Are You Being Served?

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Are You Being Served?

From left to right, Mr Humphries, Mr Lucas, Captain Peacock and Mrs Slocombe
Genre Sitcom
Running time 30 minutes
Creator(s) Jeremy Lloyd & David Croft
Starring Mollie Sugden
Frank Thornton
John Inman
Wendy Richard
Nicholas Smith
Trevor Bannister
Harold Bennett
Arthur Brough
Arthur English
Country of origin UK
Original channel BBC
Original run 8 September 1972–1 April 1985
No. of episodes 69 (List of episodes)
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 episodes rarely left the department floor, and even more rarely left the store. 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

[edit] Cast

[edit] Plot

Mollie Sugden as Mrs Slocombe
Enlarge
Mollie Sugden as Mrs Slocombe

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; and the snobbish and boisterous Mrs Slocombe. The show spawned the catch phrase "Are you free?", usually said by Captain Peacock to the workers; more often than not, the workers are noticeably free; each would look solemnly from side to side before saying "Yes I'm free, Captain Peacock." As John Inman himself said, it was only when Mr Humphries trilled "I'm free!" that it became his own personal catchphrase.

After some time, it became widely criticized for its reliance on crude sexual stereotypes, e.g. jokes about Mrs Slocombe's "pussy" (cat), a sexual double entendre, or John Inman's parody of an effeminate gay man, offensive to some gay men and women. Inman points out that Humphries' true sexual orientation was never explicitly confirmed by the series. David Croft has stated in an interview that the character was not a homosexual, but said "he was just a mother's boy" [1]. With a mix of stereotypical gay male characteristics mixed with some apparent heterosexual attractions, viewers were left to speculate about Humphries' true sexual orientation.

