In Court After the Boat Race (or, Jeeves' Arrival)

Stephen Fry was certainly a fan of P G Wodehouse and ITV took a risk to give Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie a starring role for Jeeves and Wooster.

Both were better known for comedies and sketch shows. ITV were not to know that Laurie would go on to become the world's highest paid television star some years later in America.

This has been given a glossy treatment. Shot on high quality film, expensive costumes. Clive Exton on writing duties. I guess he had some spare time from doing Poirot.

The opener has rich thick idol toff Wooster (Laurie) getting a fine at court. Then engaging a man called Jeeves (Fry) as his valet. As he managed to rustle up a remedy for a hangover.

Jeeves is a man of knowledge, practicality and common sense. Which is good news for Wooster as he lacks all three.

With Wooster's Aunt Agatha wanting him to get married to Honoria Glossop.

It is Jeeves who makes sure a dinner party from hell will leave Wooster as a bachelor.

It was an interesting casting choice to have Wooster played by Laurie. As I always thought Fry would be a shoe in.

This is a bright and breezy opener. I did wince when that little lad got pushed off.

Returning home after his court appearance, completely hung over, Bertie collapses onto his bed in an apartment in complete disarray. The front door bell gets him to open the door (eventually) where a smartly dressed man introduces himself as having been 'sent by the agency' because Bertie needs a new valet. Bertie allows the man in and stares in disbelief as all the mess is magically cleared up. Finally, the 'pick-me-up' works instantly to cure Bertie's hangover and he turns to the man 'You're engaged!'.

'Thank you Sir, my name is Jeeves.'

Hands down the best introduction to a character ever. Obviously a great deal of the credit goes to Wodehouse, who invented the characters and this whole sequence is (IIRC) lifted more or less directly from the books, but it's still a terrific few minutes of TV and sets the two main characters up perfectly for the viewers. Fry and Laurie were born to embody these people. I don't believe it can be bettered.