"I suppose if I'm honest, I have been using my penis as a sort of car substitute." - Stephen Fry.
I warmly recommend A Bit of Fry and Laurie, British comedy show from the early nineties.
It is funny, actually, how clearly one can spot the development of films and TV show over the times. I thought that this show was from the early eighties, and that puzzled me. It was simply too good, too sharp. Too avant garde.
An example of their brilliance is the continuing sketch series about the head of British intellingence, "Control". I'm sure that if you look at the scripts for it, it is silly and not very funny at all. What gives it its unique humor is the way both Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry plays their roles as if the show was a cheap and poor TV show with very stilted and bad actors. And yet they do it with subtlety. These guys are really good.
Quoth TTL :
"In my case you are preaching to the converted. I am a huge fan, with every episode on DVD.
I have come to the conclusion that this series is the most linguistically sophisticated comedy ever broadcast on TV. In addition to being hilariously funny, the best sketches are quite simply great poetry.
The lovely Emma Thompson gets credit for bringing Fry and Laurie together."
Emma Thompson, lovely? Not half! as the Brits say. (That's an empatic agreement.)
Update: while watching another show, Q.I., in which Stephen Fry hosts, I had the realization that Fry is just frightening intelligent. It's not that he rubs it in anybody's face, but there was just something about the way he speaks that suddenly made it clear to me. He speaks colloqually, but with great clarity and precision, never any muddiness or mistakes. You just get the presence of a big mind.
I do think, though, that in Q.I. at least sometimes he made one too many gay jokes, him being just slightly too much "out". It's not all that funny or interesting, in my taste. As far as I'm concerned he can be into donkeys or watermelons, it's all the same to me.
He starred of course in the excellent film "Wilde". This interview talks about that.
10 comments:
In my case you are preaching to the converted. I am a huge fan, with every episode on DVD.
I have come to the conclusion that this series is the most linguistically sophisticated comedy ever broadcast on TV. In addition to being hilariously funny, the best sketches are quite simply great poetry.
The lovely Emma Thompson gets credit for bringing Fry and Laurie together.
I wrote: "The lovely Emma Thompson gets credit for bringing Fry and Laurie together."
To which Eolake replied: "Emma Thompson, lovely? Not half! as the Brits say. (That's an empatic agreement.)"
Hmm ... I'm wondering ... would it work if I pondered something about Emma Thompson here, and then ended my comment in the words "We may never know."
It's worth a shot. I know *I* would appreciate it.
Though to be honest it helped that I had Mike's email address.
Err ... you wouldn't happen to have Emma's email address by any chance? :-)
Sure, but we are going through a delicate phase of our relationship... You understand.
Eolake wrote: "while watching another show, Q.I., in which Stephen Fry hosts, I had the realization that Fry is just frightening intelligent."
I agree. He is a virtuoso. He reminds me of Oscar Wilde. In one the sketches he actually played him, which was funny for me as I had seen him as Oscar all the time.
Yes, it is very clear. If one believes in past lives, he surely must have been him.
You seen "Wilde"? Excellent film. An article he wrote about playing the title part was entitled "Born To Be Wilde". Never was a truer title written.
Have you read the Cerebus comic? There's a long chapter where Oscar Wilde features prominently.
Eolake said: You seen "Wilde"?
No, I haven't. I wasn't even aware of this film! Looks like we're not the only ones who see Fry as Wilde. I need to see this. Thanks for the pointer.
"Have you read the Cerebus comic?"
No. Not familiar with this either.
Look up
Jaka's Story (Cerebus, Volume 5)
on Amazon for example.
Dave Sim... maybe I should make a post...
I thought they were called Fry and Leela?
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