John Inman ("Are You Being Served") passing...

[MichaelWinicki]

Don't know if many on this board appreciate British comedies but John Inman of "Are You Being Served" passed away this past Wednesday.

As "Mr. Humphries", John was a tremendous comedic actor. I came across the show in the early 1980's while living near Lake Erie. The local cable company had access to a couple channels from Canada being beamed from across the lake-- and with those channels came the British comedies. This was before PBS stations around the country "found" this relatively unknown (at least in the U.S.) type of programming.

To me, "Are You Being Served" is one of the very best comedies of all time-- be it from any country where English is the prime language. British comedies have pretty much ruined me as far as being able to sit through most American comedies, which I find to be rather un-funny for the most part.

Anyway, sorry to see John pass-on but thankfully "Are You..." will be around for a long time to come.

 

[Arch Stanton]

I've been fortunate to watch a lot of British Sitcoms. Though "Are you being served" isn't one of my faves. I never did catch on to the John Inman charactor. I rate it along with Hi-Di-Hi...nothing too special.

Here's a list of what I consider to be all time classics....

The Good Life - Starring the "thinking man's crumpet" Felicity Kendall. Yum yum. She still looks good even though she's pushing 60...I think.

Only Fool and Horses - I can relate to this one having lived some of my life in London and seen some of the dodgy dealing that goes on.

Dad's Army - one of the best cast comedies of all time. Some comedy acting greats here....though many unfortunately are dead.

The Likely Lads and the follow up Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads.

Porridge - a Ronnie Barker classic.

One Foot in the Grave - its Victor Meldrew of course!

Fawlty Towers - Cleese in fine form.

Blackadder - Rowan Atkinson at his very best.

The Thin Blue Line - a Rowan Atkinson and Ben Elton classic.

The Office - Ricky Gervais in the original classic tale of a "fly on the wall documentary" written as a sitcom. He's a funny stand up comedian....his Animals show springs to mind.

....finally a real old fave of mine Steptoe and Son. A tale of a father and son Rag and Bone business.

Wow, I really quoted more than I expected. Anyway, try this website for info on sitcoms.

http://www.sitcom.co.uk/