Search - Wodehouse Playhouse, Series 1 on DVD

Wodehouse Playhouse is a classic!

Book Reviewer | San Francisco | 03/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been waiting 25 years for this classic BBC series! From the moment I saw the first episode, "Unpleasantness at Bludleigh Court", I was hooked on the series. (Witnessing two verse-spouting, chiffon-swirling poets forced to share an estate with blood-thirsty Sir Francis was hilarious. When he snarls 'Ever shot a Gnu?' at the poetess, she squeaks 'I have never even spoken harshly to one.') In every skit, Pauline Collins and John Alderton possess a comic timing so brilliant a Swiss watch would be envious! And I'm not the only one who appreciates them. Friends of mine (who firmly believe the Lord created Sunday for golfing) were in stitches over "Rodney Fails to Qualify". Another friend watching 'The Truth About George' (as Alderton, 'stammering like a soda-water syphon' tries to propose to Pauline, the parson's crossword addicted daughter) said afterwards her sides hurt from laughing. Rent, buy or borrow this series at once! Not only will it give you the most hilarious 210 minutes of laughter you've had in a long while, it will also induce the distributor of this awesome series to deliver the rest of the Wodehouse Playhouse skits. Enjoy!"

AT LAST!

GEORGE RANNIE | DENVER, COLORADO United States | 02/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At last these wonderful televised Wodehouse stories are comercially available!!--I also watched them in the 80s falling on the floor and completely out of breath from laughter. They are the funniest story adaptions that have ever been done!
I truly believe there is nothing that has ever been shown that is as funny as the "Portrait of a Disciplinarian" I was able to tape that episode in the 80s and I have subsequently viewed it about every month since that time. Upon each viewing I'm in a heap on the floor from laughter. (I've viewed "Portrait" so many times that I almost know every line verbatim, and it is still very funny to see) Another hysterical episode is "Bludeigh Court" (John Alderton is a scream in that one).
Pauline Collins has to be, next to Maggie Smith and Prunella Scales, the funniest actress that has ever been. She is just wonderful in all of these Wodehouse series. Why she isn't a "household name" I will never know!
Trust me, you will love this DVD presentation; however, please let me warn you to be prepared to call the Paramedics if you are prone to "lose your breath" from gails of laughter--you will need them!"

Goodbye, my old VHS tapes!

C. Williamson | USA | 03/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Blessings upon the heads of those at Acorn Media! At last I can retire some of the VHS tapes on which I taped these off the air back in the mid-80s. These episodes constitute some of the funniest half hours ever televised, and "The Truth About George" never fails to leave me breathless with laughter, even after multiple viewings. To have these at last on pristine DVDs is a rare treat indeed, and I can't wait for Acorn to release the remainder of the series."

The Mulliners are as funny as the Woosters

F. Behrens | Keene, NH USA | 02/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You all know how hysterically funny the Bertie Wooster/Jeeves stores are, both on the page and on the screen. Well, P.G. Wodehouse wrote about many other characters, notably the Mulliner Family, from which series several of the episodes on "Wodehouse Playhouse" have been drawn. If you remember the feisty Sarah the maid and the amorous ambitious chauffeur Thomas in the "Upstairs, Downstairs" series, you will recall with what chemistry Pauline Collins and John Alderton played those roles. In this series, they play a different role in each half-hour episode, sometimes with Alderton as the Mulliner, sometimes Collins, now and then neither.
Series One is now available, holding on its two DVDs (AMP 5939) seven very funny tales, six of which are about goofy Englishmen and women living up to what Americans expect of them. For example, in "Portrait of a Disciplinarian," Reggie Mulliner and his ex-fiancee meet at their former Nanny's and are treated as before, as children to be punished. But what else would we expect of a British Nanny? The Hollywood spoof "The Rise of Minna Nordstrom" does not quite fulfill its potential, but the "The Truth About George" certainly does. But even in its weakest moments (and there are not many of those), this series is still funnier than anything else visible on American prime time. So grab up this one and look for the other series as soon as they are available."