Customer Reviews

The Are You Being Served? Stories: 'Camping In' and Other Fiascoes

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

 

 

I was very disappointed in this book, as I had expected the author would relate funny stories about things that happened during the filming of the AYBS series. Instead, it is merely the script set into "Mr. Lucas said...." form. If that is what you are looking for, then this is the book for you. The few pictures are the ones we've seen before in other books.

Besides an eleven-page introduction ("AYBS? Then and Now") and two pages on "The Birth of AYBS?," this book only contains scripts in story form from seven early episodes of the long-running Brit comedy. The stories include: "Camping In," "Up Captain Peacock," "Wedding Bells," "His and Hers," "Coffee Break," "The Hand of Fate," and "The Clock." There is also two sets of full color photos from the episodes. Some of the screen shots are not even from the episodes in this book as a couple of the photos have Mr. Goldberg and Mr. Harman whereas the stories have Mr. Grainger and Mr. Mash. There is nothing new or exciting for the fan who already has a few books about the show. If you want to curl up and read these episodes as stories, this is the book for you. I, however, would rather pop in the video.

This book is not a good introduction to Grace Brothers for the uninitiated. I enjoyed the stories very much, but I had long ago memorized every episode of the BBC series on which they were based. The stories differed in dialogue and small plot points with the episodes on which they were based, and it was those differences that kept me reading.

Are You Being Served was genius because of its writing and the talents of the actors and actresses. In the written medium, only the former comes through, and without the timing of actors' execution, it seems a little wooden. Still, if you can supply their voices in your head, you'll probably enjoy it.

I really enjoyed this book but I do think this could have been more... More insider tid-bits for the die-hard fan...For people who are very familiar with this show it might be nice to have had a more gossip-y book (more like the show public tv puts on about mrs. slocumb)...

It reminds me a bit of the iron chef book. Fun to get but nothing really that the true fan wouldn't already know.

I can see this being an adorable addition to a theme basket with a *tea* theme... teas. tea ball, tea pot, scones and this book. It might be a nice way to intoduce someone to the show or a good book for a very new fan.

Of course, this little book cannot compare to the comedy of the actual BBC series. However, for those short stints on planes and a quick read before sleeping, this book's chapters are a wonderful opportunity to revisit those wacky characters at Grace Brothers. I found myself chuckling and enjoying the nice stories (yes, they are all actually based on plots of individual AYBS? episodes). If it's raving rioutous comedy you are after, this is not the book for you.

Fans of Are You Being Served? will buy this book and wonder how much the editor had to drink when s/he looked over it. There are so many spelling errors, typos, grammatical mistakes, punctuation screw-ups - it's an English teacher's nightmare! Not to mention that a lot of the British English is replaced by American English, which is one thing that endears American fans to this show as well as other BBC sitcoms.

As for the actual 'stories', they tend to stick to the old scripts but often embellish a bit. A good example would be "Camping In", in which the author added a bit to the end of the story, giving the characters a card game while they tried to figure out how to get Captain Peacock and Mr. Rumbold out of the retractable bed.

Along with the text we find several photos from the show and at this point many fans will be quite irritated. There are two photo sections and several are blurred or flipped. Some just make you cringe. A few are decent, but a Google image search provides MUCH better results than this.

If you can get this book very cheap (as I did) it's okay, and only if you're a hard-core fan of the programme. Otherwise, don't bother.

I'm a big fan of Are you Being Served, the long running British sit com set in a London Department store, so when I saw this title "Camping in and Other Fiascos" by the show's long time producer, I Thought it would be a behind the scenes peek at a show that in 12 seasons must have had some very interesting tales to tell.

The forward, with comments by some of the surviving cast members seemed to support this. Then I got to the meat of the book. Each chapter is in fact a novelization of an episode, but with other, well known vignettes from other episodes worked in.

While this might make funny reading if you've never seen the show, long time fans can almost repeat the scripts themselves. Without any bonus materials THIS is in effect, a re-run of well known episodes.

I'm a fan of the show. I'd love a chance to tell the cast members how much I've enjoyed their work, but this tome? Not worth the price of postage.

I LOVED IT! JUST AS FUUNY AS THE TV SHOW

I haven't seen this in over seven years. It doesn't matter. If you U.S. citizens can pick up PBS on your tele, get on over there at about 11PM. Don't watch the news. It'll just repeat what you saw during dinner and read in the newspaper and/or on the Internet, and depress you besides. And, since I mentioned meals, give you indigestion. I lived in the U.S. for 36 years, and the last newsperson I watched was probably Walter Cronkite. So, blow off the news and watch this show instead.

I have no idea why I'm writing this. It's been ages. But, I stand by it. Unless, that is, Dubya lobbed a few smart bombs at PBS under the Patriot Act. One can never be sure.

(Bombs smarter than the president, I might add.)