| David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd's sitcom 'Allo 'Allo started life in 1982 as a modest one-off spoof of the classic 1970s drama series Secret Army. A throwback to an earlier era during the 1980s heyday of alternative comedy, the show's decidedly un-PC mix of bedroom farce and crudely drawn national stereotypes was subsequently stretched over nine series in all (1984-1992), making it TV's successor to the long-running Carry On series. 'Allo 'Allo was not only similarly preoccupied with seaside postcard humour, it was also blessed with a cracking ensemble cast (including Carry On veteran Kenneth Connor) whose sheer energy eked out comic gold from even the laziest jokes about humourless Germans, cowardly Italians, "Tally ho!" Brits and onion-selling Frenchmen. Like Croft & Lloyd's Are You Being Served, it was the cast interaction more than the material itself that produced the laughs. Gordon Kaye deserves much of the credit for keeping the show fresh. Whether he's plotting with the sexy Resistance leader, in cahoots with the Nazi commandant about a priceless painting of "The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies", or fending off the attentions of sex-starved waitresses under the withering gaze of his wife Edith, bumbling Rene is the lynchpin around which the endless farce revolves. Despite its determination never to vary the formula from week to week, the show had at least one virtue--it wasn't afraid to offend anyone. --Mark Walker |
