Customer Reviews

'Allo, 'Allo! Complete Series Four

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've always enjoyed Allo Allo. From Day One, it's been the perfect blend of witty one-liners, slapstick, intrigue and bawdy humor. However, I feel the series's momentum really picked up with this, the fourth season of the show.

I was sad to see the characters of Maria and Hans to leave the show, but their departure made room for two things that made the series so much funnier - the introduction of Mimi and more emphasis on Gruber.

From top to bottom, this season is hilarious. The episode where Rene and Edith interview prospective replacements for Maria is a personal favorite of mine. Highly recommended to fans of British comedy or any comedy for that matter. Timelessly funny.

Even when the Brits are doing the silliest stuff, they WORK at it. The pure looniness of this series is enough to recommend it, but --

Every medal and line of the German uniforms is correct. Who would care? But if somebody's been on the Russian front, he's got the medals for it.

The cars are right, the clothes are right. Even the farm machinery is right, and obviously borrowed from loving owners. This gloriously goofball series is as exacting and accurate as a Masterpiece Theater presentation, at least in the prop department.

But wait -- is that the only work they've done?

The nutty handling of the accents is based on actual idiosyncracies of the various languages.

Even Leutnant Grueber, when trilling "Attention!" does it in the antique high-pitched tone of a Berlin sergeant. How esoteric can you get?

The relationships of the characters -- from the desperate measures plain people have to go through to survive an occupation, to the sexual preferances in a murderous regime -- skate just this side of the horrific, and still manage to make us gasp with laughter, while accurately portraying the weirdness that was World War Two. It's been said that the best comedy is based in suffering. If that's the case, this series is working the formula like a caisson horse.

The research on this series is just mind-boggling. It makes it just that much more fun for a student of the period.

When the series needed to replace the actor who played Herr Flick, it didn't find someone who looked like him. It found someone who acted and sounded like him, and then claimed he'd had plastic surgery. Now that's chutzpah (pardon the reference).

It reminds us once again, as a character on The Jeffersons once said about a British neighbor:

"There's a whole ISLAND like him over there."

'Allo, 'allo is another reason we should be glad.

Series/Seasons 1-4 have been available on DVD [in PAL format] in the UK and Australia for some time. There is a great deal of hope among the growing numbers of fans that the remainder of the program [series/seasons 5-9] will also be made available. The availability of Series/Season Five DVD should tip us off if plans to release the remainder of Allo, Allo are in the works.

I would venture to guess, if you like Hogan's Heroes, you may take a liking to Allo, Allo as well. I did!

Give it a shot!

Finally, the long-awaited comedy series is here... volume after volume. The series is a great pleasure to watch, with lots of laughter, "kinky humor", lots of slap-stick lines and physical comedy. Super quality television!!! a must-own DVD collection.

I have purchased the first 4 seasons for various special occasions for my husband as gifts. He used to watch the series when it aired on BBC years ago. I was skeptical about watching them with him because I typically do not follow British humor. But let me tell you, they are as much for me now as they are for him. And Season 4 is just as funny as the first 3. The only thing is, this season is only 1 disc, whereas the previous had 2 discs, so I felt we were short-changed a wee bit. The addition of the Italian is SO funny. We lose Maria in this season, but we gain the undercover Resistance member MiMi (I think that was her name) who also now has the hots for Rene.

We loved every episode of Season 4, and I will be ordering Season 5 for my husband (and myself) for Valentine's Day...I can't wait!!

"Allo Allo!" Has been around since 1982 and has just recently become available in the USA on a decent media. This particular complete series four contains six episodes:
Prisoners of War
Camp Dance
Good Staff are Hard to Find
The Flying Nun
The Sausages in the Trousers
The Jet-Propelled Mother-in-law

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Basic story is of a café owner René; this is in France during the WWII occupation. He must balance dealing with the local Germans, the Gestapo, the good Resistance, the commie Resistance, having affairs with his female help, dealing with his wife and mother-in-law. Throw in some downed British airmen and some onion soup.

I will not go though this series in detail because for those that have not seen it or if it has been while since viewing the series, the surprise factor and the one liners are worth discovering first hand.

I do not recall the broadcast of Series Four. However the people and mix have changed Maria Recamier (Pilot, Series 1-3) ends up in Switzerland never to be seen again.

We also lose Captain Hans Geering (Sam Kelly) on the way. He ends up in England for the duration. Look for him in Series Seven.

Both Hans and Maria get replacements. And they work well but it is just not the same.

Watch as Mimi gives Herr Flick (Flick the Gestapo) a bottle of wine and say "You will never drink a better bottle."
One nice thing about this series is that they place the name next to the actor at the end of each episode. Most of the actors are well known out side of this series. I was shocked however to find that Gestapo Herr Otto Flick (Richard Gibson) Played British Capt. Newman in Ken Follett's "The Key to Rebecca" (1985) and completely changed his accent.
I was surprised to see Lt. Hubert Gruber (Guy Siner.) in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003.)

Key to Rebecca - Richard Gibson

The story begins where ended on last series.Rene continues risking his life to help the French Resistance and avoiding the Germans in the ocupied France of WWII in his small cafe.

The best British comedy series of the 80's with The Benny Hill Show.Hope BBC America releases the rest of the series.

I found this series quite by accident a few years ago when I was channel surfing. I was very disappointed when LPB stopped airing the series, but I am very happy to find some of the episodes available on DVD. "Allo Allo" ranks right up there with the best comedy series ever produced. I find it absolutely amazing that they are able to work 16-18 regular characters into each episode, each with their own little quirks that you look for from episode to episode. Unlike the ridiculous "reality TV" of today, this is TV at its finest.

the series 'allo 'allo is a very clever show. the acting is great and it's easy to get sucked into this show! If you start season 1 you won't quit until you've seen the entire series.

Amazon's price was lower than anywhere else and they mailed it out rapidly. I wish that whoever puts this series out on disc would do it faster; it's hard to wait for the next sesason to be released and it's a long time between releases. I've seen the entire series on PBS several times and it's really a fun show.

I seldom laugh aloud but this Brit Com has me bursting at the seams. I bought the whole series and the wife and I enjoy it as no other program either of us has ever watched. Russ n' Annie