Odd Man Out

Based on the success he acheived in 'Are You Being Served?' where he pretty much became the main character in what had initally been a vehicle for Trevor Bannister, it's not surprise that other projects were dreamed up for John Inman.

The premise is thin, the jokes are thinner, and it's not a surprise that this didn't run longer and became a bit of a mockery even by its own star.

While 'Are You Being Served?' remained subtle enough (just) about Inman's character's sexuality, 'Odd Man Out' goes the other way. There surely can be no doubt about Neville.

After a while though the sexual innuendo does get a bit repetitive, and you miss a bit of storytelling to level things out.

Produced by Gerald Thomas, the Carry on legend. This series for ITV tried to ride the wave of success Inman created in Are you being Served with Mr Humphries. Are you being Served in 1977 was in its fifth series and getting massive figures. Odd Man Out was a huge gamble, fairly tame by today's standards the tone and jokes were highly risky, possibly the reason for there being just one series.

Neville Sutcliffe inherits a rock factory, and so the fun begins.

Just the seven episodes, so not a huge deal of rock to get your teeth into, but they are pretty funny, enjoyable enough. A good cast, Inman, Josephine Tewson and Peter Butterworth. Some episodes are funnier then others, the first part I think is my favourite, it is very funny. The one with the Dinner dance and dates is also very funny.

Lots of references to his friend 'Bobby,' a character we never meet, but the gay references are frequent.

You can see the Carry on elements in the humour, it's pure slapstick, you'll definitely laugh a bit, or at least snigger. The opening credits suit the program very well, just what you'd expect, the theme tune is inoffensive but not catchy. The Goodnight scenes at the end of each episode were a nice touch. 7/10

Weird show . I like it , even though it's a bit weak in parts. The same double entendre implied gay jokes get tired after awhile . Hard act to follow coming from Are You Being Served ? , but hey it is what it is - Not the worst , but then again , not the greatest .

Can we get a region one release of this series? Mill work, Shout, VEI? John Inman was a hilarious actor. Shades of are you being served, this show is a lot of laughs. Raking in my top 5 favorite British comedies. If you love Are you being served and Faulty Towers, I think you will really enjoy this series. The episodes thankfully can be viewed on YouTube.