Cheap Are You Being Served? Collection 1 (Series 1-5) (DVD) (John Inman) Price

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Customer Reviews of Are You Being Served? Collection 1 (Series 1-5)

> The staff has been hard-at-work polishing and pressing all 34 classic episodes from the first five series of this beloved BBC comedy series, many available on video for the first time (including the rarely seen, black-and-white Pilot episode). Also included is a bonus disc containing close ups of your favorite Are You Being Served? stars and more!

Volume One: Pilot - Dear Sexy Knickers - Our Figures Are Slipping - Camping In - His and Hers - Diamonds are a Man's Best Friend

Volume Two: The Clock - Cold Comfort - The Think Tank - Big Brother - Hoorah for the Holidays - The Hand of Fate

Volume Three: Coffee Morning - Up, Captain Peacock - Cold Store - Wedding Bells - German Week - Shoulder to Shoulder

Volume Four: New Look - Christmas Crackers - No Sale - Top Hat & Tails - Forward Mr. Grainger - Fire Practice

Volume Five: Fifty Years On - Oh What a Tangled Web - The Father Christmas Affair - Mrs. Slocombe Expects - A Change is as Good as a Rest

Volume Six: Founders Day - The Old Order Changes - Takeover - Goodbye Mr. Grainger - It Pays to Advertise

DVD extras include:

"Funny Turns - John Inman" - A close-up look at the career of the infamous John Inman

"Funny Women - Mollie Sugden" - Up close and personal with Mollie Sugden

"A Life on the Box: Wendy Richard" - A peek at the career of Wendy Richard

Who's Who

Trivia

Trailers and more!

Grace Brothers fan dream come true!
If you're like me, you've probably been catching random episodes of this fantastic 1970s British comedy on your local PBS station for years. If you're like me, you might have some on recorded on VHS with poor picture quality. And if you're like me, the previous official VHS releases with only about three episodes per video were simply too darn expensive to purchase. This DVD set is a dream come true! Pristine video and audio better than the original PBS broadcasts I've watched, this has the show's first five seasons complete, including two Christmas specials and a "lost" episode never shown on American TV. The seventh disc has three 30-minute documentaries on three of the main cast members, Mollie Sugden, John Inman, and Wendy Richard. Sure, the price is high, but you're getting over 1,000 minutes of constantly re-watchable entertainment! Oh, what I wouldn't have given for a few John Inman audio commentaries, though... Still, I'm certainly looking forward to the second set, completing the best British comedy series ever.

A Must-Have Collection for Fans of this Classic Britcom!
At long last the entire series of this classic Britcom (ten series from 1973 through 1985) is available on two DVD boxed sets. Commencing with the black-and-white pilot, set one covers the entire first five series (thirty-four 30-minute episodes from 1973-1977). Incidentally, these are all the series to feature curmudgeonly Mr. Grainger, head of menswear; sadly, Arthur Brough died (aged 73) before series six got under way. The BBC has done a fantastic job with these DVDs--the quality of the picture is awesome, the sets come complete with the Christmas specials (positioned chronologically in the order originally broadcast), with the icing on the cake being the DVD extras.

The series revolves around the staff of Grace Brothers' Department Store--particulary the staff of menswear and ladieswear. The ladies' department is headed by the pompous, air-assuming Mrs. Slocombe (Mollie Sugden). She's a bit of a man eater (or would be could she get her hands on one!) and is forever fretting about Tiddles, her um pussycat! Her junior is sexy Miss Brahms (Wendy Richard), who is constantly fighting off the advances of Mr. Lucas, the menswear junior. In between Mr. Lucas and Mr. Grainger is Mr. Humphreys (John Inman). With his mincing gait, outrageous costumes, and familiar cry of "I'm free," he's my personal favourite--though how can one really choose between this lot as they are ALL superb! Of course one cannot forget the subtly lecherous floorwalker, Captain Peacock, a pompous ex-army officer (or so he claims). One gets a sense that this is probably the only position of authority he's ever had, and he milks it for all its worth, barking orders at his underlings at every opportunity. His favourite target is the rough, bawdy maintenance man, Mr. Mash (replaced by Mr. Harman in the fourth series), a militant trade unionist who loves to goad Cpt. Peacock (and who probably makes more money than he does too!). And who could forget Mr. Rumbold, the bald-pated, jug-eared department head (like Mollie Sugden, Nicholas Smith was very good-natured in allowing his physical appearance to be the basis of so much humour!); or Young Mr. Grace, the elderly and extremely frail but hilariously lustful store owner (Harold Bennett was 74 when the series began!).

DVD extras consist of three 30-minute profiles (John Inman (1999), Mollie Sugden (1998), and Wendy Richard (2001)), each of which provides a brief bio, snippets from the various television productions in which the actor has been involved, remembrances from fellow actors (on the Inman and Richard profiles these include writers Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft plus all the surviving members of the original AYBS cast with the exception of Nicholas Smith). John Inman's forte is pantomime, and his profile includes snippets from some of the pantos he's done. Mollie Sugden's profile includes remembrances by actor William Moore (her late husband), and the focus, careerwise, is shared between AYBS and The Liver Birds (her two biggest series). Wendy Richard's profile is the only one that is narrated, and it contains in a nutshell much of what one finds in her delightful autobiography "Wendy Richard...no 's'". Careerwise, it focuses on AYBS and Eastenders (the two main series she's done). It's the most personal of the three, and a special treat is hearing a snippet of Mike Sarne's 1962 song "Come Outside" which featured Richard and was responsible for launching her career. The final feature is "Are You Being Confused?", a text-based dictionary of British slang.

With scripts liberally laced with double entendres, innuendos and puns, and a cast of characters made all the more memorable by some of the most capable actors in British comedy, this is character comedy at its best. It's an outstanding collection of a true Britcom classic which I highly recommend. I also highly recommend Richard Webber's excellent tribute book "Are You Being Served? A Celebration of 25 Years" (a 1998 UK publication).