You Rang, M'Lord?

I grew up watching this series. It has a cult status in my family. Without a shadow of doubt, this is the best comic series ever. The casting is perfect and the acting superb. The story and its layers are simply amazing; I could watch each episode hundred times over and I would still enjoy it as much as I did the first time and notice something new, something I hadn't noticed before. I wish the series lasted 30 years instead of just 3. I have bought the DVD of the first season and plan to buy the rest of the series too.

The thing that puzzles me most is the fact that this series is not as well know as Dad's Army, Only fools and horses or Blackadder. The BBC conducted a poll back in 2004 to find out what is considered to be the best Britain's sitcom and You rang m'lord is not even in the first 100 series. One can't help but wondering how this could be. I am simply astonished.

You Rang M'Lord must be one of the funniest TV Series ever. It's all about a private family that employs several household staff who look after them. There is a butler, an underbutler, a footman, a cook, several housekeepers etc. Although the series is very funny and certain situations are overdrawn, it nevertheless comes very close to "the real thing". As professional butler and chairman of the International Guild of Professional Butlers I know a little bit about the subject. Do check out the series because you will fall in love with it.

This is one of my all time favourite TV shows and has been forever. I loved it when it first aired when I was a little girl and at 25 I am thrilled that (a) it is now being repeated on UKTV Drama, and thanks (b) to that the show is being released on DVD in January 2006. While the triple treat of Paul Shane, Jeffry Holland and Su Pollard are value for money as always, the beauty of this series is that everyone is so well cast and that even the smaller more minor roles were still a dream for any Actor to play. Michael Knowles is fabulous as Uncle Teddy and Lady Lavender steals every scene she is in. However, even though she was a little Cat (to use a favourite phase of the series) my favourite character was always Miss. Poppy, fantastically played by Susie Brann, because it was nice to see an Actress play a character who wasn't always sweetness and light. Granted, Ivy is sweet and gentle, but Miss Poppy seems a lot more fun. Am I the only person who was disappointed that she didn't end up with her beloved James Twelvetrees??? (I know - I need to get a life. Ha Ha!!!) A jewel in the British comedy crown. Two thumbs up.

This was one of the funniest sitcoms to come out of the BBC, sweet, funny and innocent. It showed the class divide in the country during the 1920's. The Meldrum's, a wealthy family living in a large house, below stairs live the servants. A charismatic bunch lead by butler Alf Stokes. Most of the humour comes from downstairs, and lots of the serious bits come from the mix of the two.

On many occasions social and political arguments were raised, there were often touches of realism.

It went out on a Sunday evening, and it was the last good bit of the weekend, before School on a Monday morning.

Great performances from all the cast. Su Pollard was visually very funny, so often she's the one that steals the laughs. The craziest laughs came from Lady Lavender, her and that parrot.

It was a brilliant series, one I couldn't recommend highly enough, 10/10

I first saw You Rang, M'lord over 15 years ago. My motivation was in fact Miss Cissy's picture in the TV program - of course I wanted to see anything with a lesbian character! But while I wasn't disappointed in Cissy, I grew fond of the whole household, masters and servants alike. I have since seen it dozens of times on TV, video and DVD.

I truly think You Rang, M'lord is a masterpiece of English sitcom. Firstly, it's a nice parody of the rigid social boundaries in British society ("No, Henry, you don't open the door. Mr. Twelvetrees opens the door. If he is not here, Ivy opens the door. If Ivy is not here, I open the door", lectures Mrs. Lipton.) However, the characters are more than just representatives of their respective social classes. They all have a full-fledged personality, a whole life outside the confines of the series (think of reports about Mabel's husband or visits to the Kitkat Club). Even relatively minor characters, like Lady Agatha, are three-dimensional. Every character is extremely funny and yet likable. The moment one would start to hate Alf or Miss Poppy, they immediately do something (and it might just be a glance or a smile) to win our sympathy back. Psychologically the whole series is perfectly realistic and logical. No wonder there're no 'goofs' listed about this series on IMDb. There aren't any.

I have seen other sitcoms by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, but this one exceeds all of them. The excellent acting contributes to this, too. I couldn't point out one actor over the others; they all do a brilliant job.