Description

The incredibly popular misadventures of the Grace Brothers department store begin with three classic episodes: "Dear Sexy Knickers," "Our Figures Are Slipping," and "Camping In." ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Excellent ensemble comedy.
If you're not familiar with British humor, this is a great introduction. The English are masters at poking innocent fun at themselves. You'll find this in Shakespeare, in Gilbert & Sullivan, in George Bernard Shaw. Now, I'm not saying that "Are You Being Served?" is comparable to any of the above, but it is way above what we consider typical sitcom comedy.

There are lots of double entendres here, a certain amount of bawdiness. Again, the bawdiness of English humor goes back at least to Shakespeare and possibly further back for all I know. However, the show hardly depends on this element. The humor comes primarily from the mingling of familiar types together into a work situation, and you see here, as in real life, one's co-workers are definitely family of their own.

The first episode, "Dear Sexy Knickers", is easily the best of the three, relying on the basic comic situation of a letter intended for one person mistakenly ending up in the hands of another. However, each episode has its high point, and again, provides a very nice introduction to English comedy.

A Great Introduction To The Staff At Grace Brothers
The employees of Grace Brothers have made ARE YOU BEING SERVED one of England's most popular exports, and their exploits have been a staple of Public Broadcasting Systems for well over a decade. The characters are classic ...types: the eternal battle ax, the sexy-but-common shopgirl, the pompous ex-military man; the flighty gentleman of uncertain preferences. And together they run riot with management, customers, and each other in some of the most hilarious situations imaginable.

This particular tape offers three of their best episodes: "Dear Sexy Knickers," "Our Figures Are Slipping," and "Camping In." Although all three are excellent, the first is easily among the best of the entire series, with the department ladykiller Mr. Lucas (Trevor Bannister) writing a note to shopgirl Miss Brahms (Wendy Richard) that goes astray--and causes tremendous confusion in the process. "Our Figures Are Slipping" finds sales down and supervisor Mr. Rumbold (Nicholas Smith) keeping the staff after hours in an effort to devise new sales schemes, and "Camping In" finds the entire staff stranded overnight at the store due to a transportation strike.

The situations are farcical, the humor is riske, and the cast is memorable. If you've heard a lot about ARE YOU BEING SERVED but never seen it, this particular tape is the ideal introduction. But word of warning: once you've seen it, you want the whole set!

A Classic Sitcom From Britain
I first ran across "Are You Being Served?" a few years ago. It was being aired nightly on the local PBS station and I was fortunate enough to stumble into it. I was captivated immediately and have been a fan ever since. Regretably, it no longer plays on any local stations. Happily, a number of classic episodes are now available on videotape.

Like any good sitcom, the characters in this one become like old friends after a while. If you go for a time without seeing them, you begin to miss them. Also, like all good fictional characters, the inmates of Grace Bros. all have their quirks and foibles, but that's part of their charm and they all become more likeable as they become more familiar. With these videos, the self-important Captain Peacock, irasible Mrs. Slocomb and all the others are there whenever you want to renew the acquintance. You don't have to depend on the whims of a TV station to spend time at Grace Bros. It's available whenever the mood hits. And, if you're anything like me, it hits fairly often.

This is classic British humor. A bit racy, but not as baudy as Benny Hill, and full of double entendre. Because the British idiom is a bit different than the U.S., american viewers may miss a few things. Hang in there, though. You'll pick up on most of it and even learn a few new expressions as you go.

Like most sitcoms, you find yourself liking some episodes better than others. The three on this tape are all very funny, so it's a good place to start. If you like British humor, or if you're just looking a funny video, try "Are You Being Served?" volume one. Do so at your own risk, though. You might just get hooked like I am.

Great Britcom!
Are You Being Served? is the story of the staff of the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Wear departments in Grace Brother's department store. While customer's come and go, the staff fights each other and their incompetent superiors with laughs all around. The stories are hilarious and are generally clean, though a running gag involves one lady's constant frettings about her pussy (cat). So, this tape can be watched with younger ones, but some discretion should be exercised.

Tape 1 includes the following three half-hour episodes:

Dear Sexy Knickers - (Series I, episode 2, 1972) - When Mr. Lucas tries to slip a racy note to Miss Brahms, Captain Peacock finds it, and gives it to Mrs. Slocombe. Hilarity follows.

Our Figures Are Slipping - (Series I, episode 3, 1972) - With the sales figures slipping, Mr. Rumbold calls the staff in for an after-hours meeting.

Camping In - (Series I, episode 4, 1972) - When a transport strike strands the staff, Mr. Grace generously allows them to camp down in the store.

Absolutely hilarious, good fun
All the shows in the video series are great fun, but this particular tape is especially rewarding. The "Dear Sexy Knickers" trio are real classics of comedy--at once cheeky and innocent, good-natured and yet full of the endless friction of personalities that we quickly come to know and love. Far from being in poor taste, the shows are remarkably clean, civilized, and balanced. There is necessarily a hierarchy in the department store (try running anything without one!), but it is benevolent, and anyone that asserts himself too much is immediately undercut by those above or below him, or both. But it's all in good fun, and everyone's problems are small. If only life were like that. ... Read more

Description

The staff at Grace Brothers puts their own hilarious spin on security cameras, a perfume company promotion, and the fuel crisis. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

"Are You Free?"
This now classic Brit-Com has cranked out nearly 70 episodes, each one filled with hilarious situations and a good measure of inuendoes. The "story" is set at a traditional London department store. The cast of regulars includes 5 dedicated sales people (2 in the "ladies'" and 3 in the "gents'"), a "floor walker", a daffy executive and an owner who looks like he could drop dead (from old age) any minute.

The stand-outs are Mr. Humphreys, a junior sales associate with twitchy walk and many stories about his live-in mother, his short stint in the Royal Navy, and encounters with questionable strangers; and Mrs. Slocum, an outspoken senior sales lady with ever-changing cotton-candy hair, who is always good for new tales about her "pussy" (that's her cat).

This Video includes 3 of the very best episodes, including the one where everyone has to work without heat despite freezing temperatures. Even though the staff is prohibited from using any kind of "devices" to keep warm, the audience is assured that everyone will give it a shot anyway. Another great episode features a young Joanna Lumly (Patsy on "Absolutely Fabulous") guest starring as a perfume sales rep. Rounding out the features is the episode where a secret audio/video "spy system" is installed to cut down on shoplifting, but instead the staff seems to perform as though knowingly appearing on "Candid Camera".

There are many excellent British Sit-Coms for the world to enjoy; "Are You Being Served" easily makes the very top of the list!

Volume 2 Is As Funny As Volume 1
"Are You Being Served?" is a great British sitcom that found a new life on PBS here in the U.S. It isn't as easy to find as it used to be, though. Fortunately, some of the shows are now available on video. As with many of our own classic sitcoms, this one brings together a wonderful ensemble of quirky characters. The venue is Grace Bros. Department Store and the characters comprise the staffs of the mens and womens counters and their supervisors.

As with any series, each viewer will choose his/her own favorite episodes. IMO, the episodes on Volume 1 in this series were all excellent and that video is a great one to start with if you're new to the shenanigans that go on at Grace Bros. This collection, Volume 2, is definitely a worthy follow-up. These three episodes are as funny as those on the first tape and give the new viewer a solid grounding in the zany group dynamic that runs through the entire series.

As near as I can determine, the producers of "Are You Being Served?" have released just seven tapes of three episodes each. Why they haven't simply released all of the episodes in order as they were originally shown is beyond me, but so far these 21 are all you can get (along with an eighth video made up of clips loosely strung together). We can only hope that all of the episodes will be made available in the future.

This is really funny stuff, and I highly recommend this video and its predecessor to anybody looking for a good laugh. I love this series and know several other folks who feel the same. Pay a visit to Grace Brothers, you'll enjoy the experience.

More great Britcom!
Are You Being Served? is the story of the staff of the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Wear departments in Grace Brother's department store. While customer's come and go, the staff fights each other and their incompetent superiors with laughs all around. The stories are hilarious and are generally clean, though a running gag involves one lady's constant frettings about her pussycat. So, this tape can be watched with younger ones, but some discretion should be exercised.

