User reviews

Not the most successful television project John Cleese ever did, "Strange Case" has the feel of a first draft that was rushed into production before any revisions could be made. There are some silly ideas throughout and even a few clever ones, but the story as a whole unfortunately doesn't add up to much.

Arthur Lowe is a hoot, though, as Dr. Watson, bionic bits and all. "Good Lord."

For 1975, this was it! A typical John Cleese spoof that is meant for laughs. Connie Booth is added to the cast alongside her then husband Cleese. A surprise addition of the cast is late actor Arthur Lowe who has more laughs than Cleese. A strong supporting actor from other films such as IF... and The Ruling Class, Lowe is perfect as the stupid but love able side kick. For just a 55 minute feature, The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know it is a quick, yet fun ride that pokes fun at just about everything "detective like" in English and American media. Holmes, Bond, Columbo, etc.

John Cleese as Sherlock Holmes, actually his grandson, but all the same. The descendant of Professor Moriarty is threating to destroy civilization as we know it. And that's it I guess. John Cleese even irritated me, I was like "Hey pal, why you doing that, to me and to yourself, stop it!" Arthur Lowe as extremely unintelligent Dr. Watson is great. Considering it has not plot, the film should be funny. And it's not, and how it's not! Unbelievably unfunny, it gives the new meaning to unfunny. There's the unfunny so bad it's funny again, there's unfunny so bad that I feel embarrassment, there's unfunny that's irritating. This is weird, no emotion was awaken in me whatsoever. It's so unfunny I think it might be funny in the same unspecified way. There are a couple of racist jokes that are interesting to hear. Maybe a joke or two were regularly funny. The rest is weird. Poirot, James Bond i Columbo have some small screen time also, played by random actor of course. Only things that partially make this movie worthwhile are Arthur Lowe as Dr. Watson and Connie Booth in sexy leather black suit and with a gun.

You can do a lot with a little cash. Blair Witch proved that. This film supports it. It is no more than a sitcom in length and complexity. However, because it has John Cleese as Sherlock Holmes it manages to be hilarious even on a budget that couldn't afford a shoestring. The highlight of this film is Arthur Lowe as the sincere, bumbling Watson, his dimness and slowness foils Cleese's quick-tempered wit. If you ever run across the film watch it for a quirky laugh or two.

No laughs whatsoever. Yes, I watched this entire train wreck but only so that I wouldn't later wonder if Cleese had come to his senses in the latter part. (No, he had not.)

This may be historically interesting to you youngsters out there, to see that British "humor" included black "jokes" like these, thirty years ago.

What amazes me even more though, is to read the other reviewers' comments, which acknowledge this isn't very good, yet then turn around and give it high votes. If the vast majority of the comedies that you have seen are even much worse than this one, then I certainly pity your torturous existences.

The humor level of this show appears aimed at little kids, yet the subject matter does not. So who is this for? People who enjoy repeated & drawn-out double-takes, pratfalls, drug jokes (interesting only as a short trip back to '77), and other "low" humor. The Three Stooges are still funny, and were to me as a kid, too. THEY exerted some effort in making jokes work. This however is sloughed off schlock. I fear that it IS the end of civilization, if this stuff really is accepted as worthwhile. Next you'll be telling me that tabloid TV is popular. :(

It has been so many years since I saw this but I do feel compelled to defend this gem against those who lambast it.

It is interesting and unusual to observe the diversity of opinion here. That is what humour does I suppose. It is subjective. It either charges through your funny bone at 60,000 volts or it leaves you cold and wondering why you gave it the time.

This show has some of Britain's best comic actors put together in a story that is silly and irreverent and the outcome is hilarious. The dialogue and visual comedy is beautifully delivered and the two leads (Cleese and Lowe) are superb together. This was made for them.

I can't really say anymore other than to implore you to find this and watch it. You won't be disappointed and in a world devoid of genteel humour, this is a classic inane and harmless piece of comedic brilliance.

This isn't just bad for a TV comedy, this is bad for a comedy film made by high school students.

The very first scene, in which a Kissinger-esque character mugs and does a funny voice, instantly establishes that this will be broad, amateurish comedy. The next scene with a confused U.S. president confirms it.

Things pick up when Sherlock and Watson arrive. John Cleese is quite amusing, and Arthur Lowe is marvelously funny. But the script is awful, and the acting is remarkably bad (outside of Cleese and Lowe, the only competent performance is by Connie Booth).

