Are You Being Served In Australia? (partially lost Australian remake of British TV series; 1980-1981)
Title card.
Status: Partially Lost
Are You Being Served In Australia is an Australian remake of the British sitcom of the same name. It was produced by Network Ten and aired 16 episodes in two seasons. The drawcard presents actor, John Inman reprising his role as the main character, Mr.Humphries from the original series. However, the other characters of the show are directly based on the original characters from the British version, just having new names.[1]
In comparison to the original series, Inman described this version of the series as "tighter - there's less padding."[2]
Plot
Mr.Humphries is sent to Australia by Mr.Grace to work temporarily at his Australian cousin's menswear department, Bone Brothers. However, apart from being in a new setting with Australian characters, the characters and situations are almost the same as in the original series, from the set design to the costuming. Menswear and ladies' apparel share a floor of a large city department store which comes into regular conflicts throughout the show.
Cast
- John Inman as Mr. Humphries
- June Bronhill as Mrs. Crawford
- Reg Gillam as Captain Wagstaff
- Judith Woodroffe as Miss Buxton
- Christine Amor as Miss Nicholls
- Tony Bazell as Mr. Mankowitz
- Shane Bourne as Mr. Randel
- Peter Collingwood as Mr. Dunkley
- Ken Fraser as Mr. Fenwick
- Basil Clarke as Young Mr. Bone
- Reg Evans as Mr. Cocker
- Kerry Daniel as Young Mr. Bone's Nurse
- Tracey Kelly as Young Mr. Bone's Secretary
- Bernadette Gibson as the Canteen manager
- Maurie Fields as Harry Collins (1 episode)
Availability
The series never ran outside of Australia and has never been repeated on television since the late 1980s. Though, a recurring joke on a radio show called "Get This", stated that the loss of the master tapes from the series prevented its release on DVD. 15 episodes from the show have been found and uploaded by YouTube user, Fredrick Featherstone, though Season 1, Episode 3 hasn't been found entirely.
Episode List
Season One
| # | Episode Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Get Fit Down Under, Mr. Humphries | Found |
| 2 | The Hero | Found |
| 3 | Mrs. Crawford, Senior Person | Lost |
| 4 | The Agent | Found |
| 5 | The Apartment | Found |
| 6 | The Junior | Found |
| 7 | The Punch and Judy Affair | Found |
| 8 | Anything You Can Do | Found |
Season Two
| # | Episode Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Dear Sexy Knickers | Found |
| 10 | Camping In | Found |
| 11 | Our Figures Are Slipping | Found |
| 12 | Heir Apparent | Found |
| 13 | Front Page Story | Found |
| 14 | Undesirable Alien | Found |
| 15 | Diamonds are a Man's Best Friend | Found |
| 16 | His and Hers | Found |