Tuesday, September 8, 2009

What-ho, comrades.

The Mrs, who is a woman of rare good taste and breeding, presented me with the complete boxed set of Jeeves and Wooster for Fathers’ Day.

For those of you who are living like bugs in cultural slime, Jeeves and Wooster is a BBC series from the early 1990s featuring Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster and Stephen Fry as his man servant Reginald Jeeves and as such is one of the most prefect television series ever made in the history of the world.

What really makes it is the casting. I can’t imagine a better Jeeves than Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie is exactly how you imagine Bertie Wooster as you read the original stories.

Go out and watch this series now.

Trust me; you don’t want to be lying on your deathbed thinking “I know I’m incredibly rich and famous. I know I was captain of the Australian Test team while simultaneously working as an international porn star but I never watched Jeeves and Wooster when that weirdo Ramon recommended it back in 2009.

“Oh woe, woe and lamentation” and that sort of stuff.

Is that how you want to end your days?

Exactly.

I thought not.

16 comments:

Mad Cat Lady said...

i am WAY jealous - i only have series 3 or 4 atm - they are awesome.

I wish there were - perhaps there is - dvd's of the early ones that used to be on telly with Pauline Collins in it - childhood memories of them were that they were great

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

We're going to have a marathon viewing session over the weekend, with cucumber sandwiches and lashings of gin.

Cath said...

Until now I thought I had lived a good life... now I realise how bereft of culture and wit that I am. Alas cruel world....

squib said...

Are the books any good? I've never read a Wodehouse. I wouldn't know where to start; there's so many

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

Squib, they are some of the funniest books ever written in English.

A small example.

While travelling by train through the Austrian Alps, I made the mistake of pointing out to the Mrs the remarkable countryside.

Her response was "Don't distract me with scenery - I'm reading P G Wodehouse".

Start with The Code of the Woosters

squib said...

ok, thanks

Mad Cat Lady said...

I am very fond of the 'Psmith' (the p is silent) onces. Psmith in the City has been reread many many times.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

Psmith is, of course, fond of addressing everybody as "comrade".

Bruce said...

The idea that anyone would not have seen and loved J&W has me S to the C.

The series is sublime from the opening scene. 4 minutes with about 15 words of dialogue and completely introduces both characters.

Perseus said...

Greetings from Mt. Lofty, in the Adelaide Hills.

I have never ever heard of this TV show.

Is it like Saki?

Unknown said...

The Mrs, who is a woman of rare good taste and breeding, presented me with the complete boxed set of Jeeves and Wooster for Fathers’ Day.

That picture looks familiar, but I don't remember ever having watched it. I was probably too busy watching Beverly Hills 90210 or something of that ilk.

...with cucumber sandwiches and lashings of gin.

Sounds capital, just capital. I had a dream about gin last week. In it, I was making a cocktail and someone tried to tell me it tastes better if you put raw chicken in it. I did not believe them & I was very disturbed by the whole idea when I woke up.

I am very fond of the 'Psmith' (the p is silent) onces. Psmith in the City has been reread many many times.

Hey Evil, you didn't happen to be a contestant on that braniac ABC quiz show, what's it called? The one with the brains trust? The Psmith books were one contestant's area of expertise on a recent episode.

Anonymous said...

We're going to have a marathon viewing session over the weekend, with cucumber sandwiches and lashings of gin.

Sounds like what a grown up Famous Five would do in their spare time.

Julian: I say Dick, whack in another copy of Jeeves and Wooster in to the DVD player, there's a good chap!

Dick: There we go. Another gin and tonic, old boy? Hey George! Stop surfing for lesbian pr0n and come watch this with us.

Dr. Golf said...

Anyone know of any good audio books? I've been downloading them to get me through an hour-long Toronto commute. But I'm finding the best books don't necessarily make the best audio books.

Im currenlty taking in Slaughterhouse Five read by Ethan Hawke, which is pretty good.

Before that i did Hitchhikers guide read by Stephen Fry, prompting this comment.

Mad Cat Lady said...

The Einstein Factor? Well darn. I can't think what i have been doing lately, but i am bummed to have missed that one. How excellent.

I always wanted to be George when I was a little girl. Used to dress up in my brothers clothes all the time. Fooled a hairdresser once, much to mothers dismay and ended up with regulation short back and sides.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

Pers, glad you made it to Adelaide without any family-related stabbings.

Or are you saving them for the actual wedding?

Dr G - I think Stephen Fry might have done an audio version of the Jeeves and Wooster stories.

And I always thought George kicked for the other team.

Fad MD said...

I can remember watching this series when I was living in the UK. Great stuff. Fry and Laurie are two very gifted men, although Hugh seems to approaching a Selachimorpha via a ramp.