Product Description

Jeeves is the ultimate gentleman's gentleman, a silent, cerebral and engagingly protective butler with a steadfast dedication to his master. Wooster is the classic British young man of means, blessed with a touch too generous a heart and a slight deficit in the noggin department. Their adventures together, chronicled in P. G. Wodehouse's classic tales, have charmed generations of readers. And the TV adaptations of these enchanting stories, starring Hugh Laurie (Black Adder, Sense and Sensibility) and Stephen Fry (Wilde, Cold Comfort Farm) won dedicated audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. The acclaimed JEEVES & WOOSTER programs have finally come to DVD. This eagerly anticipated set includes these exquisite escapades:

Return to New York
The Once and Future Ex
Bridegroom Wanted
The Delayed Arrival
Trouble at Totleigh Towers
The Ties that Bind

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11133 in DVD
• Brand: A&E
• Released on: 2002-03-26
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 300 minutes

Customer Reviews

Don't fix what isn't broken
The first three seasons were great. Clive Exton did a superb job of adapting the original Wodehouse stories for television, weaving separate tales together so seamlessly that if you hadn't read them first, you'd have a hard time telling what had been changed. Inexplicably, the fourth season is a complete departure from what came before. The first three episodes are, for some reason, set in America, but are very loosely based on stories set in England. I watched them all, hoping they would get better, but it was not to be. There was a great deal of scene padding (multiple scenes of Bertie frolicking at the Hotsy Totsy Club, for instance), as well as the genuinely uninspired comic creations of Mr. Exton. I will grant that, due to the sheer number of Wodehouse's writings, I may well have missed a few Jeeves tales along the way, but if turns out that Wodehouse actually put Bertie and Jeeves in a lifeboat and sent them on an eight month long voyage around the globe, well, I'm dashed.

After watching the first DVD, I hesitated with the second. Eventually I did break down, however, and I'm glad I did. The last three episodes find young Bertram back in his native land, and the result is enjoyable. Again, the stories were based on old favorites intermixed with ones I did not recognise. Again, it could simply be that I have missed a few over the years. Whatever the case, I did enjoy the last three shows. So to sum up, if you buy this one, set your drink on the first disc and pop the second in your player, put your feet up, and enjoy.

If you want more Wodehouse for your money, however, order "Wodehouse Playhouse" Season One. It's from 1975, is made up mostly of Mr. Mulliner stories, and for ...(at present) it's a much better value.

Perfect or not, it's hilarious
Okay, I agree. I don't remember reading about Bertie and Jeeves in a lifeboat rowing across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but at that point in the episode ("Bridegroom Wanted"), who cares? It's worth it just for the Jeeves's line: "If you will remember sir, that narrow passage of water that you insisted was the Serpentine turned out to be the Panama Canal." So like them.

And, of course, the classic moment in which Bertie is trying to explain a supposedly hypothetical example involving characters A and B and "some other fellow, what shall we call him?" Jeeves: "C, sir?" Bertie: "Well, all right, I suppose Caesar is as good a name as any."

Unlike the previous episodes, this series seems to have much more slapstick humor, all pushed politely to the background. It's an attempt (and, I think, a successful one) to convey the physical stuff that Wodehouse alludes to, such as Stinker Pinker being reminded "Try not to fall over the furniture." It could be just me, but I thought it worked well.

There's a slight disappointment in losing some of the actors who had played characters in the earlier series, but the new ones certainly do just as well. All in all, deliciously Wodehousian. Highly recommended.

One season too far
Fry and Laurie are probably one of the greatest modern comedy teams. The first three seasons captured the Wodehouse spirit wonderfully. This season, the writers/director thought they were funnier than P. G. and decided to re-write his stories. The result is embarrassing and painful to watch.

If you are dying for your J & W fix, re-watch one of the earlier seasons and save yourself the pain.