Are You Being Served?

This series ran from 1972 to 1985, but as British series typically only do six or seven episodes in a season, there are only sixty-nine episodes in all.

The series focuses on the relationship between the staff of the ladies' department and the gentlemen's department in a mid-priced department store in London. Also involved in the humor and bickering are the floorwalker, the department manager, and the owner of the store. There were several cast changes, but most of the crew stayed on through the entire run.

As Frank Thornton (Captain Peacock, the floorwalker) points out in interviews, this show is appealing because it's about shops. Everybody knows what goes on in a shop. We see the bickering for display space, the outrageous lies told to clinch a sale, and the petty squabbles as management institutes ridiculous rules.

The one flaw to the series is that continuity stank. The departments in question bounced from floor to floor over the years, not because they were moved, but because the writers forgot where they were supposed to be!

A blessing to fans of the series is the new DVD collection which includes 34 episodes from the first five seasons. There were four Christmas episodes that are rarely shown on television, and two are in the time frame of this set. Also included is "Top Hat and Tails," which had been "lost" for twenty-five years. Once you see it, you'll understand why someone "lost" it until just recently (there's a scene that was surely considered inappropriate at the time).

This series has its down moments, but every episode brings laughs and joy. The quick wit and hilarious physical comedy remain timeless, even as the clothes seem more dated and the political references get stale.

I'm now 30 years of age and grew up watching Allo Allo, 2.4 Children, Only Fools and Horses, One foot in the Grave etc, all of which I have wonderful nostalgic feelings for. I've always felt Brits make the funniest sitcoms, maybe i have an inbuilt British humour. Only in the last 2 years i bought series one of this to see what all the fuss was about, without any shadow of a doubt this is the funniest sitcom ever, no matter what mood i'm in i can put one of these on and laugh out loud, to the people who moan that the jokes were repeated i'd like to remind them of how many years this ran for and just how successful it was and still is. The movie was horrible, why did they make it!! However the sitcom all the way through was hilarious, Mollie and John i think made the series but all the cast were wonderful, especially young Mr Grace. There was an innocence about the series hidden deep amongst all the double entendres. High points for me were from the episodes Camping in, Oh what a tangled web and Friends and Neighbours. Maybe the show dipped a bit at series 9, but series 10 was a class act.

Are You Being Served is the best British comedy can give us. I don't understand why some people are offended by this series! It's all in good fun. The follow up Grace & Favour was great too. It's a shame they only made ten series (from 1973/1985). AYBS? will rank as one of the best sit-coms ever.

Are You Being Served is a fantastic example of British humor at its finest. Granted, with almost 30 years since the telecast of the first episode, some of the humor has become dated. However, the cast and script-writers took the concept of double entendre to a whole new level with the jokes in the show (the best one I think being about Mrs. Slocum's cat, if you get my drift!). The thing that makes the show stand the test of time is that they did not have to resort to outright obscenity and crudity to get the humor across. It requires a little bit of thought to follow some of the jokes, which while base, are veiled in "false propriety". It is something that I would have no problem letting my children watch because they would not get the jokes until they were old enough to understand and deal with the humor. What comedy today can we say the same about? The show also has the ability to pull you in, make you privy to the "secret jokes" and make you feel part of the club. You become bound up in the inside jokes and personalities, and can identify with the characters (within reason: who can understand the concept of Mrs. Slocum's changing hair-colors?!). Overall, it is a great series and well worth watching, even 27 years later!

I love this show so very much! Ever since I first had the honour of viewing this show for the first time, I have loved it. I have seen each episode more times then I can remember, and yet still every night I watch them again. I have grown to know ALL the characters personally, and feel like I am a part of what feels very much like real life at Grace Brother's Department Store. What the characters said, and everything that happened, I know as a very pleasant dream. Dive into the joy of the working staff of this wonderful series, and you will not want to leave. Listen, and you can almost hear the wonderful Mr. Humpries's saying "I'm Free!"

On another note, I must just give a huge thank you to everybody was ever involved in Are You Being Served?, and Are You Being Served, Again?. Because of this show, I grew to love many other wonderful BritComs (British comedies). Thank you to all cast members, crew, the very men who brought the show to TV, extras, etc. To those who have passed on, rest in peace brothers and sisters. You may have departed this world, but I for one will never forget you, and the wonderful contributions you made. To the fictional staff of Grace Bros., thank you for allowing us a just a peek into you lives. I just wish I did not have to leave. Thanks all, your work is remembered certainly by me, and millions of fans past, present and definately future. Grace Bros. will continue to be open, as long as someone keeps watching and remembers.