Tape 2 includes the following three half-hour episodes:

Big Brother - Series II, episode 4, 1974 - To stop shoplifting, Grace Bros. installs security cameras. When the cameras begin to show the staff's foibles, they decide that it is time to correct the situation.

His and Hers - Series I, episode 5, 1973 - When Grace Bros. brings in a scent salesperson, complete with complementary ties and stockings, the staff decide that she must go.

Cold Comfort - Series II, episode 2, 1974 - To conserve fuel, in the dead of winter, Grace Bros. turns off the heat. Now, it's up to the staff to invent ways to stay warm.

Comedy Cult Classic
I highly recommend watching the entire series on PBS and buying several videos since they get better with repeat viewings. There is something infectious about this camp show and its colorful characters. END ... Read more

Description

Three of the most requested episodes: Mrs. Slocombe's cat's expecting, the sales staff moves to Toys, and decorating the new club proves a bit messy. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

More excellent Britcoms
Are You Being Served? is the story of the staff of the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Wear departments in Grace Brother's department store. While customer's come and go, the staff fights each other and their incompetent superiors with laughs all around. The stories are hilarious and are generally clean, though a running gag involves one lady's constant frettings about her pussy (cat). So, this tape can be watched with younger ones, but some discretion should be exercised.

Tape 7 includes the following three half-hour episodes:

Mrs. Slocombe Expects - Series V, episode 1, 1977 - First Mrs. Slocombe is off her food, and now she's talking about expecting. What's going on here?

A Change Is As Good As A Rest - Series V, episode 2, 1977 - Mr. Grace's idea of moving the departments around to let them experience selling different products lands the staff in the toy department. (This is my all-time favorite of all the episodes of AYBS!)

The Club - Series VI, episode 2, 1978 - The Staff of Ladies' and Gentleman's Wear are allowed to create their own club in the basement of Grace Bros. Unfortunately, it's a drab and dirty room, and it's up to the staff to fix it up.

A Laugh Riot!
One of the funniest AYBS videos, though they are all excellent. The three episodes on this video are superb: "Mrs. Slocombe Expects," which is worth buying just for the hilarious scene in the canteen in which a BIG mix-up occurs; "A Change is as Good as a Rest," in which the staff is temporarily transferred to the toy department; and "The Club," in which the staff attempt redecorating a room with disasterous results. Fall-down funny!

Are You Being Served is by far one of the best shows on TV.
In my own personal opinion, Are You Being Served is by far one of the best British comedies to ever be produced by the BBC. It is second to none in comparison to Monty Python, Keeping Up Appearances, and Ab Fab.

VERY comprehensive with a great John Inman section...
Great book for fans of "Are You Being Served?" and it's spin-offs!! Detailed synopsis' of each episode including the Australian and doomed American versions! END ... Read more

Description

Looking for ways to perk up sales and lower staff morale? You'll find them in these three classic episodes: Grace Brother's tries German Week, the Great Gatsby look, and Opening Early! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Three great ways to not increase sales....
These three episodes do have a common ground. In each, the store is attempting to increase sales, either through a promotion as in "German week" and the Great Gatsby episode, or through longer hours as in the third episode. Needless to say, the results are hilarious, but never more so than in the first episode, "German week", which ends in a magnificent German dance sequence.

The British humor is unique, full of subtleties on one hand, and broadly humorous on the other. There are of course the running gags such as Mrs. Slocombe's cat, aka _____, and Captain Peacock's downward gaze whenever confronted by a woman with noticeable cleavage. But basically, it's the ability of the writers to catch the viewer offguard with the unexpected occurances. Each episode is well crafted, with both snappy repartee and sight gags.

Very good for a laugh! Or for a lot of laughs, I should more aptly say.

Three More Great Episodes
This is the third video of seven in this series and, true to form, it contains three more hilarious installments from the staff at Grace Brothers. In this collection we see the downside of an English store pushing German goods, an English store pushing goods in a style that's out-dated, and Mr. Grace's idea to boost sales by opening the store earlier.

The English have what is, in my opinion, an unfortunate tendency to incorporate musical production numbers into their comedy. Sometimes it's funny, but often it's just a bit over the top. It simply isn't what you tuned in for, generally. "Are You Being Served?" usually avoided this trap, but not always, and in these three episodes there is just a slight nod in this direction. It's not developed to the extent seen in a few of the later installments, though, and these three shows are as funny as ever.

Here are three more great comedy bits from Grace Brothers. It's unfortunate that they have deciced to give us just a sampling rather than putting out the entire series and letting viewers choose their own favorites, but the first three videos in the series are well-chosen. If you aren't famliar with this show, give one of these videos a try. I recommend this one just as highly as its two predecessors (and that's pretty highly).

great classic comedy
Probably the most camp BBC comedy aside from AB FAB, and one of the most enjoyable!

John Inman stars as Mr Humphreys, with the great Mollie Sugden as the rainbow-coiffed Mrs Slocombe, Wendy Richard as Miss Brahms, the late, great Arthur Brough as Mr Granger, Trevor Bannister as Mr Lucas and Frank Thornton as the unflappable Captain Peacock.

Set in Grace Bros. department store, the show revolved around the constant goings-on in the hurly-burly life of working in one of the oddest shops in the world!

Mrs Slocombe would be moaning about her ..., Mr Humphreys would be explaining to Mr Lucas why he arrived wearing his mother's party wig, and the young Mr Grace would then arrive to say "You've all done very well!".

Directed by Bob Spiers (who also directed AB FAB), it's a comedy that never grows old.

Excellent British comedy
Are You Being Served? is the story of the staff of the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Wear departments in Grace Brother's department store. While customer's come and go, the staff fights each other and their incompetent superiors with laughs all around. The stories are hilarious and are generally clean, though a running gag involves one lady's constant frettings about her cat. So, this tape can be watched with younger ones, but some discretion should be exercised.

Tape 3 includes the following three half-hour episodes:

German Week - Series III, episode 6, 1975 - Mr. Rumbold has the brilliant idea that for one whole week the staff of the Ladies and Gentleman's Wear departments should sell German imported clothing. Now, it's up to the staff, complete with lederhosen and traditional dances(!) to make the idea work.

New Look - Series III, episode 8, 1975 - The staff suggests a new promotion, the "Great Gatsby" look, but what can be done on a shoestring budget?

No Sale - Series IV, episode 1, 1976 - When Mr. Grace decides to open the store early to increase sales, the staff learns to their horror that the idea is a success! If they are to save their sleep-time, they are going to have to remedy the situation.

The best of them all!!!
To make things simple and painless: if you can't decide which Are You Being Served? video to purchase; buy this one! It is simply and without competition the funniest of the all! German Week is so funny that you'll be laughing for days! ... Read more

Reviews (28)

Movie: 2 Television Series: 10 Too bad!
First of all, let me say that I am American and "Are You Being Served? (the t.v. series) is one of my all time favorite shows. It is rife with clever humor, memorable characters, excellent actors, wonderful innuendo, and often sharp writing.

This movie is not.

Possibly the biggest mistake is taking the characters out of their natural element: Grace Brothers Department Store. Granted, at the time, the writers must have thought they needed to do so in order to expand the scope for a film. I'm sure that they were correct, in part. But the way in which they took the characters out of the store is pitifully lacking.

Grumpy, tipsey Mrs. Slocumb; fey Mr. Humphreys; superior Captain Peacock; dottering Mr. Grainger; sexy but common Miss Brahms; randy Mr. Lucas; and jug-eared Mr. Rumbold are very lovable and very loved characters. Add in cockney and sly Mr. Harmon and you've got a recipe for hilarity.

Sadly "The Movie" doesn't really deliver on that. The beginning of the movie is the funniest - it is set in the department store. It is also slightly surreal as we are introduced to the characters as if we were seeing them for the first time and as if they didn't already have a history with each other. (Since the movie is a spin-off of the highly popular television series, this introduction seems unwarranted).

The premise is that the store must close and Mr. Grace has sprung for a vacation for the department to go to Costa Plonka in Spain. Sound familiar? Of course it does. It was a premise of one of the episodes. Once there the staff is relegated to staying in tents in the garden of the hotel. Sound familiar? It's another episode. (the whole Mrs. Slocumb and the flatulant air mattress is even included). Mr. Humphrey's dons women's clothing; and Mr. Harmon outsmarts everyone.

