Rating: 
Summary: What the Heck Ever Happened to Pauline Collins?
Review: After a commercial breakthrough with SHIRLEY VALENTINE, this wonderful actress has all but disappeared (a memoir, one or two small roles in films). She is one of the three funniest women on the planet (to go with Maggie Smith and Penelope Keith) and this great series is a perfect introduction to her talents.Best line: "I stand by manure!" "Yes, we've noticed. . . "
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Summary: Alderton and Collins at their best
Review: Alderton and Collins (known for their roles in Upstairs, Downstairs and the comedy series No, Honestly) are in to form in this collection of the classic show. Each half-hour episode stars the pair in a classic P.G. Wodehouse story. The stories help show the range of these talents. Alderton can be a stuttering Milquetoast, swishy poet, a prestidigitator, blustering producer, or even a forceful suitor. Each episode is introduced by P.G. Wodehouse himself. The Truth About George is about a stutterer trying to overcome his impediment so that he can propose to the woman he loves.
Romance at Droitgate Spa tells of snobbery amongst the ill and a romance beset by a mad magician.
Portrait of a Disciplinarian has to childhood friends visiting their addled but still stern nanny for tea.
Unpleasantness at Bludleigh Court has two poets in love overcome by the blood curse of the house full of hunters.
The Rise of Minna Nordstrom tells of how a chambermaid rose to stardom in Hollywood during Prohibition.
Rodney Fails to Qualify has a mild golfer competing for a woman's love with a non-golfing poet.
A Voice from the Past tells of a mix-up with a correspondence course and childhood memories of stern teachers. Each story is a classic and will be enjoyed by Wodehouse fans (Jeeves & Wooster, Blandings Castle, Mulliner, etc.) and fans of British humor.
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Summary: AT LAST!
Review: 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!
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Summary: Goodbye, my old VHS tapes!
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: WODEHOUSE BUTCHERED
Review: Breathless with anticipation after reading little but good reviews of these DVDs, we watched the first episode, the 25 minute THE TRUTH ABOUT GEORGE yesterday evening. This story was first published in England in the STRAND magazine in 1926, then in book form (by Herbert Jenkins & Co) in the first collection of Mulliner stories in 1927. It concerns George Mulliner, nephew of the narrator, and his beloved Susan. George and Susan both love crosswords, as well as each other, but being beset by stammering, George is prevented from expressing his devotion (he succeeds in the end). This particular story is one of the weakest in the entire Mulliner canon, but it's still pretty amusing in print. In the BBC version, it's feeble, even though the plot was adhered to fairly rigorously. Stammering as an affliction can be humorous on the written page, in moderation, in the hands of a master such as Wodehouse. I am not squeamish, and am able to watch a Tarantino movie without batting an eye, but the portrayal of the stutterer by Alderton was inexpressibly cruel, and made me squirm. It was like watching a child pull the wings off a fly. There were a few funny moments - this was Wodehouse, after all - but that was it. The chase scene, where George tried to elude his pursuers through the countryside, was painfully dull, since Alderton, a comic actor of some talent (I even remember him in his TV role as the indecisive schoolmaster in PLEASE, SIR, from the late 1960s) is no Jacques Tati, and physical humor is not one of his assets. I am not in principle against adaptation of Wodehouse for TV; the Fry / Laurie series of Jeeves and Wooster, for example, was excellent in every respect. Maybe it is simply very difficult to transfer Wodehouse's brand of humor and literary style to the screen - certainly an over-the-top adaptation of a Blandings story transmitted not long ago, with Peter O'Toole as an appalling Lord Emsworth, suggests that is the case. Anyway, THE TRUTH ABOUT GEORGE was a very long 25 minutes, and gives little cause for optimism with respect to the succeeding episodes.
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Summary: Wodehouse in his usual brilliance!!!!
Review: I bought this DVD because of all the Jeeves and Wooster stories I have watched, read, and listened to over the last 18 years. These stories are as superbly written and acted as I expected they would be. P.G. Wodehouse had a way with words that is unsurpassed in the literary field of humor and the stories on these DVD's highlight Wodehouse's ability to entertain with words. The two lead actors are wonderful in their portrayal of Wodehouse's characters and the humor is priceless. Having seen both John Alderton and Pauline Collins on stage live and in this series, they are actors who can play a variety of roles effectively and with passion. I strongly recommend this DVD set to all fans of P.G. Wodehouse's style and humor.
Rating:
Summary: Wodehouse in his usual brilliance!!!!
Review: I bought this DVD because of all the Jeeves and Wooster stories I have watched, read, and listened to over the last 18 years. These stories are as superbly written and acted as I expected they would be. P.G. Wodehouse had a way with words that is unsurpassed in the literary field of humor and the stories on these DVD's highlight Wodehouse's ability to entertain with words. The two lead actors are wonderful in their portrayal of Wodehouse's characters and the humor is priceless. Having seen both John Alderton and Pauline Collins on stage live and in this series, they are actors who can play a variety of roles effectively and with passion. I strongly recommend this DVD set to all fans of P.G. Wodehouse's style and humor.
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Summary: P. G. Wonderful: The Wodehouse Britcoms
Review: I had no idea who PGW was when I stumbled on these shows, which ran as a summer replacement for some other comedy in the US in 1975. One of them was the funniest thing I've ever seen on TV, and I laughed hysterically. After the summer season, the other show returned. I searched in vain for years to find these classics again, having no idea what they were. Just this year I was rewarded, with their appearance on DVD. In the nearly quarter century between that first show and this DVD, I had luckily stumbled onto (and devoured) PGW's books. I'd also had the great good fortune to watch Jeeves and Wooster, all four seasons having recently found their way onto DVD. Volume One of Wodehouse Playhouse includes seven shows drawn from the Mr. Mulliner stories, with John Alderton playing the various Mulliner relations and Pauline Collins playing everyone else. These are very much stark, stripped down Britcoms: part Vaudeville, part comic play, part slapstick craziness, lively, witty dialogue, with the dynamic duo changing hats and playing all the roles--not unlike the cast of Monty Python or Kids in the Hall. Most of the earlier film adaptations of his stories PGW felt missed the mark; these he introduces and gives his seal of approval in what must be his last TV appearances. Avid readers, of course, have their own ideas of what these characters would look like and how they would act. It helps to suspend that critical faculty and just enjoy these shows for what they are: one of many possible takes on some of the comic Master's best bits. An interesting inclusion is a brief history of the Mulliner, Golf and Drones Club stories from which Wodehouse Playhouse was drawn, by Tony Ring, president of the International Wodehouse Association. All in all, Wodehouse Playhouse is a must have for any devoted reader of the Master or lover of Britcoms.
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Summary: Wodehouse Playhouse is a classic!
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: Sophisticated comedy
Review: I never read any of P.G. Wodehouse's literary works until after I began watching the Wodehouse Playhouse on our local PBS channel in the early 1980's. Yes, it's fair to say that the serials developed for BBC TV strayed somewhat from the original stories, but so what....... The seven stories on this DVD set are well worth your time to view... they are well done, period costume comedies. However, if you are one of those individuals who believe a show like FRIENDS is outrageously funny, then you probably won't enjoy the WODEHOUSE PLAYHOUSE. Highly recommended for anyone studying English literature. View the series on DVD first, then dig up the original stories and read them.
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