Product Details

• Actors: John Inman, Mollie Sugden, Frank Thornton, Trevor Bannister, Wendy Richard
• Directors: Bob Kellett
• Writers: David Croft, Jeremy Lloyd
• Producers: Andrew Mitchell, David Croft, Jeremy Lloyd, Nat Cohen
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: October 21, 1997
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304646127
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #380,881 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The holiday season bring s out the best in Grace Brothers' department store: Bickering, bribery, lechery, snits, and of course silly musical numbers while dressed in ridiculous costumes. Classic Britcom Are You Being Served? thrives on the comedy of petty squabbles and this collection of Christmas-themed episodes is prime stuff. The four episodes have been plucked from seasons 1-7; in one episode, the staff is forced to dress as fairy-tale characters for a holiday promotion; in another, they try to entertain young Mr. Grace by doing a children's ballet; in another, they apologize for not joining a strike by putting on a full-sized Punch-and-Judy show---and in the remaining episode, the temptation of a large bonus leads the entire staff to dress up as Father Christmas. The pleasure in such hijinks, as with most sitcoms, depends heavily on the audience's indulgence of the characters, but the cast of Are You Being Served? was rich with goofy charm (the effervescent John Inman is in particularly top form). A perverse Christmas display unit, from "The Father Christmas Affair," remains one of the show's all-time comic highlights. --Bret Fetzer

From the back cover

Father Christmas Affair. The Christmas Display Unit, a mechanical Father Christmas, exhibits rather peculiar behavior. A volunteer is needed to take its place, and the 50-pound bonus offered for the job has a peculiar effect of its own. Christmas Crackers. Management solicits ideas on how to stimulate holiday sales. If putting a sprig of holly in underwear won't do, how about dressing up the employees in outrageous holiday costumes? Top Hat and Tails. The store's new robotic mannequins are not working as advertised, but Mr. Grace barely notices. He's too preoccupied making sure the staff practices ballroom dancing for the upcoming Golden Shoes competition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "I have indigestion just looking at it!" - (Volume Christmas), September 10, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Are You Being Served? Christmas (DVD)

-Mrs. Slocombe looking at the turkey for the staff Christmas lunch.

This DVD contains the episodes, "Christmas Crackers", "The Father Christmas Affair", "Happy Returns" and "The Punch and Judy Affair". All of these episodes are hilarious and well-written. This is a great collection if you have never seen "AYBS?". However, if you already own the complete collection, the only thing different about this DVD, is that it contains an "On-Set Interview".

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TOO HILARIOUS!!!! Great way to get on the Christmas mood!, September 4, 2006

By 

LT "LT" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Are You Being Served? Christmas (DVD)

This set is great to give to someone for Christmas that doesn't own the entire set on DVD. The scene where the mannequin's robe comes open and flashes Mr. Humphries is a classic. It always has me rolling on the floor. This DVD is great to help you get in the Christmas mood. I love watching the BBC Christmas comedies. I pull them out at Thanksgiving every year. GREAT to decorate the tree by. Another great Christmas DVD is the "Keeping Up Appearances Deck the Halls with Hyacinth." It also makes a great gift!

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A pretty good Christmas collection, July 24, 2001

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Are You Being Served? - Christmas [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Are You Being Served? is the story of the staff of the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Wear departments in Grace Brother's department store. While customer's come and go, the staff fights each other and their incompetent superiors with laughs all around. The stories are hilarious and are generally clean, though a running gag involves one lady's constant frettings about her pussy (cat).

Sadly, the first episode included on this tape includes one where a mechanical Father Christmas says, "Ho ho ho, little boy, have I got a surprise for you." And then opens its rope, revealing that it has nothing on underneath. My eight and ten-year-olds both understood what was happening, and were quite grossed out by it. So, this tape will require a little more viewer discretion than others.

That said, though, this tape is wonderful, and I am glad that I bought it!

This tape includes the following three half-hour episodes:

Father Christmas Affair - Series IV, End of season, 1976 - It's Christmas, and Grace Brothers needs a Father Christmas. First of all, there is the possibility of a mechanical Father Christmas. On the other hand, perhaps one of the staff would like to take on the role...for a small bonus, of course, but whom?

Christmas Crackers - Series III, End of Season, 1975 - Mr. Grace has come up with another daft idea to boost sales--dress the staff up in cheery costumes. But first, there's the traditional Christmas meal...with costs kept to an absolute minimum.

Top Hat and Tails - Series IV, episode 2, 1976 - Mr. Grace wants his store to win the Golden Shoes dance competition, and it's up to the staff to win it for him. Consequently, it's up to Mr. Humphries to help them polish up their dancing skills. (This episode includes some wonderful dancing by Mr. Humphries and Captain Peacock...they make a wonderful dance-team!)