Customer Reviews

'Allo 'Allo - The Complete Series One

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Mention "Are You Being Served?" to someone, and their eyes will light up. Mention "Allo Allo!", and you'll probably be hit with a quizzical look. This has been my overall experience, and it has always been a frustrating one. I link the two series, because both are brainchilds of Britcom comedic masters Jeremy Lloyd & David Croft. Both are absolutely hilarious. But it seems as though "Allo Allo!" has taken the shorter end of the popularity stick here in the US, but with this release of its first season on DVD, I hope that can change somewhat.

The first 7 episodes of the classic Britcom are featured on this collection, and they are the start to a most wonderful, long-running show. The story starts during WWII, when France is being occupied by Germany. Our protagonist is Rene Artois, who runs a cafe. He is the (mostly) sane center to a storm of off the wall characters. Rene's wife, Edith, is older than he is, and is a terrible singer. The local Gestapo agent, Herr Flick, is a psycho with a limp. The German officers are all nutty, and one of them even fancies Rene. The women of the French Resistance are always sneaking into the cafe to cajole Rene into daring missions for France, and then there are also the British airmen -- shot down over France, and now in hiding at Rene's cafe. They don't speak the language, and their appearances in each episode are always good for a laugh. Rene is also quite keen on his bar maids, Yvette and Maria. It is a secret he must keep from the ever-suspicious Edith.

All of this, I'm sure, sounds like a lot of information to take in. And it is. "Allo Allo!" rarely slows down the pace, and this eventually leads to Rene opening every episode talking to the audience, bringing them up to speed on the previous episode's events. The storylines flow from one show to the next, and over the years we are treated to a host of madcap adventures. I think it takes until Series 3 before "Allo Allo!" really finds its groove, but Series 1 is still a solid start to a truly great television show.

Once the disc is over, I'm sure you'll want to see more. And it only gets better. There are many more episodes of "Allo Allo!" to come. I hope that we get to see the rest of them released on DVD someday. The show deserves it.

British sitcoms are the best sitcoms. The better American sitcoms -- Cheers, Sanford and Son, All in the Family and others -- all had their start over in the motherland. In British sitcoms, the sets are usually minimal, but the acting and especially the writing are all first rate. I could draw up a large list of my favorite British sitcoms (though be warned, there are some bad ones out there -- just watch the BBC America channel some time) off the top of my head. At the very top of that list would sit ALLO, ALLO. Fans of the show don't need to be told any of this, and the show's setting and plot summaries have been well covered by other reviews, so here is my point in writing this... FANS OF BRITISH SITCOMS: LET'S ALL GET TOGETHER AND PRE-ORDER THE ALLO, ALLO SERIES ONE DVD's. That way the BBC will hopefully get busy and rush (HA!)the other TWELVE (I think) fabulous series of this wonderful show out on DVD. ALLO, ALLO deserves to be seen in a high quality format.

Without a doubt, Allo Allo is one of the funniest sitcoms I have ever seen..I have pretty well all episodes on aging and bad quality VHS tapes....I only hope that all the episodes will be released. If one wants to watch some good old fashioned sarcastic and hilarious humor I can only recommend this show highly. I am actually laughing while I am typing, thinking about the show.
Kurt

This series is BRILLIANT. Almost all Britcoms that cross the 'pond' are the absolute best in writing, acting and comedic timing, but this one reaches levels of exquisite farce. Some things in particular that causes tears to flow and sides to split are the British take on German sexual perversion (I still wonder what the egg-whisk was used for, but something tells me not even a BDSM-officonado can tell me) and the take on British/French relations, particularly as it was the British take on it all told through 'French' people.

I first was introduced to this series at a young age (if memory serves, maybe 10-11 or so) and so many of the bawdy jokes were riotous to my pre-teen male mind. Some other jokes, especially concerning the effeminate German officer for the most part went over my head, (yes, what a sheltered childhood I had) but even though I may not have understood them all, I laughed at each and every one.

One thing most US customers should note that I didn't see in other reviews is that BBC seasons (BTW, when the BBCers says 'series', they mean season) are MUCH shorter than US seasons. This DVD comes with all 8 episodes from Season 1. Yes, 8, not 22 or 23 as in most series on broadcast TV in the US. Although it is noted above, most people may not catch that. (I for one look through the reviews first to see if other people think the item is a good buy) However, that should not deter you, as the price (I bought Season 1 for $21.97) is reasonable, and the laughs are (as my credit cards keep telling me) priceless.

"Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once". 'Allo 'Allo is the greatest show ever written. We were able to watch it on a PBS station back in the late 80's and early 90's and we taped every episode we saw. Finally it has made it to dvd!! Hopefully all 83 episodes and both specials will be put out. Lloyd and Croft (who also wrote Are You Being Served) are at their best. The dialogue is totally off the wall and a bit naughty too but you can't help but laugh out loud and love it dearly. Each one of my kids (who grew up watching the old tapes of it) want their own dvd-I haven't seen them this excited in ages. If you love British humor, you must buy this!

