RAH Humor Review: A Bit of Fry and Laurie
by Dave Bealer
Copyright © 2006 Dave Bealer, All Rights Reserved.
A Bit of Fry and Laurie was a BBC comedy series produced from
1989 to 1995. It starred Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, two of Britain's
leading comic actors.
Fry and Laurie met while students at Cambridge University. They were
introduced to each other by Emma Thompson, who appeared with them in
the Cambridge Footlights comedy review.
Stephen Fry is a bestselling author as well as a great comic actor. He
first became known as "Melchitt" in the various Blackadder series,
and is probably best known as the incomparable butler Jeeves in
Jeeves and Wooster. He has also portrayed Oscar Wilde in a
biopic.
Hugh Laurie has appeared with Stephen Fry in many productions since
they met at Cambridge University. Laurie first came to world attention
as the "George" characters in the various Blackadder series. He seemed
born to play Bertie Wooster, the classic upper class twit character
from the P.G. Wodehouse stories.
Hugh Laurie had been concerned about being typecast as the dimwitted
type of character he played as Bertie Wooster, but he need not have
worried. Laurie is currently starring as the brilliant, but caustic
Dr. Gregory House in the hit American medical drama, House MD.
A Bit of Fry and Laurie is a sketch comedy show, with many
recurring sketches. Some of them include:
- Tony Murchison and Control - British spy leader Tony Murchison
(Laurie), who reports to his coffee-obsessed boss Control (Fry).
- John and Peter - John (Fry) and Peter (Laurie) find themselves in
various executive situations (but mostly as operators of a small town
health club), where they spout cliches and attempt to overcome the
machinations of the evil Marjorie.
Fry and Laurie's comedy features great wit in the finest English
tradition. Stephen Fry specialises in portraying sophisticated
characters, which can range in temperment from quiet and dainty to
loud and bullying. Hugh Laurie seems to be most at home playing
confused characters, although he also does "high and mighty" very
well.
For anyone who likes British comedy - particularly Blackadder
or Jeeves and Wooster, this show is highly recommended. The
first two seasons are currently available on DVD.
Dave Bealer is a forty-something mainframe systems programmer who
works with CICS, MVS and all manner of nasty acronyms at one of the
largest heavy metal shops on the East Coast. He shares a waterfront
townhome in Pasadena, MD. with a cat who annoys him endlessly as he
assiduously avoids writing for and publishing Random Access Humor.
Dave can be reached via e-mail at:
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