Basically what I'm saying is that there is no real new material here......except for the finale....and that ain't good news.

Why, oh why, anyone would find it funny having a revolutionary general beginning his insurrection in the hotel? Not only does it not make a lick of sense pragmatically, but comically it is the death knell for the movie.

There is one thing that the movie did that the series never did: Mr. Humphreys is definitely gay in the movie, but it was always a source of fun speculation in the series. It's a mistake.

Though written by the same writers as the series, it seems to have taken all the things that were wrong in the series and used them to make the film. Gone is the banter at the ubiquitous "staff meetings" or the "canteen lunches". Instead, the writers miss the chance at an al fresco dinner to do the same. Mr. Grainger was always a source of hilarity with his dottering ways - and yet here he's almost written as an afterthought.

I don't understand the mistake with this movie. In 1977 the series was still in production and was quite funny. What happened here? I speculate that the writers didn't have the time to really give the time necessary to the film.

I bought this DVD without having ever seen the film. I don't regret it as it is part of what I consider my AYBS collection, but if you want to get your first taste of this phenonomenal series by seeing the movie first - DON'T! Watch the episodes on your local PBS station here in the U.S. or rent the episodes or buy them at your local store or here on Amazon. Each one is a gem, though as with any show - some are better than others. However, not a single one of them is bad - something I cannot say about this film.

It's really a shame. "And I'm unanimous in that!"

If there was a no star rating, that's what it would get!
How sad to see such a pathetic attempt at making a movie of a really good series. It was absolutely horrible. The video and audio are really bad. I was highly disappointed and I wish I hadn't bought it. Very Corny. TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY.

Not up to snuff
Having viewed and enjoyed just about every episode of the Are You Being Served? TV show, I finally got down to seeing the movie recently. While it had a smattering of mild-to-moderately entertaining moments and a few snickers here & there, overall it wasn't quite "up to snuff" (as it were) in the laughs department when compared to the series it was based on. Sadly, a great deal of the gags and banter were lifted (or slightly modified) from various eppies of the TV show, but were not executed quite as well this time around. Even the obligatory stock gags (e.g. allusions to Mr. Humphries' alleged... er... fluffiness, Mr. Lucas' endless array of smart@$$ remarks & lustful leering at Ms. Brahms, Mrs. Slocombe's feline companion, etc.), which usually kill me every time they pop up on the telly series, didn't do much for me here.

On the upside: at least I finally got to see the Grace Bros. staff outside their usual environment, something I seldom saw in their small-screen misadventures. And it was also interesting to see how AYBS looks on a movie budget-- which apparently isn't too different from what it normally looks on a TV budget. From what I can gather, the only real diffs are the widescreen format, a better film stock, and the lack of a laugh track...

Bottom line: if you're a fairly close follower of the Are You Being Served? TV show but haven't seen this yet, this is worth at least a rental... if only to sate your curiosity. Otherwise, the AYBS movie ain't exactly what I'd consider a "keeper". And I am unanimous in this opinion, by the way...

'Late

Do Not Buy This DVD
If you love the series you will hate this movie. How it could be this awful but still have John Inman and Mollie Sugden in it is a mystery. It is painfully, PAINFULLY, bad. Not at all funny and a complete waste of a very talented group of actors.

Very Disappointed
I bought this for my husband as he is a long time fan of the TV show but after he watched about 30 minutes of it, he gave up and added it to the things we were taking to Goodwill. Money wasted. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The spotlight's on individual characters
Once again we have a set of three episodes from this delightful British comedy, and this time the common ground is that, while the series is as always ensemble comedy, each episode focuses on one member of the Grace Brothers staff.

In the first episode, it is Mrs. Slocombe's birthday and while she makes sure everyone knows it, she doesn't bargain on their figuring out how old she is.

In the second one, Captain Peacock, the very epitome of propriety even if he quite notices any exposed cleavage, is suspected of carrying on with Mr. Rumbold's secretary. By the time Mrs. Peacock appears, and the good Captain is put on trial by his fellow employees, you'll be laughing, you won't be able to help it. That is, assuming you do have a sense of humor.

And then, in the third episode, mild mannered Mr. Grainger is put in charge and becomes a tyrant. Of course, he does get his come-uppance and all ends well and hilariously.

I'll warn you now, this series can be addictive.

More excellent British comedy
Are You Being Served? is the story of the staff of the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Wear departments in Grace Brother's department store. While customer's come and go, the staff fights each other and their incompetent superiors with laughs all around. The stories are hilarious and are generally clean, though a running gag involves one lady's constant frettings about her pussy (cat). So, this tape can be watched with younger ones, but some discretion should be exercised.

Tape 5 includes the following three half-hour episodes:

Fifty Years On - Series IV, episode 5, 1976 - It's Mrs. Slocombe's birthday, and the staff decide to give her great party. Now how old is she?

Oh What a Tangled Web - Series IV, episode 6, 1976 - When Captain Peacock and Mr. Rumbold's secretary show up late, the staff begins to talk. When Mrs. Peacock comes in, the action heats up!

Forward Mr. Grainger - Series IV, episode 3, 1976 - When Mr. Rumbold goes to a sales conference, Mr. Grainger is put in charge of the department. Suddenly, the mild-mannered senior salesman becomes an iron-fisted dictator.

Big Laughs Going on Sale!
Come into the store and get to know all the members of the "ladies and gents" departments by name. Mrs. Slocombe is having a birthday and wants to make sure everyone knows, but not to guess her age. Must see birthday bash! Management has it's problems too as Captain Peacock and Mr. Rumbold's secretary have everyone talking and the staff convenes a trial to find the answers!You will in enjoy the transfermation of mild-mannered Mr. Gainger when he is given temporary charge of the department.I have enjoyed watching the "Are You Being Served?" series on T.V. over the years and would not miss out on one of the videos in this series. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A Cute, Light-Hearted British Comedy
This delightful little comedy consists of six 25-minute episodes (on two tapes). It stars John Inman (Mr. Humphries from Are You Being Served?) as Mr. Jones, the private secretary to business executive Joan Warner (Rula Lenska). Ms. Warner lives with Lucy, her precocious 7-year-old daughter, and Maria, her highly-strung Italian maid (a very funny character). The plots all centre on the tensions that arise in trying to balance the demands of a career with the demands required of a single parent, often with comical results. Mr. Jones is inevitably the one called upon to achieve this balancing act, and his duties seem to involve sorting out domestic crises as often as executive ones.

Fans of Are You Being Served? (and particularly fans of John Inman) will, I'm sure, enjoy this light-hearted comedy, as Mr. Jones is not unlike Mr. Humphries (although without the mincing gait or references to his "neither one way nor the other" sexuality). Though I must confess, personally, to a preference for Are You Being Served?, I really did enjoy this cute show (which is clean and suitable for the entire family). Indeed, it was a delight to see John Inman in another role!

It's two videos.
It's two videos, the message earlier only mentioned the episodes on Volume II (3 episodes), Volume I has three episodes also, "The Interview", "The Protector", and "The Holiday." As you watch the episodes in order the show becomes more enjoyable because the characters are,of course, evolving, given more time, the shows would've become even better.The maid running up and down the stairs is hilarious, and so is the end of the last episode (which looks like a blooper left in, they looked so cute,laughing at Mr. Jones mimicking his boss).I couldn't stand the little girl and the way the mother gives in to the brat. The coworkers in the office were okay, the tall one and the mousy one were the best characters as coworkers, John Inman's character could've had more fun teasingly antagonizing the tall one, and ordering about the mousy one in future episodes. If you enjoy John Inman's work((he had and has so much potential- I guess the industry he works in isn't smart enough and creative enough to see his comedic potential--sigh--,we could have enjoyed some great British comedy)) and/or think "Are You Being Served?" is funny or just enjoyable, get these tapes. By the way, Rula Lenska, who plays his boss, is a beautiful, tall woman (classy like Diana Rigg.) PS. I put the four stars in for the "Are You Being Served?" fans.

Inman makes it funny
Not all the jokes work. Maybe they're dated, but John Inman, as always is very very funny.

A laugh riot!
If you love John Inman in 'Are You Being Served?', you'll love this 1981 series he did. I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe!!

