Are you thinking of Blackadder? That was a hilarious series. There were several seasons of it, each taking place in a different historical era, with the same actors each time.
We've know of Hugh Laurie for many years. He actually reminds us of my husband, SirKit's, best friend from high school, though Abe doesn't have a British accent. ;o)
He was a great character in Sense and Sensibility. He was so acerbic to his wife and mother-in-law because they were such twits, but when the need was truly great, he came through for the Margaret (Emma Thompson) and her sister (Kate Winslett). If you ever get the chance, try to see "Jeeves and Wooster". Hugh Laurie plays Bertie Wooster, a young British man living on his family's wealth in the late 20's or early 30's in London. His indomitable, elderly Aunt believes he needs looking after, so she engages a 'valet' for him, played by Stephen Fry. Bertie is truly stupid, and Jeeves is always having to get his behind out of a sling. Netflix has the shows on DVD.
I remember him and Stephen Fry even earlier from "A Bit of Fry and Laurie", the sketch comedy series they did together. It was really funny.
Thanks for that information...
You are so right about Hugh Lauries character in Sense and Sensibility...but he was right to be acerbic to his wife and mother in law, because, well, they could be awfully silly...but when help was truly needed, ,he was the man to go to...
I will have to look for 'Jeeves and Wooster'....
Stephen Fry's fruity portrayal of the imperturbable Jeeves totally ruined the piece for me. Fry is a homosexual's homosexual, not a gentleman's gentleman. His mincing and condescending gay posturing utterly destroyed Wodehouse's most memorable character, at least in my mind. I read every Bertie Wooster story I could find years ago and really looked forward to this program. I could only stand to watch about 5 minutes of it.