DonaldEngine9
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Posts: 24
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Post by DonaldEngine9 on Aug 31, 2009 4:01:01 GMT
Since this program seems to have no spotlight on a site such as this, I think this thread could do the program, Are You Being Served?, some new discussion. Please discuss as you please.
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Post by Matthew24691 on Aug 31, 2009 16:34:25 GMT
wow i wonder how popular the series is on the US side of the Atlantic, i thought we had a thread already on this topic. this is propbably one of the BEST sitcom's from britain some of the others being - only fools and horses
- dad's army
- the vicar of dibley
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Post by tmrreturns on Jan 14, 2011 3:38:58 GMT
Are You Being Served? is one of the best British comedy shows we love here in Australia along with Fawlty Towers, they were just really good. With the haughty but proud war veteran Captain Peacock, the not quite posh Mrs. Slocombe, the dead common Miss Brahms, the old geezer and also proud war veteran Mr. Granger, the cheeky 'Jack the lad' junior Mr. Lucas and the ever popular, talented and the most loveable character of all the show, Mr. Humphries with their boss of the floor, Mr. Rumbold better known as 'Jug ears', Mr. Mash and Harman, the maintenance staff and there boss, Young Mr. Grace (although not literally young). Most of these characters are just relatable to Thomas characters. For those people who may not be familiar with show, ' Are You Being Served?' is a comedy show by Jeremy Lloyd (Two and Two Makes Six, Death Drums Along the River, Three Hats for Lisa, Smashing Times and Games That Lovers Play) and David Croft (You Rang M'lord, Dad's Army, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Hi-de-Hi and 'Allo 'Allo) set in a fictional shop called, Graces Bros. that ran from 1972 - 1985 with the characters as from above, however, the actor, Arthur Brough have sadly passed away in 1978 six weeks after his wife died and so he was replaced by actor, James Hayter as Mr. Tibbs (one of my personal favourite replacements for Mr. Granger) and so did happen again in 1979 when actor, Alfie Bass replaced him (one of my other personal favourite replacements.) Another replacement was for the 1981 series with Mr. Grossman and even a replacement to Mr. Lucas as he was replaced with Mr. Spooner. Season 10 was the final season of the series for the BBC ending with Mr. Spooner have a recording contract after having a remarkable singing voice. Most of the gang returned in 1992 with a spin-off series, ' Grace and Favour' written by the duo again and lasted for two season in 1992 and ending in 1993. Sadly most of the cast have passed away including Mollie Sugden, Wendy Richards and even John Inman. The only ones who survive now are, Frank Thornton, Nicholas Smith and Trevor Bannister. Are You Being Served? even inspired for some shows that were sadly, ill-fated such as: - An Australian version with the same name made by the original writers - Beane's & Boston (an American based version that lasted for one season) made by the same writing duo. There was even a movie released in 1977 when the gang were going on holiday to Costa Plonka in Spain, where things started to go wrong. If you want to know, you better see the film yourself. The film is based on the successful stage version and have referenced some lines from past episodes, such as the scene about Germany (referencing about WWII as of that time). My most favourite episode is called, ' A Change Is as Good as a Rest' where they moved to the toy department for the week and Mr. Granger played with a Hornby train set with a GWR pannier tank engine and an 0-4-0 blue tank engine, nearly a reference to Thomas. There was even a Flying Scotsman on the layout as well. Well that's all for me now. TMRReturns
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Madness
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Post by Madness on Feb 11, 2011 0:53:22 GMT
I love this show so much. This show is a legend. I have all 10 series on DVD. John Inman's Mr Humphries is truly the best, his phrase 'I'm Free' is funny and comic. His walk was funny to watch, I often wondered why his walk was funny. But it was later on in the show when I realised that he was gay. I often thought he was straight with the stories he told. I wish he was still here. Mr Lucas I thought was a great character, but I think he should have stayed in the show. Mr Spooner was great, but he wasn't as good as Mr Lucas. The stories he told on why he was always late are so believeable, as Mr Humphries once said 'it makes Doctor Who's adventures sound normal' ;D. Captain Peacock is a funny man, he's like Top Hat from 'TUGS' in a way. he thinks he knows best and thinks things should be running smoothly. I liked how he kept telling off Mr Lucas and Mrs Slocombe. He did that very well and his attitude towards Mr Harman was something that could not be altered. But even Mr Harman got the better of him. Mr Grainger was a clever character. I wish he could have stayed in a bit longer. He always got stories wrong and him going to sleep was priceless. Mr Humphries waking him up with the line 'Mr Grainger, are you free?' always makes me laugh, like how it was presented in the episode 'Top Hat & Tails'. Wendy Richard who played Miss Brahams was perfect. She was a legend, just like John Inman. I loved her character and her acting dead common made her funny and her conflicts with Mr Lucas and Mr Spooner were hilarious. I always loved her and I don't think they could have found anyone better to play her. I miss her a lot. Mrs Slocombe was a truly funny character. She always acts like the more sensible woman, but even she can be a bit cheeky sometimes. Her line 'My pussy' was always so funny. I often got confused when she kept saying it first, but when I got to understand it more, it made me laugh at it more. Her hairdos are so clever. Red hair in one episode, blue in another, yellow, green, purple, pink, the list goes on . Nicholas Smith, I liked him. His character was brilliant. He often kept getting things wrong and he kept getting the story wrong whenever Captain Peacock tells him what's happened. His glasses fitted him well and I loved the joke 'Jugs Ears'. That was cleverly made by Jimmy and David, the producers of the show. I read sometime last year that Frank Thornton and Nicholas Smith were going to do an 'Are You Being Served?' thing on stage. I read on teletext news on the tv and some links on the internet. But I cannot find the links. Has anyone else read this?
