Search - Are You Being Served?, Vol. 8 on DVD

Young Mr. Grace Turns 81! (Volume 8)

11/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD features the episodes, "By Appointment", "The Club", "Do You Take This Man?", "Shedding the Load", "A Bliss Girl" and "Happy Returns", which is the complete sixth season of Are You Being Served? and the only six episodes with the boring Mr. Tebbs. All of the episodes except one deserve either four or five stars. My personal favorite is "Happy Returns" which has the staff preparing for Young Mr. Grace's 81st birthday. The best part is at the end when they perform "Stepping Out With My Baby". Another favorite episode is "Do You Take This Man?". Mrs. Slocombe is going to marry a Greek, but after finding out he's already married, she has a big fake Greek wedding with Mr. Humphries as the husband. The reason for this is her uncle promised her a house if she married a Greek. This is the best episode for Mr. Tebbs because he plays the Archbishop Halitosis. The episode "The Club" is funny because the staff has to fix up a room in the basement of the store for a social club. Mr. Tebbs and Mr. Lucas get into a fight which eventually involves the whole staff. "A Bliss Girl" is probably the next best episode. Mr. Humphries runs a display of perfume from Bliss and when Mrs. Slocombe is in the fitting room, he sells a customer a 3000 pound fur coat. In "Shedding the Load", Young Mr. Grace is disgusted at the sales, so he has one of the staff resign, but he leaves it up to the staff to decide who should go. It's funny when the staff give reasons of why the person they picked should go. "By Appointment" was rather disappointing with no explanation of Mr. Grainger's absense and 50% of the episode with the staff just entering the store talking about their holidays which weren't that funny. The only good part was the last five minutes when they were watching the Queen from the fitting room window. In conclusion, I highly recommend this DVD for AYBS? fans and people who have never seen the show. Volume 8 is a must-have."

"I'd marry her meself but I think she's got enough trouble"

mwreview | Northern California, USA | 01/09/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"---Mr. Humphries in Do You Take This Man?
This volume offers the first episodes without Mr. Grainger. Mr. Tebbs is featured here as the first successor. Grainger is definitely missed, but Tebbs did have more personality than Mr. Klein of later episodes. The six episodes here range from good to mediocre. By Appointment has the staff preparing for a possible visit from the royal family. The Club has the staff trying to put up wallpaper in a dismal cellar that is to serve as their social club. Do You Take This Man? is an interesting episode. Mrs. Slocombe is engaged to marry a Greek and, as a result, receive a house from her rich uncle. However, the union is objected to by a family member of the groom (his wife). For once, the staff show some compassion for the senior saleswoman with the changing hair color and do what they can to assure she receives her wedding gift anyway.Shedding the Load is one of the better episodes offered here. Sales are down (what else is new) and the staff is asked to decide who should get the ax. This episode also has a reference to President Jimmy Carter. One of the reasons Mr. Rumbold gives to Young Mr. Grace to explain the falling figures is that "Carter has not come up to expectations." In A Bliss Girl, Capt. Peacock is demoted to the sales staff while Mr. Humphries takes over a new perfume counter. This temporary demotion happens after Peacock had run-ins with Mr. Tebbs and Mrs. Slocombe followed by Mr. Rumbold's funny misinterpretations. Happy Returns is the weakest episode in this volume. The staff put on a cabaret for Young Mr. Grace's birthday. The costumes are cute (they include Little Miss Muffet and a teddy bear) but the plot is very weak. Mr. Lucas arguing with Mr. Humphries about Mr. Rumbold's piano-playing Humpty Dumpty seems pointless and out of character. This volume is the first in the Season 6-10 boxed set, which I highly recommend. Each DVD has a clever menu page where a lift conductor's voice takes you to each episode. There are also rotating photos of the "Employee of the Month"--in this case, Mr. Humphries."