A Bit of Fry and Laurie (TV Series) Episode #3.6 (1992) User Reviews

"I think you'll find it's the hyssop that makes all the difference."

[intriguement · 12 July 2011]

"A Bit of Fry & Laurie" sets the gold standard for sketch comedy shows! In its third season, the show benefits from a generous budget and the increased experience of its writing/acting duo. Although they feature the same two faces we've been watching for more than 12 episodes now, the sketches are still fresh, clever, and hilarious.

This episode is a solid finale to the third season. I didn't care for the joke shop and kitchen sketches, as they rely on the gross-out factor instead of real humor (a disappointing departure from the show's usual style). However, Hugh and Stephen redeem themselves with the side-splitting "Model Aeroplanes" (counterpointing Stephen's pretentious Orientalist queen to Hugh's ingenuous working-class lad) and a clever send-up of American court TV.

The sketches are: Cold Open: Magazine Leaflets; Model Aeroplanes; Joke Shop; A Quite Delightful Restaurant; Tahitian Kitchen; My Favorite Pants; The Bishop and the Warlord ("Set yourself on fire"); Litigious Americans ("Grievious internal bruisality"); Flying a Light Aeroplane Without Having Had Any Formal Instruction With; Cocktail: Berliner Credit Sequence.

Season 3: Roundly enjoyable sketch show with accessible jokes mixed with flamboyant silliness

[bob the moo · 1 June 2010]

The second season of "A bit of Fry & Laurie" moved towards more accessible territory than they had covered with the first and the pair seemed to find a way to make their flamboyant silliness work in a way that a wider audience could enjoy. For most people it will be a good thing that season 3 continues in this vein without going too far from their core values as it is accessible and very funny. The key thing about the duo is that they have this wonderful sense of being English about them and they use their educations to make light of it, rather than producing a superior or smug comedy.

This season shows that well as they have plenty of sketches which, while funny, could easily have been delivered by anyone. These are mostly good and of course you cannot remove the importance of their delivery from the sketch that they are in, but what is most pleasing is the more imaginative material, which thankfully is the majority. In these sketches the characters are large and the delivery is key, whether it be the "shadowy man setting up a stooge as a puppet PM" sketch or others like it, where the performances are great and feed the absurdity of the whole scenario. In these both Fry and Laurie are great, with Fry very much taking the personae of superior while Laurie generally plays more of a fool of sorts. Fry's ability with language and his wit is well served here – at times I can find him a little overbearing and full of himself but not here as he is fresh and smart. Laurie perhaps constrains this negative side of him with his performance as he has plenty of great moments himself while also still happy to take a blow from Fry (whether physical or verbal).

Time hasn't really hurt it at all, although of course those used to seeing Laurie paid a fortune to be House MD each week will find it odd to see him in this, but the material and the performances keep it fresh. Accessible stuff but still very much keeps the wit and imaginative that makes them funny.