Are You Being Served?

It seems whenever I find myself living alone, Are You Being Served? comes back into my life. When I lived in California, it was on Fridays at 9. Here in upstate NY it is on Saturdays at 10.

I don't know why this show gives me such comfort. It isn't the writing, the sets, or the acting. I guess as a whole, though, the program is able to take me away to a fantasy setting and I can lose myself from my current worries.

Sadly, most of the actors have passed away. They'll live on in repeats. I think of it as a British version of I Love Lucy.


1. WENDY RICHARD played cheeky junior assistant Miss Shirley Brahms. She went on to play dowdy Pauline Fowler on BBC EastEnders for 856 episodes and almost 22 years.

2. TREVOR BANNISTER played Mr. James Lucas, the menswear assistant with an eye for Miss Brahms.

3. JOHN INMAN became a national favorite as Mr. Wilberforce Clayborne Humphries.

4. FRANK THORNTON played Captain Stephen Peacock, a snooty assistant floor manager of military bearing with a tendency to leer at the younger ladies.

5. MOLLIE SUGDEN played Mrs. Betty Slocombe, famous for her catchphrase "Have you seen my pussy?" by which, of course, she meant her pet cat.

6. ARTHUR BROUGH played Ernest Grainger, who often fell asleep in the store and was woken when Mr. Humphries would call "Are you free, Mr Grainger?" His character was replaced by Mr. Tebbs, played by James Hayter.

7. NICHOLAS SMITH played Mr. Cuthbert Rumbold, the jumpy floor manager whose big ears were constantly the butt of jokes. He later voiced Reverend Hedges in the animated adventure Wallace & Gromit In The Curse Of The Were- Rabbit.

8. HAROLD BENNETT played Young Mr. Grace, one of the elderly owners of the Grace Brothers department store. The joke was that, despite his name, he was not even close to being young.

Ground floor: Perfumery, stationary and leather goods, wigs and haberdashery, kitchenware and food. Going up!

First floor: Telephones, gents ready-made suits, shirts, socks, ties, hats, underwear, and shoes. Going up!

Second floor: Carpets, travel goods and bedding, materials, soft furnishings, restaurants, and teas. Going down!

Love this show, and I am unanimous in that!