Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie gave us the flawless characterizations of "Jeeves & Wooster", and the often hilariously clever silliness of "A 'Bit' of Fry and Laurie". Throw in the talented Emma Thompson and Robbie Coltrane, and what could possibly go wrong? Just one thing: the writing.This is sketch comedy at its absolute worst -- self-indulgent, unfocused, under-developed and instantly dated. "A 'Bit' of Fry & Laurie" (not to mention "Monty Python's Flying Circus") worked because they relied heavily on absurdist humor, apportioned out in very brief sketches. "Alfresco" sketches wander on and on, with no punch line in sight, just one obnoxious character, potty joke and petering-out plot after another, all propped up with a pathetic laugh track.They savage "new-agers" (ooh!), the class system (how brave!), and those wacky pop musicians (oh, Alfresco -- you shouldn't have!). They wear madcap wigs and wacky make-up! They affect goofy accents! Every aspect of the show is turned up to eleven, without it raising the humor one tick. Honestly -- I really wanted to like this series, but found it impossible.

I loved this when I saw it when it was first aired. I had then never heard of Emma Thompson Hugh Laurie or Stephen Fry. I now still think of them as Ezzer, Huzzer and Lord Stezzer. Alfresco sank without trace at the time (I seemed to remember it was aired mid-week and late) and I was therefore delighted to see it released on DVD. It is just as funny as I remember. I know some others do not like it, but comedy is such a personal thing. I am not easily pleased by comedy sketches. All I can say is I watched a couple of episodes randomly yesterday with my husband and teenage daughter and we all literally cried with laughter. All the principals (also Robbie Coltrane, Ben Elton-who did most of the writing- and Siobhan Redmond) were excellent, but Emma Thompson's ability to take on a character is up there with Peter Sellers. Brilliant!

One year after 'The Young Ones' and 'The Comic Strip Presents' launched a new wave of British comedians on an unsuspecting world, Granada T.V. brought out 'Alfresco'. Despite starring Ben Elton, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson and Siobhan Redmond, it doesn't seemed to have burned itself into the national consciousness the way those other shows did, possibly because it felt more like a Channel 4 show than an I.T.V. one, and the obvious canned laughter killed many of the sketches stone dead.Beginning each week with a cheeky saxophone arrangement of 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles', 'Alfresco' wandered widely between the borders of the inspired and the inane. Among the former was a spoof U.S. variety show, hosted by the giggly, vacuous singer 'Sherri' ( Thompson ) who announces a tribute to The Beatles and manages to forget the drummer's name ( Ringo ), Fry's pompous doctor unable to grasp why his Sikh patient is wearing a turban ( he thinks its bandages ), and Thompson's fussy librarian revealing to bookworm Laurie the twist endings of the mysteries he intends to read. 'The Pretend Pub' was a spoof soap peopled by oddballs with names like Ezzer, Bezzer, Lord Stezzer, Shizzer and so on. The off the wall humour Fry and Laurie later used in their own show was first in evidence here. Emma Thompson made the most impact on yours truly, mainly because she was stunningly beautiful. I can remember not finding Elton very funny though, sketch comedy was not really his forte, and he was overshadowed by the others. He would later find his niche with 'Saturday Live' and 'The Man From Auntie'. Critics at the time gave the show a pasting, one even renamed it 'Al-fiasco'. It also came under fire from alternative comic Alexei Sayle. "Posh people can have anything they want.", he said, "Even their own satirical show on Granada Television.". Well, compared to the vile mess that was 'O.T.T.' in which Sayle was a regular, 'Alfresco' was 'Monty Python' standard. Given that many of its cast went onto become major stars ( and Oscar winners in Thompson's case ), its surprising how 'Alfresco' has so far eluded a D.V.D. release.

I have almost worn out my tape of the few episodes of this show I managed to record before it disappeared from the airways. It featured a cast of astonishing talent, who were, as then, not very well known, yet have all gone onto become far better known and for the very good reason that they are all outstanding actors.I'm surprised it's never been released on DVD given that Hugh Laurie is now starring in the very popular 'House', Emma Thompson has won an Oscar, Robbie Coltrane wowed the critics in 'Cracker' before going onto wow kids as Hagrid in the 'Harry Potter' films and Stephen Fry and Ben Elton are pretty much household names in the UK.The sketches were, on the whole, imaginative and tightly scripted, the acting was outstanding, and as with "Laugh??? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee" and "A Bit of Fry & Laurie" the sketches never followed the expected route. As with those shows, some of the sketches were witty and inventive and some didn't quite get there, but the hits far outnumbered the misses. And the same could be said of Monty Python, the spiritual grandfather of so many of the sketch shows that followed them along lateral and surreal paths instead of the beginning, middle, end and punchline format of the past. This was an era of so much good comedy on British television that I think shows like this were taken for granted by viewers at the time. I remember the backlash against Emma Thompson by critics when her own show 'Thompson' came out, another sketch show that was witty and inventive yet greeted with a lacklustre shrug by UK critics who seemed to have a problem with a woman being that intelligent, equally good in comedy and drama, and that successful (and - at the time - married to Kenneth Branagh, then a rising star of the British theatre). It's a pity that a series that showcased so much talent in its early stages is not better known and has never been released on VHS or DVD for another generation to enjoy. I would love to sit down and see the whole series again from beginning to end.