Basically, you've got some laughs whenever Cleese and Lowe are around, and everything else is embarrassingly bad. I'm just shocked that this was made and actually broadcast to the world. It should have been burned, and the ashes buried.

If you enjoy Cleese & all the British 'Pythonesque' humour of the time, then this little gem is absolutely hilarious.

Arthur Lowe is a real treat!

I saw this with friends on TV when it first came out, and its classic quotes have formed a part of our jokes for 30 years, and will do forever! I have it on tape and it is continually appreciated.

Perhaps some reviewers are taking it too seriously.

I can't believe it is now only available in the US (NTSC of course), and not in UK, where it should be an essential part of the history of British humour!!

I was heavily in a Monty Python kick and that led to my seeing, How to Irritate People. Romance With A Double Bass and this. Loved the first, hated the second and liked this.

This has Ron Moody, Stratford Johns, Arthur Lowe, Joss Ackland, Val Pringle, Denholm Elliot, Burt Kwouk and Nick Tate to go along with John Cleese and Connie Booth. This hour long comedy served as an introduction to shows like Dad's Army, Z Cars and Softly Softly which are almost entirely unknown in my country.

Val Pringle had a key role in the first story from Sapphire and Steel as Lead. Nick Tate a regular on Space 1999, Ron Moody, Joss Ackland, Burt Kwouk and Denholm Elliot from their film careers.

Arthur Lowe is the real star in this particular show. I've heard it said that Lowe was so great at doing comedy because he found absolutely nothing funny. He is beyond silly as Watson but he plays it so natural that you kind of believe it really is possible someone could be that entirely lost and dim.

There is of course Python style humor which sums up the ending well. Its worth viewing. It led to me seeing other shows I mentioned because I specifically remembered they were in this.

It's a strong start as a stand-in for the late, awful Henry Kissinger is treated appropriately. As the next scene greets us with a silly characterization and cheeky wordplay things continue to look up, though it seems to me that the bit is too drawn out. Some splendid silliness and wit in the third scene to greet us butts up in part against tiresome stereotypes and casual racism. With the fourth scene things start to gel and improve as the plot picks up and our contemporary Holmes is introduced, providing an anchor for the proceedings, while various ridiculous odds and ends continue to provide delightful embellished flavor. As the tale develops of a new game afoot between Holmes and Moriarty, with implications for the world at large, we're given a steady stream of gags, situational humor, exaggerated characters and acting, parody and absurdism in all aspects of the writing, and some good old physical comedy on top. And generally speaking, there's cleverness aplenty in a farce that would quite be fit for contemporary troupes like Monty Python (regardless of whether or not John Cleese was involved as both co-writer and star).

Mind you, the case for 'The strange case of the end of civilization as we know it' would be stronger if it didn't take a little over one-third of the abbreviated length of only fifty-five minutes to earn its first hearty laugh. With that said, happily the humor actually does become more robust and worthwhile from that point onward, if still less than completely. All the while the very least that can be said is that the cast is terrific as they fully embrace the ludicrousness, and the high energy that every actor brings to each moment in turn is without question one of the top highlights and most consistent qualities of the picture. Likewise, this is splendidly well made in most every capacity, including swell stunts and effects, fine direction and editing, and excellent production design, art direction, costume design, and hair and makeup. And maybe most important of all - while the result is regrettably uneven, at its best the comedy writing is altogether brilliant. Between Cleese, director Joseph McGrath, and co-writer Jack Hobbs, there are some bits here that are just as terrifically funny as anything else the contributors have given us, and the strength of the back end handily compensates for that early stretch when the flick was struggling to find its feet.

All told I do really like this, and I'm glad to offer it as a recommendation for anyone who appreciates British comedies. I just rather wish that the same vitality, zest, and ingenuity that characterizes the back two-thirds, and the last approximate third especially, had been applied more regularly. If the first twenty minutes were as sharp as the remainder, I'd have no detractions to make at all. Be that as it may, 'The strange case of the end of civilization as we know it' is still a blast overall, if an imperfect one, and far more than not it certainly provides the mirthful diversion we hope for. Unless you're a huge fan of someone involved I don't think there's any need to go out of your way for it, but at less than an hour this is well worth checking out if you do have the opportunity; just give it a chance to warm up first.

