5
(scenes in church and playing with nativity scenes)
6
(non-sexual nudity, anatomy-related jokes)
6
(worth revisiting from time to time)
When people think of Rowan Atkinson they typically think of "Mr. Bean." He's the man-child imbecile who can't stay out of trouble to save his life. As he gets in out out of impossible situations he'll make you laugh usually without a word spoken. I guess part of the appeal of the show is that it requires no thought whatsoever. Not that thinking is bad, but sometimes shutting off the thinker to have a few laughs can be refreshing.
Perhaps it even helps some of us cope with the idiots of the world. If you've worked in any kind of customer service capacity you've surely had to deal with someone on the level of thinking that birds don't bleed or a music store is poorly stocked if it doesn't have albums of Beethoven performing his own music. Bean is an opportunity to laugh at such stupidity without having to deal with the frustrations of being in the middle of it.
That's the crux of Mr. Bean. He's a full-blown, raging imbecile. He complicates simple matters and is not above taking candy from a baby. Most of the time he doesn't even realize he's doing something dumb. To him cutting a hole in the wall is the most logical way to gain access to a locked bathroom. He does have moments of silly cleverness, though. No car thief will make off with his ride.
Bean has been featured in movies and cartoons, but this original series is what most people know. It's not a TV series like we Americans think of a series with seasons of several episodes that span a year or so. This is more of a collection of specials that aired over the course of about 6 years (like the original Garfield or Peanuts cartoons). So the whole run is very short.
Each episode is made up of shorter skits. Sometimes they have a common theme or even a sense of continuity but rarely do they actually tell a story in any sense of classical literature. Even when they do it's not much of a story. It's more like putting Bean in a situation and seeing how he handles it. Once the punchline hits it's time for a new situation.
One of the most unusual aspects of the series is the lack of dialogue. When I mentioned that usually no word is spoken I wasn't exaggerating. Not that there isn't sound, there just isn't any dialogue spoken much of the time. That's not something that's easy to pull off. It can feel almost like a silent film in that respect.
The situation can be too silly for some viewers, and I myself can't do all Bean all the time. I would recommend it more as an occasional humorous break than something suitable for total immersion. Without a story to invest in or any character development to follow it can get old if going through it nonstop. I challenge you not to crack up during his antics, though.
Morality
I'd say this is predominantly a family friendly show. There is no violence, no strong language (I can recall maybe 2 uses of the word “hell” in the entire run), and nothing overtly sexual or even sensual.
Bean does strip down to his undies a couple of times and shows his bare butt on 2 occasions along with him trying to cover up his nakedness with whatever he can find. “The Curse of Mr. Bean” is one of them. He loses his shorts in the swimming pool. Some find his exposure to the girls' swim class creepy, which I might agree with if he were being an exhibitionist, but it's completely accidental; his extreme embarrassment is what makes this so funny. “Mr. Bean In Room 426” is the other as he is locked out of his hotel room while naked. Part of the joke in this one, though, is his attempts to keep himself covered with whatever he can find (such as holding an exit sign over his butt) so very little is on display though at the same time he is barely covered.
“Back to School Mr. Bean” is probably the closest we get to adult material in the show. Bean draws a nude model's breasts (though if a kid is too young to understand the model is supposed to be nude they aren't going to get the point of the drawings either) and is told point-blank by the art teacher to look at them when he gets embarrassed about the state of undress he's seeing. We see just enough of the model to know she is indeed naked but without any actual nudity. In the same episode a woman's dress blows up for a look underneath, but you'll see more skin from girls in bathing suits.
The only other thing of note is that he sometimes gets things caught in his fly (including his finger in “The Return of Mr. Bean”) which look phallic.
The documentary special in the DVD extras includes footage from other shows that do have some bare female breasts. These shots are brief and non-sexual.
Spirituality
I wouldn't say there there is much of anything spiritual in this series at all. It's not deep enough to have a philosophical message be it positive or negative, it's just silly fun. The character is something of a liar and a cheat, but he's not exactly presented as the best example of how to live, either.
Bean does attend a church service in the first episode for some of the funniest moments in the entire run of the series.
In the Christmas episode he plays around with a nativity scene which is irreverent but nothing offensive.
