Granted, I have not yet seen series 4, but so far I have enjoyed this series most of all. As someone else wrote, the bits range from "laugh out loud funny" to "silly but still funny." It's hard for something to make me laugh out loud, so this was an accomplishment. An Army office sketch reminded me of meetings I have been in (as a gov't employee), the music bits are great, there are a few times where Fry starts to break up just before a sketch or quick bit cuts, and seeing him do a cocktail dance at the end of each one is quite funny too. I'll play this one over again.

What can I say - I'm a fan. I can't get enough of these guys, but I didn't know there was a fourth season until it was released Stateside. Needless to say, I ordered it immediately, and I wasn't disappointed. As in the other series, their sketches range from cutting satire and social commentary to just plain silliness, and they very rarely miss the mark. An additional nicety is the obvious effort they put into introducing novel elements to each new season, bringing some surprising twists and turns for the veteran viewer.

It was fun to watch Fry & Laurie but I don't think these DVDs are keepers. There's about one funny skit per episode and the rest is either scatological humor left over from their Cambridge days or good ideas that don't go anywhere. For instance, one bit has Fry dressed up as a Patricia Routledge type of actress doing an Alan Bennett-like Talking Heads monologue. The idea was pretty funny, but the execution was somewhat lame.

It helps if you are familiar with British TV comedy. In this fourth season they have two guests on most of the episodes. If you watch British TV comedies, you will likely recognize many of them. Jane Duvitski (Waiting for God and One Foot in the Grave), Imelda Staunton (Dorothy Umbridge from Harry Potter), Richard Daws (Tuppy Glossop from Jeeves and Wooster), Phyllida Law (I don't know her work, but her daughter is Emma Thompson, who did comedy at Cambridge with Fry & Laurie).

If you know Laurie from his work as Dr. House, you may find the it especially ironic that in one of these episodes of A Bit of Fry & Laurie, they do a parody of A Wonderful Life that replaces the Jimmy Stewart character with a character modeled on Rupert Murdoch. They skewer Rupert pretty well, but I guess Rupert got the last laugh now that Laurie is working for Murdoch's Fox network.

Maybe it would have helped if I were British too, but I did not recognize a number of the guests they had on this season, and the guests were not all that interesting, though I did like Phyllida Law and Imelda Staunton.
The sketches are mostly successful, though a few go on too long. Hugh performs some excellent songs in this season, while Fry continues to amaze with his command of language and rapid delivery.
So, overall, not as good as the first 3 seasons but still worth viewing. The Mr. Burmie vet's office sketch is particularly hilarious.