Are You Being Served?

Are You Being Served? (1972)

47 mistakes

(5 votes)

German Week - S3-E6

Revealing mistake: When Mr. Humphries and Mr. Lucas make their toast with the German mugs, Mr. Lucas' mug breaks but Mr. Humphries' does not. A moment later, when Mr. Humphries notices the mug has not broken, you can see that he crushes the mug with his hand.

The Night Club - S10-E5

Revealing mistake: At the very beginning while the opening jingle is still going on, the camera cuts to Mr. Spooner standing behind the counter; he remains motionless, coat in hand, for a second or two before getting his cue to walk across the floor and begin the show.

Camping In - S1-E4

Revealing mistake: Mrs. Slocombe enters her tent after telling Captain Peacock about the top window. Peacock then obviously uses that moment to stand on his tiptoes and peek in. You can see to the right of the tent the metal cart pushed by Larry Martyn discreetly peek out of the stage entrance and stop as he waits his cue to come on the set, to a rumbling noise. (00:13:35)

Sammo

Show generally

Other mistake: The gender of Mrs Slocombe's cat is always different in each episode. Sometimes her cat is a female and other times it is a male. (eg. In 'Mrs Slocombe Expects', her cat is female. In 'No Sale', when Mrs. Slocombe complains about her having to get up to have a bath at 6:00 in the morning, she says, "The gurgling of the tank woke him up.").

Show generally

Other mistake: There is another counter on the floor, to the right of the stairs, that is usually staffed by two women besides Ms. Brahms and Mrs. Slocombe. But throughout the show when there is a on-floor meeting for the entire floor staff, these two are never included in the discussions.

Anything You Can Do - S7-E6

Revealing mistake: During the end credits of this episode, a bowl of soup is shown. A frog appears in it for a few seconds and then sinks under the water again. You can see the string being used to pull the frog up. It surfaces as the frog does, and is very easy to spot.

The Night Club - S10-E5

Revealing mistake: When Mr. Humphries is talking to the canteen manageress about her lines as the hat check girl, in the shots of the former one can see Mr. Harman standing about in the background, waiting and watching for his cue to come on.

By Appointment - S6-E1

Other mistake: After Mr. Tebbs finishes telling his story about selling seven toilets in one day, Mr. Lucas makes a wisecrack and Mr. Humphries says "I think it's the way Mr. Tebb [instead of 'Tebbs'] tells it."

Are You Being Served? mistake picture

Goodbye Mrs. Slocombe - S10-E1

Other mistake: When Mr. Humphries first comes back to the department in drag and talks to Capt. Peacock before being directed to the Ladies Dept., you can see, in the background, Mr. Spooner trying desperately (and unsuccessfully) not to laugh.

The Old Order Changes - S5-E4

Continuity mistake: In this episode, it is revealed that Mr. Lucas' first name is Dick; but way back in series 2 ("The Clock"), his first name is given as "James." This discrepancy takes place a few times over the course of the entire show run.

It Pays to Advertise - S5-E7

Revealing mistake: When Mr. Lucas gives Mrs. Slocombe the radio mike, it slips down her dress out of reach; Mr. Harman says "It can't have gone down all that far," and he's right: The short cord of the mike is visible sticking out of the dress for quite some time until Mrs. Slocombe herself pushes the mike down (in the appearance of trying to fish it out).

The Punch and Judy Affair - S7-E8

Revealing mistake: When the staff are assembled in Mr. Rumbold's office sans Mr. Lucas, Lucas comes rushing in late. However, before he does you can see him standing just outside the door, waiting for his cue to rush in.

No Sale - S4-E1

Continuity mistake: Mr. Lucas says the figures for the previous Monday were 325 pounds, and at that point in the day the departments combined (170 and 150) were up to 320, five pounds short. However, later when Mr. Rumbold is talking to Mr. Grace about the sudden drop in sales, he says they are "still 20 pounds short" of the previous Monday.

His and Hers - S1-E5

Revealing mistake: On the tape player that the sales girl is using, the reels are moving in opposite directions, the tape can't play doing that.

Shoulder to Shoulder - S3-E7

Continuity mistake: At the end of the show, after they reveal the 'new' ladies department. Mr Grainger is not wearing his glasses, as Mrs Slocombe has them in her purse, the shot changes to Mrs Slocombe, then back to Mr Grainger he is wearing his glasses, and there is no way he could have got them from Mrs Slocombe.

Mr. Humphries: I'm free!

More quotes from Are You Being Served?
More trivia for Are You Being Served?

Answer: It usually just means seeing something weird or unusual, perhaps something someone wouldn't believe you saw without proof. The phrase is usually "haven't got your gun", although some people replace "gun" with "camera." Basically think about a hunter spending all week in the woods looking for the biggest [fill in the blank] and the one day he goes out into the woods without his gun and then finally sees it.

Bishop73

Answer: I would also interpret it (metaphorically speaking) as when someone has a gun in hand, there is a specific target or intent they are so fixated on, that they block out everything else around them. Without a gun, one would see their environment more comprehensively, noticing details they would otherwise overlook. To clarify, someone who has too narrow or fixated a focus or perspective, misses other important things going on around them that might affect their opinions or conclusions.

raywest

More questions & answers from Are You Being Served?

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.