A Bit of Fry and Laurie
penny February 15th, 2007
[Since this show is not a sitcom, plus it's an "old" show, it is not listed among the recent ranking of BBC Britain's Best Sitcoms: So I'd have to check these out too I suppose. But it is archived in the BBC site, of course.]
I surveyed a few episodes of this 80s show. The wooden humor is just hilarious! They do short sketches that could be anything from a parody to their own original gags. I was wondering which clip I would feature here, and decided on these:
Standing Here: The most hilarious sketch I have seen to date. Hugh is so annoyingly funny! He plays a man apparently as a witness in some incident and is being interviewed on camera. It doesn’t play out so well for the man.
Too Long Johnny: This has got to be my favorite! You see Hugh Laurie playing slide guitar, and singing a bluesy song.
Hugh’s First Kiss: This is a funny way of Hugh telling how a first kiss happens hehe. So you think he’s about to say something about kissing his uncle now eh? But listen on and find out…
Derek Nippl-e: A simple gag sketch that where Hugh Laurie gets clobbered so bad makes this clip a jewel. He plays a man talking with an officer (Fry) at a counter, a conversation that goes bad for the man.
Parent Power: Laurie complains to the Principal (Fry) about his son learning to talk about sexual intercourse from Biology class.
Some Information Please: Laurie challenges Fry with the silliest of questions over an information counter.
Gay: Fry and Laurie express frustration over not being able to use words that are now considered taboo-speak.
Poor Man, Rich Man: Laurie plays a harmonica begging for money in the street and is screamed at by rich man played by Fry.
Be Nice: Hugh raps good a**-motherliker with Stephen Fry.
Mystery: Another Hugh Laurie sketch of singing with clumsy rhymes; he plays the piano.
Book on Cricket : Funny! Laurie looks for a book on cricket and finds it mutilated, and when he asks at the desk he is frustrated with two librarians, one of whom is Stephen Fry.
Bloopers: A sketch about “bloopers” that is just freakish and geeky.
The Subject of Language :Stephen Fry speaks lightning fast English that is so delightful! Hugh Laurie supports him in this clip with funny eye-blinking hehe.
Dancersizing: Stephen Fry dances like hell! Hehe. The line explaining what Dancersizing is just made me laugh so hard.
There Ain’t But One Way: Hugh Laurie in a musical number. Gotta love his facial expressions and groaning. He has several of these but this one is cute since Stephen Fry is right alongside him playing his brother screaming “Kickin’ Ass!”. And they both take on Southern American accents hehe.
Mr Burmie: A sketch in a veterinarian’s waiting room. Hugh Laurie’s character has the makings of Dr. House.
You, You, You: Stephen Fry here is just genius in speaking, I love his voice. This sketch makes fun of lyrical art. Hugh Laurie is creepy as a woman.
Stephen Fry seems to be the British version of Joey de Leon, and Hugh like Vic Sotto (hehe).Before this, my British comedy vocabulary is limited to Rowan Atkinson and Benny Hill. Clearly, this led me to think British humour equals slapstick slash toilet humour. Since I never hear the end of this from Sydneysiders, I decided to expand what I know a bit. I’m glad I did.
I’m sure everyone knows by now that Hugh Laurie is really acting out that American accent as Gregory House. His talent is amazing =) To see him do a German one, it would be fun to see the Major Donaldson episode of Fry and Laurie.
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Now I can’t wait for Stephen Fry to guest star in House. It would be great now wouldn’t it? Stephen Fry also appears in the TV show Bones. I heard him say in an interview once that House and Bones shoot in nearby studios.
Recent work by Stephen Fry aside from the TV show Bones include narrating for the Harry Potter audiobooks, playing the character “Dietrich” in the movie V for Vendetta.
Hugh Laurie’s roles I have blogged about before. Maybe now I’ll just say something random… oh, Hugh is an oarsman, and is he son of an Olympic winner! Now when I am well enough I will try my hand in rowing! Now that is saying something =P
Fry and Laurie met in Cambridge where they were both members of a sort of theater clique called Footlights Revue, along with actress Emma Thompson.
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You want british comedy?
try Top Gear!! Now, that’s a riot! good thing my friends in the office are car afficionados.
hmmm.. I did watch one episode of Top Gear. I didn’t pay attention much to it, but I’ll check yet again. =)
I found another British comedy (my goodness, there are heaps!) with Rowan Atkinson: Not the Nine O’Clock News, a satirical review that was shown the late 70s to early 80s. I’ve seen 2 episodes with Rowan (there are other people here, unlike in Mr. Bean) and it promises to be a bit of a ruckus!