The Best Bits of Mr. Bean (also known as The Best of Mr. Bean) is the 15th and final episode of the live-action Mr. Bean series, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions and Thames Television for Central Independent Television. It was first broadcast on ITV on Friday, December 15, 1995.
This episode has both 72min and 52min versions on YouTube, both on official channel and Classic Mr. Bean. As of 2025, all of the four uploads masses 35 million views, with the second upload being the highest viewed out of all 4 uploads.
This is the only live-action episode that it never released on ITVX and never gotten widescreened.
Production[]
John Howard Davies, producer and director of the first three episodes, returned to direct this final episode. Davies was also head of light entertainment at Thames Television when the pilot episode was commissioned in 1989.
Both versions of the choral theme tune are heard—the version by the choir of Southwark Cathedral for the opening titles and the version by the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford for the closing credits.
Synopsis[]
During a rainy day, Bean ventures into his loft to find an umbrella. As he shifts through his stored items, he begins to reminisce his past adventures, including his dental appointment, the church service, and the time his Mini was crushed by an Army Tank.
Plot[]
72 minute version[]
During a rainy day, Mr. Bean and Teddy venture into the attic to look for an umbrella so they can go to the park and feed the ducks. He sticks a tiny drink umbrella into Teddy's head but finds that his own umbrella is broken. While looking for another one, Bean uncovers various items from his past adventures.
- First, he finds the note about his dentist appointment, which reminds him of the dentist appointment and being late for it in "The Trouble with Mr. Bean".
- Then, he finds a mini saxophone and plays it, which reminds him of the busker in "The Return of Mr. Bean".
- While looking through his Christmas decorations, he finds two ornaments, which remind him of Christmas morning in "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean".
- Bean finds a spider in its web and pretends Teddy is scared of it. He almost falls through the ceiling, which reminds him of his diving board incident, his day at the pool, and when he left the parking garage without paying in "The Curse of Mr. Bean".
- Bean uses a vacuum cleaner to retrieve Teddy, who becomes covered with dust. This reminds Teddy of when Bean packed for a holiday in "Mr. Bean Rides Again".
- Bean finds the homemade rod he used to operate the accelerator and foot brake of his Mini in "Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean".
- Bean finds a cable running through a hole and pulls on it, not knowing he is also lifting up his television. When he realizes the cable is connected from the television to the aerial, he releases the cable, which causes it to fall and the television to break.
- Bean finds a bible and hums "All Creatures of Our God and King", which reminds him of the church service in "Mr. Bean".
- In a box, Bean finds a boomerang and throws it. It returns, so he throws it again. He finds the suit he wore to the royal premiere in "The Return of Mr. Bean".
- The boomerang returns again, so he opens his window and throws it out of it. In the same box, Bean finds a Pink Panther figure, which reminds him of the exam in "Mr. Bean".
- Underneath a tarp, Bean finds remains of his crushed Mini from "Back to School Mr. Bean".
- Finally, Bean finds an umbrella, but he looks out the window to find that the rain has stopped. Bean leaves the attic, annoyed as his boomerang lands on the roof.
52 minute version[]
The plot is the same as the 72 minute version. The differences are the flashbacks below:
- First, he finds the note about his dentist appointment, which reminds him of the dentist appointment and being late for it in "The Trouble with Mr. Bean".
- While looking through his Christmas decorations, he finds two ornaments, which remind him of Christmas morning in "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean".
- Bean finds a spider in its web and pretends Teddy is scared of it. He almost falls through the ceiling, which reminds him of his diving board incident, his day at the pool, and when he left the parking garage without paying in "The Curse of Mr. Bean".
- Bean uses a vacuum cleaner to retrieve Teddy, who becomes covered with dust. This reminds Teddy of when Bean packed for a holiday in "Mr. Bean Rides Again".
- Bean finds the homemade rod he used to operate the accelerator and foot brake of his Mini in "Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean".
- In a box, Bean finds a boomerang and throws it. It returns, so he throws it again. He finds the suit he wore to the royal premiere in "The Return of Mr. Bean".
- Underneath a tarp, Bean finds remains of his crushed Mini from "Back to School Mr. Bean".
- Finally, Bean finds an umbrella, but he looks out the window to find that the rain has stopped. Bean leaves the attic, annoyed as his boomerang lands on the roof.
