Jeeves & Wooster - The Complete Third Season

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When he realizes that Honoria Glossop may once again have her sights set on his precious bachelorhood, Bertie Wooster sets sail for the New World. In spite of the change of scene, our hero continues to get into the most terrible scrapes, and it falls to the faithful Jeeves to save the day, frequently.

The first three episodes of this third season of Jeeves & Wooster take place in Manhattan, where Bertie helps old pal Tuppy to make a business deal. At the same time he has to keep Motty Malvern on the straight and narrow, while helping two writer friends deceive their prying relatives. The final straw comes in the shape of Cyril Bassington-Bassington, the stage-struck son of Aunt Agatha's closest friend. Back home in England, Bertie and Gussie Fink-Nottle switch identities, the lunatic Roderick Spode reappears, Bertie is forced to commit burglary (again!), and there's a spot of trouble with a tin of treacle and some communists. The unflappable Jeeves is Bertie's only hope.

Although the humor in this collection sometimes feels a little less assured than in earlier episodes and the new actor playing Gussie is a disappointment, the central performances of Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry are as good as ever. Few actors have ever brought such beloved characters so convincingly to life. --Simon Leake

Customer Reviews:

Abroad, Jeeves!.......2006-05-23

The dim, cheerful aristocrat and his impeccable manservant find that America is just as troublesome as England in the third season of "Jeeves and Wooster." While the American stories lack the usual all-out hilarity, the second half of the season is pure comedy from start to finish.

With Aunt Agatha determined to marry him to the horrible Honoria, "Bertie Sets Sail" for America. But domineering Lady Malvern wants Bertie to babysit her creepy son and keep him out of mischief -- except Monty is determined to live a Paris-Hiltonesque life.... every night. Bertie tries to escape to the country, only to find that his pal Tuppy is besotted with one of Bertie's ex-fiances.

The next is definitely "A Full House." Bicky wants to live in Manhattan, without his ducal dad knowing. And Rocky wants to live in the country, but his aunt wants him to "experience New York." Ever the loyal friend, Bertie volunteers Jeeves and his apartment to keep up the dual ruses. But when both the duke and the aunt show up unannounced, how can Jeeves and Bertie keep them from running into each other?

Aunt Agatha sends theater enthusiast Cyril Bassington-Bassington to New York, so Bertie can babysit him. The problem is, Cyril throws away the "no theatres" letter on the boat. As a result he ends up getting a part in an off-Broadway play, and Bertie happily follows the successful show all across America. But when Cyril attacks a sponsor's son, the entire play may go under... with Aunt Agatha in the audience.

Going back to England doesn't help matters, since Aunt Agatha insists that Bertie go to Deverill Hall and woo Gertrude Winkworth (who is also a pal's girlfriend). His pal Gussie is also required to present himself to Gertrude's mother. But after Gussie is arrested for hitting a cop, Bertie has to impersonate him. And Gussie has to impersonate Bertie. Of course, nothing can end well...

Scandalous memoirs are "Hot off the Press" when Bertie's new fiancee Florence announces that Sir Watkyn Basset, her uncle, is publishing a scandalous memoir. She insists that Bertie steal the book, or else. Even worse, wannabe Nazi Roderick Spode also wants Bertie to steal the book. And if things don't get straightened out by Jeeves, Bertie might end up marrying the soppy Madeleine Basset...

Finally, Bertie's always-in-love pal becomes "Comrade Bingo" when he falls for a comely Communist, and blackmails his uncle into providing money for the wedding. Unfortunately Roderick Spode is also in the area with the Blackshorts, causing a nasty clash between the Nazis and the Communists. Meanwhile, Aunt Dahlia is ordering Bertie to steal a hideous painting, not realizing that Spode is also trying to steal it.

The world of PG Wodehouse is full of domineering aunts, dumb young men with lots of past engagements, wannabe Hitlers, intelligent butlers and dim socialites. And the TV series did it justice, in a manner that Wodehouse himself would have been proud of. Good acting, clever scripting, and goofy direction.

The first half of the season is quite funny, but somehow taking Jeeves and Bertie off their native soil depletes some of the humor. Jeeves out on the town is a bit funny, but it seems rather out of character to see him smoking cigars and partying with actresses. But when Bertie returns to England in disgrace, it all returns. There are all sorts of hilarious scenes like Gussie attacking a bouncer, Madeleine reciting gooey poetry and the safe being blown up.

The cast is still in flux, with new actors in several roles like Stiffy, Bingo and Florence. But the core roles -- Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry -- are the same, and both are magnificent. Fry is quiet, witty and superior as the intelligent Jeeves, while Laurie gives Bertie a hapless, optimistic side that no other actor has managed.

The third season of "Jeeves and Wooster" suffers a bit compared to the first two, but is still cleverer and funnier than virtually any other comedy series. Ever so goosey goosey goosey...

as jeeves would say, indeed, sir........2006-03-03

i thoroughly enjoy this wry british humor. fry and laurie are ideally suited for their roles. i watch this series over and over and discover more laughs each time i watch. it is a continual enjoyment.

Cast changes / accents / characters lame!.......2006-01-08

I have to agree with an earlier reviewer on almost every count. Only purchase (or for that matter, watch) Season 3 if you are a HUGE fan!

The major problem I had with the third season of Jeeves and Wooster is the rediculous number of cast changes. I have no idea why, but Madeline, Pauline, Mr. Stoker, the theatre producer, and quite a few others have been replaced for this season (though they were all back to the original actors by season 4... what's that about?) and the episodes really suffer for it. The American accents are terrible (now I know how the Brits feel when American actors do poor imitations of their accents!), and the rest of the acting is really bad as well. Don't get me wrong, acting in British comedies is SO not the most important thing, but the poor quality here is out of control. Several actors even had their voices dubbed, and so badly.

In short, I'd say unless you are the most die hard of die hard fans, this season should be avoided. I'm really not picky about things like this, and this is the first time I've ever labeled a comedy I usually love as "unwatchable." It only gets three stars for being a Jeeves and Wooster DVD.

Can we please have some MORE Jeeves and Wooster? .......2004-12-27

first of all, i'd like to point out that the incident mentioned in the review by lupis1 takes place in the second season of Jeeves and Wooster, not the third. however, i do agree that this season has some very good episodes (though not as good as the second season).
the major fault i have with the Jeeves and Wooster dvds, like many dvds in the same genre, is that there is little to none in the way of special features. an "interactive menu" does not count as a special feature. i would like to see some audio commentaries on some bbc dvds -- see what Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and Ferdinand Fairax have to say about the process of turning Wodehouse's memorable characters from book to screen.
The characters are incredible, the plot-lines are hysterical. The best episode is "Hot off the Press".

Jeeves and Wooster #4.......2002-05-01

there is an innocence that exists in these 4 DVDs (1-4) and Jeeves and Wooster become like a warm blanket to sit by on a dark night . The parts played by Laurie and Fry are a delight . If ever some one was born to play a part it was these two.Both Wooster's absure conclusions to resolve lifes woes and Jeeves' remedys are a delight ...get them all.

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