A Bit of Fry & Laurie

The special that started it all! When a man tries to report his car has been stolen he finds the local police station has become a branch of Britlaw PLC, complete with brochures, sales staff and restraining bar. There is much confusion in a restaurant when the waiter can't understand the difference between a customer complaining about his soup, and his suit.

Fry as a put-upon headmaster and Laurie as a Puritanical parent who wants to exchange his 'soiled' son kicks off the premiere episode. Useful tips for making poetry is followed by a bookshop, in which all the books have been edited for greater British glory. Laurie turns in a great performance as a fraudulent psychic.

Highlights include Fry as an information stand attendant who knows too much, a man whose last name is the sound of a cigarette lighter dropping on a desk tries to file a police report. A cad of a talk show host gets his desserts; and we meet the very pleasant and expositional commander of the M.I.5 and his assistant. The episode ends with an aerobic workout and a very dramatic corporate takeover.

Fry steals Laurie's brain as a practical joke, but Laurie never notices. A pleasant Greek lunch is spoiled by Laurie's insecurity and lack of self-esteem. A tobacconist posing as a doctor prescribes cigarettes. The commander of the M.I.5 and his assistant are back for a chat, and two unwavering detectives demand to know the whereabouts of an unmarried woman's husband.

An episode rife with controversy: several sketches are canceled after an audience member demands they are stolen intellectual property. A teen poet helps his headmaster accept his repressed longing to express himself in metaphor. The polite M.I.5 boys return. Fry names his nipples and tells us how a floppy hat can save you from being killed by a bus.

As a service to the public, Fry and Laurie provide two TV critics to deride the show. A lesbian-obsessed lawyer, a miserable English teacher, and a young couple who baptize their infant for business reasons provide plenty of fodder for the critics' self-absorbed rambling. As an added bonus, Laurie walks us through his very favorite sketch, and, with Fry's help, celebrates Swiss week.

Highlights include a puppy who has had a hard life: the conversational pull of the Book of Genesis versus that of girlfriends' breasts; and a retirement home resident who, at 94, decides he wants to suck the marrow out of life. The pleasant boys from M.I.5 are back to treat each other with love, and the taxation minister is heckled by no other than Tony of Plymouth, avenger of the poor.