A Bit of Fry and Laurie
Encyclopedia
A Bit of Fry & Laurie is a British sketch comedy
television series starring former Cambridge Footlights
members Stephen Fry
and Hugh Laurie
, broadcast on both BBC1
and BBC2
between 1989 and 1995. It ran for four series and totalled 26 episodes, including a 35 minute pilot episode in 1987.
As in The Two Ronnies
, elaborate wordplay and innuendo were staples of its material. It frequently broke the fourth wall
; characters would revert into their real-life actors mid-sketch, or the camera would often pan off set into the studio. In addition, the show was punctuated with non-sequitur vox pops
in a similar style to those of Monty Python's Flying Circus
, often making irrelevant statements, heavily based on wordplay. Laurie was also seen playing piano and a wide variety of other instruments and singing comical numbers.
1987, although it was later edited down to 29 minutes for repeat transmissions (including broadcasts on the Paramount Comedy Channel). The full version is intact on the Series 1 DVD. It was the first pilot Fry and Laurie had produced for the BBC since 1983; their previous attempt, The Crystal Cube
, had not met with the BBC's approval.
The first three series were screened on BBC2, the traditional home for the BBC's comedy sketch shows, while the fourth series switched to BBC1, the mainstream entertainment channel. The last series was the least well-received, for a number of reasons: BBC1 was not the best place to showcase Fry and Laurie's arch humour; it featured celebrity guests in all but one episode, an addition of which neither Fry nor Laurie approved; and it was shown not long after Stephen Fry's nervous breakdown in 1995, which cast a shadow over the series. One reviewer says that, perhaps owing to this, Fry got more of the laughs, while Laurie was increasingly relegated to the "straight man" role.
From series 1–3 there were also several occasional guest artists, before they were made a permanent fixture during series 4, including: Selina Cadell
(Series 2, episode 4), Paul Eddington
(Series 2, episode 5), Nigel Havers
(Series 2, episode 6), Rowan Atkinson
(Series 2, episode 6), Nicholas Parsons
(Series 3, episode 1), Rebecca Saire
(Series 3, episode 2 and 5), Gary Davies
(Series 3, episode 6), and Colin Stinton
(Series 3, episode 6).
government minister is strangled while Stephen Fry
screams at him "What are you doing to the television system? What are you doing to the country?", is an attack on the Broadcasting Act of 1990
and the perceived motivations of those who supported it. The pair would later attack what they saw as the Act's malign aftereffects in the sketch "It's a Soaraway Life", a parody of It's a Wonderful Life
evoking a world in which Rupert Murdoch
had not existed.
The series made numerous jokes at the expense of the Tory prime ministers of the time, Margaret Thatcher
and John Major
, and one sketch depicting a televised "Young Tory of the Year" competition, in which a young Conservative (Laurie) recites a deliberately incoherent speech consisting only of nonsense political buzzwords, such as "family values" and "individual enterprise".
Noel Edmonds
was also a frequent target. During a sketch where Fry had supposedly removed Laurie's brain, Laurie came out and said that he had just finished watching Noel Edmonds and that he is fantastic.
Both in Series 3 and 4, Fry precedes the question with increasingly silly introductions:
series Saturday Night Fry
). Strom comprises nonsensical single-syllable words, even shorter words that can only be expressed in over a full sentence in English, and vulgar faux amis
. It is also likely that this phrase came from the "A Bit of Fry and Laurie Xmas" episode in which Fry portrays a patron of a restaurant with Laurie as the waiter. Fry keeps telling the waiter that the soup is bad and Laurie insistently hears the word "suit" instead, assuring Fry that his suit looks fine. Several moments before the skit ends, the two turn to the camera and ask the audience to phone in the ending for the sketch which they call a "punchline", "end", or "twist".
had one character adding "if you'll pardon the pun" mid-conversation, when there had, in fact, been no pun uttered. The second character, puzzled, would say, "What pun?" and the first character would say, "Oh, wasn't there one? I'm sorry", and resume as normal. David Walliams
and Matt Lucas
paid homage to this gag in their series Come Fly with Me
, with the character Moses Beacon often using the phrase.
which reads "To m'colleague", as well as the one in his second autobiography, The Fry Chronicles
, which reads "To m'coll".
, and Home Secretary
. The character is a parody of several television shows of the 1970s, most prominently The Professionals
.
). The Warlord (guitarist) is dressed as a typical rocker, whereas the Bishop (vocalist) is dressed in his normal vestments, and one black fingerless glove. He sings (or rather speaks) his songs from a pulpit
.
