Comments on: A House Is Not a Home

By: Gavin

Gavin — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:32:28 +0000

That is v. good stuff, thank you. So should I start with Blackadder or A Bit of Fry and Laurie?

By: Rob

Rob — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:57:57 +0000

Scraps is dead on about Fry and Laurie. (And those clips are killer.)

You’d certainly like Blackadder. The first series is poor, but the next 3 are increasingly great, especially the World War I series. “The Teutonic reputation for brutality is well founded. Their operas last 3 or 4 days, and they have no word for ‘fluffy.’”

By: James

James — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:02:02 +0000

Are you kidding? Olivia Wilde can’t even act and Thirteen is the most boring, bland and robotic character ever written for a tv show, she’s the reason why I no longer watch the show. I couldn’t stand her character being pushed down our throats every episode. The original cast had great chemistry together, I miss Cameron and Chase, the show lost its appeal when they got rid of the ducklings.

By: Scraps

Scraps — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:54:56 +0000

Here are a couple good examples of the hyperverbal strain of their comedy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHQ2756cyD8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HcbOMqvK2M

The second one is, I am guessing, a deliberate exercise in writing a sketch in the Peter Cook and Dudley Moore park-bench conversation style.

By: Scraps

Scraps — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:41:08 +0000

You really can’t get much more self-conscious than A Bit of Fry and Laurie.

I am not exaggerating when I say it’s one of the great sketch comedy shows ever. I don’t know why it has had so little exposure in the US; it’s not all that British. Gavin, I am as certain as it is possible for me to be that you would find it hilarious. I do admit that it plays to one of my soft spots — they constantly deconstruct stock phrases — but that’s just ornament; almost everything they do is funny. The complete four-season set is available in the US on DVD.