The implausible to the improbable to the inevitable to the catastrophic and back again--all delightfully and whimsically portrayed. Perfect casting of Stephen Fry as Jeeves the Butler to Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster--inept gad about.
Only the Brits know how to make television brilliant. Whether it is "Foyle's War" or "As Time Goes By" or "Jeeves and Wooster." Americans simply cannot make these living room dramas the way the Brits do; Americans put too much high gloss on their productions that ultimately detracts from the production.
P. G. Wodehouse is the brilliant writer who first penned Jeeves and Wooster to paper--and as always, the books should be read for the sheer pleasure of reading how comedy works in prose. But even without knowing or reading P. G. Wodehouse, this series is truly a pleasure to watch. The dialogue, the situations, the dancing, the music, the production values. And yes--British or Canadian actors trying to mimic American accent, rhythms, slang and idiom is part of the charm of the production. Maybe that's what is meant by American gloss; an American production would get bona fide American actors to provide the 'correct' reading without realizing how much is lost with that quest for perfection--how glossy the perfection ends up giving the production.
P.G. Wodehouse began the Jeeves series in 1919 and produced the last one in 1970; he was a prolific writer and collaborator of songs with Jerome Kerne and Cole Porter--he provide the story for Porter's musical "Anything Goes." He lived from 15 October 1881 to 14 February 1975.
"Jeeves and Wooster" is now available on line thanks to Youtube and worth every minute watching.
Only the Brits know how to make television brilliant. Whether it is "Foyle's War" or "As Time Goes By" or "Jeeves and Wooster." Americans simply cannot make these living room dramas the way the Brits do; Americans put too much high gloss on their productions that ultimately detracts from the production.
P. G. Wodehouse is the brilliant writer who first penned Jeeves and Wooster to paper--and as always, the books should be read for the sheer pleasure of reading how comedy works in prose. But even without knowing or reading P. G. Wodehouse, this series is truly a pleasure to watch. The dialogue, the situations, the dancing, the music, the production values. And yes--British or Canadian actors trying to mimic American accent, rhythms, slang and idiom is part of the charm of the production. Maybe that's what is meant by American gloss; an American production would get bona fide American actors to provide the 'correct' reading without realizing how much is lost with that quest for perfection--how glossy the perfection ends up giving the production.
P.G. Wodehouse began the Jeeves series in 1919 and produced the last one in 1970; he was a prolific writer and collaborator of songs with Jerome Kerne and Cole Porter--he provide the story for Porter's musical "Anything Goes." He lived from 15 October 1881 to 14 February 1975.
"Jeeves and Wooster" is now available on line thanks to Youtube and worth every minute watching.