, the British secret service. Tony Murchison is Subsection Chief of the East Germany and Related Satellites Desk, who brings Control his morning coffee. The characters discuss issues of national security with childish simplicity to parody the typically sparse details viewers were often afforded in British films of a similar genre. Much of the humour in these sketches arises from the stilted, amateurish, and inappropriate performance style. There were two written, but unaired, sketches featuring the pair, entitled "Spies Five" and "Spies/Twin" – the latter revealing that Control (whose real name was, in fact, Control) had a twin brother also named Control, who painted erotic murals in Earl's Court. The scripts for these sketches are available in the script-books..
.
-wearing, imposing man who belongs to an unnamed organisation. He recruits Freddy to participate in several of the organisation's efforts for the "cause", which he states to be freedom, although this may be hyperbolic. The characters stopped appearing after Neddy became Prime Minister; while he was being force-fed information from Jack, it became clear that Jack's organisation was a group of Nazis who were bent on ruling England through Neddy. Jack then stabbed Neddy in the back with his own Stanley knife
.
via a public toilet, to the Diocese of Uttoxeter
(John as Bishop, Peter as Executive Vice-Bishop). The sketch is a parody of television drama of the period such as BBC TV's Howard's Way, which depicted relatively small-scale businessmen as larger-than-life, world-weary, passionate, and tormented. John and Peter are invariably exhorting one another to greater efforts on behalf of their relatively insignificant businesses, with their shouted catchphrases "Damn!" and "Dammit John!". Their plans are usually derailed by the casual interference of the portrayed-as diabolical Marjorie, John's ex-wife. One written sketch entitled "Dammit 3" was unaired; those actually shown in the programme went straight from "Dammit 2" to "Dammit 4". The script for this sketch is available in the script books and online..
.
, including a police officer, a drifting geek, a woman who suddenly remembers she has "left the iron on", a pensioner who says that he "wouldn't suck it", without specifying what 'it' is and then walking off laughing, an old conservative, and others. Such insertions became less frequent in the last two series.
Two compilations were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 11 August 1994.
, Tony Slattery
, Penny Dwyer
, and Paul Shearer
.
The third series followed in October 2006. Amazon UK released a complete box set (all 4 series) on 30 October 2006, along with series 4 itself.
Series 1 was released on 6 July 2007 in Region 4. Region 1 versions of the first two series were released in the United States and Canada on 22 August 2006.
There is a copyright-related music edit on the Series 1 DVD during the final sketch of episode 6 ("Tony of Plymouth (Sword Fight)"). In the broadcast version, the music was from the soundtrack of "The Sea Hawk" but instead a new piece of music has been used, drowning out most of the dialogue in the process. In Series 2, Saint-Saens
is not credited for the end music ("Finale" from The Carnival of the Animals
) until the second half of the series. On the series 3 DVD for Region 1, the sketch which features Laurie and Fry singing The Beatles' "Hey Jude" has been omitted for unknown reasons.
In Australia, A Little Bit of Fry & Laurie: Series One Episodes 1–3 (Comedy Bites) was released on 4 March 2010.
"), has never actually met and may indeed "take a violent dislike" to the singer, and has been dead since 1973 ("fifteen years come next Jan-u-ary"). This segment of the show quickly became one of its most popular. Laurie later played the song when appearing on an episode of Inside the Actor's Studio in 2006. His songs include:
Hugh Laurie did not write the intro theme of the first series. It is, in fact, "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" by Professor Longhair
.
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
television series starring former Cambridge Footlights
Footlights
Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University....
members Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
and Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
, broadcast on both BBC1
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
and BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
between 1989 and 1995. It ran for four series and totalled 26 episodes, including a 35 minute pilot episode in 1987.
As in The Two Ronnies
The Two Ronnies
The Two Ronnies is a British sketch show that aired on BBC1 from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act of Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, the "Two Ronnies" of the title.-Origins:...
, elaborate wordplay and innuendo were staples of its material. It frequently broke the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
; characters would revert into their real-life actors mid-sketch, or the camera would often pan off set into the studio. In addition, the show was punctuated with non-sequitur vox pops
Vox populi
Vox populi , a Latin phrase that literally means voice of the people, is a term often used in broadcasting for interviews with members of the "general public".-Vox pop, the man on the street:...
in a similar style to those of Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
, often making irrelevant statements, heavily based on wordplay. Laurie was also seen playing piano and a wide variety of other instruments and singing comical numbers.
