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Are You Being Served?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Are You Being Served? | |
|---|---|
 Title card of pilot. |
|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft |
| Starring | Mollie Sugden Frank Thornton John Inman Wendy Richard Nicholas Smith Trevor Bannister Harold Bennett Arthur Brough James Hayter Arthur English |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 10 |
| No. of episodes | 69 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC One |
| Original run | 8 September 1972 – 1 April 1985 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Are You Being Served? was a long-running British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the men's and women's department of a large fictional London store called Grace Brothers. It was mainly written by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John Chapman. The idea for the show came from Lloyd's brief stint working at Simpsons of Piccadilly in the early 1950s, a classy clothing store which traded for over 60 years until 1999.[1]
The episodes rarely left the store, and to parody the stereotype of the rigid British class system, characters rarely addressed each other by their given names, even after work. In 2004, it came 20th in Britain's Best Sitcom.
Contents |
- Frank Thornton - Captain Stephen Peacock
- Mollie Sugden - Mrs Betty Slocombe
- John Inman - Mr Wilberforce Clayborne Humphries
- Wendy Richard - Miss Shirley Brahms
- Nicholas Smith - Mr Cuthbert Rumbold
- Arthur Brough - Mr Ernest Grainger (pilot to series 5)
- Trevor Bannister - Mr Dick/James Lucas (pilot to 1979 Special)
- Harold Bennett - Young Mr Grace (pilot to 1981 Special)
- Larry Martyn - Mr Mash (pilot to 1975 Special)
- Stephanie Gathercole - Mr Rumbold's secretary (pilot to series 2)
- Nina Francis - Miss Ainsworth (series 2 and 3)
- Moira Foot - Miss Thorpe (series 3)
- Arthur English - Mr Beverley/Harry Harman (from series 4)
- Penny Irving - Miss Bakewell (series 4 to 1979 Special)
- James Hayter - Mr Percival Tebbs (series 6 and 1978 Special)
- Vivienne Johnson - Nurse (series 6 to 1981 Special)
- Alfie Bass - Mr Harry Goldberg (series 7 and 1979 Special)
- Mike Berry - Mr Bert Spooner (from series 8)
- Milo Sperber - Mr Grossman (series 8, episodes 1 to 4)
- Benny Lee - Mr Klein (series 8, episodes 5 to 7; 1981 Special)
- Kenneth Waller - Old Mr Grace (series 8 and 1981 Special)
- Debbie Linden - Secretary (series 8, episodes 1 to 4)
- Louise Burton - Secretary (series 8, episode 4 to 1981 Special)
- Candy Davis - Miss Belfridge (from series 9)
- Diana King - Mrs Peacock (series 4 and 9)
- Diana Lambert - Mrs Peacock (series 10)
- Doremy Vernon - Canteen Manageress (from 1975 Special)
Are You Being Served? featured mostly obvious humour based on sexual innuendo, misunderstandings, and mistaken identity, as well as sight gags generated by outrageous costumes the characters are sometimes required to wear for store promotions, and gaudy store displays frequently featuring malfunctioning robotic mannequins. The show is well remembered for its prolific use of double entendres. Many jokes also confronted the English class system - especially those built into the interaction between maintenance men Mr Mash or Mr Harman and the ostensibly higher class store personnel. Characters traded-on such stereotypes as the effeminate Mr Humphries, who lived with his mother; Captain Peacock, the haughty floorwalker who allegedly fought Rommel in the North Africa Campaign of World War II; and the snobbish and boisterous Mrs Slocombe of the ever-changing hair colour. The show spawned the catch phrase "Are you free?", usually said by Captain Peacock to the staff; more often than not, the staff are noticeably free, and each would look solemnly from side to side before saying, "Yes I'm free, Captain Peacock." As John Inman remarked, when Mr Humphries trilled "I'm free!" it became his own personal catchphrase.
During its run, the series attracted some mild criticism for its reliance on sexual stereotypes and sexual double entendres, including jokes about Mrs Slocombe's "pussy" (cat). John Inman's camp portrayal of Mr Humphries as an effeminate gay man was supposedly offensive to some gay men, but the character quickly developed a cult gay following. Inman pointed out that Mr Humphries' true sexual orientation was never explicitly stated in the series, and David Croft said in an interview that the character was not homosexual, but "just a mother's boy".[2] With a broad mixture of stereotypical gay characteristics and some apparent heterosexual attractions, viewers were left wondering about Mr Humphries' true sexual orientation. In an episode of the spin-off Grace & Favour, the character is further described as neither a "woman's man" nor a "man's man" and as being "in limbo".
