The show was really funny, and I think Bertie and Jeeves were cast just right. But the books are much better. As someone pointed out, the TV show stories were arranged by taking elements of different stories and making one story out of it.

I just loved Gussie Fink-Nottle and Madeleine. Oh, and Aunt Dahlia. I don't remember if she appeared much in the show, but she was just brilliantly loud and bossy and yet loveable in the books.

Aunt Dahlia was most certainly in the books. I think three different actresses played her on the show, and they're all good. Every time she appears in a book there's a mention of how she used to hunt, and her voice is still modulated for calling recalcitrant hounds to heel from miles away.

The one thing that got my goat about the adaptation was in one of the episodes--I forget which one, since they're all interchangable, but it was one where Bertie was being musical and driving Jeeves to distraction with it, until they wound up at a grim cottage in a grim seaside village--they had Bertie playing, I think, a trombone. In the book, it was a banjolele. What affrontry! Who wouldn't think a banjolele--which I think is one of those tiny banjos that sometimes appeared in jazz bands of the era--isn't inherently more funny than a trombone?

There was a certain subversiveness to the TV show that I liked, though, that didn't appear in the books. Though I don't think Wodehouse specifically says how old the characters are, Bertie and his cronies always seemed to me to be perpetually in their early 20s, while Jeeves and the aunts, as well as most of the other "grownups," seemed 50-ish. But in the TV show, Jeeves is cast as a contemporary of Bertie's, and Bertie et. al. all seem to be about thirty. It's bad enough for young adults to act as silly as Bertie and his set, but it's a subtly different game for real grownups to act that way, particularly when they have the example of their contemporary Jeeves right before them.

By the way, "Sonny Boy" was a real Al Jolson hit, from a Broadway play. Interestingly, Wodehouse was also writing musicals, including the songs for musicals, at the same time it was a hit, so I think we're seeing some commentary not just on Bertie's musical tastes but on the state of music at the time when we see all those references to the song and it's insipid lyrics.

"Sonny Boy" was a smash hit from "The Singing Fool".

It is implied in the books that Jeeves is a bit older, possibly, but it isn't clear -- and, in any event, the different universe that the rich inhabited would have made it unthinkable for a servant to be an inspiration or a role model, whatever the ages involved. No matter how often and fulsomely Bertie and his set praise Jeeves, the class condescention is always there. The rich could live in a world of consquence-free perpetual adolescence (it's so consequence-free that the most banal instances of cow-creamer chicanery or on-again, off-again engagements being broken become high drama).

Of course, the world of Jeeves and Wooster never really existed -- that would have been impossible. For one thing, the way all hint of sex is sublimated into a silly, yet chaste, engagement farce would have doomed the upper classes to extinction within a generation. But it does have a few serious things to say particularly about class -- the sheer injustice that the brilliant and talented Jeeves should have to kowtow before martinets, fascists, twits and morons; and the ways in which he extracts his subtle revenge. It's not revolutionary, but it is, as you say, a bit subversive.

And there's absolutely no doubt that a banjolele is a far funnier instrument.

I finally gave in and bought the complete dvd set a few weeks ago but haven't had much time to watch yet. I just finished the set where Bertie tried to fix the romances of his Aunt Dahlia/Uncle Tom, his cousin Angela/Tuppy, and Fink-Nottle/Basset. Hee. Poor Bertie having to ride his bike 18 miles in the rain. I was very surprised that Jeeves didn't make Bertie get rid of the horrible white dress jacket, however. Maybe it comes up later.

From the Washington Post's TV critic, the inimitable Lisa de Moraes, in her online chat today:



Besides wanting to post the snaps our Bertie and .... what was Jeeves' first name? ..... received, I wanted to point out the news that Hugh Laurie has his own TV show starting. Anybody know any more about it?

Hugh and Lisa Edelstein, Yay!

I'm feeling Lisa de Moraes. A friend had harped on me for years to see Jeeves and Wooster, and not long after I checked out the first tape from the library, I was the proud owner of all four seasons. I wish that Bravo or A&E would air them again.

I think I remember from one of the books that Jeeves's first name is Reginald.

Damn! Hugh Laurie looks fine with that beard! (And, though I've always enjoyed he work, I've never been on any kind of a HL love train.)