Broadcast details
The 36-minute pilot was broadcast on BBC2 on Boxing DayBoxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
1987, although it was later edited down to 29 minutes for repeat transmissions (including broadcasts on the Paramount Comedy Channel). The full version is intact on the Series 1 DVD. It was the first pilot Fry and Laurie had produced for the BBC since 1983; their previous attempt, The Crystal Cube
The Crystal Cube
The Crystal Cube was a mockumentary television pilot written by and starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, broadcast on 7 July 1983 on BBC Two at 22:10. The pilot was one of Fry and Laurie's first television appearances and the first show they had written themselves...
, had not met with the BBC's approval.
The first three series were screened on BBC2, the traditional home for the BBC's comedy sketch shows, while the fourth series switched to BBC1, the mainstream entertainment channel. The last series was the least well-received, for a number of reasons: BBC1 was not the best place to showcase Fry and Laurie's arch humour; it featured celebrity guests in all but one episode, an addition of which neither Fry nor Laurie approved; and it was shown not long after Stephen Fry's nervous breakdown in 1995, which cast a shadow over the series. One reviewer says that, perhaps owing to this, Fry got more of the laughs, while Laurie was increasingly relegated to the "straight man" role.
From series 1–3 there were also several occasional guest artists, before they were made a permanent fixture during series 4, including: Selina Cadell
Selina Cadell
Selina Cadell is an English actress. She is the sister of the late actor Simon Cadell and granddaughter of the actress Jean Cadell.....
(Series 2, episode 4), Paul Eddington
Paul Eddington
Paul Eddington CBE was an English actor best known for his appearances in popular television sitcoms of the 1970s and 80s: The Good Life, Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister.-Early life:...
(Series 2, episode 5), Nigel Havers
Nigel Havers
Nigel Allan Havers is an English actor. He is probably best known for his BAFTA-nominated role as Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film Chariots of Fire, and for his role as Dr. Tom Latimer in the British TV comedy series Don't Wait Up...
(Series 2, episode 6), Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
(Series 2, episode 6), Nicholas Parsons
Nicholas Parsons
Nicholas Parsons OBE is a British actor and radio and television presenter.-Early life:...
(Series 3, episode 1), Rebecca Saire
Rebecca Saire
Rebecca Saire is a British actress and writer who achieved early notability when, at the age of fourteen, she played Juliet for the BBC Television Shakespeare series.- Personal life :...
(Series 3, episode 2 and 5), Gary Davies
Gary Davies
Gary Davies is a British broadcaster. During the 1980s and 1990s he was a BBC Radio 1 disc jockey and also a regular presenter of Top of the Pops.-Early career:...
(Series 3, episode 6), and Colin Stinton
Colin Stinton
Colin Stinton is a Canadian-born actor who immigrated to the United States in 1952, and now lives in London. He often portrays fictional American politicians, lawyers and government agents. He recently played Neal Daniels in The Bourne Ultimatum...
(Series 3, episode 6).
Politics
The show did not shy away from commenting on issues of the day. A sketch in the second series, in which a ConservativeConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government minister is strangled while Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
screams at him "What are you doing to the television system? What are you doing to the country?", is an attack on the Broadcasting Act of 1990
Broadcasting Act 1990
The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament, often regarded by both its supporters and its critics as a quintessential example of Thatcherism. The aim of the Act was to reform the entire structure of British broadcasting; British television, in particular, had earlier been...
and the perceived motivations of those who supported it. The pair would later attack what they saw as the Act's malign aftereffects in the sketch "It's a Soaraway Life", a parody of It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
evoking a world in which Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
had not existed.
The series made numerous jokes at the expense of the Tory prime ministers of the time, Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
, and one sketch depicting a televised "Young Tory of the Year" competition, in which a young Conservative (Laurie) recites a deliberately incoherent speech consisting only of nonsense political buzzwords, such as "family values" and "individual enterprise".
Noel Edmonds
Noel Edmonds
Noel Ernest Edmonds, is an English broadcaster and executive, who made his name as a DJ on BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He has presented many light entertainment television programmes, including Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, Top of the Pops, The Late, Late Breakfast Show, Telly Addicts, Noel's Saturday...
was also a frequent target. During a sketch where Fry had supposedly removed Laurie's brain, Laurie came out and said that he had just finished watching Noel Edmonds and that he is fantastic.
"Please Mr. Music, will you play?"
