‘Allo ‘Allo – The Complete Series Six (BBC Home Video)
Picture: C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C Episodes: B-
A few
years ago, someone walked up to me and asked if they could get ‘Allo ‘Allo on home video in any
form. It was very popular on our local
PBS affiliate, but not much discussed outside of its fanbase. I was curious and to my surprise and the
delight of the fan who asked, there was BBC Home Video issuing the show’s first
season on DVD. Well, here we are a few
years later and The Complete Series Six
from later in 1989.
The show
focuses on René Artois (Gorden Kaye), a café owner in occupied France during
WWII who is often dragged in to helping the Resistance. Supposedly a spoof of the British series Secret Army, Americans are more likely
to see it as a flipside to the now-controversial hit series Hogan’s Heroes (reviewed elsewhere on
this site) where the Fascists are made to look like the buffoons they are, no
matter how murderous.
This is
one of the better seasons, as most of the eight shows here are written by the
amazing team of Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, creators of the safer Are You Being Served? In these shows, especially he first four
on the first of two DVDs, exceptional wit and panache is demonstrated in the
writing and performances of an exceptionally gifted cast, the kind that put the
“Britcom” on the map. Now with HD here,
this will be one of the last great such analog Pal productions in a long lone
of exceptional shows.
The
series moves seamlessly from war humor, to religion, to common sense and the
lack of it. It also has fun with
language, cultural differences and is no holds barred in its approach, upping
the humor all the more. If you have never
seen the show, catch one of these sets from the BBC, especially if you like a
good laugh and you are a thinking person.
The 1.33
X 1 image was shot in PAL professional analog video and looks good for its age
with good color and clean copies used for the transfers. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is simple and
clear. The combination is better than
broadcasts I have seen of the show on cable TV, making it the preferred way to
view it. Extras include trailers for
other BBC Home Video releases and 16 bios for the cast and crew.
- Nicholas Sheffo
