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A Bit of Fry and Laurie - Season One | 
 enlarge | Actor: Bit Of Fry & Laurie
Studio: BBC Warner
Category: DVD
List Price: $24.98
Buy New: $14.99
You Save: $9.99 (40%)
New (34) Used (13) from $11.97
Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 9876
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 212
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: E2647
UPC: 794051264725
EAN: 0794051264725
ASIN: B000FI9ODQ
Theatrical Release Date: 2006
Release Date: August 22, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
Only a handful of creative works succeed in capturing the totality of human existence from birth to death through love transfiguration and redemption. "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" the BBC television series co-starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie has been said on two occasions to be among this group. Over 40 sketches in two programs of fun and frivolity.Running Time: 212 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 794051264725 Manufacturer No: E2647
Amazon.com
The comedy duo of Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie arrived on the British airwaves with an arsenal of false mustaches, snooty attitudes, linguistic twistiness, and deranged meta-commentary (which sometimes escalated into meta-meta-commentary). It's fascinating to see the pilot episode of A Bit of Fry & Laurie (included on the Season One DVD), in which all the tools of such comedy are in place, but there is a tentativeness about deploying them. By the first broadcast episode, as they launch into a sketch about a father objecting to his son being taught Biology in school, Fry and Laurie are in full command. Crazed flights of language spill effortlessly from their mouths, be it academic critic-babble or macho business jargon gone strangely awry. Fry and Laurie clearly owe a debt to the Monty Python troupe--in addition to verbal lunacy, Fry and Laurie recognized that when a sketch peaked they could skip on to the next one, often using on-the-street non-sequiturs for transitions--but they quickly found their own brand of whimsy. In a scene from the pilot, Laurie buys a toy car from Fry, which leads to both of them pushing the cars around the tabletop making vroom-vroom noises. The effect is silly but oddly heartwarming. Over the course of six episodes, sketches range from Fry stealing Laurie's brain, to the sad tale of an orphaned puppy's slide into corruption, to their most frequently recurring scenario featuring an MI-5 agent named Tony Mercheson (Laurie) and his affable, coffee-drinking superior, Control (Fry). Long before Fry starred in Wilde and Laurie became a household name in House, they carved out their place in the history of British comedy, somewhere in the lineage between Peter Sellers and Ricky Gervais. This first season captures them at their freshest. --Bret Fetzer
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| Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 A 'bit' better would have been nice July 18, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
"...you cast me as the mouse in your little cat drama"
This series is slightly reminiscent of Monty Python, only not as (I hate to put is so bluntly) good. The problem mostly lies in the fact that many of these skits are parodies and reference pop culture and events - more like Saturday Night Live. So when watching something from that long ago - and from that far away - it wasn't nearly as enjoyable as if I'd been able to get all of the nuances. That's not to say that none of it was enjoyable (there certainly were moments that made me laugh) but it could have been better.
I know, nothing tops the great Monty Python, so I should be disappointed. But, given how much I've enjoyed Stephen Fry on Whose Line is it Anyway? and Hugh Laurie as House, well, I was a bit let down. I'd say summing up this as a cross between Monty Python and Saturday Night Live, 20 years out of date, is the best description. Not a waste of time, but not the best use of time.
 House as Funny -- Whodathunkit! May 27, 2008
These are two very talented men doing very funny bits. And "House" in drag and doing a bazillion different characters -- what's not to love? I was familiar with both Frey and Laurie's excellent dramatic work - but you will find that they really shine in sketch comedy. Great fun!
Excellent stuff! February 8, 2008
We expected this to be the weaker material as it is the earliest, but we loved it - as good as or better than their later stuff. Very funny. Having viewed Seasons 1 & 2, we are looking forward to buying 3 & 4, & wish they'd made more.
A bit of Fry & Laurie season 1 October 8, 2007
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
You need a chunk of time to view this. Not as humorous as I had hoped.
Another Great British Comedy! October 7, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A friend of mine told about this show and I borrowed his DVD. After I had to buy my own. The sketches are a bit dated by now but they are still funny. Stephen Fry is an underrated comedy writer. I didn't know that Hugh Laurie was such a good comedian after seeing him in House. I especially loved the Control sketches. Laurie's song Mystery is a hilariously genius comedic song. If that makes any sense.
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