Each episode of Series 3 and 4 ends with Stephen Fry preparing a ridiculously named and even more ridiculously concocted cocktail. Fry entreats Laurie to play the closing theme by saying, “Please Mr. Music, will you play?” He then shakes the cocktail while dancing eccentrically and serves it to Laurie (in Series 3) or the guest performers (in Series 4), while Laurie plays the piano and impersonates a muted trumpet.Both in Series 3 and 4, Fry precedes the question with increasingly silly introductions:
- "I say, as I like to on these occasions, those six refreshing words that unlock the door to sophisticated evening habits. I say:” (Series 4, episode 3)
- “And now into the cocktail shaker of my mouth I throw these six words: You Please Music Mr Will Play. I give a brief shake [he shakes his head and makes “brr” noises], and I pour out this golden phrase:” (Series 4, episode 4)
- “And as I prepare your Swinging Ballsacks, I ask this question, in accordance with known principles:” (Series 4, episode 5)
- “While I mix these, I turn to the debonair doyen of the dance and I ask as askingly as I might this ask:” (Series 4, episode 6)
- [Preparing a “Modern Britain”] “But perhaps, somewhere, you might be inspired to add one small, tender, caring cherry of hope. I wonder. While you decide, I will entreat for the very finalest of last, last times, this entreaty of m’colleague, Britain’s very own melody man, as I say to him, please, please, oh:” (Series 4, episode 7)
"Soupy twist"
The catchphrase "soupy twist" was uttered by both Laurie and Fry at the end of each episode of series 3 and 4 (save the Series 3 closer), and is believed to be a phrase, likely meaning 'cheers', from the language Strom (invented by Fry and first used on his BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
series Saturday Night Fry
Saturday Night Fry
Saturday Night Fry was a six-part comedy series on BBC Radio 4, first broadcast between the 30th of April and the 4th of June 1988. Episode One had previously been broadcast as a pilot on 19 December 1987, under the title 'Fry on Saturday'....
). Strom comprises nonsensical single-syllable words, even shorter words that can only be expressed in over a full sentence in English, and vulgar faux amis
False friend
False friends are pairs of words or phrases in two languages or dialects that look or sound similar, but differ in meaning....
. It is also likely that this phrase came from the "A Bit of Fry and Laurie Xmas" episode in which Fry portrays a patron of a restaurant with Laurie as the waiter. Fry keeps telling the waiter that the soup is bad and Laurie insistently hears the word "suit" instead, assuring Fry that his suit looks fine. Several moments before the skit ends, the two turn to the camera and ask the audience to phone in the ending for the sketch which they call a "punchline", "end", or "twist".
"If you'll pardon the pun"
A running jokeRunning gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
had one character adding "if you'll pardon the pun" mid-conversation, when there had, in fact, been no pun uttered. The second character, puzzled, would say, "What pun?" and the first character would say, "Oh, wasn't there one? I'm sorry", and resume as normal. David Walliams
David Walliams
David Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...
and Matt Lucas
Matt Lucas
Matthew Richard "Matt" Lucas is an English comedian, screenwriter and actor best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television show Little Britain; as well as for his portrayals of the scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the comedy panel game Shooting Stars, Tweedledee and...
paid homage to this gag in their series Come Fly with Me
Come Fly with Me (2010 TV series)
Come Fly with Me is a British mockumentary television comedy series created by and starring Matt Lucas and David Walliams. Narrated by Lindsay Duncan, the series launched on 25 December 2010 on BBC One and BBC One HD...
, with the character Moses Beacon often using the phrase.
"M'colleague"
"M'colleague" is a phrase that Fry and Laurie began using during the fourth series to refer to each other. Both have since used this phrase outside the series to refer to the other, for example on chatshows, the dedication in Fry's novel The Stars' Tennis BallsThe Stars' Tennis Balls
The Stars' Tennis Balls is a psychological thriller novel by Stephen Fry, first published in 2000. In the United States, the title was changed to Revenge...
which reads "To m'colleague", as well as the one in his second autobiography, The Fry Chronicles
The Fry Chronicles: An Autobiography
The Fry Chronicles: An Autobiography is the 2010 autobiography of Stephen Fry. The book is a continuation from the end of his 1997 publication of his first autobiography, Moab Is My Washpot: An Autobiography...
, which reads "To m'coll".