Tape is not as described
The tape is actually one video, with the episodes "The Japanese Contract", "The Trade Fair", and "Business Before Pleasure" I have not yet watched it, as I am waiting for the correct shipment to arrive. BUt, anything with John Inman in it has got to be five star funny. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Excellent ensemble comedy.
If you're not familiar with British humor, this is a great introduction. The English are masters at poking innocent fun at themselves. You'll find this in Shakespeare, in Gilbert & Sullivan, in George Bernard Shaw. Now, I'm not saying that "Are You Being Served?" is comparable to any of the above, but it is way above what we consider typical sitcom comedy.

There are lots of double entendres here, a certain amount of bawdiness. Again, the bawdiness of English humor goes back at least to Shakespeare and possibly further back for all I know. However, the show hardly depends on this element. The humor comes primarily from the mingling of familiar types together into a work situation, and you see here, as in real life, one's co-workers are definitely family of their own.

The first episode, "Dear Sexy Knickers", is easily the best of the three, relying on the basic comic situation of a letter intended for one person mistakenly ending up in the hands of another. However, each episode has its high point, and again, provides a very nice introduction to English comedy.

A Great Introduction To The Staff At Grace Brothers
The employees of Grace Brothers have made ARE YOU BEING SERVED one of England's most popular exports, and their exploits have been a staple of Public Broadcasting Systems for well over a decade. The characters are classic ...types: the eternal battle ax, the sexy-but-common shopgirl, the pompous ex-military man; the flighty gentleman of uncertain preferences. And together they run riot with management, customers, and each other in some of the most hilarious situations imaginable.

This particular tape offers three of their best episodes: "Dear Sexy Knickers," "Our Figures Are Slipping," and "Camping In." Although all three are excellent, the first is easily among the best of the entire series, with the department ladykiller Mr. Lucas (Trevor Bannister) writing a note to shopgirl Miss Brahms (Wendy Richard) that goes astray--and causes tremendous confusion in the process. "Our Figures Are Slipping" finds sales down and supervisor Mr. Rumbold (Nicholas Smith) keeping the staff after hours in an effort to devise new sales schemes, and "Camping In" finds the entire staff stranded overnight at the store due to a transportation strike.

The situations are farcical, the humor is riske, and the cast is memorable. If you've heard a lot about ARE YOU BEING SERVED but never seen it, this particular tape is the ideal introduction. But word of warning: once you've seen it, you want the whole set!

A Classic Sitcom From Britain
I first ran across "Are You Being Served?" a few years ago. It was being aired nightly on the local PBS station and I was fortunate enough to stumble into it. I was captivated immediately and have been a fan ever since. Regretably, it no longer plays on any local stations. Happily, a number of classic episodes are now available on videotape.

Like any good sitcom, the characters in this one become like old friends after a while. If you go for a time without seeing them, you begin to miss them. Also, like all good fictional characters, the inmates of Grace Bros. all have their quirks and foibles, but that's part of their charm and they all become more likeable as they become more familiar. With these videos, the self-important Captain Peacock, irasible Mrs. Slocomb and all the others are there whenever you want to renew the acquintance. You don't have to depend on the whims of a TV station to spend time at Grace Bros. It's available whenever the mood hits. And, if you're anything like me, it hits fairly often.

This is classic British humor. A bit racy, but not as baudy as Benny Hill, and full of double entendre. Because the British idiom is a bit different than the U.S., american viewers may miss a few things. Hang in there, though. You'll pick up on most of it and even learn a few new expressions as you go.

Like most sitcoms, you find yourself liking some episodes better than others. The three on this tape are all very funny, so it's a good place to start. If you like British humor, or if you're just looking a funny video, try "Are You Being Served?" volume one. Do so at your own risk, though. You might just get hooked like I am.

Great Britcom!
Are You Being Served? is the story of the staff of the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Wear departments in Grace Brother's department store. While customer's come and go, the staff fights each other and their incompetent superiors with laughs all around. The stories are hilarious and are generally clean, though a running gag involves one lady's constant frettings about her pussy (cat). So, this tape can be watched with younger ones, but some discretion should be exercised.

Tape 1 includes the following three half-hour episodes:

Dear Sexy Knickers - (Series I, episode 2, 1972) - When Mr. Lucas tries to slip a racy note to Miss Brahms, Captain Peacock finds it, and gives it to Mrs. Slocombe. Hilarity follows.

Our Figures Are Slipping - (Series I, episode 3, 1972) - With the sales figures slipping, Mr. Rumbold calls the staff in for an after-hours meeting.

Camping In - (Series I, episode 4, 1972) - When a transport strike strands the staff, Mr. Grace generously allows them to camp down in the store.

Absolutely hilarious, good fun
All the shows in the video series are great fun, but this particular tape is especially rewarding. The "Dear Sexy Knickers" trio are real classics of comedy--at once cheeky and innocent, good-natured and yet full of the endless friction of personalities that we quickly come to know and love. Far from being in poor taste, the shows are remarkably clean, civilized, and balanced. There is necessarily a hierarchy in the department store (try running anything without one!), but it is benevolent, and anyone that asserts himself too much is immediately undercut by those above or below him, or both. But it's all in good fun, and everyone's problems are small. If only life were like that. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

More excellent Britcoms
Are You Being Served? is the story of the staff of the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Wear departments in Grace Brother's department store. While customer's come and go, the staff fights each other and their incompetent superiors with laughs all around. The stories are hilarious and are generally clean, though a running gag involves one lady's constant frettings about her pussy (cat). So, this tape can be watched with younger ones, but some discretion should be exercised.

Tape 7 includes the following three half-hour episodes:

Mrs. Slocombe Expects - Series V, episode 1, 1977 - First Mrs. Slocombe is off her food, and now she's talking about expecting. What's going on here?

A Change Is As Good As A Rest - Series V, episode 2, 1977 - Mr. Grace's idea of moving the departments around to let them experience selling different products lands the staff in the toy department. (This is my all-time favorite of all the episodes of AYBS!)

The Club - Series VI, episode 2, 1978 - The Staff of Ladies' and Gentleman's Wear are allowed to create their own club in the basement of Grace Bros. Unfortunately, it's a drab and dirty room, and it's up to the staff to fix it up.

A Laugh Riot!
One of the funniest AYBS videos, though they are all excellent. The three episodes on this video are superb: "Mrs. Slocombe Expects," which is worth buying just for the hilarious scene in the canteen in which a BIG mix-up occurs; "A Change is as Good as a Rest," in which the staff is temporarily transferred to the toy department; and "The Club," in which the staff attempt redecorating a room with disasterous results. Fall-down funny!

Are You Being Served is by far one of the best shows on TV.
In my own personal opinion, Are You Being Served is by far one of the best British comedies to ever be produced by the BBC. It is second to none in comparison to Monty Python, Keeping Up Appearances, and Ab Fab.

VERY comprehensive with a great John Inman section...
Great book for fans of "Are You Being Served?" and it's spin-offs!! Detailed synopsis' of each episode including the Australian and doomed American versions! END ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Watch The Episodes
This is a nice collection of highlights for the fan who is familiar enough with the episodes to remember the context from which said highlights are taken. As others have noted, however, the humor really works better in context and it's much more fun to watch a couple of the episodes in their entirety that it is to watch these isolated snippets. Furthermore, I find John Inman in drag as Mr. Humphreys' mother to be funny in measured doses, but that act suffers from overexposure here.

In short, this is mediocre at best. To really experience AYBS to the fullest, sit down with a couple of full episodes and prepare for some laughs.

Short clips don't work with this type of humor
This is a tape of short clips from the show, ostensibly a "best of" collection. Anyone who has actually watched "Are You Being Served?," or many other British shows for that matter, knows that trying to put together a tape filled with short clips of "best moments" is pure folly.

It's not because there weren't plenty of good moments in the show. There were. But see, here's the thing: Most British humor just doesn't work that way. Whereas American sitcoms are almost all based on "punch lines" and the humor is much more broad and easily excised into short snippets, British shows tend to be more truly situation-based. The humor comes from a series of situational set-ups that happen in the course of the episode. The situations frequently build on one another (sometimes to absurd proportions, but that's the point). So then, with that background, even something simple like a facial expression, or an otherwise benign comment (as opposed to an obvious "punch line" as in American sitcoms), becomes hilarious. It is funny because you know the situation in which it occurs.

