Televisual Advent Calendar #19 – Jeeves and Wooster

You bally well are informed, Jeeves! Do you know everything?

Jeeves and Wooster Title

This is my 2019 Televisual Advent Calendar. I did a musical version in 2011 and a cinematic one in 2012. It is in no particular order and I make no apologies for the TV series that I am blogging about. These TV series have either made me think, I have enjoyed or have had some impact on me. These are scripted TV series, some are drama, some are comedy, some are both. I found it really hard to narrow this down to just 24.

This was one of the first series I watched having purchased it from iTunes having missed it when it was broadcast on ITV. One of the nice features of purchasing it from iTunes was no adverts. I think having being really spoilt with boxed sets, iTunes, and today Netflix and Amazon Prime, when I watch live commercial TV I feel the advertising is really intrusive. I do realise that advertising is essential for commercial TV, as it pays for the programming, so I really shouldn’t be precious and complain, but…

I really enjoyed A Bit of Fry and Laurie when it was broadcast on the BBC, a classic comedy series with some really sketches. I have since then been a real fan of Stephen Fry and what he has done. Hugh Laurie, probably less so. It was first broadcast from April 1990, when I was still at university, so didn’t watch it “live”. I actually watched very little TV at university, mainly as I only had a small portable black and white television (remember those) and generally didn’t have the time to sit down and watch a TV series on a regular basis.

Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster and Stephen Fry as Jeeves in an episode from ITV's 90s series 'Jeeves and Wooster' ( Rex Features )
Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster and Stephen Fry as Jeeves in an episode from ITV’s 90s series ‘Jeeves and Wooster’ ( Rex Features )

Jeeves and Wooster was one of the first things I bought from iTunes when it was launched. We watched Jeeves and Wooster on a regular basis, trying not to binge watch the series in one go… restricting ourselves to a single episode only.

It was a marvellous period piece, beautifully acted and very funny. The interaction between the bumbling Wooster and the rather suave (and clever) Jeeves combined with excellent stories (from the pen of P G Wodehouse) made for an engaging and delightful television series. 

Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster and Stephen Fry as Jeeves in an episode from ITV's 90s series 'Jeeves and Wooster' ( Rex Features )
Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster and Stephen Fry as Jeeves in an episode from ITV’s 90s series ‘Jeeves and Wooster’ ( Rex Features )

I stopped buying iTunes videos, well we moved house and I lost my fibre broadband. You couldn’t really use iTunes films and TV programmes on a slow 1Mb/s ADSL connection. Even when I got a 4G contract, because it wasn’t wifi, iTunes wouldn’t let you download or stream content. In the end I moved over to Amazon Video and Netflix, because they would work over 3G and 4G. Now I have fibre again, I have started to buy videos again from iTunes, mainly when they are on special offer. As I like to stream stuff over 4G when I am on the move or staying away, I have started more to purchase films and TV shows from Amazon. Trouble is I now have a film library in iTunes, one in  Amazon and due to the demise of Flixster I also have a film library on Google Play. This along with the physical film library (DVD and Blu-Ray) means it can be challenging to remember what I have already, but also where it is. As a result I have duplicated purchases more than once.

One of the challenges with digital purchases are when titles are withdrawn, are you still able to access your films and TV programmes. As it happens at the time of writing Jeeves and Wooster is no longer available on iTunes to purchase, nor is it available on Amazon Video or Google Play. It’s not on the new Britbox service either. I have checked my iTunes library and it is still there and I am able to download it, so I haven’t lost it.

So if you want to watch Jeeves and Wooster you’re going to need to buy the DVDs…

It’s the bally ballyness of it all that makes it all seem so bally bally.

Get Jeeves and Wooster on DVD.
At the time of writing Jeeves and Wooster is not available to buy on Amazon Video.
At the time of writing Jeeves and Wooster is no longer available on iTunes.