Beane's of Boston
| Beane's of Boston | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Jeremy Lloyd & David Croft |
| Starring |
Tom Poston Alan Sues John Hillerman Charlotte Rae Lorna Patterson George O'Hanlon Jr. Morgan Farley |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 1 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Paramount Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | May 5, 1979 |
Beane's of Boston is a pilot episode for a proposed American adaption of the British sitcom Are You Being Served?. It was written by the original writers of the British series and starred John Hillerman. The series was not picked up.
Cast
- John Hillerman - John Peacock
- Tom Poston - Frank Beane
- Charlotte Rae - Mae Slocombe
- Alan Sues - George Humphries
- George O'Hanlon Jr. - Franklyn Beane
- Larry Bishop - Mr. Lucas
- Lorna Patterson - Shirley Brahms
- Morgan Farley - Mr. Granger
Plot
Sales figures at Beane's apparel department have been down for months, not coincidentally from the point Franklyn Beane took over as department head. His grandfather has warned him he must shape up or be shipped out.
Franklyn has two plans up his sleeve - one includes the introduction of a young new sales assistant, Miss Brahms. Her youthful appearance and up-to-date fashions have drawn the jealous ire of her superior, Mrs. Slocombe.
The younger Mr. Beane's other idea involves a week-long promotion of imported German goods, including a festival-like atmosphere in which all the staff, even supervisor Mr. Peacock, must dress in "authentic" German outfits and perform a slap-and-tickle dance.
Production
John Hillerman was asked to read the part of Captain (Now "Mr.") Peacock. When he failed to show up for the reading, co-creator Jeremy Lloyd read the lines instead. He was immediately offered the role. Lloyd appeared to consider taking it, but co-creator David Croft urged him not to, citing Lloyd's writing commitments in the UK, so producer Garry Marshall offered Lloyd a part on his current series Happy Days instead.