Hi-de-Hi!

Excellent sitcom from Jimmy Perry and David Croft. A spoof on the post-war UK holiday camps of Billy Butlin (a concept which lives on to this day in Club Med, and equally ghastly).

The characters are performers in, or employees of, the camp. The long-suffering campers return year after year to have tripe dished out to them. Has dated well and worth watching given the chance. Although the humour is broad it is probably not suited to US tastes.

Why this doesn't seem to be as highly regarded as other Perry and Croft sitcoms is something I'll never understand, for me it's superb. I never tire of Peggy and her antics, and desire to be a yellowcoat. Like all great comedies it makes you roar with laughter, but also tugs at the heartstrings. A superb ensemble piece, it did lose a bit when Simon Cadell left, although his replacement David Griffin did put in a valiant effort. My favourite characters were always Barry and Yvonne (Come away Barry..), Peggy, Gladys and Ted. I love it. If there were any justice, some clever scriptwriter would write a sitcom for all the remaining Perry and Croft regulars, and bring them back one more time.

Such a great show. Always lots of laughs. Great performances by everyone in the cast. The final scene of the final episode, with Peggy standing in the abandoned camp raising her hands sky high and screaming at the tops of her lungs "Hi-de-Hi!" brought a tear to my eye.

Period comedy piece based on the very successful (but also very cheesy) British Butlins Holiday camp business, which was a large part of the domestic British holiday scene at the time. Most people were broke post WWII so these places filled the holiday need for blue collar workers. The show is hilarious and for me, accurately portrays the often tacky, low brow experience of British holiday camps, which were often compared to Nazi POW camps. All of this is played up to great effect.

This type of show will never, ever be made again, as it is an equal-opportunity insulter. Decidedly non-PC, no minorities, and somewhat over the top misogynistic attitudes. So...not for everyone but if you're not easily offended you'll laugh non-stop.

When this series first started, I freely admit I was not a fan. On first view, it was not up to their shining glory that is Dads Army. On the other hand, nothing is. I first started to 'got it' with the horse on a horse scene. I laughed and laughed. Since then, it has appeared on repeats and channels like UK Gold. The performance of Simon Cadell is outstanding. Every cast member fits their role like a glove. It grows on one and all I can say is, Well Done Jimmy Perry and David Croft.