All of the best comedy, in my opinion, works like that. It even extends to real-life situations. Think of some of the funniest experiences in your life. I think you'll find that a lot of them were "you had to be there" instances. Trying to relate it to another person, after the fact, doesn't have the same effect because that person wasn't given the whole background, or doesn't know all the personalities of the people involved, or there were visual cues that only made sense within the moment.

I'm an American but I love the way British humor works in this way. But in order to appreciate it, you have to watch the ENTIRE episode. Tapes of short clips just don't cut it for this type of show. Chances are, without knowing anything about the original episodes from which these clips came, a casual viewer will watch this tape and wonder, "What's the big deal? That wasn't very funny."

Hey...this show was FUNNY. Absurd at times, yes, but funny. But it's only funny if you watch the whole episode.

Great moments, but...
... I prefer seeing the entire episodes that the scenes came from, rather than have them excised and made into a 'best of' compilation. Although I do enjoy the narrative presentation by John Inman's Mrs. Humphries (mother of Mr. Humphries, also performed by Inman), it just lacks a certain style when I see just one small part of the whole.

I'd recommend you give this a look if you're a "newbie" to the show. It usually pops up on the local PBS channel during pledge drives. Otherwise, go for the entire-episode videos.

'Late...

I miss the set-ups
This video is composed of snippets of various (considered) funniest parts of the television series of the same name. Holding them together are a series of phone conversations between Mr. Humphries and his "mum" -- she's vacationing in Hollywood and insisting he write a book & screenplay about his Grace Bros. reminiscences, which she thinks she can sell. I didn't enjoy this video as much as the series episodes I've seen, nor as much as "Are You Being Served -- The Movie." I think it's because I really missed the edited-out parts -- the maybe not-as-funny set-ups which illustrate the characters' little foibles, or the not fall-down hilarious but nonetheless fun banter between them, the little cliches, like "I'm free!" and "Ah well, a change is as good as a rest." Also, the newly-taped Mr. Humphries and his mother parts are cute, but not really something you'd want to watch more than once. Thirdly, there was only one joke about Mrs. Slocumb's -- uh, cat -- though it is a doozy.

Excellent Video!!
This is the collection for you if you want to get a glimpse of what each character is like. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The laughs continue...
Are You Being Served? is the story of the staff of the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Wear departments in Grace Brother's department store. While customer's come and go, the staff fights each other and their incompetent superiors with laughs all around. The stories are hilarious and are generally clean, though a running gag involves one lady's constant frettings about her pussy (cat). So, this tape can be watched with younger ones, but some discretion should be exercised.

Tape 6 includes the following three half-hour episodes:

Happy Returns - Series VI, episode 6, 1978 - It's Mr. Grace's 81st birthday, and the staff decides to put on a ballet to celebrate. (This episode includes a great song and dance number.)

Founder's Day - Series V, episode 3, 1977 - To celebrate Mr. Grace's 80th birthday, the staff decides to create their own episode of "This Is Your Life," complete with hilarious "forged" pictures.

The Old Order Changes - Series V, episode 4, 1977 - Mr. Grace returns from the United States with new ideas. Not surprisingly, the staff's execution of those ideas produces a hilarious fiasco. (This episode includes Captain Peacock in a robe and wig, saying, "peace"!)

I love this show!
Are you being served? is one of the great British sitcoms ever! In this tape, Mr. Grace celebrates his birthday with an awful lunch and then the store sets up the Ballet of the Toys. It's hilarious, John Inman at his very best!

They do keep up appearances with the very best
As with all of the series that are available......humor at its best. I have the entire collection that is now on video.and wish for more. I am addicted I fear....and wonder when they will ask me, are you being served? ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Three great ways to not increase sales....
These three episodes do have a common ground. In each, the store is attempting to increase sales, either through a promotion as in "German week" and the Great Gatsby episode, or through longer hours as in the third episode. Needless to say, the results are hilarious, but never more so than in the first episode, "German week", which ends in a magnificent German dance sequence.

The British humor is unique, full of subtleties on one hand, and broadly humorous on the other. There are of course the running gags such as Mrs. Slocombe's cat, aka _____, and Captain Peacock's downward gaze whenever confronted by a woman with noticeable cleavage. But basically, it's the ability of the writers to catch the viewer offguard with the unexpected occurances. Each episode is well crafted, with both snappy repartee and sight gags.

Very good for a laugh! Or for a lot of laughs, I should more aptly say.

Three More Great Episodes
This is the third video of seven in this series and, true to form, it contains three more hilarious installments from the staff at Grace Brothers. In this collection we see the downside of an English store pushing German goods, an English store pushing goods in a style that's out-dated, and Mr. Grace's idea to boost sales by opening the store earlier.

The English have what is, in my opinion, an unfortunate tendency to incorporate musical production numbers into their comedy. Sometimes it's funny, but often it's just a bit over the top. It simply isn't what you tuned in for, generally. "Are You Being Served?" usually avoided this trap, but not always, and in these three episodes there is just a slight nod in this direction. It's not developed to the extent seen in a few of the later installments, though, and these three shows are as funny as ever.

Here are three more great comedy bits from Grace Brothers. It's unfortunate that they have deciced to give us just a sampling rather than putting out the entire series and letting viewers choose their own favorites, but the first three videos in the series are well-chosen. If you aren't famliar with this show, give one of these videos a try. I recommend this one just as highly as its two predecessors (and that's pretty highly).

great classic comedy
Probably the most camp BBC comedy aside from AB FAB, and one of the most enjoyable!

John Inman stars as Mr Humphreys, with the great Mollie Sugden as the rainbow-coiffed Mrs Slocombe, Wendy Richard as Miss Brahms, the late, great Arthur Brough as Mr Granger, Trevor Bannister as Mr Lucas and Frank Thornton as the unflappable Captain Peacock.

Set in Grace Bros. department store, the show revolved around the constant goings-on in the hurly-burly life of working in one of the oddest shops in the world!

Mrs Slocombe would be moaning about her ..., Mr Humphreys would be explaining to Mr Lucas why he arrived wearing his mother's party wig, and the young Mr Grace would then arrive to say "You've all done very well!".

Directed by Bob Spiers (who also directed AB FAB), it's a comedy that never grows old.

Excellent British comedy
Are You Being Served? is the story of the staff of the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Wear departments in Grace Brother's department store. While customer's come and go, the staff fights each other and their incompetent superiors with laughs all around. The stories are hilarious and are generally clean, though a running gag involves one lady's constant frettings about her cat. So, this tape can be watched with younger ones, but some discretion should be exercised.

Tape 3 includes the following three half-hour episodes:

German Week - Series III, episode 6, 1975 - Mr. Rumbold has the brilliant idea that for one whole week the staff of the Ladies and Gentleman's Wear departments should sell German imported clothing. Now, it's up to the staff, complete with lederhosen and traditional dances(!) to make the idea work.

New Look - Series III, episode 8, 1975 - The staff suggests a new promotion, the "Great Gatsby" look, but what can be done on a shoestring budget?

No Sale - Series IV, episode 1, 1976 - When Mr. Grace decides to open the store early to increase sales, the staff learns to their horror that the idea is a success! If they are to save their sleep-time, they are going to have to remedy the situation.

The best of them all!!!
To make things simple and painless: if you can't decide which Are You Being Served? video to purchase; buy this one! It is simply and without competition the funniest of the all! German Week is so funny that you'll be laughing for days! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

More humor from the staff
Are You Being Served? is the story of the staff of the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Wear departments in Grace Brother's department store. While customer's come and go, the staff fights each other and their incompetent superiors with laughs all around. The stories are hilarious and are generally clean, though a running gag involves one lady's constant frettings about her pussy (cat). So, this tape can be watched with younger ones, but some discretion should be exercised.

Tape 4 includes the following three half-hour episodes:

Wedding Bells - Series III, episode 5, 1975 - When Mr. Grace announces that he is to marry, and that he'd like to speak privately to Mrs. Slocombe, the staff decides that it's time to be real nice to her.

Do You Take This Man? - Series VI, episode 3, 1978 - Mrs. Slocombe announces that she is to be wed. Sadly, there are a few things standing in the way: the cost of the ceremony, the groom's wife...

