Jeeves and Wooster

"Jeeves and Wooster" is a wonderful showcase for Hugh Laurie and Steven Fry, two of my favorite comedians. Their performances carry the series even when the writing starts to falter in the final season.

But the original P.G. Wodehouse books are, it should go without saying, better. Bertie Wooster's narration of his own adventures is hilarious, and much of his bizarre "wit" is inevitably lost in translation to TV. Thankfully, though, Clive Exton's scripts do retain an enormous amount of Wodehouse's original dialogue, which really can't be beat.

All the plots are the same, of course; Wooster is either helping a friend get married, or trying to avoid getting hitched himself. Somehow, though, this repetition doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the series; in fact, it's sort of a wacky bonus. I find that, if anything irks me, it's that some of Wooster's friends are total jerks or weeds who really don't deserve his help - though I suppose that's part of the joke. The oily Gussy Finklenottle drives me absolutely nuts, especially in the first two seasons!

The production values are surprisingly lavish, especially for British TV (though there is a rather lame recreation of the Empire State Building in one episode). The period detail is impressive, and the music is great. The casting is mostly spot-on, too, though some of the guest actors perform a little too grotesquely, and certain very important characters are re-cast midway through the series. It's quite distracting when a major character like Madeline Basset is suddenly played by a new actress, especially when the original Madeline later shows up playing another character, Florence. Thankfully, some of the best cast members stay the course.

There's a definite change in tone after the first two seasons. The show gradually becomes weirder, and when you get to the later episodes Wooster is suddenly getting shot at, jumping off boats, etc. But there's plenty of great material throughout the whole run, and I highly recommend picking up the whole set on DVD. I don't even mind the American characters, who seem to take a lot of heat on this site; aren't the bad accents silly on purpose?

Ultimately, what makes this series so memorable is its offbeat combination of different elements - it's like a comedy of manners, a musical, and a goofy slapstick routine rolled in one. I didn't really get it when I was a kid, but I think it's a hoot now, and Wodehouse's commentary on the laziness of privileged people and the fickleness of love still feels very relevant. Great stuff.

If there's any British actor best suited for playing a foppish hero, it would be Hugh Laurie. He does an incredibly good job with Bertram "Bertie" Wooster. I've seen another play that was based on the Woodhouse novels, but the actor playing Mr. Wooster didn't have the same kind of charisma that Hugh Laurie does. Steven Fry is also a very good Jeeves, the butler always helping out Wooster of the bad situations he gets himself into.

5 stars, check it out!

Long before he achieved stardom in the U.S. for playing the tortured, acid-tongued title character on "House, M.D.", Hugh Laurie played Dr. House's polar opposite, Bertie Wooster, on the British TV series "Jeeves and Wooster" from 1990 to 1993. With the help of his frequent co-star Stephen Fry, Laurie brought P.G. Wodehouse's beloved characters from the classic "Jeeves" series vividly to life. The TV series follows the misadventures of dapper, doltish young millionaire Bertie Wooster, and his indispensable, saintly valet Jeeves (played to poker faced perfection by Fry). Every story was convoluted and gloriously silly, with Bertie being tangled in one ridiculous situation after the other (usually of his own doing), but always coming out on the right side of it... and always with help from the relentlessly patient Jeeves. Many familiar characters are here, from cranky, meddling Aunt Agatha to Bertie's brainless chum Bingo Little. But Laurie and Fry are the real reasons to watch. Laurie somehow makes the foppish, clumsy Bertie truly lovable, and his rubber-faced mugging could put Jim Carrey to shame. Fry somehow keeps Jeeves from being bland and dull, and he is almost an omniscient being, the way he never fails at bailing his fatuous master out of trouble. Plus, he never gets annoyed at Bertie's constant mangling of popular songs while playing the piano (check out the pilot, where Bertie attempts Cab Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher", complete with the hi-de-ho chorus). So, is this a splendid little series worth checking out on DVD? As Jeeves would say, "Indeed, sir."

My father introduced me to the Jeeves stories and I fell in love with them. Adaptation can be a tricky affair but this series is done superbly. Hugh Laurie portrayed Bertie just as I pictured the character. I always thought of Jeeves as being older but Stephen Fry portrayal of Jeeves dispelled that notion. The other characters are done well especially Bingo and Aunt Agatha. If you've read the stories a couple of them are usually combined into one episode. Having great material to start with and maintaining that standard is tough but this series does it brilliantly. So if you enjoy Wodehouse or enjoy good farce I highly recommend this series.

"Jeeves and Wooster" is one of the best pure adaptations I have ever seen in a television show. As a huge fan of the books, I have no problem with any characterizations or plot dramtizations. The best thing about this series is its Britishness. Both Jeeves and Wooster drip with satire. Each episode is laugh out loud funny. It is much better made than many British television offerings, such as the Peter Wimsey series (although I love it, too). I highly recommend a look at this series to anyone who has a British sense of humor or enjoys '20s glamor.