Search - Jeeves & Wooster - The Complete Fourth Season on DVD

Right ho!

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 05/23/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The fourth season of "Jeeves and Wooster" has the same problem as the third -- half of it takes place in America, and these are probably the weakest of the series. But the series has a solid finale as the pair return to England, and several romantic subplots are wrapped up for good.

Bertie "Returns to New York" and the comforts of the more laid-back America, only to have Aunt Agatha and his prodigal cousins Claude and Eustace turn up. Unfortunately, the cousins only pretend to leave for South Africa, because both are now madly in love with a nightclub singer. To make matters worse, Bertie has to help his pal Tuppy win back a high-strung girlfriend.

"The Once and Future Ex" Florence Craye comes to New York, and shows an uncomfortable interest in Bertie. That doesn't sit well with her violence fiancee Stilton Cheesewright, a cop bent on enforcing Prohibition. Unfortunately when the two break up, Florence gets her claws into Bertie, and her cold-hearted American cousin begins blackmailing him. Can Jeeves save the day at a costume party?

"Bridegroom, Wanted" when Bertie's first ex-fiancee Honoria Glossop arrives in New York, determined to marry somebody -- even Bertie. Bertie tries to enlist a starlet to pretend to be his fiancee, but it backfires when the girl's agent insists he marry her for real. Bertie's only means of escape? A round-the-world escape with Jeeves!

But he can't escape his exes even when he gets back to England. "The Delayed Arrival" causes problems when Bertie accidentally breaks up Stilton and Florence. To make matters worse, Aunt Dahlia's magazine is for sale, and Jeeves has to impersonate an American lady novelist to impress a potential buyer. The problem is, Stilton finds Jeeves-in-drag maddeningly attractive...

"Trouble at Totleigh Towers" starts when Madeleine becomes a vegetarian, and says Gussie has to be too. The problem is, it makes him grumpy, and it's putting a strain on their engagement -- especially since he is falling in love with the chief. And the Machievellian Stiffy Byng blackmails poor Bertie into stealing an African totem from her uncle, believing that there's a curse on it.

"The Ties that Bind" begin to choke people when Bertie arrives at Totleigh Towers, thinking that Florence and Madeleine are safely engaged. Unfortunately when local politics go awry, Roderick Spode decides to run for office -- and Madeleine breaks their engagement. Now Bertie is engaged to two horrible women at once... unless Jeeves can save him from a fate worse than death.

It's hard to wrap up such a scattered series, but the fourth season of "Jeeves and Wooster" manages to do a good job. The first few episodes are the weakest of the entire series, since it seems like the scriptwriters simply didn't know what to do when Bertie and Jeeves are cornered.

But after that, things get wild and hilarious, with both our heroes in (ugly) drag and more mad antics at Totleigh Towers. And though Jeeves always saves the day, whether by blackmail or masks, the explosive finale is an absolute stunner. Exploding baptismal fonts, kangaroos, and a stolen book of scandals are just a few of the things that turn up.

The cast is STILL in flux, since Sir Roderick, Aunt Agatha, Florence and Stiffy all undergo cast changes again. Some are good, some are bad. But the vacant-eyed and helium-voiced Madeleine, painfully hearty Honoria and the violent ex-Nazi Roderick Spode are the same as always. And Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry are, as always, wonderfully funny as the hapless aristocrat and his brainy manservant.

While the first half is rather weak compared to the rest of the series, the last half makes up for this. And while it's sad to see the hilarity end, Season Four is a fitting finale to a wonderful comedy series."