Alfresco

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!

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 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.

The cast or ensemble players included Dame Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie CBE OBE, Siobhan Redmond MBE, Rob Coltrane OBE, Ben Elton and Stephen Fry early In their careers. The two seasons are enjoyable and entertaining at times. I preferred this show to fry and Laurie sketch series. The show is for fans of the cast. You can see their talent and creativity early on in the eighties.

This excellent programme is being released on DVD in the UK today 2nd February 2009. The two-disc package contains both series of 'Al Fresco' and the three-part pilot series 'Nothing To Worry About', which was only shown in the Granada region.

The shows are well worth watching - they contained many funny ideas and were generally innovative for their time. As others have mentioned, the acting was also top notch and foreshadowed the talent inherent in the cast.

I was Floor Manager/1st AD on the pilot series and the first series of Al Fresco. The location scenes of the pilot were shot on 16mm film but a decision was made to shoot the entire first series on location, using what was then revolutionary lightweight location video equipment. It was also this decision which prompted the name of the series.

At the time, most comedy shows were studio-based, shot multi-camera on video, with location inserts shot on film. Attempting to shoot the entire series on location and on video was challenging, to say the least! Up until then, to shoot location drama on video necessitated taking out an entire outside broadcast unit and an army of crew and vehicles. It was very rarely done, with film being the preferred format.

With the new lightweight mobile video unit that Granada invested in we could go on the road as a much smaller unit and shoot scenes like a traditional film crew. That was the theory anyway! There were many logistical difficulties and technical breakdowns but we got it done.

However, the first series turned out to be very expensive, not least because of the post production. Video editing at the time was expensive, slow and labour intensive and we were shooting a lot of the scenes film-style using a single camera. This necessitated a lot of editing.

Granada requested a second series but with a reduced budget. The new producer decided to shoot it like a traditional studio-based sketch show, hence the birth of the 'pretend pub' concept to link it all together.

I have many fond memories of working on Al Fresco. I was very young at the time (most of us were!) but even then I knew that this coalescence of talent, coupled with a new way of doing things, was something remarkable and special.

I hope a new audience and a new generation will enjoy Al Fresco and that those who were in their teens and twenties in the mid 80s will enjoy rediscovering this lost treasure.