The Erotic Dreams of Mrs. Slocombe - Series VIII, episode 7, 1981 - Mrs. Slocombe's dreams have showed her the only man for her...Mr. Humphries!

A particular type of comedy
Fans of 60s/70s British comedy of the risque, non-politically correct, "nudge nudge wink wink" variety will enjoy this and all other episodes of this series. As such, it is an excellent example of the genre, but if you don't like the genre, it is probably not a good place to start.

its the best !
Are you being served is one of the best comedies i've ever seen on either side of the ocean....john inman is the greatest....you should get this tape...and others too.........you'll love it ! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Falling in love can be glorious, or poignant, or heartwarming ... but for most of us, it's mostly just absurd. And The Tall Guy captures that hysterical, head-over-heels surrealism perfectly. Jeff Goldblum plays the neurotic, allergy-ridden Dexter King, a stage actor stuck in a dead-end job in an interminable run of London's tackiest comic review. He's the "tall guy," the eternal butt of slapstick gags delivered by the star performer, a brilliantly obnoxious Rowan Atkinson. Cupid's arrow strikes between sneezes when hay fever propels Dexter to the doctor's office--and he catches his first glance of Nurse Kate Lemmon (a pre-Shakespeare Emma Thompson). Battling his deep-seated fear of needles, Dexter invents excuses to get shots just to get close to her. After much pain (and much prodding from Dexter's oddly maternal nymphomaniac landlady), their courtship takes off. (Kate's practical dating philosophy--have sex first, so you know if all those expensive dinners will actually be worth it--leads to one of the most comically destructive love scenes ever filmed.) Dexter, giddy with new love, gets fired--and lands the title role in Elephant!, a musical version of The Elephant Man (one heartwarming hit: "Somewhere in Heaven, There's an Angel with Big Ears"). But his curvaceous leading lady develops a champagne-fueled passion for pachyderms ... and Dexter's in yet another sticky situation.

As British romances go, The Tall Guy owes more to TV's Fawlty Towers than The English Patient--but what it lacks in depth, it makes up in sheer comedy. --Grant Balfour ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Hysterical!
THE TALL GUY has been a favorite of mine for years. I take great pride in being a fan of this "guilty pleasure" film! I try to turn people onto it as often as possible.

THE TALL GUY, first and foremost, is very British in its humor, which means there is irony, surrealism, and jokes that don't depend on insults (Americans *love* the insult-joke).

THE TALL GUY has the funniest sex scene (Goldblum and Thompson) that I've ever seen. And as others have mentioned, the ELEPHANT! musical is hysterical. I cried the first time I saw the musical numbers ... it's that hilarious.

At heart, THE TALL GUY is a sweet romance. But its British sensibilities and backstage humor (Goldblum's character is an underdog actor) lifts it above an average screwball comedy. And Emma Thompson is very charming as Nurse Kate! One forgets after all of her serious Shakespeare and Jane Austin roles that she is quite a comedienne.

So enjoy THE TALL GUY! And remember: "Somewhere up in heaven there's an angel with big ears."

Early work from Curtis the movie scriptwriter
Richard Curtis, eventual architect of 'Four Weddings', 'Notting Hill', 'Love Actually' and bits of 'Bridget Jones', kicked off his filmwriting career with this 1989 debut.

It shows its youthfulness. Just as 'Four Weddings' had at its core a string of sketches based on weddings Curtis had attended (but very skillfully linked by a romantic story), so 'The Tall Guy' appears to have started with the idea of a pastiche musical based on the Elephant Man, around which Curtis wraps a romance between a supporting actor and a nurse.

Curtis's great buddy from Oxford, Rowan Atkinson, is brought in to play a control-freak comedian -- no type-casting there, then -- but there are a few ex-Cambridge people too: Emma Thompson, Mel Smith etc. Jeff Goldblum is good as the lead, but there's no evidence that the script was specially written for him in particular or an American in general.

This film is perhaps now best known for the slapstick sex scene between Thompson and Goldblum, which manages to be (slightly) erotic while also revealing a basic truth about the domestic tidiness of all nurses I have known.

Many of the standard Curtis plot elements appear in a formative stage for this film: the early sexual encounter, followed by the break-up, followed by a finale in which the protagonists make a grand declaration of true love in front of a large crowd, the pop video sequence etc etc.

I suspect this is now a budget-priced DVD because Curtis is slightly embarrassed by it. But it's 88 enjoyable minutes of good, largely clean fun. As ever, Emma Thompson is the most convincing actor on the screen. Fifteen years on, she talks frankly about her varicose veins and growing old. It's probably handy to have a film which she can now show her children and say "This is what I used to look like before anything drooped."

Soon after making this, Curtis co-wrote the brilliant 'Blackadder Goes Forth' series for Rowan and friends, which was one of the comic masterpieces of the 1980s. Clearly outstanding at TV scriptwriting, Curtis may have felt after 'The Tall Guy' that he hadn't proved himself on the movie screen. But the movies were where the real money was (for writers), and five years later, Curtis perfected the formula with 'Four Weddings'.

The Tall Let Down
I've been experiencing Jeff Goldblum fever for some reason so I've been grabbing at all of his movies. The Tall Guy is the number one reason you shouldn't buy a movie from just reading a few reviews and seeing a few scenes. It's terribly misleading.

I tried to give the film a chance but it wasn't easy. I am someone who enjoys intelligent humor and I love brit comedies as much as American comedies. Humor is humor but the humor was not in this film for me. Rowen ( better known as Mr. Bean ) was impressive and Jeff Goldblum gave Dexter King all he could but it was still as the Brits say...a bloody bore.

The plot was limited. Okay what's so great about a tall out of work actor when there's no useful information spilt about the character? I found it tedious the FIFTH time Jeff Goldblum rode down the narrow London streets on his bike. Point is...the film was going nowhere and that's exactly where it went. The actors did well except for Emma Thompson who was way too old to act so naive. Her character gets upset when Dexter cheats, yet the first thing she wanted to do was sleep with HIM a couple of days after they met. Isnt't that the pot calling the kettle black?

There were a lot of loopholes and snail scenes that dragged on and on for no reason. Usually Jeff Goldblum's lamely charming, but he made me more tired of Dexter than any of the other characters.

This film had no substance and even less of an effect. Don't waste your time on this one. No matter how much Jeff fever you may have.

Good solid british comedy
I admit that I purchased this movie as a Rowan Atkinson fan. While his parts are small 20 minutes, and at times mirror his work on Mr. Bean, he is clearly the standout performer in this video. He plays an excellent jerk!
Emma Thompson, playing a straight-forward nurse, is charming, and give a similarly lively performance. There are a couple or fairly racy lovemaking scenes with Emma and Goldblum, so it's not a movie for children, but it is pretty tame fare other than that.
The movie itself centers on the transformation of Jeff Goldblum, and has some inventive writing when dealing with the struggles of becoming an unsuccessful actor, but pretty standard predictable fare when dealing with romance.
The movie, with an 80's soundtrack and look, is a great dose of nostalgia, a gentle dose of comedy, and I highly recommend it as a "guilty pleasure" or "Brain-candy". While you won't see alot of Mr. Atkinson, you will get a decent entertainment value.

Standing tall!
When I first saw this movie about 10 years ago, the primary reason was because Emma Thompson starred in it. 10 years later I have watched it again and have found there is an additional reason to view it: it's genuinely FUN!

The plot is not overly creative or original, but the film is set in London and is full of laughs. It's a Romantic Comedy - British style! This is one of Jeff Goldblum's earlier movies, before he was a really big name.

And if you're looking for women who are beautiful, intelligent AND talented in the acting department, look no further than Emma Thompson! To my knowledge, this film contains her the lone nude scene of her career [although I could be wrong on this one]. That in itself is enough reason to buy this DVD!

As Goldblum plays a struggling actor, people in the theatre community will likely get some extra chuckles from this film. However, it's a film that's also recommended for everyone else who enjoys a good RC and it's very couples-friendly. Oh, and did I mention it stars Emma Thompson??? ... Read more

Reviews (11)

A pretty good Christmas collection
Are You Being Served? is the story of the staff of the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Wear departments in Grace Brother's department store. While customer's come and go, the staff fights each other and their incompetent superiors with laughs all around. The stories are hilarious and are generally clean, though a running gag involves one lady's constant frettings about her pussy (cat).

