Cheap Jeeves & Wooster - The Complete Second Season (DVD) (Ferdinand Fairfax, Robert Young (III), Simon Langton) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Jeeves & Wooster - The Complete Second Season

I say!
Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry return as the scatterbrained aristocrat and his brainy butler in the second season of "Jeeves and Wooster." The series based on P.G. Wodehouse's classic novels is almost as funny as the books, with the goofy characters and tangled storylines... which are always untangled by Jeeves. <
> <
>Totleigh Towers is not a friendly place for poor Bertie Wooster. But when he accidently loses his uncle's cow creamer to Sir Watkyn, he finds himself being enlisted to get the creamer back -- except that the thuggish Nazi Spode is going to beat Bertie to a jelly if the creamer goes missing. <
> <
>More problems arise when Gussie overcomes his timidity by making a notebook full of Spode and Sir Watkyn caricatures. Unfortunately, they come into the hands of blackmailing Stiffy Byng, who wants Watkyn to approve a marriage to the local vicar. And poor Bertie finds himself engaged to two women at once. <
> <
>Things get even worse away from Totleigh Towers, where Bertie tries to help out a pair of his pals, one poor and one abnormally forgetful. His perpetually in-love pal Bingo falls in love with a tea-shop waittress, only to lose her to an unusual new suitor; and Aunt Agatha's pearls are stolen by a pair of wily thieves. <
> <
>On a more personal front, Bertie contemplates becoming a dad after seeing a paternally-minded play. And a night at the same hotel as wealthy heiress (and ex-fiancee) Pauline causes her dad to drag Bertie into a wedding with his "disgraced" daughter. The worst part: Pauline is engaged to one of Bertie's chums. <
> <
>In the technical sense, "Jeeves and Wooster" is not terribly faithful to the books -- short stories are extended, novels are picked apart and reconstructed. But fidelity to the spirit of the books can't be denied. These episodes are as elaborate, madcap, and tastefully bizarre as the books themselves were. <
> <
>As always, the naive Bertie ends up entangled in multiple engagements, threats and blackmailing schemes. And the characters around him fare no better, like when newt-fancier Gussie (dressed like the devil) is chased away from Totleigh by Spode (a Roman soldier). <
> <
>Or when Bertie and two of his detractors are arrested for impersonating hobgoblins, or when a policeman's helmet goes missing and Bertie is the instant suspect. The dialogue matches this, with goofy dialogue, about everything from family insanity to the drippy romantic Madeleine (one of Bertie's recurring fiancees). <
> <
>Hugh Laurie, who is now winning raves in the TV show "House," is wonderfully manic as Bertie, using his expressive face and gangly body like a less demented John Cleese. And Stephen Fry embodies the catlike grace and intelligence that Wodehouse always wrote Jeeves as having. The impeccable hair and ever-present suit don't hurt. <
> <
>"Jeeves and Wooster" only got stronger in its second season, full of disgraced newt-fanciers, angry Nazis, and stolen helmets. I'm sure P.G. Wodehouse would have been quite proud.

