Corrected entry: At the beginning when Mr. Harman brings in the male robot, he says that Mr. Lucas is coming up with the female one in the goods lift. Actually, one can see Mr. Lucas standing with the robot behind Mr. Harman waiting to come on.
Are You Being Served? (1972)
1 corrected entry in season 4
Starring: Frank Thornton, John Inman, Mollie Sugden, Wendy Richard
Genres: Comedy
Revealing mistake: When the gentleman buying the dress comes out from behind the curtain in the change room, you can see the set for the canteen, with the lights off. (00:14:45)
Mr. Humphries: I'm free!
Trivia: The "lift voice" heard during the theme song in each episode is that of Stephanie Gathercole, who played Mr. Rumbold's secretary in the earliest episodes.
Question: Does anyone know why Wendy Richard (Ms. Brahms) is the only one not wearing blackface for the musical number at the end of the episode?
Answer: In minstrel shows there was also a stereotype of black men preying on white women, so that's probably why she was not in black face. Also, Mrs. Slocombe is in blackface because she is an older, stout woman and she fits the "mammy" stereotype.
Answer: In Britain, there was the show Black and White Minstrels which was very popular until the late 70s. The men were all blacked up, but the women weren't - hence Black and White Minstrels. It's been a while since I saw the episode to know if Mrs Slocombe was blacked up as well, but technically she shouldn't have been.
Correction: Mr. Harman indicates that Mr. Lucas is following "up close with Ginger Rogers," not that he's on the goods lift.