Are You Being Served? (Australian TV series)

'Audio samples of Are You Being Served?''''' (media help) Mr. Humphries (Inman) is sent to Australia by Mr. Grace to work temporarily for his Australian cousin Mr. Bone at Bone Brothers. Apart from the new setting and Australian rather than British characters, the characters and situation are almost identical to that of the original series, as are the set design and layout and even the costuming (down to the senior sales woman's ever-changing hair colours). Menswear and ladies apparel share a floor of a large city department store and the departments come into regular conflict. The staff on the floor are the pompous floor-walker Captain Wagstaff (Reg Gillam), crusty senior salesman Mr. Mankowitz (Anthony Bazell), randy sales junior Mr. Randel (Shane Bourne), strident older sales woman Mrs. Crawford (June Bronhill) and attractive but brassy and common younger sales woman Miss Buxton (Judith Woodroffe). Basil Clarke portrays the store's owner Mr. Bone, Reg Evans is the obnoxious cleaner Mr. Cocker, Kerry Daniel plays the nurse, and Tracey Kelly is Bone's attractive secretary. ==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 Manageress • Maurie Fields as Harry Collins (1 episode) Both Judith Woodroffe (Miss Buxton) and Peter Collingwood (Mr. Dunkley) were unavailable for series two so they were replaced with Miss Nicholls (Christine Amor) and Mr. Fenwick (Ken Fraser) respectively. Character similarities with the original series • Mrs. Crawford = Mrs. Slocombe • Captain Wagstaff = Captain Peacock • Miss Buxton/Miss Nicholls = Miss Brahms • Mr. Mankowitz = Mr. Grainger (with some characteristics of Mr. Goldberg) • Mr. Randel = Mr. Lucas/Mr. Spooner • Mr. Dunkley/Mr. Fenwick = Mr. Rumbold • Young Mr. Bone = Young Mr. Grace • Mr. Cocker = Mr. Mash ==Production notes==

The first series was produced at the ATV-0 studios in Melbourne in the early months of 1980. It was the first television role for opera singer June Bronhill. (Her first straight dramatic acting role had been in a theatre production the previous year.) John Inman said, "It's amazing to think this is her first television role, she's a natural." Bronhill discussed the role with TV Week magazine. "I'm delighted with the way my character has turned out. Mrs. Crawford tries to be very refined but sometimes the ocker in her slips out. The British version of Are You Being Served? has always been my favourite comedy series. And I loved Mollie Sugden's performance as Mrs. Slocombe, my counterpart." Actress Abigail guest starred in one episode as a perfume company sales woman installed on the shop floor, whose presence disturbs the head of men's wear and the head of ladies' wear. Abigail's character then does a strip tease to reveal a skimpy costume. Abigail said of the guest spot that "I took this role because I very much wanted to work with John Inman and I have a high regard for the series itself. Besides, I thought it would be a fun proposition." ==Episode list==

Except for "Undesirable Alien", the plot of each episode is based on the corresponding episode of the original series. Season 1 • Ep1: Get Fit Down Under, Mr. Humphries (based on "Strong Stuff, This Insurance") • Ep2: The Hero • Ep3: Mrs. Crawford, Senior Person • Ep4: The Agent • Ep5: The Apartment • Ep6: The Junior • Ep7: The Punch and Judy Affair • Ep8: Anything You Can Do Season 2 • Ep9: Dear Sexy Knickers • Ep10: Camping In • Ep11: Our Figures Are Slipping • Ep12: Heir Apparent • Ep13: Front Page Story • Ep14: Undesirable Alien • Ep15: Diamonds are a Man's Best Friend • Ep16: His and Hers ==Legacy==

The series never ran outside of Australia and thus was not seen in the UK or other countries where Are You Being Served? was popular, such as Ireland, the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. The series has not been repeated on Australian television since the late 1980s. (The UK original Are You Being Served? had been repeated by ABC Television in Australia several times. By 1978 it had been repeated by Channel Seven in Australia to even larger audiences.) In a recurring joke on the radio show Get This, it was stated that only the loss of the master tapes for the series is preventing its release on DVD. The National Film and Sound Archive does in fact contain copies of each episode in its vault. ==Notes==