User Reviews

SPOILERS

From the creators of the British TV series "Are You Being Served?" (also also both write the pilot, along with two other people), comes an American version. Like other American attempts at pilots based off of British TV shows before, during, and after this, it failed. Be it this, the terrible "Red Dwarf" pilot, or the 2005 "20 Things to do Before You're 30" which didn't even get to air.

A number of the cast members look somewhat like their British counterparts, and the design and layout of the sales floor is just like the British series.

Hillerman was just right for the role and had some good lines. However, the pilot was hampered by two poor performances: that of Tom Poston, whose acting was sub par at best, and Alan Sues playing the infamous Mr. Humphries. Sues tried, but failed -- he just wasn't right for the part.

There's not much to the pilot but it has some good laughs (and some no-laughs, as well as two bad edits), so it's a little baffling why it wasn't picked up -- there was far, far worse on TV at that time. It could have easily fixed itself during a season run.

If you're fans of the original British series, you might find this a way to kill some time on the weekend, but don't expect as much from it as the British series.

And one special note to the short, but pleasant orchestral score by "Knight Rider" composer Don Peake, who shows us even ten second cues can be nice and transition scoring doesn't have to feature a drum kit and electric guitar like so many comedy series of today.

Beane's of Boston's greatest feature is its ability to make you appreciate the actors on the original British series Are You Being Served? This pilot for a never-produced American version of the show was based on the "German Week" episode of the original, but captures none of the charm, and very little humor, of the original.

The American cast looked great on paper, but only John Hillerman showed any signs of living up to the role. He and Charlotte Rae had a glimmer of potential chemistry, but the writers gave them nothing to work with. The real problem, though, was replacing the department manager, Mr. Rumbold, with a nebbish nephew of the store's owner. The pilot framed him as the central character, but gave him no funny lines, personality, or even character traits. The pecking order of the original series was gone, leaving only stock characters working in a failing store. George O'Hanlon, Jr. may be a very talented guy, but in 1979 he was not up to being the central character of a sitcom.

The original British cast delivered their lines with perfect timing, letting the bombs drop as character observations. The American cast beat every punchline with a borscht-belt gusto and dropped them in with the subtlety of a thermonuclear device.