Rating: 
Summary: The 7th disc is a waste
Review: I think this series, along with Fawlty Towers, is tremendous.The 7th disc, with lame content on the characters, is barely worth watching...most of it has nothing to do with Are You Being Served at all.
Rating:
Summary: A great Collection
Review: I wish they would put the rest of the series on DVD. These are very clear and crisp! Even the B&W pilot is clear. The local PBS station has taken Are You Being Served off the air, so this is a good supplement.
Rating:
Summary: Are you free?
Review: I'm free! I am so happy to see this hilarious series become available on DVD. My previous forays into BBC comedies on the digital format have been "Fawlty Towers" and "As Time Goes By". Both series looked absoutely wonderful. Crisp, clear, and with rich colors. I have no doubt that this new offering of Are You Being Served? will be the same. Set in old-fashioned Grace Brothers Department Store, "Are You Being Served?" was a long running comedy series which followed the day to day antics of the Mens and Ladies Wear departments, both on the same floor. It was, in its own way, a microcosm of society (albeit a slightly off society). You've got a young man who is after the ladies (Mr. Lucas), a young lady who is looking for a man to treat her right (Ms. Brahms), an older woman who changes the color of her hair nearly every episode (Mrs. Slocombe), a gay man (Mr. Humphries), a snooty floorwalker who steps out on his wife occasionally (Captain Peacock), and a slighltly aloof department manager, mostly concerned with the health of the sales figures (Mr. Rumbold). And who can forget the doddering, but lovable, old man who is still in love with his wife after years and years of marriage (Mr. Grainger). The actors do an outstanding job with their roles, and there is plenty of chemistry present between them. It was obvious that they were having an enjoyable time together. This collection of the first 5 series (or seasons) of the show are a great introduction to the first-time viewer, and an absolute treaure for those of us who have grown to love it over the years. Many of the highlights of the episodes revolve around crazy ideas the staff come up with in order to drum up business, including dressing up in outrageous costumes, adopting a German touristy look, and opening the store early (an idea which the staff puts an abrupt end to in one hilarious episode). Oh, and I still get a kick out of Mrs. Slocombe's references to her cat. "Are You Being Served?" ran for twelve years in Britain, and, coincidentally enough, it ran for twelve consecutive years on my local PBS station - a marker of its great humor, fabulous characters, and enduring charm. I can't wait to own it on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: For everyone!
Review: If you ever want to see a diverse group of people, go to a AYBS in store signing, or PBS event featuring a cast member. Every type of person from a long haired tattooed men to elderly grandmothers will appear. The humor found within this collection crosses all boundaries of humor, and attract a wide variety of fans. The other aspect of the show that, I belive, attracts people to it is the sense of family, and familiarity found within the cast. Every age group and economic class is represented very well in the series. You also get a real sense that the actors do get along well outside of the show, it creates a great atmosphere. This show is a total original!
Rating:
Summary: Maximum entertainment
Review: If you want hours of laughs this is the dvd set for you. Two Thumbs up!!!! Bravo!!!
Rating:
Summary: Grace Brothers fan dream come true!
Review: If you're like me, you've probably been catching random episodes of this fantastic 1970s British comedy on your local PBS station for years. If you're like me, you might have some on recorded on VHS with poor picture quality. And if you're like me, the previous official VHS releases with only about three episodes per video were simply too darn expensive to purchase. This DVD set is a dream come true! Pristine video and audio better than the original PBS broadcasts I've watched, this has the show's first five seasons complete, including two Christmas specials and a "lost" episode never shown on American TV. The seventh disc has three 30-minute documentaries on three of the main cast members, Mollie Sugden, John Inman, and Wendy Richard. Sure, the price is high, but you're getting over 1,000 minutes of constantly re-watchable entertainment! Oh, what I wouldn't have given for a few John Inman audio commentaries, though... Still, I'm certainly looking forward to the second set, completing the best British comedy series ever.
Rating:
Summary: Can't stop viewing ...
Review: It's a great series, I watch it over again and again.
The sales people on a miserable salary are divided into 'seniors' and 'juniors' and it is unbelivable how desperately 'seniors' try to humilate 'juniors' just to prove to themselves they are better than their wage implies.
Some of the jokes are easily predictable, like those on Mr. Hamphries's 'other way' or Ms. Sloucomb's she-cat, nevertheless they are a superb humor.
A technical note: I cannot comprehend why the DVD should be close-captioned (a useless feature) instead of being sub-titled in English (an importand feature for a movie with many British idioms)
Rating:
Summary: Thorough and complete!
Review: Like many other people, I taped these episodes from PBS and rewatched them. When I got the pre-recorded tapes, I was thrilled at the improvement in picture and sound quality. The DVDs are a further improvement, and you see that their production values were slightly higher than one might previously have thought. The best part about this set is that it is COMPLETE for the first five seasons; I know of no PBS station that has run the two Christmas episodes or "Top Hat and Tails" that are available here. I've also never known them to run "A Bliss Girl" or "The Old Order Changes" (where both Mr. Graces appear together), but I will have to wait for the second box set to be able to see those. The episodes are in correct chronological order, which will probably make one problem stand out - their continuity stank. The department looked the same as it forgetfully moved from floor to floor and Mr. Rumboldt's office gained and lost windows. If you enjoy the series, and want to upgrade from a set of homemade VHS recordings, definitely skip to DVD over the VHS tapes. If you've got some of the VHS tapes, at least get the two DVDs with the impossible-to-find episodes, if not the whole set.
Rating:
Summary: I Am Free...
Review: RUBS is the funniest British comedy ever produced, bar none. This DVD collection is long overdue. If you like to laugh, buy this collection. Hope to see the remaining episodes on DVD SOON!
Rating:
Summary: This set is "All done very well"
Review: Thank God! It's certainly taken some time for the staff of Grace Brothers department store to make an appearance on DVD, but it looks like it's well worth the wait. Purists take note, this is the FIRST time we'll see EVERY episode from the first five seasons of this show in chronological order (previous VHS versions only collected the episodes in a clumsy "Best of" configuration... Few details on the extras at this point, but who cares, as long as I have Mr. Humphries, Mrs. Slocombe, Miss Brahms, Mr. Grainger, Captain Peacock, Mr. Lucas, Mr. Rumbold and Young Mr. Grace in all their digital glory, I'll be one customer extremely well served. I hope I hope I hope they release seasons 6-10 later on and complete the "Are You Being Served?" DVD experience!
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