The strange case has been made through studies that kids will laugh when presented with something out of place, like a funny face, if the face is made by someone with whom they are acquainted, but they will repel if it's presented by a stranger. This conveys that our reactions to inconsistencies, oddities, unanticipated discrepancies with normalcy and established ranks will differ in terms of particular circumstances. If the incongruity happens in a context where it's threatening, it'll dispose us toward a threatened reaction. This is maybe the seed of the horror genre. On the other hand, if the context is one that is distinguished as non-threatening, where the possibility of hurt and fear has been withheld, the scenarios are opportune for humor.

We follow the attempts of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson and various governments to stop all civilization from being destroyed, but everyone is too terminally stupid or apathetic to be successful at it. We need not worry about the targets of all the brutality and cruelty in blacker realms of comedy, including slapstick, because they're not completely human.

It's an accelerated, often hilarious jaunt that heckles at just about everything mystery, espionage or potboiler in English and American media. Holmes, Bond, Columbo, etc., little more than a vaudeville act in breadth and elaboration. The peak of this film is Arthur Lowe as the guileless, blundering Watson, his stupidity and listlessness always counterblowing Cleese's temperamental ingenuity.

Considering that this pointless little comedy was sandwiched between the two terrific Fawlty Towers seasons, and written around the same time as the best Python movie, "Life of Brian", it is amazing to me how Cleese could possibly have co-written such a lame script. Perhaps it was McGrath's fault to an extent? The two had already collaborated once on a monstrously unfunny flop called "The Magic Christian".

TSCOTEOCAWKI starts off fairly well with the murder of Kissinger, and then a decently written, pythonesque skit in the White House. From there it goes gradually downhill. The movie gets worse and worse by the minute, culminating in a finale that was simply too embarrassing to watch. I'm embarrassed just thinking about it now! It's the kind of material that 16 year-old comedy hopefuls would write for a high-school play. Moronic and unfunny to a fault.

When I first saw Kissinger/Gropinger, I thought it was Peter Sellers with make-up. However, Sellers would have done his homework and spoken the way Kissinger really speaks. This other actor did a poor imitation, voice-wise...

This 1-hour English mystery film spoof has a lot of brilliant moments, but also a lot of average moments. The latter are probably due to the small budget of a production for regional television.

The overall plot is zany but coherent, even though it serves primarily as a means to hold various funny scenes together. I am not sure why some reviewers seem to find it confusing.

The plot starts when someone kills Henry Kissinger, sorry, Gropinger, through the simple expedient of stealing his diary, leading him to address an Arabic crowd with "Shalom! Mazeltov!" The last surviving relative of Sherlock Holmes' classical adversary Professor Moriarty claims responsibility for the crime and announces the intent to end civilization as we know it.

This naturally leads to representatives of the police forces of the 5 continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, America, Australia) to meet in London, decide not to do anything, and mostly get killed off one by one during their meetings. And to the last relative of Sherlock Holmes being called in. Played by John Cleese, today's Mr Holmes has his office in 221B Baker Street. He works together with the senile but bionically enhanced last relative of Dr Watson, played by Arthur Lowe. Their housekeeper Mrs Hudson is played by John Cleese's then wife Connie Booth, also of Monty Python fame.

Due to the incompetence of Holmes and Watson, the perfectly disguised Moriarty manages to kill all the most famous TV detectives as well as James Bond. But who is Moriarty really? And will Holmes and Watson manage to save civilization as we know it (= US hegemony?), after all?

The humour is generally even more over the top than in Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969). It includes some immensely quotable lines. In some ways it reminds me of Douglas Fairbanks' short silent Sherlock Holmes parody The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (1916), which managed to be even more extreme in a similar direction.

If it weren't for various deficiencies due to an evidently hurried production, I would probably rate this film a 9 or 10. As it is, I think it deserves a rating somewhere between 7 and 8 if you like British humour (as I do).

This is an underappreciated gem from the work of John Cleese. For this reason the humor is pythonesque to be sure, but it is, incredible enough to say, stream-of-consciousness python humor. That may not seem possible, but for this short it is. It is a one-hour running collection of jokes, satires, and spoofs, one after the other, with no tell-tale plot. Even though the gags appear to have no rhyme or reason, it works. The glue that holds everything together is that it has something to do with espionage and is a satire of the spy and detective genre. The results are hilarious. I say, hi-lar-i-ous.

For anyone familiar with UK miniseries and televison programs, the names and faces will be familiar. Some of the political humor and references are a bit dated, but it is guaranteed to provoke a chuckle or two.

Recommended!

Very funny Particularly if you know even a little about 1970s politics