Upstart Crow [DVD] [2016]

I missed most of the original TV broadcasts. When i finally saw one of the episodes i just had to get this.With such brilliantly witty writing and a tour de force of comic acting this is a real treat. Must surely be one of the greatest of the Beeb's comedy greats. David Mitchell really is Will Shakespeare, weary commuter between London and Stratford.I suspect Ben Elton didn'r really enjoy his schooldays Shakespeare, so Will does get a bit of kick in the pooflingpants !Don't miss it !

Hilarious. David Mitchells delivery of Ben Eltons extremely intelligent script and the supporting cast make this a classic.If I have ONE niggle is that one character seems to be pretending to be Ricky Gervais in his delivery and actions that are a rip off "The Office".Maybe Ricky Gervais turned the part down... but this character spoils it for me.

I agree with most of the reviewers - however I had to add a five star to boost the rating. David Mitchell has become Shakespeare for me now. I will never watch another play without picturing him writing it, and saying 'that's what I do'. As an English major and a Psychology professor, I am always blown away by Shakespeare's ability to understand the psychology of people and the inner workings of the mind. But I liked seeing the man 'at home' and the ending of the third season is a heart-breaker, especially his rendering of his feelings about it. I didn't mind the canned laughter. It made me feel like I was in the audience. My only problem now is finding someone who has enough background (Kit Marlowe, the arguments about who wrote the plays, the sonnets, the plots of his various plays, etc.) to appreciate this series and who would watch it with me. BTW I also find the 'Italian comedian' annoying and could have done without him.

I bought this DVD on recommendation from a friend and I wasn't disappointed. It is very original and each episode concerns one of Shakespeare's plays, put together well in a hilarious tale about how the play came to be written. A lot of the credit for each story goes to Will's wife, played by Lisa Tarbuck and their daughter Susannah is a typically stroppy teenager. David Mitchell is excellent as Will and the writing is brilliant by Ben Elton.

"Oh Mum! Nobody says forsooth any more." That's funny. "A profound and immortal understanding of the human heart -- that's what I do." That's funny. Not screechingly, bust-a-gut funny, but enough to keep you cheerful through a very silly show. Poor Will Shakespeare takes himself seriously: "It's not a good idea, but I might get away with it if I smother it in iambic pentameter." The only problem (for me) is the canned laughter and the overacting. But then it was Will who coined the line "What wig were I best to play it in?" What-wiggery has always been part of the theatre. Perhaps the series overdoes the overdone. Still, a literate comedy!!! Thanks for that.

I LOVE this series. So funny, so delightful, so original. Of course David Mitchell's Will owes more to David Mitchell and Ben Elton than to the real Will, but that is half the fun. His rants on the terrible journeys he has from London to Stratford are a joy, as are the frequent references to his future reputation. The show is full of wit and charm, and the rest of the cast are wonderful. You don't have to know Shakespeare to enjoy it, but the more you know of him and his work, the more you will laugh. One of the conceits that I particularly appreciate is the turning on its head of the nonsensical idea that Shakespeare didn't write the plays; here it is Kit Marlowe who doesn't write his, but gets Will to do it for him. Brilliant!

Like many, I was brought up on “Blackadder”, so am delighted that Ben Elton has used the format to create “Upstart Crow”. However, it has to be said that this is lacks the class and inventiveness of “Blackadder”, no doubt because Elton has penned this as a solo effort whereas “Blackadder” was co-written with Richard Curtis.Christopher Marlowe stands out as a fascinating and mysterious character and I’ve actually taken the time to read some of his more obscure and now rarely performed plays. I therefore loved the references to Marlowe’s “The Jew of Malta” as a kind of inferior and extremely incorrect portrayal of a Jewish character. The conceit that it was in fact written by Shakespeare as something from which he would learn from when creating the more rounded “Merchant of Venice” is just hilarious, although all of this has to be entered into in the correct spirit: this is a series in which a character called “Bottom” fulfils the Baldrick role from “Blackadder”.Those with a working knowledge of Shakespeare will get the most out of it, but I know that I’d still have enjoyed it as a child in the days before I was first introduced to the plays in secondary school.

Both series are splendid. They're witty, haracterful, full of Shakespearean hints to recognise and modern references to such phenomena as transport predicaments and sundry family and social issues. The acting is also excellent and I await future series with great expectation, including seeing smoke coming from Will and Anne's pipes.