The WORST episodes of Are You Being Served?
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Are You Being Served? is a British Sitcom that ran from 1972-1985. The show revolved around "Grace Brothers Department Store" and in particular the goings on within the "Gentlemen's Ready-To-Wear" and "Ladies' Separates and Underwear" Departments. A store reorganization forced these two departments to share floor space, and the conflicts that this created set the tone for most episodes. Are You Being Served? showcases a bygone period of time in which the class structure was still very much alive. There was a strict hierarchy within Grace Brothers. Everyone knew their "places" and remained in them, unless, of course, there was a chance for advancement and then it was every man and woman for themselves. A spin-off series of Are You Being Served? was released, called Grace and Favour. Although in the U.S, it was named Are You Being Served? Again!
#1 - Big Brother
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/4/1974
There's trouble afoot at Grace Brothers! Someone's been lifting Mrs. Slocombe's skirts and putting their hands in Mr. Grainger's drawers. Shoplifting has struck the store and Mr. Rumbold installs a store detective and a video surveillance system. It goes off track for awhile, as Mr. Rumbold turns into a voyeur and the staff act like they're on television. Ultimately, the staff decide to do in the scheme and prey on Mr. Rumbolds hypochondria to accomplish it.
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#2 - The Hero
Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/16/1979
Captain Peacock is challenged to a boxing match by a member of another department. He backs out, and Mr. ""Hugger"" Humphries is "" elected"" to take his place in a wrestling match. He loses that match, but Mrs. Slocombe enters the ring and defeats the challenger.
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#3 - Mrs. Slocombe, Senior Person
Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/9/1979
Mrs. Slocombe temporarily takes the place of Mr. Rumbold, who has taken ill, and she discovers the job isn't what she expected.
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#4 - Heir Apparent
Season 8 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/7/1981
Old Mr. Grace becomes convinced that Mr. Humphries is his long-lost son.
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#5 - By Appointment
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/15/1978
The new head of men's department is introduced and the staff prepare for a possible royal visit.
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#6 - The Hand of Fate
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/27/1975
Mr. Humphries begins displaying his ability to read palms and tell the future. He sees that Captain Peacock will soon be "climbing the ladder and wearing a new hat". Everyone takes this to mean a promotion, especially now that there's a vacancy on the Board of Directors and Mr. Rumbold is in line for it. Captain Peacock expects to take Mr. Rumbold's job. The department staff soon all imagine moving up.
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#7 - The Erotic Dreams of Mrs. Slocombe
Season 8 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/28/1981
Mrs. Slocombe has dreams in which she and Mr. Humphries become romantically embroiled. When she attempts to turn fantasy into reality, the situation becomes most difficult to handle.
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#8 - The Night Club
Season 10 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/18/1985
When Old Mr. Grace decides to allow the staff to use the store for after-hours money-making, they decide to open a nightclub. However, the advertising campaign has some rather unexpected results.
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#9 - Lost and Found
Season 9 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/27/1983
When Mrs. Slocombe's cat turns up missing, she decides that only Mr. Humphries could take its place.
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#10 - The Hold Up
Season 10 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/4/1985
When the store is robbed late one night, the staff determine to capture the burglars themselves.
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#11 - Shedding the Load
Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 12/6/1978
Sales figures are down; profits are low. Young Mr. Grace is forced to make some economies. The threat of redundancies is looming. Someone is going to have to go - but who is it to be?
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#13 - Conduct Unbecoming
Season 9 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/29/1983
Captain Peacock continues to flirt with Mr. Rumbold's new secretary while Mr. Humphries leaves his mother's home and is accused of stealing.
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#15 - Top Hat and Tails
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/15/1976
Mr. Humphries' background as a dance instructor is called upon when the Ladies' and Gents' Wear departments form a team to compete in the inter-store ballroom dancing competition.
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#16 - The Apartment
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/2/1979
By permission of Mr. Grace, Mrs. Slocombe moves into a display apartment in Grace Brothers, because her new home is occupied by squatters. Due to a transport strike, Mr. Humphries seeks to join her in her new accommodations.
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#17 - The Clock
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/14/1974
It's Mr. Grainger's 37th anniversary at Grace Brothers and the Department hosts a celebration dinner for him. It's a time of happiness, and dread, for if he receives a cuckoo clock then it means he's to be retired.
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#18 - The Club
Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 11/22/1978
Young Mr. Grace invites his workers to form a social club - in a dismal cellar badly in need of decoration. Undeterred, the staff tackle the paint and paper job with vigor.
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#20 - Gambling Fever
Season 10 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/11/1985
Security cameras are again installed at Grace Brothers, and when the staff bet their bonuses on a horse race, it's up to Mr. Humphries to mime the race to them by closed-circuit.
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#21 - Pilot
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/8/1972
A reorganization within the store forces the staff of the Gentlemens Ready-To-Wear Department to share their floor space with the Ladies Department. Mrs. Slocombe, head of the Ladies, and Mr. Grainger, head of the Gents, immediately come to loggerheads over control of the center floor display. Mr. Grainger refuses to take down his trousers and put Mrs. Slocombe's underwear in its place. Undaunted, she goes over his head to Captain Peacock, and then to Mr. Rumbold.
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#22 - Cold Comfort
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/21/1974
A fuel shortage grips the country and Grace Brothers, so the stores furnaces are shut down for the day. The staff are freezing and soon develop unique ways to keep warm.
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#23 - Front Page Story
Season 8 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/23/1981
Mr. Humphries is made editor of the new staff magazine. The 1st Floor staff is not pleased with the stories he writes about them causing friction in the relations between floors.
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#24 - The Think Tank
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/28/1974
Sales are falling once again and so Mr. Rumbold calls together a "think tank", a suggestion he "borrowed" from Captain Peacock. The staff decide that a fashion show would be the answer, but when Young Mr. Grace won't cough up the dough to hire proper models, the staff are forced to put on the show themselves.
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#25 - Forward Mr. Grainger
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/22/1976
Mr. Grainger is selected to fill in for Mr. Rumbold while he is away; the staff wonder whether they should take advantage of Mr. Grainger's good nature, only to discover to their horror that he doesn't have one when he sacks Mrs. Slocombe.
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