivered with style and skill. The vox pop one liners come thick and fast, and you hardly have time to swallow and enjoy before they've moved on to the next - the pause button is invaluable. The very first sketch on the pilot - I'd never seen it before - is an absolute classic - I know people just like that! Buy, watch and enjoy. Amen!

Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie are a multi-talented pair. When they are performing, for example, a Richard Curtis/Ben Elton script like Blackadder, the result is Gold. Performing their own material, however, leaves a lot to be desired. Although some sketches are cleverly written and amusingly performed, the majority are simply not that funny. Unfortunately not even brilliant comedic actors (as Fry and Laurie are) can overcome lame material.