"No relation"
A running gag in which either Fry or Laurie, after mentioning another character by name, follows with "no relation" as if implying that their names – which are invariably completely different from Fry and Laurie's names – would lead viewers into believing them to be a relative.Recurring characters
Though the programme mostly consisted of one-time situations and sketches, a few characters appeared over several episodes and series.Alan
Alan (Laurie) is hired as a secret agent by a mysterious organisation known only as 'The Department', before which he was a gun-runner, supply teacherSubstitute teacher
A substitute teacher is a person who teaches a school class when the regular teacher is unavailable; e.g., because of illness, personal leave, or other reasons. "Substitute teacher" is the most commonly used phrase in the United States, Canada and Ireland, while supply teacher is the most commonly...
, and Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
. The character is a parody of several television shows of the 1970s, most prominently The Professionals
The Professionals (TV series)
The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
.
The Bishop and the Warlord
The Bishop (Fry) and the Warlord (Laurie) first appear in series 1, episode 4. They are portrayed as the world's leading "light metal" band (as opposed to heavy metalHeavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
). The Warlord (guitarist) is dressed as a typical rocker, whereas the Bishop (vocalist) is dressed in his normal vestments, and one black fingerless glove. He sings (or rather speaks) his songs from a pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
.
Control and Tony
Control (Fry) and Tony Murchison (Laurie) are two excessively nice secret agents who first appear in series 1 of the show. Control is head of SISSecret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
, the British secret service. Tony Murchison is Subsection Chief of the East Germany and Related Satellites Desk, who brings Control his morning coffee. The characters discuss issues of national security with childish simplicity to parody the typically sparse details viewers were often afforded in British films of a similar genre. Much of the humour in these sketches arises from the stilted, amateurish, and inappropriate performance style. There were two written, but unaired, sketches featuring the pair, entitled "Spies Five" and "Spies/Twin" – the latter revealing that Control (whose real name was, in fact, Control) had a twin brother also named Control, who painted erotic murals in Earl's Court. The scripts for these sketches are available in the script-books..
Gelliant Gutfright
Gelliant (Fry) is the host of short horror programme The Seventh Dimension, who presents stories such as "Flowers for Wendy" and "The Red Hat of Patferrick". Seated in an improbably large gold-buttoned leather chair, he indulges in elaborate and often pointless wordplay: "It is called 'Flowers for Wendy', but might it not rather have been called 'You have been Warned'? [pause] No, it might not." The stories told were often in the style of The Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
.
Jack and Freddy/Neddy
Freddy (Laurie; character later renamed 'Neddy') is a meek, quiet man with a noticeable overbite. Jack (Fry) is an eyepatchEyepatch
An eyepatch or eye pad is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, or an adhesive bandage. It is often worn by people to cover a lost or injured eye, but it also has a therapeutic use in children for the...
-wearing, imposing man who belongs to an unnamed organisation. He recruits Freddy to participate in several of the organisation's efforts for the "cause", which he states to be freedom, although this may be hyperbolic. The characters stopped appearing after Neddy became Prime Minister; while he was being force-fed information from Jack, it became clear that Jack's organisation was a group of Nazis who were bent on ruling England through Neddy. Jack then stabbed Neddy in the back with his own Stanley knife
Utility knife
A utility knife is a knife used for general or utility purposes. The utility knife was originally a fixed blade knife with a cutting edge suitable for general work such as cutting hides and cordage, scraping hides, butchering animals, cleaning fish, and other tasks.Today, the term "utility knife"...
.
John and Peter
Perhaps the best known of the series' characters, John (Fry) and Peter (Laurie) are hard-driving, hard-drinking executives who are always partners, no matter what business they happen to be running; their various enterprises range from a health clubGym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
via a public toilet, to the Diocese of Uttoxeter
Uttoxeter
Uttoxeter is a historic market town in Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. The current population is approximately 13,711, though new developments in the town will increase this figure. Uttoxeter lies close to the River Dove and is near the cities of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and...
(John as Bishop, Peter as Executive Vice-Bishop). The sketch is a parody of television drama of the period such as BBC TV's Howard's Way, which depicted relatively small-scale businessmen as larger-than-life, world-weary, passionate, and tormented. John and Peter are invariably exhorting one another to greater efforts on behalf of their relatively insignificant businesses, with their shouted catchphrases "Damn!" and "Dammit John!". Their plans are usually derailed by the casual interference of the portrayed-as diabolical Marjorie, John's ex-wife. One written sketch entitled "Dammit 3" was unaired; those actually shown in the programme went straight from "Dammit 2" to "Dammit 4". The script for this sketch is available in the script books and online..