[edit] Characters

  • Mr Wilberforce Clayborne Humphries - The senior menswear assistant, who later became Head of the Gentleman's Department. His ambiguous sexuality is used as a catalyst for many comedic situations and one-liners. Mr Humphries was particularly noted for his mincing walk and his effeminate voice, which he discarded when answering the phone ("Mennnnnnswear," he intoned in a deep voice). He often arrived at work in outrageous attire (e.g. punk rocker clothing and hair, motorcycle leather jacket and chaps, sailor uniform) with equally outrageous accounting of his previous night's activities and efforts to nonetheless make it to work on time. Mr Humphries frequently spoke of a companion or companions referred to only as "my friend". The precise status of this friend was never elaborated upon. Though Mr Humphries exhibited many stereotypical gay male traits his true sexual orientation was never explicitly confirmed in the series, and at times there were suggestions that he might harbour some heterosexual attractions. He was also, arguably, the most pleasant character on the show. In one episode, where the employees were given a chance to vote on which one of them should be fired (although no one was), everyone was nominated (per one vote each) for dismissal except for Mr Humphries, who himself only voted "don't know". He claimed in one episode to have been in the Royal Navy briefly.
  • Mrs Betty Slocombe - Mrs Slocombe, born Mary Elizabeth Jennifer Rachel Abergavanny Yiddell in 1926 [2] in Blackpool, is the Head of the Ladies Department who frequently dyes her hair unusual colours such as lime green or orange. Mrs Slocombe's husband left her, and she lived with her cat, Tiddles, which she referred to as "my pussy." She also tried to sound refined and "posh", but when exasperated or annoyed, she reveals more than a trace of a Northern accent. Mrs Slocombe's catch phrases were "...and I am unanimous in that..." and "Weak as water!" She spent much of her free time prowling gin mills, roller rinks and discos with her friend Mrs Axelby, who is never seen, but due to her middle age, men were less and less attracted to her, which she dismissed as extreme politeness on the part of all men. It is often suggested that when she was younger she had quite a wild life and possibly even worked in a bar.
  • Captain Stephen Peacock - Captain Peacock, the floorwalker, considers himself above the assistants with both his position and his dubious military record, which wouldn't be so shameful except Peacock feels the need to brag about his experiences fighting Rommel in North Africa. Mr Mash likes to tell the staff that Peacock served in the NAAFI instead, and probably didn't ever leave England, and Mr Goldberg hints that Peacock's real rank was a Corporal. Allegedly, despite his rank, Peacock began as a sweeper in the stockroom. Although Peacock usually talks as if he were a member of the elite Commando unit, on two occasions he admits he was in the Royal Army Service Corps. By 1978 he has been working at Grace Brothers for 15 years. He also has a penchant for leering at Miss Brahms, Mr Grace's and Mr Rumbold's secretaries, and sometimes Mrs Slocombe. Mrs Peacock appears in a few episodes, often amidst marital trouble.
  • Miss Shirley Brahms - Miss Brahms was the junior ladieswear assistant, and was often cheeky to Mrs Slocombe and known for her Cockney accent, sometimes unintelligible to the person with whom she is speaking. Attractive and somewhat voluptuous, she was sometimes (but usually not) receptive to the advances of Mr Lucas.
  • Mr Cuthbert Rumbold - Mr Rumbold, the manager of the floor, who was in the NAAFI during the war, was often mocked for his bald head, jug-ears, and lack of intelligence. He frequently took slang phrases literally, leading to his formulating far-fetched explanations of incidents between staff members. He often took credit for others' ideas but subsequently tried to deny all involvement when the idea inevitably proved disastrous. Mr Rumbold's greatest ambition was to be called to the board of directors at Grace Bros. (he looks up dreamily whenever the word "boardroom" is mentioned), and was usually oblivious to the sex appeal of his attractive secretaries.
  • Mr James (later Dick) Lucas - Mr Lucas was the junior menswear assistant, who was nearly always late for work but always had a creative excuse. He wasn't very concerned about the pecking order, and thus made many sarcastic remarks (usually towards Mrs Slocombe). He directed much of his attention toward Miss Brahms, but only went out with her once. His departure is never explained, although Captain Peacock remarked in an episode after Mr Lucas left, in which the departments had performed no business for the day, that the last time the departments had no sale, "we fired the junior."
  • Mr Ernest Grainger - The original head of the menswear department, he had been with Grace Brothers for over four decades. He frequently fell asleep on the job. He resented being forced to share the floor with the Ladies Department. He vaguely resembled Winston Churchill, in both appearance and demeanour, and did impressions of him during the war while in ENSA. Mr Grainger often fell asleep while in the store, and failed to wake up when being called, unless Mr Humphries asked him "Are you free, Mr Grainger?" His character left as Arthur Brough retired from acting in 1978 following the death of his wife Elizabeth Addyman, to whom he had been married for 50 years. As fate would have it, Arthur Brough himself died several weeks later.
  • Mr Percival Tebbs - Mr Grainger's first replacement as head of menswear. Although he shared many traits with Mr Grainger, he appeared to be obsessed with order and propriety and (in his own mind at least) was an extraordinary salesman. He was also an overachiever, having received a number of recognitions from Grace Brothers for his achievements.
  • Mr Harry Goldberg - Replaced Mr Tebbs as Head of Menswear. He often tried to make a bit of extra cash to supplement his wages, for example by establishing his own recruitment agency (and recruiting Grace Brothers' employees away to better-paying jobs). Mr Goldberg was much more relaxed than his predecessors, and was in general a friendly presence.
  • Mr Grossman - He replaced Mr Goldberg as Head of Menswear and had a detectable German accent. Not much is known about him as he only appeared in four episodes.
  • Mr Klein - He replaced Mr Grossman as Menswear Head. He was formerly from the Cutting Deptartment. Speaks often of his wife, generally in disparaging tones, and doesn't object to quietly making jokes at Captain Peacock's expense. Other than that, his character remained undeveloped over his brief tenure.
  • Mr Bert Spooner - Mr Lucas' replacement, who was similar to him in many ways, made rude remarks and had a crush on Miss Brahms. In the final episode he became a pop star.
  • Mr Mash & Mr Harry (or Beverley) Harman - Mr Mash and Mr Harman were the maintenance men, Mr Harman replacing Mr Mash in series 4. Neither had a fear of their superiors, and both had a thorough knowledge of store operations and union workers' rights (and took home much larger paycheques than the sales assistants due to overtime). Both were "common" and were frequently reprimanded by Captain Peacock for appearing on the sales floor during business hours. Mr Mash was rather weedy and made sneering comments towards the sales staff; Harman was rather knockabout but was more friendly towards the sales staff, and the other staff were much more accepting of him than they were of Mr Mash.
  • The Grace Brothers - The Grace Brothers, Young Mr Grace and Henry, Old Mr Grace, were the old-fashioned owners of the store. Both were old but loved young, curvaceous women. They both treated their employees with respect and encouragement, hence Young Mr Grace's catch phrase, "You've all done very well!" Young Mr Grace started off as a fish salesman before inheriting the store from an uncle.
  • Canteen Manageress - Manager of the canteen, once addressed as Diane, mostly cooked disgraceful food, and had a large rubbish-strewn kitchen. She frequently had arguments with the senior staff and wasn't worried about being fired due to her union, National Associated Canteen Employees Restaurant and Domestic (NACERD).

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Are You Being Served? episodes

Are You Being Served? was first broadcast on 8 September 1972, in the form of a pilot for the series Comedy Playhouse. Only the black-and-white version of this episode remains and it was aired when it was because of free airspace that the Munich massacre during the 1972 Summer Olympics had created. It was reshown at the beginning of the first series on 14 March 1973. After ten series and 69 episodes, 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.

[edit] Theme song

The theme song, written by show co-creator 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. A version of the theme song is featured on the album The Ape Of Naples by the experimental music group Coil. 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.

[edit] Film

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.

[edit] Other countries

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 US 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.

[edit] Grace & Favour

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.

[edit] DVD releases

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 is to be released on 22 January 2007.

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 three 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 have also been released.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ "I'm Free! - The Complete Are You Being Served?", Orion Books, 1999.
  2. ^ "I'm Free! - The Complete Are You Being Served?", Orion Books, 1999.

[edit] External links

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