Customer Reviews

Are You Being Served 3 [VHS]

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"German Week" is one of the very best episodes of the British comedy "Are You Being Served?" The Gentleman's and Ladies Intimate Apparel departments have a week when they only promote German goods, and all sorts of mischief is afoot. With Captain Peacock getting "lots of air and very little authority" and Mrs. Slocombe admiring the size of "bustenhalters" (German for bra) and Mr. Humpheries miraculously squeezing into very brief pair of lederhosen, it is a hilarious and culturally-educating show. If you love double-edged, British humor, "German Week" will make you laugh till you cry! END

To make things simple and painless: if you can't decide which Are You Being Served? video to purchase; buy this one! It is simply and without competition the funniest of the all! German Week is so funny that you'll be laughing for days!

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 cat. So, this tape can be watched with younger ones, but some discretion should be exercised.

Tape 3 includes the following three half-hour episodes:

German Week - Series III, episode 6, 1975 - Mr. Rumbold has the brilliant idea that for one whole week the staff of the Ladies and Gentleman's Wear departments should sell German imported clothing. Now, it's up to the staff, complete with lederhosen and traditional dances(!) to make the idea work.

New Look - Series III, episode 8, 1975 - The staff suggests a new promotion, the "Great Gatsby" look, but what can be done on a shoestring budget?

No Sale - Series IV, episode 1, 1976 - When Mr. Grace decides to open the store early to increase sales, the staff learns to their horror that the idea is a success! If they are to save their sleep-time, they are going to have to remedy the situation.

This is the third video of seven in this series and, true to form, it contains three more hilarious installments from the staff at Grace Brothers. In this collection we see the downside of an English store pushing German goods, an English store pushing goods in a style that's out-dated, and Mr. Grace's idea to boost sales by opening the store earlier.

The English have what is, in my opinion, an unfortunate tendency to incorporate musical production numbers into their comedy. Sometimes it's funny, but often it's just a bit over the top. It simply isn't what you tuned in for, generally. "Are You Being Served?" usually avoided this trap, but not always, and in these three episodes there is just a slight nod in this direction. It's not developed to the extent seen in a few of the later installments, though, and these three shows are as funny as ever.

Here are three more great comedy bits from Grace Brothers. It's unfortunate that they have deciced to give us just a sampling rather than putting out the entire series and letting viewers choose their own favorites, but the first three videos in the series are well-chosen. If you aren't famliar with this show, give one of these videos a try. I recommend this one just as highly as its two predecessors (and that's pretty highly).

I am trying to find out some bio/info about AYBS? VOL.3/2nd Series called..'NEW LOOK' where one of the girls in WOMEN'S WEAR who is shown in the background and has NO SPEAKING PART. At the end of the show, Mr. Humphries is shown dancing with her (The Great Gatsby) and Mr. Lucas is heard loudly saying HER NAME which is 'GINGER' (Mr. Lucas says "Sock it to them Ginger). Can ANYBODY, P L E A S E tell me anything about her? She is also shown in other series on AYBS?..Oh, I am trying to find the rest of the Series..I have so far have VOLUMES 1-7; The Special Holiday Collection; AYBS-THE MOVIE and THE BEST of AYBS...I believe there are a total of 12 (?) Series/Shows??? IF anybody knows where I can buy the rest of the Series (8 to 12), PLEASE let me know. (in VHS format). I DO plan on buying the DVD Collection, so hopefully I will have ALL of them! Oh, I also recently bought..AYBS-AGAIN (aka -Grace & Favor/DVD). I LOVE this show and I NEVER tired of watching these shows!!! Thanks in Advance for any info you can share about 'GINGER'! I (in my personal opinion) believe this is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen (and I've seen many a pretty woman in my travels around the world!)!!!! I know she has since aged since the filming of these series, but still, I would like to know more about her, where she is currently located at, whether she has starred in other films, etc.
LeRoy

These three episodes do have a common ground. In each, the store is attempting to increase sales, either through a promotion as in "German week" and the Great Gatsby episode, or through longer hours as in the third episode. Needless to say, the results are hilarious, but never more so than in the first episode, "German week", which ends in a magnificent German dance sequence.

The British humor is unique, full of subtleties on one hand, and broadly humorous on the other. There are of course the running gags such as Mrs. Slocombe's cat, aka _____, and Captain Peacock's downward gaze whenever confronted by a woman with noticeable cleavage. But basically, it's the ability of the writers to catch the viewer offguard with the unexpected occurances. Each episode is well crafted, with both snappy repartee and sight gags.

Very good for a laugh! Or for a lot of laughs, I should more aptly say.