Mr Dalliard
Mr Dalliard is a non-appearing character in various sketches, all taking place in a shop environment. Though Dalliard never appears, and is implied to be a creation of Fry's character's imagination, he is referred and spoken to several times in every sketch: "He isn't my Mr Dalliard, he's everybody's Mr Dalliard".Tony Inchpractice
Tony (Laurie) first appears in series 2. He is the host of several talk shows, each one devoted to an odd action performed by the host and the guest during the course of the interview. The different shows are: Trying to Borrow a Fiver Off..., Introducing My Grandfather To..., Photocopying My Genitals With..., Realising I've Given the Wrong Directions To..., and Flying a Light Aeroplane Without Having Had Any Formal Instruction With.... The character was originally modelled upon a similar figure named Peter Mostyn whom Laurie had earlier portrayed on Saturday Live. There was also a similar sketch called In the Bath With... on the radio series Saturday Night FrySaturday Night Fry
Saturday Night Fry was a six-part comedy series on BBC Radio 4, first broadcast between the 30th of April and the 4th of June 1988. Episode One had previously been broadcast as a pilot on 19 December 1987, under the title 'Fry on Saturday'....
.
Fillers
Between sketches, both Laurie and Fry appear as people in the streetVox populi
Vox populi , a Latin phrase that literally means voice of the people, is a term often used in broadcasting for interviews with members of the "general public".-Vox pop, the man on the street:...
, including a police officer, a drifting geek, a woman who suddenly remembers she has "left the iron on", a pensioner who says that he "wouldn't suck it", without specifying what 'it' is and then walking off laughing, an old conservative, and others. Such insertions became less frequent in the last two series.
Episode guide
- Pilot : 26 December 1987 (36 minutes)
- Series One : 13 January 1989 – 17 February 1989 (six episodes)
- Series Two : 9 March 1990 – 13 April 1990 (six episodes)
- Series Three : 9 January 1992 – 13 February 1992 (six episodes)
- Series Four : 12 February 1995 – 2 April 1995 (seven episodes)
Two compilations were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 11 August 1994.
DVD releases
After much fan-driven petition, the first series of A Bit of Fry and Laurie, plus the pilot, was released on DVD on 3 April 2006 in Region 2. Series two was released on 12 June, with a bonus feature, the 45-minute Cambridge Footlights Revue (1982) in which Fry and Laurie appear with Emma ThompsonEmma Thompson
Emma Thompson is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End...
, Tony Slattery
Tony Slattery
Anthony Declan James "Tony" Slattery is an English actor and comedian who has appeared on British television regularly since the mid 1980s, most notably as a regular on the Channel 4 improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway? As a film actor, both comedic and serious, his credits include The...
, Penny Dwyer
Penny Dwyer
Penelope Rosemary Dwyer was a British comedy writer and performer, noted for being a member of the Cambridge Footlights revue The Cellar Tapes which won the inaugural Perrier Comedy Awards in 1981...
, and Paul Shearer
Paul Shearer
Paul Shearer is a British actor who is best known as a member of the Fast Show team. His best-known roles on that programme are as a newscaster and a variety show host on the European television parody sketch 'Chanel 9'....
.
The third series followed in October 2006. Amazon UK released a complete box set (all 4 series) on 30 October 2006, along with series 4 itself.
Series 1 was released on 6 July 2007 in Region 4. Region 1 versions of the first two series were released in the United States and Canada on 22 August 2006.
There is a copyright-related music edit on the Series 1 DVD during the final sketch of episode 6 ("Tony of Plymouth (Sword Fight)"). In the broadcast version, the music was from the soundtrack of "The Sea Hawk" but instead a new piece of music has been used, drowning out most of the dialogue in the process. In Series 2, Saint-Saens
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
is not credited for the end music ("Finale" from The Carnival of the Animals
The Carnival of the Animals
Le carnaval des animaux is a musical suite of fourteen movements by the French Romantic composer Camille Saint-Saëns. The orchestral work has a duration between 22 and 30 minutes.-History:...
) until the second half of the series. On the series 3 DVD for Region 1, the sketch which features Laurie and Fry singing The Beatles' "Hey Jude" has been omitted for unknown reasons.
In Australia, A Little Bit of Fry & Laurie: Series One Episodes 1–3 (Comedy Bites) was released on 4 March 2010.
