Jeeves and Wooster

Series title card.
Format Comedy
Created by Clive Exton
Starring Hugh Laurie
Stephen Fry
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of episodes 23
Production
Running time 55 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel ITV
Original run April 22, 1990 – June 20, 1993

Jeeves and Wooster is a British comedy television series adapted by Clive Exton from P.G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. The series was produced by Picture Partnership Productions for Granada Television and screened on the ITV network from 1990 to 1993. It starred Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster, a jovial but empty-headed young gentleman, and Stephen Fry as Jeeves, his improbably well-informed and talented valet. The stories are set in England and the United States in the pre-Second-World-War 20th century (there are aspects of the Edwardian era, 1920s, and 1930s).

Wooster is a well-to-do bachelor, a minor aristocrat and member of the idle rich. He and his friends, who are mainly members of The Drones Club, are aided in all manner of societal adventures by the indispensable "gentleman's personal gentleman," Jeeves. Wodehouse drew the themes of his plots, which concern the entangled love lives of the major characters, from classical New Comedy. An element of the television show not present in the books is Wooster's skill as a pianist. Several scenes in the show feature Laurie playing a humorous song and, occasionally, Fry joining in for a duet.

Four series were produced, with 23 episodes in total. The programmes were produced by Brian Eastman and are all available on DVD.

One aspect of the series is that many of the supporting roles — including significant characters such as Aunt Agatha, Madeline Bassett, and Gussie Fink-Nottle — were played by more than one actor. One prominent character, Aunt Dahlia, was played by a different actress in each of the four series. Conversely, the actress Francesca Folan played two very different characters: Madeline Bassett in series one and Lady Florence Craye in series four.

The theme (called "Jeeves and Wooster") is an original piece of music in the jazz/swing style written by composer Anne Dudley for the programme.[1] The theme music by Anne Dudley was also used in the movie Mickey Blue Eyes.

Characters

DVD Releases

In Australia all four series have been released.

• Jeeves & Wooster - The Complete 1st Series (2 Disc Set) - 5 September 2007
• Jeeves & Wooster - The Complete 2nd Series (2 Disc Set) - 2 December 2007
• Jeeves & Wooster - The Complete 3rd Series (2 Disc Set) - 31 January 2008
• Jeeves & Wooster - The Complete 4th Series (2 Disc Set) - 5 May 2008
• Jeeves & Wooster - The Complete Series (8 Disc Box Set) - 4 August 2008

Episodes

Locations

• Interior shots of Skeldings Hall (Bobbie Wickham's house) were filmed at Home House – a gentleman's club in London.
• Totleigh Towers was filmed at Highclere Castle, Hampshire.
• Exterior shots of Brinkley Court were filmed at Barnsley Park, Gloucestershire in series 1 and Hall Barn, Buckinghamshire in series 4.
• All interior shots of Brinkley Court were filmed at Wrotham Park, Hertfordshire.
• Interior and exterior shots of Chuffnell Hall, in series 2, were also filmed at Wrotham Park.
• Shots of Chuffnell Regis, Devon were filmed in Fowey, Cornwall.
• Ditteridge Hall ("Jeeves Takes Charge") was filmed at Englefield House, Berkshire.
• Twing Hall ("The Purity of the Turf") was filmed at Stanway House, Gloucestershire.
• The "Victoria Hotel" and the "Hotel Riviera" in Westcombe-on-Sea ("Pearls Mean Tears") were filmed in Sidmouth, Devon.
• Chuffy's Aunt's House ("Kidnapped!") was filmed at Clandon Park, Surrey. Ablafor's house was also used for some exterior shots of Guamie.
• Deverill Hall ("Right Ho, Jeeves") was filmed at Joyce Grove, Oxfordshire.
• Fothergill Hall ("Comrade Bingo") was filmed at Dorney Court, Buckinghamshire
• Lord Worplesdon's New York residence ("The Once and Future Ex") was filmed at Gaddesden Place, Hertfordshire.
• Exterior shots of Stuyvesant Towers, Wooster's residence in New York City in series 3 and 4, were filmed at Senate House in Bloomsbury, the central library and administration building for the University of London.

References

External links

• Jeeves and Wooster at the Internet Movie Database
• Hat-Sharpening: An episode guide to the series, including information about which episodes were adapted from which Wodehouse stories
• The Russian Wodehouse Society: Episode guides, screenshots and quotes from the four series
• British Film Institute Screen Online