mfilmslove Honestly, this is an excellent show, and to be honest I'm not going to go into detail about why I love it, but all I'd like to say is that it seems like it actually set the bar for comedy, it hasn't aged,and there was this one sketch in which Hugh plays an disabled person is a wheelchair who repeats certain statements and then shocks the audience in some way. If this isn't sounding familiar at all, then think Little Britain and the sketch where Lucas plays the disabled fellow, almost an exact copy apart from the fact I think Laurie's funnier, I still like Lucas though.But, yeah.

davideo-2 STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning There's a snobby element of British society that can't do without their humour being 'refined' and 'sophisticated.' Cambridge graduates Fry and Laurie would, by their appearance and eleqution, fit this bill perfectly, and certainly a lot of the humour on offer in this series does test your sense of subtlety to the limit. But these two pithy academics also seem to have an interest in lampooning the lower classes they seem to have less in common with, so the humour covers a wider section of society than those this might be slightly more aimed at.It was up to these guys to set the standard for fellow Cambridge 'footlighters' Mitchell and Webb and Armstrong and Miller, and their style does seem to have rubbed off, though arguably to less well effect. ABOFAL plays out like a wacky mish mash of ideas in the shape of sketches, where nothing is spared. Unlike more recent 'sketch shows' like Little Britain or That Mitchell and Webb Look, there are no real consistent characters here, just different set ups and scenarios for each new episode, with exceptions such as the people who seem to be stopped in the street and asked for their opinions in each episode. Many have commented on how 'british' the humour is, and this certainly rings true, but there also seems to be a deep affinity with America in a few of the sketches, such as 'Kickin' Ass' and the air force commanders, that doesn't let any of it get bogged down too much in Anglo culture. Indeed, Laurie would go on to achieve international fame as Dr. House in the hit series (as well as having a CD release in the pipeline, displaying his talent for country 'n western warbling that we see a bit of here), and we'd go on to learn that Fry was in fact almost born in the States and later wowed us with his Stephen Fry Does America programme, touring the country, so the early signs of this love and appreciation were already there.The more modern Mitchell and Webb are eerily similar to this pair, with Fry and Laurie in the respective roles as the portlier, more hesitant one and the leaner, more dynamic sounding one. And while M&W are very good, it was doubtless up to this pair to really show them how it was done. ****

kolecta Every generation has a pair. We had Lano & Woodley (1990s), and now Hamish & Andy (2000s). And the Brits had Fry & Laurie (1980s).The sketches are very funny and very random. Music, drag queens, impossible tongue twisters, play-within-a-play, and random outbursts from a man in the audience claiming that they stole his sketch all flow together very nicely alongside random comments from patrol police, random ladies, a priest and a wine dealer.Some of the jokes are very specific and us non-Brits & post-cold war era kids just don't get it, but most of the time you do find yourself laughing with the studio audience no matter how inappropriate the joke. They're not allowed to swear (ass sketch aside) so they make up for it by having Stephen Fry randomly punching out Hugh Laurie every once in a while.Amazing stuff, considering that both Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie were experiencing severe depression during the time that they were making the later seasons of the series.Most of the sketches are still hilarious on the tenth viewing.

ShadeGrenade Amidst the 'alternative' comedy chaos of the '80's, 'A Bit Of Fry & Laurie' arrived almost unnoticed. Unlike 'The Young Ones', it had no ambitions to 'tear up the rule book book of comedy', but simply to present funny, surreal sketches. 'Not Only But Also' was undoubtedly an influence; highlights included 'Its A Wonderful Life' starring Rupert Murdoch, 'Kickin' Ass', and the 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' send-up with Fry as a Smiley-type intelligence boss who comes out with such cryptic phrases as: "You know I can't stick The Department up my arse, George.". Another notable feature were the vox pop sequences. As a double act, Fry and Laurie were peerless. After three excellent seasons, the show moved to B.B.C.-1 for its final run, which predictably became bogged down by guest-stars such as Caroline Quentin. The pair then split to pursue successful solo careers. It would be nice to think that they might come together again some day to give us more of their offbeat brand of humour.