DVD release dates
| Series DVD | No. of Episodes | Year | Release Date | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||||
| Complete Series 1 | 7 | 1987 & 1989 | 22 August 2006 | 3 April 2006 | 6 July 2006 | |
| Complete Series 2 | 6 | 1990 | 22 August 2006 | 12 June 2006 | 15 March 2007 | |
| Complete Series 3 | 6 | 1992 | 24 July 2007 | 4 September 2006 | 4 July 2007 | |
| Complete Series 4 | 7 | 1995 | 24 July 2007 | 30 October 2006 | 5 March 2008 | |
| Complete Series 1–4 | 26 | 1987–1995 | 24 July 2007 | 30 October 2006 | 17 August 2006 | |
Music
Laurie is an accomplished musician, and this talent was often featured on the show in the form of plot points in a sketch and satirical songs. It was also a chance for Laurie, who often played straightman to Fry's antics, to show his own comedic abilities. The first such song, "Mystery", parodies a mournful love song from a lounge singer (Laurie mimics the vocal mannerisims of Sammy Davis Jr.) and presents the obstacles to a relationship between the singer and the object of affection, which become more outlandish every verse: she lives in a different country, would probably have a problem with the singer's job ("with the Thames Water AuthorityThames Water Authority
The Thames Water Authority was one of ten Regional Water Authorities created in the UK in 1975 to bring together all the water management functions of the Region in one public body....
"), has never actually met and may indeed "take a violent dislike" to the singer, and has been dead since 1973 ("fifteen years come next Jan-u-ary"). This segment of the show quickly became one of its most popular. Laurie later played the song when appearing on an episode of Inside the Actor's Studio in 2006. His songs include:
- "Little Girl": Wearing a false pencil moustache and overly-oiled hair, Laurie, in the role of a child pornographer-celebrity photographer, tells in the style of Noel CowardNoël CowardSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
of how he made an underaged girl famous by seducing and taking wildly erotic pictures of her. As the paparazzo continues to photograph the girl throughout her lifetime, she becomes a singing sensation, marries and divorces a pop singer, and fades out of the public eye. The photographer ends his song by mourning that the 'little girl' is no longer little or a girl, but on the bright side, has a young daughter whom the photographer would very much like to meet. - "America": Laurie dresses in what was, at the time, the 'standard' American rock star uniform – flannel, white T-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and a bandana headband in the style of Bruce SpringsteenBruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
and Jimi HendrixJimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
. Laurie dramatically sings the song, the lyrics of which consist of "...America, America, America..." and "...the StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the States, the States...", until Fry comes on stage, quite annoyed, and punches him. - "The Sophisticated Song": Laurie, in a white and black suit, plays guitar, accompanied by a back-up band, singing about how normally he is very cool until he needs to talk to his true love, at which point he becomes so speechless, he begins to drool.
- "The Polite Rap": Prancing around in neon gangstaGangsta rapGangsta Rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that evolved from hardcore hip hop and purports to reflect urban crime and the violent lifestyles of inner-city youths. Lyrics in gangsta rap have varied from accurate reflections to fictionalized accounts. Gangsta is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word...
clothing, Laurie parodies the hip hopHip hopHip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
culture with this rap telling people to be nice, rather than bad, and that he's a "good-ass motherliker", rather than "bad-ass motherfuckerMotherfuckerMotherfucker is a vulgarism which, in its most literal sense, refers to one who participates in sexual intercourse with a mother, either someone else's mother, or his own.- Variants :...
". - "Where is the Lid?": Laurie announces that he has written a "savage, angry" song about "jars that become separated from their lids". Playing the piano, he sings "Where is the lid?" mournfully and repetitively. In the background, Fry finds a stray lid, and tries it on an open jar sitting on the piano; it fits, and he pleads with Laurie to stop singing as the lid has been found and restored to its jar. Laurie ignores Fry and continues to play until Fry punches him. (This is immediately followed by a mini-feature about Laurie's "death".)
- "There Ain't But One Way": Laurie and Fry, dressed as two rednecks, introduce the song. A jibe at American Southern patriotism, Laurie sings about how the only way to solve the world's problems, from the hole in the ozone layerOzone layerThe ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone . This layer absorbs 97–99% of the Sun's high frequency ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to the life forms on Earth...
to poverty, is to "kick some ass", while Fry, playing his mentally challenged brother ("the victim of an unfortunate musical accident"), shouts out "yee-hah!" and repeats "kickin' AY-ass!" when sung by Laurie and stomps around, eventually falling offstage. - "I'm in Love with Steffi GrafSteffi GrafSteffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player.In total, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court's 24...