Cast[]
- Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean
- Caroline Quentin as Traffic Warden (archive footage)
- Richard Wilson as Dentist (archive footage)
- Dave O'Higgins as Busker (archive footage)
- Angus Deayton as Pool Attendant (archive footage)
- Matilda Ziegler as Irma Gobb (archive footage)
- Richard Briers as Man in Church (archive footage)
- Robin Driscoll as Man in Royal Line Up (archive footage)
- Tina Maskell as The Royal (archive footage)
- Rudolph Walker as Exam Invigilator (archive footage)
- Paul Bown as The Exam Student (archive footage)
Alternate version[]
The original transmission of this episode ran for 72 minutes, but later releases and TV broadcasts were cut to 52 minutes under the heading The Best of Mr. Bean. Clips deleted from the later edits included Bean helping a busker in The Return of Mr. Bean, Bean trying to stay awake in church and sitting in an exam from the pilot episode, as well as newly released footage of Bean accidentally pulling his television aerial cable and lifting the television up from the floor below (before letting go and smashing it).
Flashback Sequences[]
| # | Episode Title | Act Taken | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Trouble with Mr. Bean | Act 1 | - This flashback sequence is much more longer than the original in The Best of Mr. Bean version. |
| 2 | The Return of Mr. Bean | - Removed in The Best of Mr. Bean version. | |
| 3 | Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean | Act 4 | - |
| 4 | The Curse of Mr. Bean | Act 1 & 2 | - This is the only flashback sequence that involves two acts at the same time. |
| 5 | Mr. Bean Rides Again | Act 2 | - |
| 6 | Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean | - | |
| 7 | Mr. Bean | Act 3 | - Removed in The Best of Mr. Bean version. |
| 8 | The Return of Mr. Bean | Act 4 | - |
| 9 | Mr. Bean | Act 1 | - Removed in The Best of Mr. Bean version. |
| 10 | Back to School Mr. Bean | Act 5 | - |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- There are no flashback sequences for "Mr. Bean Goes to Town", "Mr. Bean in Room 426", "Mind the Baby, Mr. Bean", "Tee Off, Mr. Bean", "Goodnight Mr. Bean", and "Hair by Mr. Bean of London".
- Mr. Bean and The Return of Mr. Bean are the only two episodes that it has more than one flashback sequence while the rest has only one.
- The opening credits and some after flashbacks goes to The Choir of Southwark Cathedral, while the ending credits goes to The Choir of The Church of Christ, Oxford.
- This episode's entire plot in the attic is possibly be an inspiration later used in the animated episode, Young Bean.
- This episode along with Hair by Mr. Bean of London are the only two episodes to use the blinking animation variant of the 1993 Tiger Aspect Productions logo.
- John Howard Davies appeared in first three episodes and make a return to the last episode.
- This episode's credits music is the same as Back to School Mr. Bean. This is the only time a credits music is repeated.
Errors[]
- In the 72-minute version of the episode, Howard Goodall's surname is misspelled as Goddall in the end credits. This is later fixed in the 52-minute version.
- In the 52-minute version of the episode, the scene of Bean finding his Pink Panther figure in the box is omitted. Therefore, it is unexplained why the boomerang lands on the roof at the end of the episode.
- Ben Elton wrote the Exam sketch which appears in the 72-minute version, but his name isn't included in the opening credits for this episode but it only included in closing credits.
Videos[]
The Best Bits of Mr. Bean[]
The Best of Mr. Bean[]
In Other Languages[]
| Language | Title |
|---|---|
| Arabic | «أفضل أجزاء مستر بين» |
| Dutch | De beste fragmenten van Mr. Bean |
| French | Les meilleurs moments de Mr. Bean |
| German | Die besten Szenen von Mr. Bean |
| Hindi | मिस्टर बीन के बेहतरीन क्षण |
| Italian | Il meglio di Mr. Bean |
| Polish | Najlepsze momenty Pana Beana |
| Portuguese | Os melhores momentos de Mr. Bean |
| Russian | Лучшие моменты Мистера Бина |
| Spanish | Lo mejor de Mr. Bean (Español) Los mejores golpes de Mr. Bean (Latin American Español) |
[]
| Mr. Bean |
|---|
| 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 • Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean • Mind the Baby, Mr. Bean • Back to School Mr. Bean • Tee Off, Mr. Bean • Goodnight Mr. Bean • Hair by Mr. Bean of London |
| Compilation |
| The Best Bits of Mr. Bean |
| Unaired sketches |
| The Library • The Bus Stop |
| Deleted scenes |
| Turkey Weight • Armchair Sale • Marching • Playing With Matches |
| Comic Reliefs |
| Mr. Bean's Red Nose Day• Blind Date• Torvill & Bean • Mr. Bean's Wedding • Funeral |
| Remake sketches |
| Mr. Bean Takes an Exam • Mr. Bean Goes to a Première |
| Commercials |
| Rema 1000 • M&M's • PolyGram Filmed Entertainment • Fujifilm • Nissan Tino • Snickers • Etisalat |
| YouTube specials |
| Mr. Bean's 25th Anniversary • Beans Gets Diamond Play Button |
| Films |
| Bean • Mr. Bean's Holiday |