Are You Being Served?

Are You Being Served is at its best when it's not trying to tell a (complicated) story. Though some episodes are clever farces, the characters don't need story lines to come to life. An episode like this one is basically a collection of sketches. We get at least three wonderful examples of good sketch writing and acting. The scene in Mr Rumbold's office where he gets Captain Peacock's story completely wrong is the humour of misunderstanding. A rather remarkable scene involves Mr Humphries on his own, with no dialogue at all. Humphries plays around with a dummy, accidentally destroys a bra and then covers up the dummy with a long scarf. The pantomime reminds you of a (naughty) Chaplin. The long scene in which Humphries tries to sell a fur coat to a customer and the ensuing fight with Mrs Slocombe makes perfect use of the established characters for great comedy.