---

Excellent Stuff
These six episodes are best described as great, great, great, great, great, and so-so. The humor is excellent. Hugh Laurie is very much fun to watch. And they hold up well under repeated viewing. <
> <
>I read that Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry ... close friends since their college days at Cambridge (where they were introduced to each other by none other than Emma Thompson) ... were reluctant to accept the "Jeeves and Wooster" roles ... but the high quality of the writing made them take a second look and ... sign on. <
> <
>This, the second season, is the best of the four "Jeeves and Wooster" seasons. Hugh Laurie has grown to completely fill out the Berite Wooster character ... and the material is never better. A recap of each episode is below: <
> <
> <
>PEARLS MEAN TEARS (also called "The Con") <
>An excellent one. <
> <
>Bertie is summoned to Westcomb on the Sea by his domineering aunt Agatha ... where she plays matchmaker (against Bertie's wishes) ... for Bertie and the "demure" Aileen Hemmingway. This story leads nicely into a second tale (in this same episode) where Bertie must help his chum Biffie escape from an unwanted engagement to the dreaded Honoria Glossup. <
> <
>The dramatization here is of a very high quality. No expense was spared and no detail was overlooked. It is really quite amazing when you consider the preparation, the assembling, and the cost that went into the making of a scene that is a mere two minutes long (such as the railway station scene or the horse race track scene). <
> <
>This is highbrow comedy at its best. My only reservation (every time I watch this episode) is caused by the bad guys here ... the confidence tricksters ... who are a bit too scary, and the trouble they cause (for Bertie) a bit too serious ... but it is all over with soon enough ... and the romp continues ... unabated. <
> <
> <
>JEEVES IN THE COUNTRY (also known as "Chuffy") <
>Another excellent one ... and the first of two parts. <
> <
>Here Bertie takes up the trombone ... and is oblivious to the disturbance it causes (and is surprised when told of it). Offended by the "lack of neighborly spirit" he retaliates by moving to the country (Devonshire) ... where he is near his old college pal Chuffy ... but must deal with a ticklish situation when a former fiancee appears on the scene. <
> <
>The comedy flows at a good clip in this episode ... and there are nice touches throughout (background details that add to the fun and authenticity of a scene). Bertie and Jeeves have quite a bit of one-to-one talking, and this is ... the very heart of the "Jeeves and Wooster" humor and appeal. <
> <
>(A couple of fun scenes here: Bertie (while arguing with his landlord) tries to quote Shakespeare ... only to stumble ... and then (with Jeeves help) recover his confidence ... with a triumphant gesture. Also, Jeeves is forced to make his master's morning tea ... al fresco.) <
> <
> <
>KIDNAPPED (also called "The Mysterious Stranger") <
>This is a follow-up to "Jeeves in the Country" ... and it is just as good ... except maybe that it lacks the slam-bang finish. <
> <
>Here Bertie has once again travelled out to the country ... where he finds himself trapped in a shotgun wedding situation. And, by coincidence, his chums from the Drones Club are also in Devonshire ... to give a ukulele concert ... in blackface. <
> <
>P.G. Wodehouse (the creator of "Jeeves and Wooster") often used what might be called "coincidence" comedy ... where two or three different story elements come together accidentally ... to create a riotously funny situation. <
> <
>Here in "Kidnapped" the coincidence is sort-of hard to buy into, but the pay-off ... the riotous scene ... is pretty satisfying ... so we let it go. <
> <
>(Three fun Hugh Laurie bits here: When confronted by the parents of TWO former fiancees ... at the same moment ... "Oh, you know ... an engagement here ... an engagement there." Also, his impromptu singing of "Lady of Spain". And lastly his warming up to Roderick Glossup after learning that he (Glossup) had struck young Seabury (a real brat).) <
> <
> <
>JEEVES SAVES THE COW CREAMER (also called "The Silver Jug") <
>This is arguably the best "Jeeves and Wooster" episode ... mainly because the story is so excellent. <
> <
>Bertie receives a visit from his aunt Dahlia ... who wants him to visit an antique shop and ... "sneer at a cow creamer". The cow creamer is a silver creamer that is, well, in the shape of a cow ... a much valued objet d'art ... that Dahlia means to obtain ... and when a rival silver collector snatches it from under her nose ... she is ... incensed ... and orders Bertie to go and steal it. <
> <
>This story is a veritable gold mine of comedy ... and the gold is indeed mined ... and delivered. Vivian Pickles is excellent as Bertie's aunt Dahlia ... and Richard Garnett is perfect for the part of Gussie. <
> <
>(A fun moment here is when Bertie sends off a telegram to his aunt. Also, there's an excellent little scene when Jeeves attends a meeting of The Junior Gamamede Club ... a club for gentlemen's gentlemen (valets).) <
> <
> <
>A PLAN FOR GUSSIE (also called "The Bassett's Fancy Dress Ball") <
>This is a follow-up to "Jeeves Saves the Cow Creamer" ... with the same setting, same actors and actresses, and the ... same fun. <
> <
>Bertie is back at Totleigh Towers ... the estate home of the dreaded Sir Watkin Bassett ... where he (Bertie) must save the marriage plans of his chum Gussie. <
> <
>We get a lot of Bertie/Jeeves conversation here ... and that is good. The give-and-take is excellent ... with Jeeves at one point using "prandial jocundity" ... which means cheerfulness at dinner. <
> <
>Simon Treves as Harold "Stinker" Pinker is excellent ... very entertaining ... once you zero in on him. Bertie has a funny diatribe at the tennis court and he also has a classic moment of triumph over Watkin Bassett. <
> <
> <
>JEEVES THE MATCHMAKER (also called "Wooster With a Wife") <
>Of the six episodes in season number two, this one is by far the worst. <
> <
>Three different stories are woven together here: Bertie must break up a romance between his chum Tuppie and "the interloper" Daisy ... also, Bertie tries to propose marriage to Bobbie Wickham ... and lastly, his (Bertie's) help is employed by pal Bingo to convince Bingo's rich uncle (and benefactor) that marriage to a middle class girl is both acceptable and honorable. <
> <
>The Bingo story drags along ... and the Bobbie Wickham character is just a mean lady. There are dead ends (in this episode) here and there, and Jeeves is not given any brilliant solutions to come up with (always added fun for us viewers). The Tuppie story works OK, and we do get some vintage Hugh Laurie moments ... but the craft and the art ... of so high a quality in the other five episodes ... is definately missing here. <
> <
> <
>

---

The 2nd season-good, but not best
First off, as a die-hard fan of P.G. Wodehouse, I am critical at best. The First season surpassed my wildest dreams, in short, it was excelent. The second season fell short, however, inasmuch as many of the characters previously introduced in the first season were reintroduced being played by entirely different actors. That was semidisapointing. Also, some of the acting is a little less Wodehouse-y then in the first. I was delighted with Gussie once again, though, and I would still recomend buying it; its well worth the money, and is as good as it is going to get on this earth.