Every gag in the book... shamelessly used, and with GREAT effect.

I remember talking about Allo Allo to a friend of mine many years ago. He said, "It's no Hogan's Heroes." Of course, he's right... and many folks will make the same comment. However, you'll probably get more new viewers if you tell your friends that Allo Allo is the British Comedy series you'd get if you mated Soap, Three's Company, and perhaps just a little Benny Hill.

The story starts very simple, but becomes a tangled farcical mess (intentionally)... so much so that the main character Rene (long suffering cafe owner in war-torn France) must take the audience into his confidence and explain what occurred in the previous episode.

The guts of the show are as follows: the French Resistance wish to use Rene's bar to hide escaping British airmen until they may get returned back to England (with harebrained schemes). Meanwhile, the German Colonel (and his assistant Hans), Rene's regular paying customers, wish to hide some stolen art pieces in the cellar (including the painting of "The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies" by Van Klump) until after the war. All the while, Herr Flick of the Gestapo is looking for both the missing painting (of "The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies" by Van Klump) as well as escaping British airmen. Of course the Resistance and the German officers often use each other to avoid detection by Herr Flick. Occasionally wet celery, egg whisks, and flying goggles are required for a scene. How can Rene juggle all of this intrigue while keeping his affairs with waitresses secret from his wife Edith? Rene would say, "Your guess is as good as mine."

"A comedy about Nazi occupied France?!?!?!", is probably the standard response. However, everyone gets a proverbial pie in the face... there are the French peasants, the French Resistance ("Listen very carefully..."), the British airmen, the German officers (Hans is truly hilarious with a hidden clock in Season 2), Herr Flick of the Gestapo, and of course the girls (especially Yvette... va-va-va-voom!)... not to leave out dear Lieutenant Gruber, his introduction is a perfect example of the type of gags the series is known for (actor Guy Sinner is one of the show's repeat scene stealers).

A few bad puns, plenty of sexual innuendo, several catch phrases (if you like that sort of thing you'll probably love Allo Allo), and a simple solution to the French/German/English (and later Italian and Yank English) language problem. These gags, costume changes, and excessive mugging characters lasted nine seasons ending with the Yanks liberating poor Rene and his wife (and followed by an old Rene running off with his waitress Yvette in modern days) plus a tenth anniversary special.

Series One is quite funny, but just you wait for the Christmas special after Series Two... a plot to do away with General Von Klinkerhoffen including a drug in a mug made by a pill from the till... not to mention a bomb that is set off by a candle with a handle on a Gateau from the Chateau.

I actually bought a multi region DVD player so I could buy Allo Allo from the UK to show people in CA. The cast of characters is far wider than you get in virtually any other comedy. To describe it as a mixture of other things is neither fair nor adequate. The writers will use anything to get a laugh, and it works. You may recognize some of the ideas, the whole idea of the cafe used for escaping prisoners is taken directly from "Secret Army" which was a sucessful drama, but there is nothing quite like Allo Allo.

One similarity to Red Dwarf is that it takes a couple of series to really get into its stride, but unlike Red Dwarf the first series are essential in setting the stage for what follows.

Nobody escapes the characature, the british pilots are upper class twits, the british secret agent can't speak french to save his life, the german regular army will do anything for a quiet life, the gestapo are incompetent... and into a bit of cross dressing, the tank commander is gay and sweet on the lead character, the french resistance are naughty school girls in trench coats, the wife is the singer at the cafe and could break glass, and that's only half the cast of a regular episode.

'Allo'Allo represents the best of comedy writing. Many people are not aware that a good comedy is the most difficult drama to write and that Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft are masters. In this series David Croft was also the accomplished director. It has been said that Shakespear's greatest genius was in his comedies, and any Shakespearean fan or critic should be pleased with these authors. Too bad that there are not more of such talented writers. The cast headed by Gorden Kaye is also excellent.

This is british humor, in all it's splendor, at it's very best! Great actors, somewhat chaotic plot and a solid kick to a number of "established facts" concerning WWII in France.
To put it short; a must for all fans of terrific humor!

If you like or LOVE British humor/comedy, you won't want to miss this series. I bought mine from Amazon.UK and we have truly enjoyed it...it's one of the best. I just hope more episodes are released in the future. I have a PAL/NTSC converter DVD player, but with the release of this series for Region One players, everone in the US and Canada will have the opportunity to enjoy ALLO! ALLO!.

The setting: A small French Cafe in German occupied France during WWII. Lots of little sub-plots and excellent writing, casting and acting.