Are You Being Served?

Overview

This awesome comedy takes place in the fictional Grace Brothers Department Store, of which we usually only see the Ladies' Department and the Gents' Ready-Made Department. Amid the day-to-day rush of serving customers and improving business, we the audience get to see how all the staff relate (or don't relate) to each other, and the crazy hijinks they all get up to.

Major Characters

Executive Staff

Ladies' Department Staff

Gentlemen's Department Heads

Gentlemen's Department Staff

Store Staff

Full Cast List on IMDB.com

Show Dynamics (Spoilers)

Captain Peacock is always a little tempted by Miss Brahms, but never really makes a move on her.

It seems unclear to the rest of the staff what kind of lifestyle Mr. Humphries leads (but it’s pretty clear to the audience).

The doughty Mrs. Slocombe is usually the one who goes to bat for everyone else, and is not afraid to look stupid while doing it.

Mrs. Slocombe, as head of the women’s department, usually butts heads with the head of the men’s department, but this fades into the background as the seasons go on. Mr. Grainger and she, however, have a legendary rivalry going.

Mr. Humphries provides a lot of the puns and under-the-radar humor; the junior assistant (Mr. Lucas in the first half of the series and Mr. Spooner in the last half) generally provides more of the slapstick or more obvious humor.

Miss Brahms, as the younger of the two women on the ladies’ department, has more “comedy of ignorance” lines, while Mrs. Slocombe gets the “comedy of experience” lines.

Mrs. Slocombe seems to have a pretty crazy second life outside the shop, going out to bars with her friend Mrs. Axelby (never seen). You almost get the feeling she’s embellishing a little to make her life seem more interesting.

Also, Mrs. Slocombe generally gets to play mother to the rest of the staff when things go wrong.

Short Essays

Why the Shuffle of Leaders in the Gentlemen's Department After Grainger?

After Mr. Grainger retires, about halfway through the show's run, several more "senior staff" men come in to act as Head of Gentlemen's Department, as evidenced by the Major Characters list above. This was primarily because Arthur Brough, the actor who portrayed Mr. Grainger, passed away at the end of Season 6. But I've come up with a few (funny) reasons why the quick succession of senior in the gentlemen's department works in the plotline of the show as well:

Links

Are You Being Served? Forever
The Are You Being Served? Forum
TVTropes.com
Are You Being Served? Wikia
Are You Being Served? Fansite
AYBSCentral.com
AYBS Webring
AYBS @ TheCanteen.com
Are You Being Served? Virtual Video Vault
AYBS Fanpop Club