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Rating: 5:
A rare and precious comedy gem : After watching these programmes on television, constantly interrupted by adverts, it's an absolute treat to watch them complete and unfragmented, one after another. It's hard to imagine any two actors playing Wodehouse's immortal characters so well as Fry and Laurie. Woodhouse could have written Jeeves and Wooster with Fry and Laurie in mind, the fit is just so perfect. It's quite true, as a previous reviewer has observed, that there's an almost indecent turn-over of Aunt Dahlias and quite a lot of the other characters. But the important thing is, the two main characters remain the same and all the various variable actors are very good and don't really break the viewer's sense of continuity too much. The series has everything going for it. The scripts are funny and clever, the actors have interpreted Wodehouse's cast of comic characters brilliantly well, the style, sophistication and absurdity of the 1930s is captured wonderfully. The only problem I had with any of it was the music, which gets into the brain and repeats endlessly, as annoyingly catchy tunes will.

Rating: 5:
Just wonderful : I like the Jeeves and Wooster books and can remember watching the TV shows in 1990's. But now with all the poor shows on TV this DVD box set is super!
Great acting, funny stories.
Well worth buying.

Rating: 5:
Fry and Laurie and Wodehouse : It is like be reunited with an old and dearly missed friend.

Watched the original shows in the early 90's and bought the boxed set mainly to entertain my daughters over the long wet British summer. It is even better at the second time of watching.

The main Cast is backed up with some well known character actors, Robert Daws, Martin Clunes and John Woodnutt et al.

Catches the feel of the inter-war era beautifully. Some very accurate back grounds along with some fabulous 1930's cars. Bertie's Aston Martin and a very nice pre Aston Martin Lagonda spring to mind.

Wodehouse's comic genius for building a plot still works in the 1 hour episode format. Where the story cannot be told adequately in a single hour it tends to be split over 2 episodes .

The only annoyance is the constantly changing cast. Aunt Dahlia is played by 4 actresses, a different one in each series. This is a common practice for a number of the main supporting characters which tends to lose

Fry and Laurie are the nearest thing we have to Renaissance men in the modern age.

Rating: 5:
Fry and Laurie excel : Jeeves and Wooster are among the most recognisable characters of 20th century literature.

Having read all the original stories I firmly believe Wodehouse to be a genius on a par with Wilde, Shaw and Marx (Groucho).

The books need to be read. Told in the first-person by "Bertram" some of the language is simply too difficult to translate to drama. eg Bertie speaking to one of numerous would-be Mrs Woosters

"Pip Pip", I said, and I meant it to sting!

However, Fry and, in particular, Laurie (Yes - Greg House!!). capture the spirit of the source books with charm,wit and extraordinary charisma.

Ok Series 3 and 4 and not up to the delights of 1 and 2 but are still superior to most british drama today.

Highly recommended.


P.S. It is no wonder to me that Hugh Laurie has gone on to huge stardom in the role of Gregory House. Surely the "anti-Wooster" if ever there were one!!

Rating: 5:
The new definitive Jeeves and Wooster : It is testament to the performances of Fry and Laurie that they have now supplanted Ian Carmichael and Dennis Price as my visual models for the lead roles. Comic delivery, facial expressions and slapstick timing combine to perfection and the adaptation is fantastic, so that each episode in the life of the eternal bachelor and his guardian angel valet seems fresh even though the plots and themes are somewhat repetitive, and at times a bit predictable. Full marks too for the locations and sets - it's a lot less stagey than the 1970's version. The episodes in the first and second series are generally stronger but the standard is very high throughout. Richard Greene may still be my favourite Robin Hood but Fry and Laurie are the perfect pairing for Wodehouses comedy classics.