": Laurie once again has a back-up band while he plays the acoustic guitar, and makes a play at the depressing grungeGrungeGrunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
music of the 1990s. He overdramatically flips the hair out of his eyes in the style of Robert SmithRobert Smith (musician)Robert James Smith is an English musician. He is the lead singer, guitar player and principal songwriter of the rock band The Cure, and its only constant member since its founding in 1976...
of The CureThe CureThe Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
and, affecting an effeminate lisp, proclaims his love for tennis player Steffi Graf. He goes so far as to proclaim that he stalked her during her tournaments and finally reveals himself as the man who stabbed Monica SelesMonica SelesMonica Seles is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, former Yugoslavia to Hungarian parents. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007...
as revenge for her defeat of Graf, a big news story in 1993. While the tune is performed, a slideshow of Steffi Graf playing tennis is shown on a projector screen. - "Too Long Johnny": Laurie appears dressed completely in black and wearing a red fedora. He plays slide guitarSlide guitarSlide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
on a resonator guitarResonator guitarA resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones instead of the wooden sound board . Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion...
and, affecting a bluesman accent, he sings, "Too long, Johnny, too long, it's way too long", then proceeds to sing/explain about how he wants to cut "it" down to a perfect length. Unfortunately, though Johnny does get "it" down to the perfect length, he claims he made "its" width much too thin, and must now start all over again. - "Hey JudeHey Jude"Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The ballad evolved from "Hey Jules", a song widely accepted as being written to comfort John Lennon's son, Julian, during his parents' divorce—although this explanation is not...
": Laurie plays his grand piano and sings "Hey Jude" by The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, in a voice reminiscent of Pinky and PerkyPinky and PerkyPinky and Perky is an animated children's television series first broadcast by the BBC in 1957, revived in 2008 as a CGI animation.-Original series:...
. Fry eventually joins him on stage and begins to sing along in an impossibly deep voice. Fry then holds up cue cardCue cardCue cards, also known as note cards or idiot cards, are cards with words written on them that help actors and speakers remember what they have to say. They are typically used in television productions where they can be held off-camera and are unseen by the audience...
s so the audience may sing along with the "na na na na" of the refrain. Hugh Laurie played the piano one octave lower than usual while singing normally, this was then transposed one octave up to give a normal sounding piano with a high-pitched voice. - "Love Me TenderLove Me Tender (song)"Love Me Tender" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis Presley Music, adapted from the tune of "Aura Lee" , a sentimental Civil War ballad.- History :...
": Laurie once again covers a famous musician, this time Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
. He even adopts a Presley-esque voice for the song. However, Laurie's attempt at seriousness becomes decidedly skewed after the camera pans out, revealing that he is singing to Nicholas ParsonsNicholas ParsonsNicholas Parsons OBE is a British actor and radio and television presenter.-Early life:...
sitting on a stool. Laurie finishes up the song then tenderly kisses the shoulder of Parsons's suit. - "What I Mind": Laurie on piano and accompanied by a backup bandBackup bandA backing band or backup band is a musical ensemble that accompanies an artist at a live performance or on a recording. This can either be an established, long-standing group that has little or no change in membership, or it may be an ad hoc group assembled for a single show or a single recording...
band sings a country song about hard times with his "girl", who will not stop referring to him as an inanimate object, such as a hooverVacuum cleanerA vacuum cleaner, commonly referred to as a "vacuum," is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from floors, and optionally from other surfaces as well. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal...
, a key, and a garage. - "The Protest Song": Laurie again provides himself with a backup band and plays acoustic guitar as well as harmonica. He spoofs American college activist rock, singing about how everyone can make the world a better place. Much like his cover of "Love Me Tender", this song appears to be Laurie's attempt at seriousness, at least until he reaches the part when he must actually sing what everyone is supposed to do to build a better society. Every time he reaches this part, as if unable to think of an actual course of action to save the world, he mumbles incoherently in to the microphone. When he reaches the end of the song, he repeats the line "All we gotta do is..." several times, and then resumes playing the harmonica. He also performed this song on BBC's Comic Relief telethon in 1993, and in 2006 alongside his hosting duties on an edition of Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
.
Hugh Laurie did not write the intro theme of the first series. It is, in fact, "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" by Professor Longhair
Professor Longhair
Professor Longhair was a New Orleans blues singer and pianist...
.