Are You Free?

Recently I started watching the old British sitcom from the 1970’s, “Are you Being Served?”

It isn’t the first time of course. Like many people, I first saw the thing when it was being run on PBS stations around the country in the 1980’s. I believe it was on around 6pm on Sunday evenings and was just about the only enjoyable things about Sundays at that time. It was a strange show, having an air of “cheese” about it even then. The harsh lighting, one cheap looking set…did upscale British department stores of the time really look like that? 

And that theme music?! Using the cash register’s operational noises as percussion and a female elevator operator’s announcements as lyrics at first it just horribly cheap but soon upon repeated listening it becomes a genius earworm that you challenge to yourself to “sing” along with.

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

There was uneven staging, cameras getting in the way of the actors, bizarre plots contrived to put the cast into bizarre situations, and a weekly change of flamboyant hair colors on Mrs. Slocomb to accompany her weekly “pussy” jokes.

“Oh I don’t need to set an alarm clock. My pussy wakes me every morning at 630 and drops a clockwork mouse on my pillow.”

On phoning her neighbor to say she is detained at work: “Please go to my door and peep through the letter slot. If you can see my pussy, drop a sardine on the mat.”

In case you haven’t guessed, she was talking about her cat “Tiddles”.

Oh the fun the writer(s) must have had devising those gags every week. Probably not as much fun as the prop designers  that were often tasked with coming up with some pretty amazing sight gags using mechanical devices that usually involved something rude with lady’s underwear.

My praise so far in no way indicates I am blind to the very dated norms of life that were acceptable of that time. Sexual harassment seems to be considered normal as does rampant “classism”. That and the representation of the lack of fair labor laws leave me appalled. If that’s the way it was, I’m glad to be rid of it.

Watching it again, I can see how it is all up to the stellar cast to make the whole mess work. For the most part these were consummate professionals who knew how to mine comedy while building the characters’ good will with the audience. By season four, you felt like you really knew these characters and looked forward to seeing what hijinks they would be getting up to with each show. Imperious Captain Peacock mellowed to show his weakness for women and conflating his war record and Mr. Grainger showed what a nasty old cur he could be, especially to Mrs. Slocomb. As you do with friends in real life, you still liked these people warts and all.

Coincidentally, while making my way through the series this time, I saw on social media that it was the birthday of the late, great, John Inman. With gray hair and crooked teeth, he played the mincing, effeminate, “is he or isn’t he” Mr. Humphries on the show. Always flamboyant and close to his mother, Humphries was always available to get a laugh from a crazy costume, outlandish story of the night before, or the ever present innuendo. Apparently his characterization was in the vein of a long time British stage tradition of the “camp” comedian. I realized I knew little of this man outside of this character so I did a little research.

I was happy to see that after the show he still made a career out of playing Mr. Humphries and apparently even travelled Down Under to play the character on stage in Australia. It seems his biggest career success after Mr. Humphries was in playing a “Pantomime Dame” in UK stage shows. He never married but had a lifelong male partner to whom he bequeathed a tidy sum of almost three million pounds. Camping it up pays!

I’m sure many in the modern audiences take a dim view of the character and the way it was played feeling that this type of entertainment needs to be left in the dustbin of history along with other “entertainments” like performances in black face.

I take a different view. Played by Inman, Mr. Humphries is an ever present ray of light. He is never sullen or morose. He never allows himself to be a victim. He is ingenious and outgoing and never seems to be anyone other than who he is. He certainly seems to have the most active, interesting and fun life outside of Grace Brothers Department store.

In some early episodes, the character was written as obviously gay. There is a moment at the end of one episode that sees him seize the hand of young Mr. Grace’s chauffer and lead him towards the men’s room for an implied romp. As the show went on, it became obvious that more humor could be had from making the character more enigmatic. In some of the things I read online the creator of the series asserts that Mr. Humphries wasn’t gay, but was always just meant to be a confused momma’s boy. I don’t buy it.

Played by Inman, I don’t see Humphries as anything but supremely self-aware. He knows that over the phone he could easily be mistaken for female and uses that fact when it benefits him.  Just as he knows to avoid confusion it is best to answer his department’s house phone with a melodiously fake baritone; “Men’s wear!”

As has been the case lately when viewing any movies or TV shows from the 1970’s I am reminded by how progressive some of the mainstream releases were, previously mentioned anachronisms notwithstanding. They are almost modern “pre-code” when compared to so much of today’s infantile mainstream entertainments. I doubt any of the people involved with AYBS had any idea that their work would be entertaining people over 40 years later but it does thanks to DVDs and streaming and we are all the better for it. Stream on!