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A British comedy television series with turns of phrase and elaborate wordplay, written by and starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.
1989
Fry as a put upon headmaster and Laurie as a Puritanical parent who wants to exchange his 'soiled' son kicks off the premiere episode. Useful tips for making poetry convenient is followed by a bookshop in which all the books have been edited for greater British glory. Laurie turns in a great performance as a fraudulent psychic, and the duo round out the episode with description of a censored sketch and its boorish replacement.
Fry is an information stand attendant who knows too much. A man whose last name is the sound of a cigarette lighter dropping on a desk tries to file a police report. A cad of a talk show host gets his desserts. We meet the very pleasant and expositional commander of the M.I.5 and his assistant. The episode ends with an aerobic workout for hands, and a very dramatic corporate takeover.
Fry steals Laurie's brain as a practical joke, but Laurie never notices. A pleasant Greek lunch is spoiled by Laurie's insecurity and lack of self-esteem. A tobacconist posing as a doctor prescribes cigarettes. The commander of the M.I.5 and his assistant are back for a chat. Two unwavering detectives demand to know the whereabouts of an unmarried woman's husband.
An episode rife with controversy: several of the sketches are canceled after an audience member demands they are his stolen intellectual property. A teen poet helps his headmaster to accept the head's own repressed longing to express himself in metaphor. The polite M.I.5 boys return, and a young entrepreneur is denied a bank loan for his drug operation. Fry names his nipples, and, with Laurie's help, tells us how a floppy hat can save you from being killed by a bus.
As a service to the public, Fry and Laurie provide two TV critics to deride the show. A lesbian-obsessed lawyer, a miserable English teacher, and a young couple who baptize their infant for business reasons provide plenty of fodder for the critics' self-absorbed rambling. As an added bonus, Laurie walks us through his very favorite sketch, and, with Fry's help, celebrates Swiss week.
A waiter keeps interrupting the punchline of a joke and a care worker in a retirement home brings an objectionable resident his cocoa.
1990
By and with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. The first of a new experimental series in which Stephen Fry will be played by Hugh Laurie and Hugh Laurie will be played by Stephen Fry. The part of A Bit will be played by And and the part of Of will be played by Paddy Ashdown. The BBC takes no responsibility for articles of clothing removed on the premises.
The duo demonstrate how to deal with trick or treaters, a German officer interrogates a British soldier, and the over-dramatic businessmen are back.
Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie revisit some of our favourite sketches in this episode, including the jewellery store where Hugh Laurie becomes rather exasperated.
A skit on dinner party conversation and a sketch where a hard man is needed for a very special assignment.
A doctor breaks bad news to a patient, the duo poke fun at former Tory MP Rhodes Boyson, and Paul Eddington guest stars in a sketch set in a restaurant.
A discussion about the concept of beauty and Stephen expounds on his vision of Britain.
1992
A man tells his son of his true identity, while a pint of milk finds itself before a medieval court.
Two former estate agents attempt to run a petrol station, while the language barrier causes problems for a businessman sealing a deal with a foreign colleague.
A man gets more than he bargained for when he goes to buy a pair of shoes and the Department are on the lookout for a missing file.
An elderly man looks for a get well card, a man has trouble asking his wife to pass him the marmalade at breakfast, and there's the scary tale of the Red Hat of Patferrick.
A reader is disappointed by Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and contestants avoid the obvious on Countdown.
Two men with no experience of flying go up in a light aircraft, a bishop and part-time heavy metal singer finds himself in court, and two pedantic customers make life difficult for a waitress.
Stephen Fry
Hugh Laurie
1995
Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie welcome John Bird and Jane Booker to their sketch show. Featuring Hugh's protest song 'All We Gotta Do'.
Anne Charleston, Kevin McNally and Fiona Gillies join in the fun with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. A man recounts a childhood memory to his therapist and Hugh sings about his love for Steffi Graf.
A man confides in a barman about the state of his marriage, while contestants try to keep it clean on game show parody 'Don't Be Dirty'.
Stephen and Hugh rap, and wash their hair.
A dilemma with a wasp’s nest and a parody of the Oprah Winfrey show that resounds with pointless applause.
A visit to the national finals of the Young Tory of the Year competition and a parody of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads series.
A school teacher sets up a new religion, a father tries to talk sense into his son who has played truant for years, and Stephen recites a monologue very quickly.
