# A Bit of Fry & Laurie (early 90s British TV) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 26, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648 "2007-05-26T21:59:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648/21 "2007-05-27T19:04:42Z")
[QUOTE=vivalostwages] Just one more for now… [http://youtube.com/watch?v=vKjJh1NJXf0&mode=related&search=](http://youtube.com/watch?v=vKjJh1NJXf0&mode=related&search=) . [/QUOTE] Hey, that’s Paul Whitehouse in the audience, before he was famous. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648/22 "2007-05-27T20:12:35Z")
I’m not the only person who remembers that both Hugh Laurie and John Malkovitch were in Annie Lennox’s _Walking on Broken Glass_ video, am I? I can’t find it on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648/23 "2007-05-27T20:14:44Z")
Well, here’s a fuzzy version. You can tell it’s Hugh Laurie here by the way he moves. [http://music.aol.com/video/walking-on-broken-glass/annie-lennox/tag/music-pop/1467619](http://music.aol.com/video/walking-on-broken-glass/annie-lennox/tag/music-pop/1467619) ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648/24 "2007-05-27T20:44:04Z")
_Every Bit of Fry and Laurie: The Complete Collection_ will be available on DVD July 24th from Warner Home Video and BBC Video. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648/25 "2007-05-28T18:30:28Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] The sketch with very special guest Michael Jackson: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kPE9SSeICAw/hqdefault.jpg "Fry & Laurie - Michael Jackson P1") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPE9SSeICAw) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3d58nxCH2lg/hqdefault.jpg "Fry & Laurie - Michael Jackson P2") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d58nxCH2lg) The bit where he does the moonwalk is one of the funniest things I have ever seen 😃 [/QUOTE] And his dancercising in ep. 1 of s. 2 is equally hilarious. I nearly split a gut watching “Slightly mad”: ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/IoglB5NRxTo/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/IoglB5NRxTo?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque “GIVE THE MAN A BLOODY MEDAL!” ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648/26 "2007-05-28T21:34:36Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] _Every Bit of Fry and Laurie: The Complete Collection_ will be available on DVD July 24th from Warner Home Video and BBC Video. [/QUOTE] Sweet! I have a couple of homemade VCDs around here, and I bought the CBS/Fox video which has mostly sketches from the first season. ABOF&L is the funniest sketch comedy ever, with the possible exception of The Fast Show! ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648/27 "2007-05-28T22:26:20Z")
I recommend [Tony of Plymouth](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbGFrIkLEMs) and [Mr. Nippl-e](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEaQIJL2aao&mode=related&search=). ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648/28 "2007-05-28T23:51:20Z")
[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold] I recommend [Tony of Plymouth](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbGFrIkLEMs) and [Mr. Nippl-e](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEaQIJL2aao&mode=related&search=). [/QUOTE] 1. Love the tights! 2. “Diddums…” Poor thing. It looked like a fake floppy bat, but still… ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648/29 "2007-05-29T00:13:49Z")
As most of the OP’s points have been answered: the blasphemous parts of the language questions in point 4 aren’t anything like as big a deal here as they would be in America. ‘Sack of shit’ would have been pushing the boundaries at the time the programme was made, but would pass unnoticed nowadays. (Assuming it was after the watershed, cf **Usram** ’s post. [Watershed (broadcasting) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watershed_%28television%29) ) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648/30 "2007-05-29T12:32:06Z")
How is anyone on the planet so damn talented and good looking as Hugh Laurie? The only strike against him is he is married. According to Wiki, he’s also had two books published! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648/31 "2007-05-29T13:07:10Z")
You can read all the scripts for this series [here](http://www.geocities.com/mmemym/) - I haven’t a clue whether that’s an authorised archive - it’s been around for years and years, so I assume the authors know of its existence and approve. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648/32 "2007-05-29T16:11:31Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] How is anyone on the planet so damn talented and good looking as Hugh Laurie? The only strike against him is he is married. According to Wiki, he’s also had two books published! [/QUOTE] I’m reading one of them now, **The Gun Seller**. I like it very much. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648/33 "2007-05-29T18:36:04Z")
A couple more questions: 1. What is a cream slice? 2. I just discovered that these guys did an earlier comedy show with some other folks; it was called **Alfresco**. Anybody know it? It does not seem to be available yet on DVD or even VHS. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648/34 "2007-05-29T20:07:13Z")
I only dimly remember _Alfresco_ (although it looks like there is plenty of it on YouTube, natch). My memory is that is was rather patchy. F&L really became well-known during their regular appearances on Channel 4’s stand-up comedy show [_Saturday Live_](http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/s/saturdaylive_7775565.shtml), DVDs of which do exist. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648/35 "2007-05-29T20:28:32Z")
Just remember that, whenever discussing it aloud, you have to do the air quotes thing with your fingers whenever you say “A Bit of Fry and Laurie”. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648/36 "2007-05-29T20:35:35Z")
[QUOTE=vivalostwages] I’m reading one of them now, **The Gun Seller**. I like it very much. [/QUOTE] Yeah, it’s excellent - like Douglas Adams doing Frederick Forsyth. The man’s a god: he actually submitted it to the publishers under a pseudonym, and only revealed himself to be the author after it was accepted, in order that it wouldn’t be dismissed as some dilettante actor’s vanity project. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-fry-laurie-early-90s-british-tv/405648.md?page=1)