 "2nd half of amazing British comedy series" | 2009-10-15 |
| - Reviewed By coysrwf |
Are you Being Served?" is arguably the best known Brit com in the United States. For more than 10 years it followed the misadventures and schemes of the employees of a British Department store with everything from fire drills to foul weather, transit strikes to dissatisfied customers to out maneuvering the plans of management. The main characters became like well loved friends whose behavior you could rely on.
This set covers the later early years of the show when it had suffered a bit as some of, but not all the original cast members had moved on or passed away. The balance of the staff changed and more of the show devolved on to the self important Mrs. Slocum the effete Mr. Humphries Between them is class conscious Captain Peacock. Presiding over all is Mr. Rumbold, who thinks he's a managerial genius but in fact he couldn't manage a chimps tea party. While these characters are charming and lovable as ever without the quality supporting staff of earlier seasons it is worn a bit.
Such misadventures here include trying to survive management plans for making commercials on the cheap, cutting the quality of the cafeteria food, putting a club or restaurant in the store to make money after hours, living in the store to avoid transit costs, getting in shape for a company insurance plan, arguing repeatedly with the cafeteria staff and being quarantined after exposure to a nasty bug. Along the way is a constant stream of customers who seem to almost get in the staff's way.
The packaging for this is very odd. It says volume/season 6-10 but the box is large enough to hold 7 discs and mine came with seasons 8-13 with a worse than useless season 14 `best of' disc. If you look at the picture here on Amazon is says 'season 6-10' but shows different seasons on the spines of the discs included. I suspect this is a re-packaging. AYBS had 12 seasons so an original break around season 6 for marketing would make sense but the show jumped the shark after the 8th season, when too many original characters had left or the actors actually passed away,
This combined with the box set sold as seasons 1-5 and having through season 6 too provides the full series. Weirdly there is no season 7. If you buy what they package as seasons 1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10,11,12 & 13 you will get all the episodes of the original show. What is listed as season 8 here was actually the 7th season and so on. Why it's set up like this I have no idea.
AYBS is one of the great gems of British humor, loaded with lovable characters and a mix of slap stick, puns and double entendre. If you like British comedy and you haven't encountered this yet, go for it, you will not be disappointed. If the episodes seem a little long, don't worry, they'll ride up with wear.
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 "A must have..." | 2009-09-11 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3AVLC39XVHDIJ |
| This is a must have for anyone who is a fan of British comedies. While it is over 30 years old now it has not lost anything with the years. The dry humor and the double-entendres are enough to keep you laughing the whole time you watch it. John Inman at his best. I would highly recommend. |
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| "Still worth it" | 2007-12-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2DKP223QANS6N |
| Much has been made of the cast changes in the final seasons of AYBS?, and I can agree that the departure of Trevor Bannister as Mr. Lucas did take some of the steam out of the show. Likewise, the death of Arthur Brough (Mr. Grainger) after Season Five changed the tenor of the show a bit. But his replacement, James Hayter (Mr. Tebbs) was a brilliant, if short-lived, piece of casting. Likewise Alfie Bass as Mr. Goldberg. After that the senior assistant role proved lacking or non-existent, and Mike Berry as Mr. Spooner was no substitute for Bannister, but despite those changes, the final seasons of AYBS? are generally well written, worth watching and decidedly worth buying. Sure, there are a few clunkers, like "The Hold-Up," but even the weaker shows of this series stand head and shoulders above the rest of the fare to be found on TV at that time or now. The writing is crisp, the acting superb and the characters wonderfully enjoyable. Yes, buy the first collection first, but this second collection is eminently worth having and enjoying. |
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| "A Truly Obstreperous Show, And I Am Unanimous In This!" | 2007-08-30 |
| - Reviewed By 1011 |
I gave the first "Are You Being Served?" box set five stars, and many parts of this set deserve five as well, but overall it was not quite up to the standards of the early show. The set is still delightful, but many of the original cast members left (Mr. Grainger, Young Mr. Grace, and Mr. Lucas, most notably) and were replaced by actors who didn't seem to gel with the rest of the cast as effectively as the originals; this is especially true in the cases of Mr. Spooner, the replacement for Mr. Lucas, and in the substitution of Old Mr. Grace for Young Mr. Grace. The show was very well established by the time these episodes were made, and a somewhat formulaic feel crept in to some of the scripts.
Having dealt with the deficits, there are many things to love about this set as well. The core characters are still quite strong, and the emphasis on Mr. Humphries, Captain Peacock, Mrs. Slocombe, and Miss Brahms is quite pronounced later in the set. Mrs. Slocombe is my perennial favorite, and her hair blooms into all new and hilarious shades, while Captain Peacock invents new ways of being pompous with each new episode. Mr. Humphries is always a great comedic character, and I was truly saddened when John Inman passed away recently.
The set has several extras, including "The Best of Are You Being Served?" hosted amusingly by John Inman. There are other features on Mollie Sugden, and an episode of the spin-off series, "Are You Being Served? Again!"
Don't let my four star rating in any way dissuade you from buying this set: while it does have certain flaws, it is still an absolute delight, and I am unanimous in this! |
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| "Still an avid fan!!!" | 2007-05-13 |
| - Reviewed By User: A5EORTCBLO05J |
| Perhaps the definitive U.K. sitcom from the 1970s & '80s, Are You Being Served is still one of the funniest shows ever made. Any collection of episodes of this great series is worth having. But the best way to buy it is in a large set like this, so you also get a great price. I was enthralled from start to finish watching this set, which comes with bonuses including the 1st episode of Grace & Favour (aka Are You Being Served Again) and an excellent 90 minute celebration of Mollie Sugden's eightieth birthday, featuring all surviving cast members, including Trevor Bannister - Mr Lucas. But ultimately you want this set for the 35 episodes of Are You Being Served; and they are still hilarious. Unlike some shows from this era, this great show has not dated at all. Take my advice, if you don't already have it, buy this set (and Collection 1) now!!! |
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| "Good even with the updates in the cast ..." | 2007-01-15 |
| - Reviewed By User: A14BZTVDPG8UL7 |
| Although this later set includes updates to the cast which weren't always up to snuff as the originals, I still enjoy these shows and I think you will too. So, "are you free" for some great entertainment? |
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