Word!

Or, perhaps I should say: Rather!

ETA that I'm so chuffed about Hughie's new show that I'm in considerable danger of soiling my smalls. The cast looks absolutely ripping. If it were anywhere but FOX, though. That looks rather a rum business, I must say.

Okay, I'm stopping now.

I started to say something similar earlier, but then I remember the fine job Fox is doing with "Arrested Development," and the clouds of worry that had appeared on the horizon of the leaden summer sky dispelled as though blown by the breaths of a thousand fairies as they cavorted from toadstool to toadstool, weaving God's daisy chain from the cobwebs of Madeline Bassett's imagination.

Or something like that.

As much as I agree with her other comments, "very old"? It was only the early 90s!

Boy, Hugh does look dishy with the beard.

Well, Darcy, old thing, you did say it was the dark ages ;) Though I agree: I wouldn't say "very old", in the scheme of things.

Just by the bye, I heard it was Fry who introduced Ken and Em to each other, rather than Em being the introducer and Fry and Laurie the introducees. (Always made me wonder how much of Peter's Friends was fiction, and how much semi-multi-auto-biographical.)

Also, I thought rack's mention of Wilde, above, was apt. The manservant Lane, in The Importance of Being Earnest, must be something of an inspiration for Jeeves, with his dry, understated tone, and his willingness to pull his master out of social mishap; Wilde's joke that the function of the lower orders is to set an example for their "betters" surely must have been the guiding principle behind Jeeves' creation.

To say nothing of Aunt Augusta as the bolt of shimmering dragon-cloth from which all of young Bertram's terrifying kin were cut.

Old bean, I could not be more in agreement! I have not heard word one about "House" but it has a ton of great people in it! Must make a note to see it.

Back to topic, I just watched all of season 2 and my current favorite part is when all of the Drones, plus Roderick Glossop and Striker, are arrested for disturbing the peace while dressed as minstrels, and they go up before Chuffy who is acting as magistrate - all of the fake names have me rolling, but most especially when Bertie objects to being fined a fiver and Chuffy tells "Dr. Crippen" to stuff it. Hee!

My favorite moment in the entire series is in the first season when the lot of the Drones have formed a conga line performing their new dance during a mass sing of "47 Ginger-Headed Sailors."

Reginald.

I watched the first episode again over the weekend. Boy, Hugh and Stephen looked so young. I had forgotten the annoying habit I picked up after I first started watching the series - I went around trying to talk like Bertie. What Ho and all that.

ROTFL

I am ashamed to say, I did that too. and i'm a girl, which makes it even worse. All you have to SAY is "Sonny boy" in my house and people will shoot you a look that can kill.

All I have to say to that is What ho old bean!

Did ya'll know there are P.G. Wodehouse societies for people like us? (Note that the website mentions Our Show. And note that the name of the Los Angeles chapter is The Perfecto-Zizzbaum Motion Picture Corporation, which has nothing to do with anything--I just like to say "The Perfecto-Zizzbaum Motion Picture Corporation.") They have various levels of activity, ranging from monthly meetings and cricket matches to....a lot less. For instance, just as I tried to hook up with the local one--called Capital! Capital!--for it's annual dinner, it went belly up, though it may have reactivated.

About 10 years ago, I picked up a copy of a P.G. Wodehouse book at my father's house. I was instantly enthralled, and became an instant fan. I started reading everything I could get my hands on by him - novels, short stories, etc. I enjoyed Jeeves and Wooster, as well as many others. But one of my favorite books (the title escapes me now) had a main character named Archie, and a chapter called The Sausage Chappie. I laughed out loud over this story.

I was in for a terrible shock when I read a Wodehouse short story which had a black dog named Young Nigger. As a black woman, I was appalled, but I tried to pass it off as a product of the time in which the book was written. I saw a later edition of the same book, where the name of the dog had been changed to Young Blackie.

Some of the absolute joy I had previously experienced in reading was lost, but I tried to look past that one incident and hoped it was an abberation, and kept reading. Later, I read another Woodhouse book and was confronted by the phrase "sweating like a nigger at election time" or something to that effect. I never finished that book, and I haven't been able to bring myself to read anymore of his work since then.