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Post by Ian on Apr 24, 2011 11:06:38 GMT
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/8454726/Trevor-Bannister.htmlThis sad piece of news seemed to pass without so much as a murmur this week (due one suspects to the large number of big stories currently dominating the press, from voting scandals to foreign conflicts and of course the Royal Wedding), but it feels only right to make note of Trevor Bannister's passing, and his impact on the entertainment world. AYBS? made household names of its stars, least of all John Inman who went from being a secondary character to the top of the bill. But it should be noted that the show was originally seen as a vehicle for two stars- Mollie Sugden and Trevor Bannister. Both were by far the most well known of the cast when the series began, with Trevor Bannister already destined for great things. The cheeky, womanising Mr Lucas, a character who was more than able to prick the pomposity of his superiors and point out the failings of his surroundings, was played to perfection. Indeed, it is widely noted by fans of the show that after Bannister's departure following the seventh series, the show never reached the same heights of greatness; neither, it has to be said, did the follow up show 'Grace and Favour' (or, as it is known in America, 'Are You Being Served? Again!') His career, spanning over 50 years covering film, TV, radio and theatre, culminated in his stint in the final years of another much loved sitcom, Last of the Summer Wine. Although appearing intermittently from 2001 he became a regular for the final two series in 2008 and 2009, proving he still had a flare for the small screen, coupled with great talent and wonderful comedy timing.
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Post by Jim on Apr 24, 2011 22:47:14 GMT
It's said that he suffered a massive heart attack while working on his allotment. I'm not familiar with the term - is it the North American equivalent of a Community Garden? R.I.P. Mr. Lucas
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Post by Ian on Apr 25, 2011 9:43:16 GMT
It's a similar sort of thing chap, just done a little differently. I don't like to quote from Wikipedia, but they seem to have hit the nail on the head this time!
"An allotment garden, often called simply an allotment, is a plot of land made available for individual, non-professional gardening. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individuals or families. In allotment gardens, the parcels are cultivated individually, contrary to other community garden types where the entire area is tended collectively by a group of people."
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Madness
Main Line Engine
Posts: 1,992
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Post by Madness on Mar 19, 2013 0:17:39 GMT
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Post by Rusty Red Scrap Iron on Mar 19, 2013 9:46:22 GMT
It's sad to hear of another great in Comedy has passed on. Frank Thornton will be missed, but he will also be remembered to others as Truly Truelove in Last of the Summer Wine.
Yes as Madness pointed out, only Nicholas Smith (Mr. Rumbold) of the original cast of Are You Being Served is still with us. But I bet that the Staff of Grace Brothers are all up there now recreating those classic moments of Are You Being Served as we speak - still entertaining those that have also passed on.
R.I.P Captain Peacock
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Post by Jim522 on Mar 25, 2013 4:12:55 GMT
Whoa whoa, from this, I've only now just found out Trevor Bannister is no longer around either. I can't believe I missed that!
As for Thornton, he certainly lived to a ripe old age. Must have looked after himself then.
Here's to the both of them.
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Post by smurphy365 on Jul 1, 2013 13:50:03 GMT
I'm over hear in America and every Saturday at 7 o'clock I watch what I call "The British Hour" Where I watch "Last of the Summer Wine", "Keeping Up Appearances", and "Are You Being Served?". By 9 o'Clock I'm so tired that I go to bed.
