A Bit of Fry & Laurie: The Complete Collection... Every Bit [4 Discs] [DVD]

Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry have been best friends and comedy partners since they were at Cambridge together. They wrote this series (Hugh wrote the songes) and they did almost all the acting. If you like British sketch comedy (Monty Python, etc.) you should enjoy ABOFAL. These were made between 1987 (the pilot) and 1995 (season 4). With very few exceptions S1-3 were entirely acted by Fry and Laurie. S4 had a guest each episode (most of whom won't be familiar to American audiences.) Much of the humor is based on their love of language and skewering pomposity but there's plenty of broad humor as well (e.g. considering that Stephen Fry is 6'4" and Hugh Laurie is 6'2 1/2", they make lovely women.) DVD Extras: As that both men are alive and active, the lack of any new material such as an interview or two is disappointing. There are only two extras. Disk 1 includes the pilot and Disk 2 has The Cellar Tapes. The Cambridge Footlights Club is a world-famous student comedy club. Their last year there, Hugh Laurie was the president of the club and Emma Thompson was the vice president. Together with Stephen Fry, Tony Slattery, Paul Shearer and Penny O'Dwyer their Spring Review was the award-winning (Edinburgh Comedy Festival) Cellar Tapes. It was filmed the following year. It's a great chance to see these performers at the absolute beginning of their careers (and marvel at how good they were at 20.) Despite the title, this collection does NOT contain "every bit." Fry & Laurie's take on 'Hey Jude" was on the British release of Season 3 but is missing from the American release (probably due to licensing problems.) But it's regularly up on youtube so you can see the missing bit.

Before Hugh Laurie was on House M.D and the Stuart Little (1, 2 & 3) movies and before Stephen Fry on Bones and V For Vendetta, and even before the Jeeves & Wooster hit, A Bit Of Fry & Laurie came on the air on the BBC in 1989. I became hooked while watching bits and pieces of the series (a best of) from mt local PBS station, recorded the series that PBS broadcast onto VHS in 1996. As soon as the DVD version hit onto the market, I was able to purchase the entire set at once. There are an inexhaustible characters that both of these actors played in as well as plenty of wordplay in sketch comedy. This is one of the few times you will see Hugh Laurie sit and play the piano, pick up a harmonica or play the guitar and sing a comical tune. This is a true forgotten comedy gem.

The Cambridge Footlights Club has had amongst its members many now famous British comedians, including several Pythons; Fry and Laurie are chiefly among these. With sketches mocking culture and propriety, these two have proven to be even more talented than is evidenced by their other works in television and other media. If you appreciate British humour, you'll certainly love this collection.