Customer Reviews

Take a Letter Mr. Jones, Vol. 1 & 2 [VHS]

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

 

 

This delightful little comedy consists of six 25-minute episodes (on two tapes). It stars John Inman (Mr. Humphries from Are You Being Served?) as Mr. Jones, the private secretary to business executive Joan Warner (Rula Lenska). Ms. Warner lives with Lucy, her precocious 7-year-old daughter, and Maria, her highly-strung Italian maid (a very funny character). The plots all centre on the tensions that arise in trying to balance the demands of a career with the demands required of a single parent, often with comical results. Mr. Jones is inevitably the one called upon to achieve this balancing act, and his duties seem to involve sorting out domestic crises as often as executive ones.

Fans of Are You Being Served? (and particularly fans of John Inman) will, I'm sure, enjoy this light-hearted comedy, as Mr. Jones is not unlike Mr. Humphries (although without the mincing gait or references to his "neither one way nor the other" sexuality). Though I must confess, personally, to a preference for Are You Being Served?, I really did enjoy this cute show (which is clean and suitable for the entire family). Indeed, it was a delight to see John Inman in another role!

It's two videos, the message earlier only mentioned the episodes on Volume II (3 episodes), Volume I has three episodes also, "The Interview", "The Protector", and "The Holiday." As you watch the episodes in order the show becomes more enjoyable because the characters are,of course, evolving, given more time, the shows would've become even better.The maid running up and down the stairs is hilarious, and so is the end of the last episode (which looks like a blooper left in, they looked so cute,laughing at Mr. Jones mimicking his boss).I couldn't stand the little girl and the way the mother gives in to the brat. The coworkers in the office were okay, the tall one and the mousy one were the best characters as coworkers, John Inman's character could've had more fun teasingly antagonizing the tall one, and ordering about the mousy one in future episodes. If you enjoy John Inman's work((he had and has so much potential- I guess the industry he works in isn't smart enough and creative enough to see his comedic potential--sigh--,we could have enjoyed some great British comedy)) and/or think "Are You Being Served?" is funny or just enjoyable, get these tapes. By the way, Rula Lenska, who plays his boss, is a beautiful, tall woman (classy like Diana Rigg.) PS. I put the four stars in for the "Are You Being Served?" fans.

Imagine my surprise when I found a series as obscure as this one for sale! Considering there are only six episodes, anyone owning a working VCR would be much better off spending only a couple of dollars for 2 VHS tapes as opposed to over $20 for a DVD. The quality of the transfer to videocassette is decent, but not perfect - keep in mind that the European PAL system never looks beautiful on American NTSC. The picture contains some ghosting and has a washed-out look: this is more due to the PAL to NTSC transfer than the quality of the original broadcast tapes. The intermission bumpers around the advertisements on British commercial television are missing, meaning act 1 runs straight into act 2 with a flash-cut - this can disrupt the timing of the episode somewhat, as the episodes were not meant to be watched with no break at all in the middle. Still, despite these deficiencies, any fan of this hard-to-find series with a VCR will be glad to save nearly $20 by buying these videotapes instead of the much more expensive DVD. The seller packed the tapes well and mailed them very promptly; they arrived a day before Amazon.com's earliest estimate. In addition, they responded to my "thank you" email within an hour: not just a "we'll respond soon" notice, but an actual reply! Where else can one get that kind of immediate service?

This series might not be that well known in the US as it does not seem to make the PBS runs and there are few episodes. Some are a little lame, but some are fall on the floor hilarious. If you like John Inman in AYBS, give it a try.

If you love John Inman in 'Are You Being Served?', you'll love this 1981 series he did. I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe!!

Graham Jones just can't seem to get a break, thanks to his idiot coworkers and his boss' 'precocious' seven year old daughter. But it's all in a day's work for him at Eight Star.
John Inman (best known for his role as Mr Humphries in 'Are You Being Served?') played Graham Jones in this very short-lived programme, along with Rula Lenska who played his boss, the only female executive at Eight Star (a fictional company) who is constantly struggling to keep her personal life separate from her business day. However, thanks to her mad I-talian maid and her seven year old child, it's very difficult. But thanks to Graham and his quick thinking she's able to save face in even the most daunting situations.
The programme itself is alright, but halfway through the first episode you will be in favour of corporal punishment not only for adults but also for small children. Little Lucy will drive you up the wall with her screaming and bratty behaviour while Maria will simply make you groan from her stupidity. Mrs Warner, sadly, perpetuates a lot of stereotypes regarding women in the workplace and female executives. After ten minutes you will be rolling your eyes at this woman and shouting, 'We GET IT! You're a woman in a man's world. Get over yourself, sweetheart! I know it was 1981, but COME ON!'
In short, it's worth buying if you're nostalgic for 1980s English comedy or you're a rabid John Inman fan. Or if you just want to see him in something where he didn't mince.

Not all the jokes work. Maybe they're dated, but John Inman, as always is very very funny.

The tape is actually one video, with the episodes "The Japanese Contract", "The Trade Fair", and "Business Before Pleasure" I have not yet watched it, as I am waiting for the correct shipment to arrive. BUt, anything with John Inman in it has got to be five star funny.