Rating: 
Summary: Risque' Rene'
Review: "Allo Allo!" Has been around since 1982 and has just recently become available in the USA on a decent media. This particular complete series one contains eight episodes:"The British are Coming" starts the series and explains many things that happen later in the series.
"The Fallen Madonna" with the big whatever. Will set a reoccurring theme as Colonel Kurk von Strom has pilfered the painting for his retirement. Keep you eye on it through the series as it becomes a shell game.
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Basic story is of a café owner René; this is in France during the WWII occupation. He must balance dealing with the local Germans, the Gestapo, the good Resistance, the commie Resistance, having affairs with his female help, dealing with his wife and mother-in-law. Throw in some downed British airmen and some onion soup. I will not go though this series in detail because for those that have not seen it or if it has been while since viewing the series, the surprise factor and the one liners are worth discovering first hand. I will say that the highlight for me was when they mistakenly fed grain laced with nitro glycerin to the chickens. One nice thing about this series is that they place the name next to the actor at the end of each episode. Most of the actors are well known out side of this series. I was shocked however to find that Gestapo Herr Otto Flick (Richard Gibson) Played British Capt. Newman in Ken Follett's "The Key to Rebecca" (1985) and completely changed his accent. I hope the will release the others "Three Hail Mary's and two Heil Hitler's."
Rating:
Summary: "Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once!!!!!"
Review: "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!
Rating:
Summary: The Best of the Best
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious Comedy - More Please........
Review: Enjoyed 'Allo 'Allo Series 1. Very very entertaining. All the cast was excellent... Question - When will Series 2 be available. Soon I hope. Olive Redmond Ont.
Rating: 
Summary: Klop! Everything but the kitchen sink.
Review: 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 his 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 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 in 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 Gatto from the Chateau.
Rating:
Summary: One of the funniest sitcoms ive seen.
Review: Finally this british sitcom is out on DVD. The different sides (allied Vs the german army during WWII) has been represented superbly using witty accents and very funny dialoges. If you are bored of modern day humor and need some retro humor, this is the DVD to watch. Personally one of my FAVOURITE sitcoms which never loses its humor and re-watch ability.
Rating:
Summary: War is hell, but this isn't war
Review: For those that would criticize this DVD, or the series in general, I think that they protest too much. The point of this show is not to create deep characters or intriguing plots, rather, it is entirely the opposite. It is a lampoon of the war and the countries that fought in it. If I have ever scene a more biting and witty lampoon than this series I can't recall it. The key word here is farce. One reviewer stated that this show was not "subversive" enough. Comments like this come from those who expect this series to be like any other British comedy. Allo, Allo, however, is far, far different. For those that haven't viewed it, I encourage one to approach it with an open-mind free from expectations of Mony Python or Absolutely Fabulous (both great shows in their own right).
Rating:
Summary: I Shall Say This Only Once...
Review: Good moaning... What a joy to find this marvelous series finally available in the US. From "not the onion soup" to "it is I Leclair" to "you stupid woman" its all here. The beginning of a great farce with superb characters and acting. If you don't like this one I say Bols to you. If you don't buy it I say "whatta mistaka to make."
Rating:
Summary: Not perfect but a must see
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Finally!
Review: I disagree with the other reviewers that this show is subpar where British TV is concerned. It's a roller-coaster of crazy characters and funny plays on words. It's absurdity at its best. If you like the craziness of Are You Being Served, I think you'd enjoy Allo Allo. Just give Allo Allo a chance. You won't be disappointed!
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