Jonny66

I'm in the US, and John Inman's Mr. Humphries is enjoyed as pretty much of a cult figure from AYBS. Can anybody recommend anything else he had done on TV that is as highly entertaining as his AYBS role? Thanks so much...

Steve Crook

it was AYBS that brought him to our attention here. And almost everything he's done since then has been related to that. Either the spin-off series "Grace & Favour", the 1977 AYBS movie or appearances on talk shows and other light entertainment shows where he was mainly in his "Hr Humphries" character.

He didn't do much on TV before AYBS and the one slight break he got from it was when he played the lightly camp male secretary to Rula Lanska in "Take a Letter Mr. Jones" (1981)

Steve

batman

I saw him on stage in Ray Cooney's Why Not Stay for Breakfast. He was very good.

Bats.

Jonny66

Thanks for the info guys...Can any of you comment on AYBS(Australian version), Take a Letter Mr. Jones, or Odd Man Out?

blmay28

I would be surprised if Take A Letter Mr Jones was not shown at some point in US as the series was released on video at some point over there.

The series was pretty much a diluted Mr Humphries in an office but obviously lacks the quality of writing that Lloyd & Croft brought to AYBS.

During his later years John Inman's career was pretty confined to stage starring in revues and farces during the Summer season and pantomime at Christmas although he did crop up occasionally in guest appearances in various light entertainment shows.

Jonny66

Thank you guys for all of the Inman info....

Modular

I watched all six episodes earlier this year.

I have to confess, I thought it was awful...

TimR

You're right - it was shown on US television about ten years ago. There was some advance "build up" because AYBS was at the peak of its popularity then. I saw a couple of episodes - I thought it was lame, tenth-rate stuff. I know that it was "pulled" from the schedule before the series was finished. That rarely happens with British comedies, which usually find an audience.

The only other cases of British television comedies that flopped quickly here, to my knowledge, were "Allo, Allo" and a show with Molly Sugden about a woman who is sent into space. I don't remember the title. I thought they were both mildly funny and I would have continued watching - but not enough people agreed. They disappeared very quickly. I think the Sugden show was put on the schedule for the same reason as the Inman show - AYBS was, and is, a great popular success here.

Modular

Come Back Mrs Noah.

dremble wedge

What a shocker! Allo Allo was one of my favourite sitcoms of the 80s!

Marky B

He was also in a sitcom where he inherited a rock factory in Blackpool - it was very poor.
Ta Ta
Marky B

I am special. The heavens always open for me.

TimR

Thanks

booby trap

His catch phrase in that one was "how's yer rock cock"

TimR

Yes - I was surprised it vanished so quickly.

It did receive a lot of publicity; it was compared to AYBS, as it was written by the same team.

I remember seeing the AYBS cast and writers interviewed several years ago, and they expressed surprise that "Are You Being Served" was so successful in the US because it was an essentially British show. I assume the creative team had the same hopes for "Allo, Allo" - if there was an audience for AYBS, then there might be an audience for that show as well.

Also, "Keeping Up Appearances" and "As Times Goes By" have both found large audiences and are now as successful as "Are You Being Served". "Good Neighbors" and "To the Manor Born" found audiences as well, and the old "Monty Python" shows are still being shown.

But "Allo, Allo" just didn't work here. I remember seeing the first episode here with other Americans who enjoy British comedy. We didn't laugh at all. I think that was one example where a show really was too different for an American audience.

Shows (of any type) that have a World War II setting have virtually disappeared, and humor about French and German accents is not really part of American life. But I think it was the tone of the show that didn't work - hard to explain...

I would have liked to see it continue, though - it might have just required time to get used to it.

TimR

Interesting. I thought John Inman was very funny in AYBS and in the sequel series. But I think he was best as part of a group, with others to balance him.