Actually, for those wot like Wodehousian humour, I cannot recommend highly enough, Jerome K. Jerome's Idle thoughts o an Idle Man. It's like reading a book written by an earlier version of myself.And even then, it's not that it sounds old-fashioned in many parts. He could well have been a modern day slacker. His "Three men in a boat" is just hilarious - just so silly and good-hearted.
Google them on Project Gutenberg to download them for free.Stephen Lea**** is also similarly enjoyable. They just sound so modern in places it really surprises me.
Aha. Nicely sidestepped FSM. Of course this now means I can congratulate the c o c k s u c k e r s who redesigned this forum in such an abominable way that they've managed to completely run it into the ground and be assured that very very few people will be reading this now which is also annoying as this board is named after a man I liked and admired very much and who I had the honour of calling my friend. Such is life.Originally Posted by FlatSpinMan Go to original post
Back on topic; I've never watched any of Fry and Laurie as Jeeves and Wooster as I've always felt they should stay as books or radio plays. I don't want to 'see' Gussie Fink-Nottle I just want him to exist in my imagination. Does this make sense or does this make me sound like a bit of a ****sucker?
I concur - as Jeeves himself might say. But I can appreciate where you're coming from with the 'make your own pictures up' thing.
The whole thing is done with such love and attention to detail it's improbable that anyone would ever try to top it. Mind you, I thought that about Jeremy Brett and Sherlock Holmes until Guy Ritchie porked the whole concept beyond belief, ironically featuring Stephen Fry. Oddly enough I don't mind 'Sherlock' too much, although the whole thing did fizzle out. Mind you, there's no arguing that Sean Bean did make the role of Richard Sharpe his own, Yorkshire accent and all - despite the books being about a dark-haired, scar faced c-o-c-k-ney. I was more upset that Gerard Depardieu didn't get the role of Harper, maybe he couldn't do the accent... I'm rambling again aren't I?
In short - the Fry/Laurie J & W is the most faithful rendition of the books that you're ever likely to witness. There are tales of the two main actors seriously thinking of backing out of the project for fear of letting Wodehouse down (they're both huge fans), and realising that if they didn't do it then and there, somebody would pork it beyond redemption later. They owed it to Wodehouse, as Fry tells it - but then he would, wouldn't he?
Wogan on Wodehouse - BBC documentary. An hour's worth of good stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jtZMAFA2Zo