It was kind of heartbreaking, to think that a man who was so magnificently talented could be a racist. I had previously given my father some of Wodehouse's short story collections for Christmas, and I didn't have the heart to tell him about my discovery. He enjoyed the books as much as I did, and I didn't want to ruin his enjoyment.

I wonder if anyone here knows more about Wodehouse's racial views? I sort of hoped that the reason the dog's name was changed in the later edition was because Wodehouse had a change of heart, but I was too disillusioned to do any research on the subject. Maybe someone here can illuminate me.

I love Fry & Laurie, and would probably enjoy this show, but the bitter feeling those book passages left still haunts me from time to time.

This is a delicate matter, of course, and The Board Gods may well find it too off topic, but I think this is representative of what I've read of Wodehouse's feelings on race, which is summed up in this author's assertion that Britons of Bertie's time and class were just as likely to consider themselves superior to a Frenchman or an Italian as a black person, and that Wodehouse used the word much as it's used in Huckleberry Finn, much more as adjective than epithet.

He also points out that although Bertie does use the unfortunate term "nigger minstrels" in one story in Thank You Jeeves, he does so in the course of admiring them to the point of wanting to take lessons from the banjo player, as he's just taken up the instrument himself. He also makes the important statement that Jeeves only uses the term "negro." To me, this is important for two reasons: 1) It proves that Wodehouse knew and approved of what was at the time the proper term (Jeeves would never be so vulgar as to use the term "nigger"), and 2) the genius of the Jeeves and Wooster books is that Jeeves -- the help -- is (in every way but financial and social standing) better than that silly ass Bertie, who is fairly mercilessly mocked throughout the entire series. He's smarter, more cultured, more proper, and just generally a more evolved person than Bertie Wooster, who is a most unreliable narrator.

Not being black myself, this debate is of course much more theoretical than it might be for you, blocked writer, but it's a topic I've thought about myself, and my own opinion is that I can forgive that silly ass Bertie the occasional linguistic faux pas (just as I forgive him his occasional bursts of clueless misogyny), because I don't believe that P.G. Wodehouse is in any way holding him up as a model to be emulated. I also believe that while Wodehouse was not by modern terms enlightened on racial topics, I've seen no evidence that he harbored ill will towards black people either in the abstract or the specific, and I truly believe that he was not a racist.

If you can find Agatha Christie books that haven't been updated so to speak, you get a similar problem. Ten Little Indians was originally called Ten Little Niggers I believe. I think also (and, honestly, I am totally not an expert on the subject), the N word isn't regarded the same way in England that it is in the States. I don't think its used anymore but it isn't regarded the same way. And, I could be totally wrong in everything that I just said.

I've been watching the Yankees/Red Sox games and Fox is showing a lot a commercials for House. I hate the American accent though - I want British Hugh! And stupid Hugh. For such a smart man, he really plays idiots well. Not only Bertie but also Prince George on Blackadder III.

I should reread the books again, they really did a great job in adapting them. When the first series was shown, MT was between hosts and Stephen was the one who did the intro before and after each episode.

Thanks, El Kabong, for the link, and your perspective on the matter. You've given me a lot of good food for thought. I occasionally had the urge to research the subject myself, but I wasn't sure I was truly ready for the answer.

And M. Darcy (a Jane Austen fan, I presume?), thanks for your comments, too. It was helpful to hear some other thoughts on the matter.

I still have mixed feelings about it, but if I get the chance to see Jeeves and Wooster, I will. Loved Fry and Laurie in Peter's Friends, and otherwork I've seen them both in, so I'm sure they are brilliant as Jeeves and Wooster.

I don't know if I'll ever be ready to read anymore of the Wodehouse books, because seeing that word in the middle of a lighthearted comedy is terribly jarring. But I will keep my eye out for airings of Jeeves and Wooster.

Just so you know, there is an episode of Jeeves and Wooster, (never aired in the US but it is available on the dvds/tapes), revolving around a "Minstrel" band in which white actors dress up in black-face. It's the series 2 episode "Kidnapped". I don't know if you would find that offensive, but best to be warned.

An excellent website dedicated to the series The Hat Sharpening Shop has an episode guide with pictures of the dvd covers and pretty much anything else you'd want to know.

