A Lot of Laughter and Wit
It is a shame really that people will always know Hugh Laurie for House, and remember him as a serious actor, and will perhaps know the comedy actor in him. Not that Laurie in House is not good I mean he is great, but Hugh Laurie the true actor is a comedian and its a shame that most of his fans, especially those who started following him after House will never be introduced to his true works.Well enough about Hugh Laurie, and on to the show as Hugh is only half of the show, the other half the always funny Stephan Fry. My first brush with the pair was in Blackadder, and along with Rowan Atkinson the three formed the pillars of British Comedy. It is an absolute delight for someone who likes good comedy that two of the three (Fry and Laurie), through this show, were given a license to go totally free and let loose their sense of comedy, no holds barred.
The show is essentially a series of skits performed by Fry and Laurie, and with each skit they take on different roles, though a few skits and roles are sometimes repeated, like Tony and Control,the good natured secret service men. In between skits sometimes we have a few fillers where Laurie and Fry are common London citizens and are randomly interviewed. In these interviews we never see or hear the question, and rather only the response they give, which works great as we can think up the question, which is fun. An example of this, which I recall off hand, is Fry dressed as an elderly person, saying I wouldn't suck it (or some variant thereof). We never hear the question, and Fry walks off after saying this, and that is that. These fillers are incredibly funny in themselves, and Laurie and Fry often even dress as women for the interviews. Another one which I remember is when Fry dressed as a woman is being interviewed, and Laurie, also dressed as a woman, walks up behind 'her', and threatens to write a stiff letter to the authorities. "I will write a stiff letter a very stiff letter....I will write it on a piece of card board." It was funny, damn funny and I seem to remember that this was the only interview filler where there was any direct interaction between the two actors.
The skits, which are the main focus of the show are very varied, and the two lead characters take on various roles and the setting change, from 1990s to the medieval ages at times even. Each skit on an average runs for about 3-5 mins, and these skits often break the audience wall as it is known and in one particular skit, there were subtitles at the bottom of the screen which pointed out to a man in the audience and said we can zoom right upto to his nostrils, which the camera later does. Another instance of this is when Fry goes and sits in the studio audience requesting them to fondle is bottom. Some characters and skits are repeated over the series and the their story is continued, from episode to episode. Tony and Control or two businessmen trying to fight of an adversary named Marjorie, were quite frequent.
Everyone has their favorite skits, and mine is Fry as a Policeman and Laurie as Mr. Nippl-e, where the pronunciation of Nippl-e is essentially the sound produced by dropping a small piece of wood on a table. That skit is absolute genius and very funny. Other regular elements of the show are Fry suddenly rambling on without a break, into the most perfect English, while in reality he is talking gibberish, and Laurie having a series of chat shows like 'realising I have given the wrong directions to.....' or 'Introducing my grandfather to....', 'or photocopying my genitals with.....' which are quite funny. A character whose name we hear a lot but who is never actually seen, Mr. Dalliard, is another semi-regular on the show. Another regular towards the latter seasons is every episode ending with Laurie playing the piano while Fry does an erratic and clumsy dance, while preparing a cocktail. The phrases "Please Mr. Music will you play" and "Soupy twist" are regular in the last two seasons.
In between all this is music and each of the characters take turn performing some songs, with some humorous lyrics, and Fry even got to Michael Jackson in one and do the 'moonwalk' with the help of a treadmill.
All in all the show is a work of art, and anyone who claims himself to be fond of comedy has to watch this show. It is a masterpiece, created by two masters of the art of comedy who in the show were given the license to just let their creativity run wild. Ultimately 4 seasons seems a little too less and I wish Laurie would one day return to comedy and give us at least one more episode of the show along with Fry. Admittedly not everyone will like every skit and some will like some skits more than others, but the layers of the show are so many that you are bound to find about the show that you absolutely love.
A must for all those who enjoy good comedy....a definite 9 on 10.
score 8/10
TooDrunkToWalk 10 July 2011
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2456235/14764
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