Sadly, the first episode included on this tape includes one where a mechanical Father Christmas says, "Ho ho ho, little boy, have I got a surprise for you." And then opens its rope, revealing that it has nothing on underneath. My eight and ten-year-olds both understood what was happening, and were quite grossed out by it. So, this tape will require a little more viewer discretion than others.

That said, though, this tape is wonderful, and I am glad that I bought it!

This tape includes the following three half-hour episodes:

Father Christmas Affair - Series IV, End of season, 1976 - It's Christmas, and Grace Brothers needs a Father Christmas. First of all, there is the possibility of a mechanical Father Christmas. On the other hand, perhaps one of the staff would like to take on the role...for a small bonus, of course, but whom?

Christmas Crackers - Series III, End of Season, 1975 - Mr. Grace has come up with another daft idea to boost sales--dress the staff up in cheery costumes. But first, there's the traditional Christmas meal...with costs kept to an absolute minimum.

Top Hat and Tails - Series IV, episode 2, 1976 - Mr. Grace wants his store to win the Golden Shoes dance competition, and it's up to the staff to win it for him. Consequently, it's up to Mr. Humphries to help them polish up their dancing skills. (This episode includes some wonderful dancing by Mr. Humphries and Captain Peacock...they make a wonderful dance-team!)

This tape will ride up with wear!
This Holiday Collection tape contains the episodes 'Father Christmas Affair', 'Christmas Crackers', and 'Top Hat and Tails'. Each episode involes a dance number, which can be somewhat repetitive, but is still very entertaining. END

Ho ho ho, Little Boy....
You'll love this video, with 3 terrific episodes that are very hard to find on TV. "The Father Christmas Affair" shows the staff of Grace Brothers competing for money posing as "Father Christmas" (aka Santa Claus), while Mr. Humphries and Mr. Lucas show Mr. Grainger a new act for his old folks' home.

"Christmas Crackers" is the funniest one of the three, in my opinion; while Mr. Grainger is having difficulty being "roused" by his wife, the staff discuss how to raise Christmas sales, Mr. Rumbold's suggestion to wear fancy dress doesn't go over too well, and Mr. Mash makes his pudding go up in smoke while Grainger does a Rumbold impression.

"Top Hat and Tails" isn't technically a Christmas episode, but it is such a rare show that it can easily be forgotten. Capt. Peacock suggests the staff join the "Golden Shoes Competition", but Mr. Humphries finds they aren't quick learners after all. Some of the events that follow are hilarious; a suit problem for Peacock, a rather high dress for Mrs. Slocombe, and being outdanced by two "automated display units".

Highly Recommended!

Laughs Galore!!
This is a very funny video. It is non-stop laughter. If you like British Comedy this video is the one to buy!

Are You Being Served?
This hillarious blend of Father Christmas Affair, Cristmas Crackers, and Top Hat and Tails will surely tickle your funny bone.

In Father Christmas Affair, the staff are troubled with the problem of finding a Father Christmas for the store untill there is a fifty pound bonus.

In Cristmas Crackers, the staff get into the Cristmas season by having their usual(ly bad) Christmas dinner(except Mr.Lucas) and get into their holliday costumes to fit their winter wonderland department.

In Top Hat and Tails, The staff prepare to enter "The Golden Shoes Competition" how ever akwardly it seems. They also welcome their new akward robots who in time dance better than the staff. ... Read more

Description

The love life of Mrs. Slocombe is on display in these three amorous tales; the objects of her affection?Young Mr. Grace, a Greek bouzouki player who may already be married, and Mr. Humphries. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

More humor from the staff
Are You Being Served? is the story of the staff of the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Wear departments in Grace Brother's department store. While customer's come and go, the staff fights each other and their incompetent superiors with laughs all around. The stories are hilarious and are generally clean, though a running gag involves one lady's constant frettings about her pussy (cat). So, this tape can be watched with younger ones, but some discretion should be exercised.

Tape 4 includes the following three half-hour episodes:

Wedding Bells - Series III, episode 5, 1975 - When Mr. Grace announces that he is to marry, and that he'd like to speak privately to Mrs. Slocombe, the staff decides that it's time to be real nice to her.

Do You Take This Man? - Series VI, episode 3, 1978 - Mrs. Slocombe announces that she is to be wed. Sadly, there are a few things standing in the way: the cost of the ceremony, the groom's wife...

The Erotic Dreams of Mrs. Slocombe - Series VIII, episode 7, 1981 - Mrs. Slocombe's dreams have showed her the only man for her...Mr. Humphries!

A particular type of comedy
Fans of 60s/70s British comedy of the risque, non-politically correct, "nudge nudge wink wink" variety will enjoy this and all other episodes of this series. As such, it is an excellent example of the genre, but if you don't like the genre, it is probably not a good place to start.

its the best !
Are you being served is one of the best comedies i've ever seen on either side of the ocean....john inman is the greatest....you should get this tape...and others too.........you'll love it ! ... Read more

Description

Three favorite episodes are featured: Mrs. Slocombe's birthday, Captain Peacock's shady doings with Mr. Rumbold's secretary, and a promotion for Mr. Grainger. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The spotlight's on individual characters
Once again we have a set of three episodes from this delightful British comedy, and this time the common ground is that, while the series is as always ensemble comedy, each episode focuses on one member of the Grace Brothers staff.

In the first episode, it is Mrs. Slocombe's birthday and while she makes sure everyone knows it, she doesn't bargain on their figuring out how old she is.

In the second one, Captain Peacock, the very epitome of propriety even if he quite notices any exposed cleavage, is suspected of carrying on with Mr. Rumbold's secretary. By the time Mrs. Peacock appears, and the good Captain is put on trial by his fellow employees, you'll be laughing, you won't be able to help it. That is, assuming you do have a sense of humor.

And then, in the third episode, mild mannered Mr. Grainger is put in charge and becomes a tyrant. Of course, he does get his come-uppance and all ends well and hilariously.

I'll warn you now, this series can be addictive.

More excellent British comedy
Are You Being Served? is the story of the staff of the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Wear departments in Grace Brother's department store. While customer's come and go, the staff fights each other and their incompetent superiors with laughs all around. The stories are hilarious and are generally clean, though a running gag involves one lady's constant frettings about her pussy (cat). So, this tape can be watched with younger ones, but some discretion should be exercised.

Tape 5 includes the following three half-hour episodes:

Fifty Years On - Series IV, episode 5, 1976 - It's Mrs. Slocombe's birthday, and the staff decide to give her great party. Now how old is she?

Oh What a Tangled Web - Series IV, episode 6, 1976 - When Captain Peacock and Mr. Rumbold's secretary show up late, the staff begins to talk. When Mrs. Peacock comes in, the action heats up!

Forward Mr. Grainger - Series IV, episode 3, 1976 - When Mr. Rumbold goes to a sales conference, Mr. Grainger is put in charge of the department. Suddenly, the mild-mannered senior salesman becomes an iron-fisted dictator.

Big Laughs Going on Sale!
Come into the store and get to know all the members of the "ladies and gents" departments by name. Mrs. Slocombe is having a birthday and wants to make sure everyone knows, but not to guess her age. Must see birthday bash! Management has it's problems too as Captain Peacock and Mr. Rumbold's secretary have everyone talking and the staff convenes a trial to find the answers!You will in enjoy the transfermation of mild-mannered Mr. Gainger when he is given temporary charge of the department.I have enjoyed watching the "Are You Being Served?" series on T.V. over the years and would not miss out on one of the videos in this series. ... Read more

Description

Young Mr. Grace in two birthday episodes plus what happens when Mr. Grace tries a more casual American approach to customers. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The laughs continue...
Are You Being Served? is the story of the staff of the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Wear departments in Grace Brother's department store. While customer's come and go, the staff fights each other and their incompetent superiors with laughs all around. The stories are hilarious and are generally clean, though a running gag involves one lady's constant frettings about her pussy (cat). So, this tape can be watched with younger ones, but some discretion should be exercised.

Tape 6 includes the following three half-hour episodes:

Happy Returns - Series VI, episode 6, 1978 - It's Mr. Grace's 81st birthday, and the staff decides to put on a ballet to celebrate. (This episode includes a great song and dance number.)

