Are You Being Served? Vol 1

Shop around for the best comedy in town! There's plenty of laughter in store when an unbelievably quirky contingent of sales clerks makes shopping at Grace Brothers the comic experience of a lifetime. This ready-to-wear collection of classic episodes has been lovingly pressed and polished for DVD.

Includes the following episodes: Pilot, Dear Sexy Knickers, Our Figures are Slipping, Camping In, His and Hers, Diamonds are a Man's Best Friend

Camp Mr. Humphries, Mrs. Slocombe's pussy and the ridiculous goings-on at Grace Bros. have kept audiences laughing since 1973. This tongue-in-cheek farce, by top writers Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, is one of BBC's best-selling classic comedies, especially in America, where its success is phenomenal.

A large, old-fashioned department store in London, Grace Bros. is still run on strictly hierarchical lines. Each member of staff knows their place -- in theory. In practice, they are all engaged in their own private wars with management and with each other:

On the top floor is young Mr. Grace (Harold Bennett), a frail octogenarian with a dollybird on each arm.

Take the lift down and you'll find Mr. Rumbold (Nicholas Smith), manager of the clothing department. In reality he leaves the day-to-day running of his floor to his snooty shop-walker, Captain Peacock (Frank Thornton). Peacock's ambition is a seat in the executive restaurant, but meantime he has to mediate between Menswear and Ladies' Fashions.

In Gentlemen's Ready-To-Wear, Senior Salesman, Mr. Grainger (Arthur Brough), is an obstinate old man prone to falling asleep. He is later replaced by Mr.Tebbs (James Hayter), then by Mr. Goldberg (Alfie Bass), who served in the army with Captain Peacock. Under him is Mr. Humphries, played by John Inman, a very popular character with his camp mannerisms and jaunty readiness to measure an inside leg. Bottom of the pecking order comes randy Mr. Lucas (Trevor Bannister), who is later replaced by Mr. Spooner (Mike Berry).

Ladies' Separates and Underwear is staffed by Senior Saleslady, Mrs Slocombe (Mollie Sugden), a rapacious widow with an astonishing range of fluorescent hair colors and malapropisms. Her main topic of conversation is her pussy. Junior Saleslady, Miss Brahms (Wendy Richard), is a sharp-tongued, buxom Cockney.

And finally, down in the basement, (but usually up in the department), is the caretaker, Mr. Harman (Arthur English), who delights in making a nuisance of himself with his trade unionism and ridiculous display models.

Pilot Episode - The Ladies' Intimate Apparel must share a floor of Grace Brothers department store with the Gentlemen's Department. In fact, Mr. Grainger is forced to take down his trousers and let Mrs. Slocombe put her knickers there instead.

Dear Sexy Knickers - Mr. Lucas continues his attempts to win the heart (or at least the body) of Miss Brahms, this time through a love letter addressed to "Sexy Knickers". His attempt at delivery creates even greater problems, however, as Mrs. Slocombe receives the note and assumes it is from Captain Peacock.

Our Figures Are Slipping - The staff are concerned about the decrease in sales. Mr. Rumbold decides to hold a staff training session for the departments on Captain Peacock's floor, but the staff find its timing most unfortunate.

Camping In - The staff must spend the night in Grace Brothers due to a transport strike, camping out in tents on the sales floor. Mrs. Slocombe refuses to share her tent with Miss Brahms, who then won't leave Captain Peacock's. Mr. Lucas has great trouble getting his to stay up (which is unusual for him).

His and Hers - A perfume retailer causes agitation among the staff by giving away free ties and knickers with each sale. The sales staff feel she will reduce their sales, but Captain Peacock's agitation is of an entirely different sort -- he immediately attempts to chat her up.

Diamonds Are a Man's Best Friend - A wealthy client loses a valuable diamond in the store. A reward is offered for the missing diamond, but at the same time a shipment of rhinestones is dropped in the store. The staff each finds a rhinestone, which they think is the missing diamond.

Cast

Miss Brahms	---	Wendy Richard
Mr. Humphries	---	John Inman
Mrs. Slocombe	---	Mollie Sugden
Mr. Grace	---	Harold Bennett
Mr. Lucas	---	Trevor Bannister
Captain Peacock	---	Frank Thornton
Mr. Harman	---	Arthur English
Mr. Rumbold	---	Nicholas Smith
Young Mr. Grace	---	(series 1-8)Harold Bennett
Mr. Grainger	---	(series 1-5)Arthur Brough
Mr. Tebbs	---	(series 6)James Hayter
Mr. Goldberg	---	(series 7)Alfie Bass
Mr. Mash	---	(series 1-3)Larry Martyn
Mr Spooner	---	(series 8 onwards)Mike Berry
Mr. Grossman	---	(series 8)Milo Sperber
Mr. Klein	---	(series 8)Benny Lee
Old Mr. Grace	---	(series 8)Kenneth Waller
Secretary	---	(series 1)Stephanie Gathercole
Miss Bakewell	---	(series 4-7)Penny Irving
Secretary	---	(series 8)Debbie Linden
Miss Thorpe	---	(series 3)Moira Foot
Nurse	---	(series 6-8)Vivienne Johnson
Miss Belfridge	---	(series 9 onwards)Candy Davis
Mrs. Peacock	---	(occasional)Diane Lambert

Production Credits

Produced by David Croft
Written by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd
Directed by Ray Butt, Bob Spiers