Are You Being Served?

1972

Seasons & Episodes

  • 10
  • 9
  • 8
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
8| TV-PG| en| More Info
Released: 08 September 1972 Ended
Producted By: BBC
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00722yk
Info

This comedy series, which follows the exploits of employees at London's fictional "Grace Brothers" department store, is full of sexual innuendo, slapstick, visual gags, and double entendres. Much of the show's humor parodies Britain's class system, and many of the show's characters are based on stereotypes of the period, including the effeminate Mr. Humphries and the rich, but stingy, store owner.

Genre

Comedy

Watch Online

Are You Being Served? (1972) is now streaming with subscription on Britbox

Director

Production Companies

BBC

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime.
Watch Now
Are You Being Served? Videos and Images
View All

Are You Being Served? Audience Reviews

Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.
Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.
joliefille411 I was pondering which review would be worthy of being my 50th IMDb review and AYBS won by a landslide. Not only is it the definitive field guide to the world of double entendres, it's my personal favourite TV show- British or otherwise. If you are looking for your first foray into British comedy, you'll find no better, and if you only see one, this had better be it.Despite its long run and casting changes, not always for the better mind you, AYBS was one show I can never say outran it's welcome. It remains as fresh and hilarious as the first day of taping, capturing perfectly the working atmosphere (in no small ways can I pick out similarities to my own stint in retail) while seamlessly introducing the absurdly hilarious. Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft were BRILLIANT writers for the show.The original lineup will always remain the favorite. In that time, I felt the characters were more equally favored, and I loved the caustic Mr. Mash. As changes ensued, there were highlights and detriments, including Miss Brahms coming more into her own, and the most obvious unwanted replacements of Mr. Grainger and Mr. Lucas. I never was a fan of Mr. Spooner, but I don't think he killed the show as more rabid purists may attest. Either way, I was never presented with an episode that couldn't make me laugh and forget the oppressions of real life.One last note, the musique concrete theme song was really outstanding as a hallmark of the show: very iconic.So this is my poor tribute to a fantastic show. If anything, I hope the very least I can do is inspire someone to look it up and become a new fan of this brilliant classic
keepthemagic "Are You Being Served?" is one of the best British comedies to hit American television screens! The show is about workers in a department store and their everyday lives. Every show the workers have adventures from being stuck in the store due to bad weather to one of them becoming a Pop Star for a day. "Are You Being Served" does not have any hidden messages like the average comedy it just tells about life in a plain old department store. What makes the show unique is the personalities of the workers; where in this store the customer is not always right. While the show ended in 1982 the show remains an icon due to the simple story lines which lead to hilarious side-splitting misunderstandings. "Are You Being Served?" is a must see for people who enjoy comedy. If you are looking for laughter, the search is over with "Are You Being Served."
bakerd1-1 And this show goes to prove that. Now you know that a sitcom is bound to have a fair share of oddball characters. This one has plenty of them. Enter, the staff of Great Britain's "Grace Brother's" Department store--perhaps the wackiest lot on the isle. Grace Brothers spares no expense to bring you goofy promotions, mucked-up display units, and bizarre situations. Then there are the employees--they aren't as normal as they seem either. For example there's the aloof Captain Peacock, who has quite the practice on the side-often with secretaries. Then there is Mrs. Slocomb, senior saleswoman, who has a cat, which she refers to constantly by another name. Mr. Humphreys, by most accounts swings two directions. The dopey Mr. Rumbold and Young Mr. Grace, who run the company spend more time in confusion than any real managment work. Other odd birds like stocky Mr. Tebbs, insinuating Mr. Maash, cockney-ditz Miss Brahams, cranky Mr. Grainger, jolly Mr. Harmon, and the ever nasty canteen manageress. These characters manage to get themselves into ever oddball situation percievable with humor that is comparable to All in the Family, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. A definite A+. So serve yourself...Grace Brothers is waiting...just beware of the disply units bearing steel wool...
P_Cornelius How delightful to see so many English/British contributors cock a snook at the Americans who like this very funny program. I suppose AYBS could never expect to achieve the Shakespearian heights of the likes of such English masterpieces as, say, Footballers' Wives, Coupling, or Mile High. Right? And poor old Mollie Sugden never did meet the standard achieved by Sarah Alexander and her likes. Right?Speaking of Mollie Sugden, if you can't appreciate her comedic genius, then you probably think Lucille Ball was a theatrical hack. Because Mollie Sugden IS the British Lucille Ball.Equally amusing is the criticism of John Inman's Mr. Humphries because a) he's a homosexual or b) he's too much of a homosexual. Sort of beside the point. And wrong. Because, while John Inman may indeed be gay, Mr. Humphries was never so much of a gay figure as he was a sissy, an asexual momma's boy. All of which, by the way, was made very clear in the follow up series, Are You Being Served Again/Grace and Favour.As much as I like the show, I do admit that after the death of Arthur Borough, the series lost its focus on in-store humor and became, to its detriment, more skit based. The episodes with Borough were exceptional. They created a sense of lifelong comradery of working together for years and years and years, where the store, or the company, was more of a "home" than home was. A feeling unimaginable in today's globalized hi-tech sweatshops.And, of course, if the show did recover somewhat from Borough's death, it never did get over losing Trevor Bannister's Mr. Lucas. Poor old Spooner (Mike Berry) became a mere afterthought until the very last episode of the series.All I can say is that if someone doesn't find anything funny in Mrs. Slocombe, Ernest Grainger, Capt. Peacock, Mr. Humphries and the rest, then they really don't have much of a sense of humor. Because at the root of the series is those characters' search for dignity and respect. And their frustrated endeavors would quickly find a sympathetic audience from at least one master of comedy. Because Charlie Chaplin's Tramp was built around the very same quest. I wonder if the British think Chaplin too crude and unsubtle for their tastes as well?