A Bit of Fry and Laurie Retrospective
A Look Back at One of the 90s Best and Fondly Remembered Comedies
Jan 28, 2009
For those of you who are not aware of A Bit of Fry and Laurie was a sketch show from the late 80s and early 90s created by that guy who used to be in Blackadder for a bit (Stephen Fry) and that House fellow (Hugh “excellent sermon vicar” Laurie).
It started with a one-off pilot in 1987 and ran for four series between 1989 and 95. Solely written by the pair, it was not the most well known show of its time but certainly one of the most important as a new generation of comedians such as Phill Jupitus and Russell Brand continue to be influenced by them.
Clever Word Play and Over-the-top Characters
Good sketch comedy is not only able to make you laugh but also make comments about society as a whole, which A Bit of Fry and Laurie had in spades. They tackled class, politics, language, the media, sport, preconceptions, life in general; and keeping in the Monty Python/Spike Milligan tradition of comedy it was not just a bunch of random stuff for three minutes to set up a dumb punch line, they left that to the short vox-pops.
Of course a lot of the humour was clever and based on word play by two Cambridge educated posh blokes but they occasionally went for the jugular with daft, over-the-top and sometimes rude characters that everyone can enjoy. The Peter and John sketches, about two 80s style business executives who drank whisky all the time and shouted a lot, was the closest they ever got to a catchphrase, as they usually ended by screaming “damn!”
Some of their routines still stand-up today which, depending on your outlook, is either a sign of brilliant writing or after all these years very little has changed. Where moral outrage complaints and pathetic grovelling apologies are ten a penny an exchange between an irate viewer and a nonchalant producer is as relevant as it has ever been.
Great Chemistry Between Them
The programme also gave each of them their own platform to show off their strengths. Stephen Fry’s amazing monologues that twisted language into wonderful shapes were admirable and hilarious and Hugh Laurie’s talent for writing funny but actually rather good songs that he personally performed added a bit of variety.
Fry and Laurie are also one of the only comic double acts in existence that was not broken by petty jealousy or creative differences or animosity towards one another but there is genuine affection from both men. The chemistry between them is the reason why they appeared in so many films and TV shows together and is what made ITV's Jeeves and Wooster the success it was.
Special Guests in Series 4 was merely a Gimmick to Boost Ratings
But to create balance and prove that this is not just a sycophantic ramble, it must be said that as with pretty every TV show it did have its flaws. Some of the later material was on the weak side and the move to BBC One to attract a mainstream audience made series 4 by far the worst.
For this final run the boys had their arms twisted into allowing two special guests for each episode in a rather pitiful way of gaining more viewers. That’s not to say that the guests were bad, in fact some like Kevin McNally, John Bird and Imelda Staunton made a great contribution, just that it went against the tone of the show and was merely a gimmick to boost ratings.
The Return of Fry and Laurie?
The question remains whether or not we will see a Fry and Laurie reunion is on the cards at some point in the future? Although both men are at the peak of their careers on opposite sides of the Atlantic it would be great to see them re-group, even for a one-off episode.
As a compromise Hugh could make another guest appearance on Stephen’s wonderfully inquisitive trivia overload QI, after only taking part in the first episode so far. Or Stephen can guest star on House as a stereotypical upper-class English twit who Hugh ridicules for his own amusement. Either way here’s hoping it happens at least once more. Soupy Twist.
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