Are You Being Served? was first broadcast on 8 September 1972 on the BBC, in the form of a pilot for the series Comedy Playhouse. It only aired when it did because of free airspace created by the Munich massacre during the 1972 Summer Olympics. The pilot was reshown at the beginning of the first series on 14 March 1973. That first series was aired in the same timeslot as Coronation Street on ITV, and consequently received relatively little attention. However, repeats shown later in the year were much more successful.[3] Although the pilot was produced in colour, only a black-and-white version of this episode remains.
The show went on to receive huge audiences, with later episodes attracting up to 22 million viewers.[4] After 10 series, 69 episodes and a 13-year run, Are You Being Served? came to an end on 1 April 1985.
In addition, the cast performed in character for a stage sketch on the BBC One programme Variety on 19 June 1976.
The theme song, written by the show's co-writer David Croft and composer Ronnie Hazlehurst, consists of a female lift operator (whose voice was provided by Stephanie Gathercole) announcing each floor over the sounds of a cash register (which basically serves as the only percussion instrument) and a simple musical accompaniment. The theme's distinctive bass guitar sound probably comes from a Rickenbacker 4001, a prevalent instrument in the early 1970s, popularized by such British bands as Yes.
A remix of the theme was released in 1998 by a dance act calling itself "Grace Brothers", and featured samples of John Inman and Frank Thornton.
There is a homage to the theme song in the Ladytron song "Paco!" from the album "604", and New Zealand band Minuit's "I hate guns". A version of the theme song is featured on the album The Ape Of Naples by the experimental music group Coil. The theme song has also been covered by Australian band Regurgitator on their 1999 album ...art. Pop singer Jamelia's song "Window Shopping" (from her 2006 album Walk with Me) begins with a sample of the familiar cash register sound effect as well as Mrs. Slocombe's voice inquiring, "Are you free?".
In 1977, an Are You Being Served? film was released using the same characters and cast. It was set in the fictional resort of Costa Plonka, in Spain.
The film was an adaptation of the very successful stage version of the show, which ran for two years in 1976 and 1977.
The series has become very popular in the United States on PBS stations and on BBC America, as well as in many Commonwealth nations around the world. A U.S. adaptation pilot episode called Beane's of Boston aired on 5 May 1979 on CBS, but it didn't make it to a full series. An Australian version, called Are You Being Served?, ran for sixteen episodes from 1980 to 1981 and starred John Inman as Mr Humphries.
In 1992, most of the original cast reunited for a spin-off show called Grace & Favour. This was called Are You Being Served? Again! in the United States and Canada.
Seven early episodes were novelised for a book, written by Jeremy Lloyd, called Are You Being Served? - Camping In and other Fiascos. This was written in 1976, and republished in 1997 by KQED Books. The seven episodes featured are Camping In, Up Captain Peacock, Wedding Bells, His and Hers, Coffee Morning, The Hand of Fate and The Clock, and the dialogue from the TV episodes were used. In 1999, I'm Free! The Complete Are You Being Served?, a guide to the series, was published by Orion Books. It was written by Richard Webber, with contributions from David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd.
Series One to Six, including the pilot episode and Christmas specials from those years, are available on DVD in the UK (Region 2) from Cinema Club. Are You Being Served: the Movie was released in 2002. Series Seven and the 1979 Christmas Special are to be released on 30 March 2008.
All ten series, as well as both series of Grace & Favour (in packaging titled Are You Being Served? Again!), are available on DVD in Region 1 (North America).
Currently, the first six series and the film have been released in Australia (Region 4). A DVD titled Are You Being Served? - Best of The Early Years and Are You Being Served? Christmas Specials have also been released.
- ^ "Going Down: 'Grace Bros' store closes", BBC, 1 February 1999.
- ^ "I'm Free! - The Complete Are You Being Served?", Orion Books, 1999.
- ^ "Obituary - John Inman", The Times, 9 March 2007.
- ^ "Comedy actor Inman dies aged 71", BBC, 8 March 2007.