Thanks, caia1970. I'll give that episode a wide berth, considering that I'm just dipping my toe back into the world of Wodehouse. I can do without that image. Even though I think it would bother me less than seeing certain words in a book.

Sometimes you have to take historical perspective into consideration with older movies, books & art. But it is sometimes difficult to be objective with particular words and images. Seeing a black servant in an old film doesn't bother me enough to ruin a film, because that was the reality of the time era of the film. Occasionally, I reflect and feel sad for the many talented performers who rarely had a chance to do more than that outside of "race" films.

But blackface? Forgive the bad pun, but that just gets under my skin. It's annoying as hell, and if I never saw another blackface performance, it would be fine with me.

But I'll still look for some of the other J & W episodes. Thanks again.

The Whole Jolly Lot An article in the Washington Post about the new biographer of P.G. Wodehouse. It also includes how Jeeves and Wooster were created and why the characters are so wonderful.

I've been a fan of Fry & Laurie for over 20 years. When they first showed Jeeves & Wooster on Masterpiece Theatre, I was a little concerned because while I adore Stephen Fry, he seemed a bit young to play Jeeves. But, after watching the first episode, my fears were put to rest. He did a great job with the character. I used to have the whole series on VHS, but after more than 10 years, the quality was starting to go, so I bought the whole set from Deep Discount for $90 about a year ago.

The one thing that struck me about the world of Jeeves & Wooster is how much of a fantasy world it is. Everyone's rich, no one works and none of the men (Bertie and his school chums) seemed to have been in WW1. In real life, some of Bertie's friends (possibly Bertie himself) would not have survived and returned home from the war. Instead, every one of his school friends is hanging out at the club or doing things without any cares at all. And the war is never discussed. It really is quite the fantasy world!

While wandering the web at 3am, I found this link at my favorite site. Angels began clamoring with their songs and whatnot immediately.

I will add to the loud chorus of kudos for the Fry & Laurie duo. I attended graduate school in Michigan and rearranged my class schedule to ensure that I was home on Mondays at 1pm to watch CBC's re-airing of the episodes. There is no finer or funnier lunch hour.

To D.C., is the local "Capital Capital" group up and running? The possibility of joining the club lent an extra incentive to head down here.

Mmm, Wooster and Jeeves! After going ga-ga for Hugh Laurie in "House" I had to get my hands on all things HL, and this was the first series I went to, and I loved it. I, too, started talking like Bertie Wooster after watching all the episodes, and I say, old bean, I was absolutely chuffed by the whole thing, har har.

There's this one bit in the last episode of the forth series that always gets me rolling on the floor. It is when Bertie is rummaging through Florence's room looking for the Ganymede Club book and is caught in the at by at-the-moment fiancee #2, Madeline, and in order to get out of the situation, Bertie goes, "Where am I? Oh my, I feel faint," and promptly throws himself onto the floor. A great bit of physical comedy. I had to rewind and watch that scene a couple of times, it was so hilarious.

Anyone watching Hugh Laurie's House?

I'm not. I find it disconcerting when Brit actors do American accents.

My little sister came to visit me this week, and after getting her hooked on House (which, to answer veryoldperson's question, I watch (and love) and very quickly got used to HL's American accent) we watched some Jeeves & Wooster for old times' sake (this was where we first encountered Hugh Laurie).

Anyway, AndYourPointIs' post above got me thinking about my favorite Bertie scene, when he finally gets to tell off Aunt Agatha after she tries to get him to marry that woman who turns out to be a con artist who steals her pearls. The joyfully smug expression on his face never fails to crack me up.

Also, thanks M. Darcy for the link to that Washington Post article about Wodehouse and his biographer. Has anyone read the biography yet?

I just started re-watching Jeeves & Wooster via Netflix (and the CBC station in Windsor, which is playing the series on Sunday afternoons). I'd seen it the first time around, and loved it, but hadn't tracked it down again since. My love for HL in "House" prompted me to check out the Wooster again.

And no, the American accent is not off-putting.

Such fun word play, and the characterizations are spot on.
I can't recall the phrase word for word, but I kept replaying one scene Jeeves had been replying to form to one of Bertie's stories when Bertie stopped and noted that the manner in which Jeeves said "Indeed sir, it seems only to be a sense of proprietary that is keeping you from saying Says You."

