I remember the very first time I saw Mr. Bean. I was at a movie theatre, and surprised to see a short film being presented before the feature (this was years ago, before the recent addition of commercials and the like). The short featured a somewhat bumbling British gentleman at a theatre, getting in a line and preparing to meet the Queen. As he prepared, everything that could possibly go wrong did, and by the time it was over I had laughed so hard as to almost fall out of my seat. To be honest, that few minutes of comedy ended up being far more entertaining than the feature I was there to see. Once I got home, I started looking up everything I could about this character. I found out that he was played by an English comic by the name of Rowan Atkinson. That was the first I had ever heard the name. Further investigation led me to find out I could catch episodes of “Bean” on HBO, but even more so enlightening, I could find other shows featuring Atkinson on PBS.

Within a few weeks, I had made the determination that Rowan Atkinson was nothing short of a comedic genius. Over a period of time I became familiar with the “Black Adder” series as well as catching him in a few movies. Portraying different characters over several generations of the Black Adder clan, Atkinson proved he could play a whiny little sniveler with as much ease as he could dish out apathetic sarcasm. Short of Monty Python, this had to be one of the funniest British comedies ever.

I later caught him in a series called “The Thin Blue Line” where he portrayed Inspector Raymond C. Fowler, whose utter ineptitude and cynicism made the series yet another standout amongst PBS’ terrific Sunday night line-ups.

“Mr. Bean”, however presented a much bigger challenge for Atkinson as 99% of the humor was physical in nature. This somewhat childlike character rarely spoke a word (and when he did you could barely understand his gibberish), every move he made was as if he was made of rubber. Atkinson has the unique ability to pull a laugh out of you with little more than an expression.

For “Bean” fanatics, this 3 DVD set offers a whole bunch of extras. “The Story of Bean” is a great 40-minute documentary that focuses on Atkinson’s background, as well as touching on some of the highlights of his career and the creation of the Mr. Bean character.

Along with the 14 episodes offered here (many of which I had never seen) are two extra sketches that were never aired, and as I expected, they are hysterical. There are also a couple of Mr. Bean skits that Atkinson performed at “Comic Relief”. A trailer is also included for the new Mr. Bean animated series that I recently learned is airing on PBS on Saturday nights (in the Dallas-Fort Worth area at least). The Biography and Filmography included here might also surprise some people as to just how many films and shows this versatile comedian has been involved with.

I would like to a add a word of caution to those of you who may only familiar with the character from the feature length “Bean” film that came out a few years ago. The movie was unfortunately not very good, offering only a few laughs. This was in no way the fault of Atkinson, but more the nature of the character. “Mr. Bean” is best taken in small doses. Trying to stretch this style of humor out over an hour and a half, just didn’t work. It also took this almost non-verbal character and gave him way too much dialogue. So if any of you saw the film and didn’t like it, don’t let that stop you from checking out this DVD set. The series offered here is nothing short of brilliant and uproariously funny.

Episodes:
Mr. Bean
The Return of Mr. Bean
The Curse of Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean Goes to Town
The Trouble with Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean Rides Again
Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean in Room 426
Mind the Baby Mr. Bean
Do it Yourself Mr. Bean
Back to School Mr. Bean
Tee Off, Mr. Bean
Good Night Mr. Bean
Hair by Mr. Bean of London

Starring: Rowan Atkinson
Extras: The Story of Bean - A 40 minute documentary, Never-before-seen Sketches: Bus Stop and Library, Comic Relief Skits: Blind Date and Torvill and Bean, Mr. Bean: The Animated Series trailer, Photo Gallery, Rowan Atkinson Biography and Filmography
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: A&E
Release Date: 4/29/2003
Region 1
Website

We'll give The Whole Bean an A.