Final Thoughts
If you like visual comedy and laugh at people doing dumb things then "Mr. Bean" might be worth checking out. I actually like "Black Adder" more for Rowan Atkinson comedy, but "Mr. Bean" cracks me up and is generally more family-friendly. If you're looking for something sophisticated, need a plot, or get bored in the absence of dialogue then Bean is not for you.
Buying Guide
I've seen a couple of different “Best of Bean” (a greatest hits kind of thing) DVD releases. Those might be good for a taste of Bean, but you're going to miss out on a lot of good stuff. So avoid those if at all possible and get the whole shebang. The first of the “best of” collections offers a handful of sketches along with “The Story of Bean” and a Rowan Atkinson bio. The other one doesn't list any extras. The one called “Most Memorable Moments” also lists no extras though it appears to offer more sketches.
The “Ultimate Collection” offers everything in the “Whole Bean” (which I'll detail below) plus the two movies and the cartoon series. I assume that means that the extras in the "Whole Bean" are included as well, but I can't verify it.
"The Whole Bean" has been repackaged more recently into a 4 DVD anniversary set from Shout Factory. It says it's remastered and so might be better quality than the older set (which is what I have and talk about below), but one reviewer says that the frame rates have been messed up and are weird. Some of the extras are similar, but some are different. There are some "missing scenes," the documentary listed below, at least 2 extra skits (the other set has 4, listed and detailed below), and "The Best Bits of Mr. Bean" though I don't know what that is exactly.
Final Recommendation:
You'll get more bang for your buck if you go for “The Whole Bean” rather than the best of collections. Which one, though? That's a harder question to answer. Neither has all the extras that the other does so you'll have to decide if you prefer the missing scenes (on Shout Factory's) or the missing skits (A&E's). If you're after the animated series as well you might want to check out the “Ultimate Collection” though last time I checked it was ridiculously high.
The Whole Bean is a 3 DVD set.
Video
1.33:
It's not particularly sharp and definitely far from impressive but clean enough to not be annoying.
Audio
2.0 Dolby:
It's clean and clear with strong volume but is far from a masterwork of sound design.
Packaging
Each disc has its own full-sized plastic case which all go into a cardboard box.
There's an episode guide on the back of each case with the major skits listed as well as another list of everything on the back of the box.
The interface is simple but functional with some rudimentary but amusing animation and a portion of the theme song that doesn't loop.
I'm no authority on "Mr. Bean" so this next bit of information comes from questions posted on boards and FAQ's I've read in various places. The episodes presented here may be different from what you've seen before. There are scenes people remember seeing that have been cut out. How dare they edit this and call it “whole”? I'm not making fun, I came down hard on the "ALF" TVD's for doing pretty much that very thing. However, these episodes appear to actually be the original broadcast versions. The longer ones were evidently extended slightly for American broadcast. These are most likely part of the missing scenes feature of the newer 4-disc set, but only 4 episodes are listed on the package.
Extras
-More Sketches: The audio and video quality lack though they aren't terrible.
-The Library (9:30) Bean goes to the library where silence is more than a virtue. When he defaces a priceless book he must find a crafty way out of it.
-The Bus Stop (5:45) This seems to be an extension of him losing his keys in the sewer (episode 5). He really wants to be first in line for the bus and no buggy-toting mother or blind man will stand in his way.
-Blind Date (14:09) This isn't a traditional Bean skit. It's a dating game show with Bean as an eligible bachelor. SECRET: He divulges his first name in this one! It has a lot more dialogue than usual and a different kind of format.
-Torvill & Bean (6:41) Bean takes his date to the Torvill & Dean on ice where he ends up as part of the show while trying to get to his seat.
-The Story of Bean (39:58) This documentary says it's about Bean but is more about Rowan's career. It looks at his beginnings, early projects, and development of the Bean character over the years. It includes funny bits of various skits and clips from shows like “Black Adder.” Bean-wise it shows them putting together a Bean skit and making the movie.
-Rowan Atkinson Biography: A summary of Rowan's life and times. It's 3 pages.
-Rowan Atkinson Filmography: A list of his credits.
-Mr Bean The Animated Series Trailer (1:01) Check out the animated version.
-DVD Credits: A page of names.
Episodes
You get 14 episodes at about 25 minutes long (give or take a minute).
Chapters are generally well placed making it easy to get to any particular skit. There are 6 for each episode.
A play all option would be nice, but don't expect one.