What really makes it art is how Jeeves shouts at the end when Aunt Agatha nearly reveals everything. Then he calmly excuses himself "You trod on my foot sir" My mother and I routinely crack each other up by mimicking the exact intonation of the yell at each other.

Intros, right ho! I recently got into Wodehouse. Someone online mentioned how ripping they were and so I got a few of the books out of the library. Then I just had to borrow the vids.

I quickly addicted my mother to them and am working on my teenage sisters. They show signs of weakening (laughter).

The CBC recently showed this episode so I did get to see it as I live close enough to Canada to get that network. Yes, the blackface was disturbing. It was a tiny consolation that everyone employing it was shown to be a jackass, but still. I wonder that they made it at all - in 1990 (or so) which means that they had to be aware of the sensitive nature of the subject.

Incidentally, the Sunday afternoon Jeeves and Wooster airings seem to be giving way to Monday afternoon airings as of this week. But that could just be my CBC affiliate, not the network itself.

I read somewhere that when Fry and Laurie were originally putting together the show, Fry didn't want to play Jeeves, and they searched for other options. I can't imagine anyone playing it better. The little British cough, and that "I'm smarter than you, but I imagine you're about to figure that out" lip purse he does are so perfect.

I'd say the same about Laurie's foppish, guileless Wooster, but now that I've seen House I think maybe it's less that Hugh Laurie was perfect for the role and more that Hugh Laurie is perfect for any role.

While I absolutely adore Stephen Fry (and think he can be a very good actor in certain roles, such as Wilde), I agree with him and don't think him quite right for the part. He's not - I don't know - substantial enough (I don't mean physically) and is surely too posh - he just doesn't look right to me. However, that said, I think he did a sterling job and it still worked. He just wasn't as perfect for the role as Laurie was for Wooster. I can't think of anyone else they could have cast, though, from current actors. Maybe someone like Kenneth More, back in the day, or Cecil Parker.

I think SF himself has admitted he was too young, and I agree. Haven't read one in a while but I figure Jeeves is at least a generation older than Bertie, hence the wisdom. But those are academic objections to me, perhaps because I watched it before I ever read it. Bertie singing "Minnie the Moocher" and making reluctant Jeeves the chorus is classic. "Hi de hi de hi de hee, sir." Stephen Fry is a British national treasure; I wish he were better known in America.

By the way, his new book about how to write poetry is both hilarious and very, very useful. He is so multi-talented.

That was in the very first episode, correct? I love that scene! It was adorable. In fact, I pretty much love all of the musical moments in each episode, and Hugh Laurie really is talented pianist.

Plus, 47 Ginger Headed Sailors is just too catchy, I've had it stuck in my head all day. It just randomly pops into my head at times, I don't know what it is about that song! It's also made me want to watch the show, which I haven't watched for a while. I'm hoping that my library has some copies available.

Apparently Fry can't sing to save his life. He has sort of a complex about it (it's in his autobiography, which stops tantalizingly short of the whole Cambridge gang). So I always like to think that scene is a little in-joke, because Laurie is so talented on that front and Fry can't (or thinks he can't) even hum.

Crap. Now I've got it stuck in my head. Maybe I'll try to mutate it into the theme song, which often gets stuck for weeks at a time.

I have just started watching (ripped through two seasons in about six days) and I feel like I love it more than anything. I really love how there seems to be a certain arch awareness on the part of the writers, producers, and performers of exactly how impossible this whole world is, and the (to us 21st century folks) startling naivete even of the esteemed Wodehouse. It's played very straight, and can be enjoyed at face value as a great mannered British comedy, but there are so many layers of cultural and political awareness that didn't escape them - they merely display them, without even so much as a raised eyebrow or a fourth-wall-breaking wink to signal to the audience that what they're portraying is both ridiculous and naive. I'm not about to negate blocked writer's reaction to the blackface and the "N" word - it's nice to now have the choice about whether or not to be exposed to such things if one finds them upsetting - but I find it doubtful that these elements of Wodehouse's stories were included without knowing that they were offensive. I believe that it was done intentionally. I know it's possible that someone who would bother to watch a British adaptation of a silly-but-brilliant collection of stories would find it these racist earmarks anything other than offensive. Right now we PC-indoctrinated folks consider ourselves "above" such things; but once upon a time, the majority of the upper classes (both in Britain and in the U.S.) would never have imagined that such things would be offensive. But we now do - and that adds a whole new layer of satire that I appreciate greatly. British comedy is all about being offensive and outrageous and feeling superior to who and what is on screen - and not only are these upper-class twits stupid, but they're cluelessly racist as well? I find that funny as hell, as well as thought-provoking - how much things have changed since then!