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Post by smurphy365 on Jul 8, 2013 23:56:39 GMT
I watch this on KET, and I went to Watch it this week, and "Are You Being Served" Has been replaced by a modern show called "The Café". It's isn't very good. Does anyone else know what station to watch it on?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2015 21:09:57 GMT
I absolutely love Are You Being Served! Even though it's rather ridiculous, the characters are pretty hilarious, like Captain Peacock, Mrs. Slocombe, Mr. Humphries, and Mr. Harman. There are quite a few moments that would suggest Mr. Humphries' homosexuality and it's pretty side-splitting when Mrs. Slocombe says "Weak as water!" or when she tells Captain Peacock to get stuffed. Did I mention Mr. Rumbold is kind of a moron? Anyway, it's ironic that the only surviving original cast member of Are You being Served is the guy who played Mr. Rumbold, Nicolas Smith.
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Madness
Main Line Engine
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Post by Madness on Dec 7, 2015 16:06:57 GMT
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Madness
Main Line Engine
Posts: 1,992
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Post by Madness on Feb 16, 2016 18:27:43 GMT
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Post by Rusty Red Scrap Iron on Feb 17, 2016 11:42:01 GMT
Mmm... I know I enjoyed the 'We're Doomed' Special from David Croft's other renowned comedy, but like everything else I'll give this a chance. Talking of which, did anyone chance Mike Berry aka Spooner on this past Saturday's edition of the voice during the blind auditions?
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Post by Rusty Red Scrap Iron on Aug 29, 2016 11:32:47 GMT
Apologies if this is considered as "double-posting" as I was the last to post in this thread back in February of this year, but having seen the aired "revival" of this classic sitcom I wanted to give a brief review of it.
I recorded this one-off revival episode as I chose to watch Jenna Coleman in Victoria instead, and as much as I enjoy Are You Being Served I must admit that I'm glad I chose to watch Victoria.
Aside from some excellent casting, such as John Challis cast as Captain Peacock because you didn't think of him as Boycie because he gave the portrayal that he could have easily been in Downton Abbey (which I never watched) and I'm sure Frank Thornton would have given a brief smile and salute. I even quite liked Roy Barraclough's portrayal of the come-out of retirement Mr. Grainger - in fact, he's someone I could see portray Winston Churchill (unless I was thinking of Mr. Grainger doing endless impressions of Mr. Churchill). Apart from a few others, and the brief nod of naming Rumbold's secretary after David Croft. It was as you'd expect in today's world, "too PC" to put it lightly and I've found myself preferring Still Open All Hours (granted I know there's many that have strongly disliked that). I won't mention the portrayal of Mr. Humphries, but let's just say that John Inman's portrayal was never trying to be obvious on whether viewers thought he was truly one or the other.
I honestly can't see this becoming a series, especially when there's more negative reviews than the one I've given.
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Post by Ian on Aug 29, 2016 15:56:35 GMT
In many ways I'm inclined to agree with you- some good points but a couple of misfires. This was billed as a one off tribute but having seen it I'm more inclined to think it's a pilot.
As a one off tribute it seemed odd in some ways. Writing Mrs Slocombe out for half of the episode, while funny for the outcome, seemed an odd decision. The slight cliff hanger ending of the new Mr Grace threatening to remove the staff for new younger arrivals. Mr Conway also seemed ripe for further development. It all suggests prequel to a series to me- especially given they've spent money on the sets.
Casting was mostly good. Nikki Wardley was quite grating as Miss Brahms and as you say Mr Humphries was a little too pantomime for my tastes. Sherrie Hewson was an inspired choice though- the line about the lobster was delivered perfectly.
Overall I'd not write this off just yet. Many pilot episodes feel awkward- they have so much to achieve in 30 minutes and rarely flow well. A series would be a chance to iron out the issues. Time will tell.
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Post by Studio BRUNEL on Aug 19, 2019 6:49:19 GMT
Was in the theatrical production of it last year, playing Cesar. I’ve never seen the show myself, but I did give me one hell of a debut!
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Post by Rusty Red Scrap Iron on Jan 25, 2020 17:39:04 GMT
Was in the theatrical production of it last year, playing Cesar. I’ve never seen the show myself, but I did give me one hell of a debut! I highly recommend you give the show a watch because its got a lot of laughs, a stella cast and a David Croft produced classic sitcom. Anyway, I've been a fair bit of the show recently, and I don't know if its just me or whether others have the same feeling, but does anyone get that feeling that none of the original cast are with us anymore. Granted I know Mike Berry who portrayed Spooner is still around and I suspect the Nurse along with some of the Secretaries are also, because I don't get this feeling with Dad's Army or It Ain't Half Hot Mum because obviously the likes of Ian Lavender, Melvyn Hayes and Frank Williams (not F1's Sir Frank, but the Actor who portrayed the Vicar) to name a few are still with us. I don't know, maybe its just me. However, I certainly still get a good laugh as always from one of David Croft's classics that like Dad's Army also had a stella cast.
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