“Are You Being Served? Series 1 – 10” (1972 – 1985) 

Television Series / Comedy

Seventy Episodes

Created by: Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft

Featuring: Mollie Sugden, Trevor Bannister, Frank Thornton, John Inman, Wendy Richard, Arthur Brough, Nicholas Smith, Larry Martyn, Harold Bennett, Arthur English and James Hayter

Mrs. Slocombe: [removes her gas mask] “What about this fog! My pussy’s been gasping all night.”

The DVD release of Are You Being Served? affords one of British television’s most enduringly popular sitcoms the kind of archival consolidation it deserves: a full, chronological journey through the madcap world of Grace Brothers, spread across a neatly housed collection that emphasises completeness, nostalgia, and sheer rewatchable comfort. While the presentation is inevitably constrained by the low-budget, analogue origins of the original broadcast, the package nonetheless offers a reliably satisfying home-video experience, enhanced by a wealth of episodes, excellent compression, and a chance to admire the show’s oddball, often ingenious comedic rhythms in proper sequence.

Airing from 1972 to 1985, Are You Being Served? occupies a unique middle ground in the history of British sitcom: both enormously broad and remarkably formal. It mines its laughs from double entendres, innuendo, archetypal personalities, and the rigid absurdities of British class hierarchy. In its world, the tired floors of Grace Brothers are a microcosm of post-war Britain: aspirational, petty, horny, and deeply repressed.

The chief pleasure of rewatching via DVD is seeing how consistently the ensemble cast hit their marks. The show is a true ensemble comedy, but it undeniably centres on John Inman’s brilliant, high-camp performance as Mr. Humphries—one of the most iconic queer-coded characters on British television. His fluttering, sly, relentlessly comic energy gives the series a buoyancy that sets it apart from other workplace sitcoms of the era.

Mollie Sugden’s Mrs. Slocombe—endlessly preoccupied with her “pussy”—remains a high-water mark of character comedy, and the continued repetition of the gag only enhances its ridiculousness. The rest of the cast—Trevor Bannister, Frank Thornton, Nicholas Smith, Wendy Richard—slot into extremely defined roles that the scripts cleverly exploit without ever significantly altering.

This static quality, often criticised in modern sitcom terms, is actually part of the show’s charm: it doesn’t evolve so much as escalate, a chamber piece in which small variations provoke large reactions.

The DVDs present the episodes in their original full-frame format, with no attempt made to upscale, restore, or reformat the image beyond basic cleanup and compression. The result is television that looks exactly like television—shot on videotape, with occasional shifts in lighting, colour balance, and softness.

Don’t expect pristine clarity. The show exhibits grain, fuzz, occasional tracking-like artefacts, and a distinct softness during studio wide shots. Close-ups fare better, with decent definition and natural skin tones.

More importantly, the compression is handled well across the discs. Episodes are stable, with no visible macroblocking, digital noise, or motion trails. The DVDs retain the warmth of analogue image without attempting to “modernise” it, and that is likely to please purists.

Audio is clean, flat, mono—functional without being impressive. Dialogue is crisp, laugh track unmuddied, and music cues suitably bright. The show was always sonically unremarkable; the disc preserves that faithfully.

One of the biggest strengths of owning Are You Being Served? on DVD is being able to watch the run in sequence. The show’s comedy doesn’t drastically shift, but the characters settle, deepen, and refine into something approaching sitcom ritual.

The bonus features vary depending on the edition—some releases include interviews, outtakes, or short retrospective pieces, while others are bare-bones.

In most cases, expect at least:

• Cast biographies
• Text-based production notes
• Possibly vintage promotional materials

These are not deep archival extras—nothing like the detailed retrospectives on modern BBC releases. But the supplements provide context, and fans may find small but meaningful historical nuggets.

For many viewers, Are You Being Served? sits squarely in the “comfort-food television” category—warm, predictable, and resolutely unpretentious. But its comedic craftsmanship shouldn’t be overlooked.

It’s bawdy, yes—packed with innuendo and stereotypes that, if produced today, would provoke debate—but also rooted in a very specific British theatrical tradition: pantomime + farce + class satire.

Viewed now, that mix feels antiquated, anarchic, and oddly charming. The DVD allows modern audiences to experience this with authenticity, rather than through intrusive edits, reformatting, or algorithmic streaming compression.

This DVD release of Are You Being Served? is a dependable, satisfying way to revisit a classic of British comedy. It does not attempt to reinvent or modernise the show; instead, it preserves its qualities—good and bad—with fidelity.

Pros

• Complete run of episodes in correct order
• Solid compression and playback stability
• Faithful video/audio presentation
• High rewatch value
• Extremely cost-effective

Cons

• Soft, dated image quality
• Minimal extras
• No restoration work
• Humour may feel repetitive or archaic

A delightful, if unpretentious, archival release that honours the legacy of one of British television’s most beloved sitcoms.

If you grew up with Grace Brothers, or simply love classic UK comedy, this DVD set is a must-own—charming, silly, and endlessly comforting.