Racism is evil, but the episode with the blackface minstrels is freakin' hilarious nonetheless, and I'm not about to miss out on the funny. In fact, it's even MORE funny.

And I think Hugh Laurie is hot, no matter what accent he's doing. Just my opinion (as is the entire content of this post - just thought I'd add the perspective of another fan of color).

Along those same lines....

Hugh Laurie said one reason they quit doing the series was because he was getting too old. But I thought his (and his co-stars') age added another layer of humor. It's one thing for a 20-year-old to romp around like a twit. It's another thing when that twit is still romping at age 35. And having Jeeves be the same age only emphasized that more. It wasn't a sage old man bearing witness to their stupidity--it was a contemporary.

Another thing that it took me a while to realize was that Bertie was (besides Jeeves) the smartest and bravest one of his lot! Which kind of says something about how idiotic the rest of them must have been, if Bertie was able to top them so easily and if he was the one they always turned to for help.

Yes, the other Eggs, Beans and Crumpets were an amazing bunch of misfits. Also, Bertie was financially independent, which helped him avoid the situations that some of his friends got themselves into.

I have read and re-read the Jeeves and Wooster stories for thirty-some years now, and seen two adaptations of them, but now when I read the stories, I hear Fry and Laurie's voices in my head. Fry doesn't look as much like the Jeeves in my mind, but his voice is perfect.

I had to write and share the love. Like others have mentioned, I first found Mr. Laurie in House and ever since have been trying to get my hands on all things Hugh. And I found a new favorite show. Dang, I love Bertie and Jeeves! I love their interactions, I love the backstory on what good friends Hugh and Stephen are, I love the music, I love the wordplay, I love the costumes, I love...um, I think you probably get the point by now.

And Barmy Fotheringay-Phipps is, I think, my favorite name. Ever. Closely followed by Gussie Fink-Nottle. Hee!

I've made myself a CD of downloads of Hugh singing various songs from the show (both actually on the show and some stuff done with a big band that I have no idea where it came from) and that's pretty much all I listen to any more.

Now...on to reading the books! :)

I never had a problem with Jeeves being more of a contemporary as Wooster and it actually seems more appropriate. Here's a na-bob who has money and time to burn, but has the sense of a noodle. Jeeves has seen "the world" or at least more so than Bertie and is all knowing and superior when Wooster is supposed to be the superior. Always loved when Bertie had clothing that Jeeves hated and by the end of the story Bertie would give it up because Jeeves helped him out of some crazy scheme.

Can't stand House, and it's nothing to do with having an American accent, although does it really matter to the story that he's American? It isn't good-natured, foppish Bertie, or just as foppish, not so good natured Prince Regent from Blackadder. That is priceless! I think SF is in some Blackadder as well.

I just started checking out the DVDs from my local library, and I love them! I was a little worried, because the books are just so good, but they did a really good job.

It does make me do a double-take to see Bertie using a cane for purely superficial purposes :)

LOL! My thought was that it was good he had a role earlier in his career that gave him practice using a cane. Man, when he leans rakishly on that cane in one of his gorgeous 3-piece suits...yummy.

Whilst perusing the usual tech blogs this morning I came upon a link to a gadget called the Voco Clock. It's an alarm clock that wakes you up with voice recordings. Specifically with Stephen Fry reading lines from P.G. Wodehouse as Jeeves. I am agog...and yet I kind of want it.

Heh, that's cute. Bulky, but cute. I could get used to waking up to Stephen Fry's mellifluous voice. I think I'd rather have a talking Jeeves mirror, though, advising me not to wear the colourful waistcoat I find so jaunty and dashing (OK, I don't have any waistcoats of any color, but you get the idea). Actually, I just want my own Jeeves, period -- don't we all?