Founder's Day - Series V, episode 3, 1977 - To celebrate Mr. Grace's 80th birthday, the staff decides to create their own episode of "This Is Your Life," complete with hilarious "forged" pictures.

The Old Order Changes - Series V, episode 4, 1977 - Mr. Grace returns from the United States with new ideas. Not surprisingly, the staff's execution of those ideas produces a hilarious fiasco. (This episode includes Captain Peacock in a robe and wig, saying, "peace"!)

I love this show!
Are you being served? is one of the great British sitcoms ever! In this tape, Mr. Grace celebrates his birthday with an awful lunch and then the store sets up the Ballet of the Toys. It's hilarious, John Inman at his very best!

They do keep up appearances with the very best
As with all of the series that are available......humor at its best. I have the entire collection that is now on video.and wish for more. I am addicted I fear....and wonder when they will ask me, are you being served? ... Read more

Reviews (4)

"Are You Free?"
This now classic Brit-Com has cranked out nearly 70 episodes, each one filled with hilarious situations and a good measure of inuendoes. The "story" is set at a traditional London department store. The cast of regulars includes 5 dedicated sales people (2 in the "ladies'" and 3 in the "gents'"), a "floor walker", a daffy executive and an owner who looks like he could drop dead (from old age) any minute.

The stand-outs are Mr. Humphreys, a junior sales associate with twitchy walk and many stories about his live-in mother, his short stint in the Royal Navy, and encounters with questionable strangers; and Mrs. Slocum, an outspoken senior sales lady with ever-changing cotton-candy hair, who is always good for new tales about her "pussy" (that's her cat).

This Video includes 3 of the very best episodes, including the one where everyone has to work without heat despite freezing temperatures. Even though the staff is prohibited from using any kind of "devices" to keep warm, the audience is assured that everyone will give it a shot anyway. Another great episode features a young Joanna Lumly (Patsy on "Absolutely Fabulous") guest starring as a perfume sales rep. Rounding out the features is the episode where a secret audio/video "spy system" is installed to cut down on shoplifting, but instead the staff seems to perform as though knowingly appearing on "Candid Camera".

There are many excellent British Sit-Coms for the world to enjoy; "Are You Being Served" easily makes the very top of the list!

Volume 2 Is As Funny As Volume 1
"Are You Being Served?" is a great British sitcom that found a new life on PBS here in the U.S. It isn't as easy to find as it used to be, though. Fortunately, some of the shows are now available on video. As with many of our own classic sitcoms, this one brings together a wonderful ensemble of quirky characters. The venue is Grace Bros. Department Store and the characters comprise the staffs of the mens and womens counters and their supervisors.

As with any series, each viewer will choose his/her own favorite episodes. IMO, the episodes on Volume 1 in this series were all excellent and that video is a great one to start with if you're new to the shenanigans that go on at Grace Bros. This collection, Volume 2, is definitely a worthy follow-up. These three episodes are as funny as those on the first tape and give the new viewer a solid grounding in the zany group dynamic that runs through the entire series.

As near as I can determine, the producers of "Are You Being Served?" have released just seven tapes of three episodes each. Why they haven't simply released all of the episodes in order as they were originally shown is beyond me, but so far these 21 are all you can get (along with an eighth video made up of clips loosely strung together). We can only hope that all of the episodes will be made available in the future.

This is really funny stuff, and I highly recommend this video and its predecessor to anybody looking for a good laugh. I love this series and know several other folks who feel the same. Pay a visit to Grace Brothers, you'll enjoy the experience.

More great Britcom!
Are You Being Served? is the story of the staff of the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Wear departments in Grace Brother's department store. While customer's come and go, the staff fights each other and their incompetent superiors with laughs all around. The stories are hilarious and are generally clean, though a running gag involves one lady's constant frettings about her pussycat. So, this tape can be watched with younger ones, but some discretion should be exercised.

Tape 2 includes the following three half-hour episodes:

Big Brother - Series II, episode 4, 1974 - To stop shoplifting, Grace Bros. installs security cameras. When the cameras begin to show the staff's foibles, they decide that it is time to correct the situation.

His and Hers - Series I, episode 5, 1973 - When Grace Bros. brings in a scent salesperson, complete with complementary ties and stockings, the staff decide that she must go.

Cold Comfort - Series II, episode 2, 1974 - To conserve fuel, in the dead of winter, Grace Bros. turns off the heat. Now, it's up to the staff to invent ways to stay warm.

Comedy Cult Classic
I highly recommend watching the entire series on PBS and buying several videos since they get better with repeat viewings. There is something infectious about this camp show and its colorful characters. END ... Read more

Description

Mr. Humphries mother visits California and convinces her beloved son to compose his memoirs to be turned into a Hollywood movie. As he reminisces, we're treated to the absolutely funniest moments from this incredibly popular show. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Watch The Episodes
This is a nice collection of highlights for the fan who is familiar enough with the episodes to remember the context from which said highlights are taken. As others have noted, however, the humor really works better in context and it's much more fun to watch a couple of the episodes in their entirety that it is to watch these isolated snippets. Furthermore, I find John Inman in drag as Mr. Humphreys' mother to be funny in measured doses, but that act suffers from overexposure here.

In short, this is mediocre at best. To really experience AYBS to the fullest, sit down with a couple of full episodes and prepare for some laughs.

Short clips don't work with this type of humor
This is a tape of short clips from the show, ostensibly a "best of" collection. Anyone who has actually watched "Are You Being Served?," or many other British shows for that matter, knows that trying to put together a tape filled with short clips of "best moments" is pure folly.

It's not because there weren't plenty of good moments in the show. There were. But see, here's the thing: Most British humor just doesn't work that way. Whereas American sitcoms are almost all based on "punch lines" and the humor is much more broad and easily excised into short snippets, British shows tend to be more truly situation-based. The humor comes from a series of situational set-ups that happen in the course of the episode. The situations frequently build on one another (sometimes to absurd proportions, but that's the point). So then, with that background, even something simple like a facial expression, or an otherwise benign comment (as opposed to an obvious "punch line" as in American sitcoms), becomes hilarious. It is funny because you know the situation in which it occurs.

All of the best comedy, in my opinion, works like that. It even extends to real-life situations. Think of some of the funniest experiences in your life. I think you'll find that a lot of them were "you had to be there" instances. Trying to relate it to another person, after the fact, doesn't have the same effect because that person wasn't given the whole background, or doesn't know all the personalities of the people involved, or there were visual cues that only made sense within the moment.

I'm an American but I love the way British humor works in this way. But in order to appreciate it, you have to watch the ENTIRE episode. Tapes of short clips just don't cut it for this type of show. Chances are, without knowing anything about the original episodes from which these clips came, a casual viewer will watch this tape and wonder, "What's the big deal? That wasn't very funny."

Hey...this show was FUNNY. Absurd at times, yes, but funny. But it's only funny if you watch the whole episode.

Great moments, but...
... I prefer seeing the entire episodes that the scenes came from, rather than have them excised and made into a 'best of' compilation. Although I do enjoy the narrative presentation by John Inman's Mrs. Humphries (mother of Mr. Humphries, also performed by Inman), it just lacks a certain style when I see just one small part of the whole.

I'd recommend you give this a look if you're a "newbie" to the show. It usually pops up on the local PBS channel during pledge drives. Otherwise, go for the entire-episode videos.

'Late...

I miss the set-ups
This video is composed of snippets of various (considered) funniest parts of the television series of the same name. Holding them together are a series of phone conversations between Mr. Humphries and his "mum" -- she's vacationing in Hollywood and insisting he write a book & screenplay about his Grace Bros. reminiscences, which she thinks she can sell. I didn't enjoy this video as much as the series episodes I've seen, nor as much as "Are You Being Served -- The Movie." I think it's because I really missed the edited-out parts -- the maybe not-as-funny set-ups which illustrate the characters' little foibles, or the not fall-down hilarious but nonetheless fun banter between them, the little cliches, like "I'm free!" and "Ah well, a change is as good as a rest." Also, the newly-taped Mr. Humphries and his mother parts are cute, but not really something you'd want to watch more than once. Thirdly, there was only one joke about Mrs. Slocumb's -- uh, cat -- though it is a doozy.

Excellent Video!!
This is the collection for you if you want to get a glimpse of what each character is like. ... Read more