Are you being Served was a long running sitcom that came on the scenes between 1972 and 1985. it was set in a mens and womens cothing store in London. the sitcom is famous for its many double entendres, meaning that alot of the things that were said had a double meaning. also occasionaly the characters had to wear some of the costumes in the store and always with humorous consequences.

Ronnie Barker was born on the 25th of September 1929. at an early age Barker was writing plays for family and friends. this was to be the start of lengthy life in theatre and television. at the age of 19 Barker was working for the Plahouse Theatre under actor mangement by Frank Shelley. Barker would later refer to Shelley as ' one of the three wise men who directed my career, without men like these, there would be no theatre.' Barker then moved on to be an actor and assistant stage manager with the Manchester Repertory Company. Barker's first radio and indeed sitcom appearance was in 1956 where he played characters in The Navy Lark. Barker first began to act with David Jason in the sitcom Hark at Barker between 1961-63. in 1973 the first episode of porridge was broadcast which Barker rgarded as his finest work. on the morning of October 3rd 2005 Ronald William George Barker sadly died due to heart failure. His life and work was honoured at the British Acedemy Television AWards in 2006.

Detention Notice

Niall you are in detention on Monday 3-4pm

Yo have made no effort to research your chosen sitcom despite having 3 weeks to do so.  You have also ignored the task I set on Wednesday.  This is not the ideal start to your exam revision.  I expect to see real improvements made over the weekend for me to see after school on Monday.

a bit of background

Are you being served was a slap-stick comedy during the 1970's and 80's. The comedy was full sexual inneundo humour as there are constant jokes about Mrs. Slocombe's 'pussy' (cat).

Unlucky you!

Unlucky for picking Are You Being Served!  However there is lots out there so get searching.  Try youtube for clips and character/actor summaries will be fairly easy.  Can't wait to see what you come up with!  Try to keep it clean though - it isn't the most politically correct programme so be careful.  

The Following were the cast of Are You Being Served:

Cast

Frank Thornton

Captain Peacock

John Inman

Mr Humphries

Mollie Sugden

Mrs Slocombe

Wendy Richard

Miss Brahms

Nicholas Smith

Mr Cuthbert Rumbold

Harold Bennett

Young Mr Grace

Trevor Bannister

Mr Lucas

Arthur Brough

Mr Grainger

Arthur English

Mr Harmen

Larry Martyn

Mr Mash

Mike Berry

Mr Spooner

Kenneth Waller

Old Mr Grace

Penny Irving

Miss Bakewell (secretary)

Vivienne Johnson

Nurse

Good ol' copy and paste

The Treatment

A treatment is generally more inclusive than a synopsis (which condenses the story into a few paragraphs), and also more dramatic. Its purpose is to create curiosity and enthusiasm for your script while describing the basic elements: leading characters, key scenes, overall storyline, mood, tone and/or genre of the piece, and any themes to be developed or explored. Unlike the script itself, which should be prosaic to a fault, a certain amount of poetic or colourful prose is permitted, even recommended, in a treatment, in order to make it more "persuasive." While your screenplay should limit itself to describing in simple terms what needs to be shot, a treatment is allowed to speculate (or fantasise) about how the finished programme might look, to discuss the overall effect you are shooting for, and to dramatize, not just describe, the action. This is mostly a matter of taste, however; some treatments are just highly detailed synopses

Synopsis

A synopsis generally implies something much shorter than the average treatment, probably a page at the most. Unless you have written an extremely basic script, a synopsis will have to omit most of the action and focus on the main points. For this reason, some screenwriters find composing a synopsis more taxing than writing the original script. Imagine trying to sum up the plot of The Godfather or The Matrix in a couple of paragraphs! Economy of language and description is something that comes more easily to advertisers than to writers, who naturally tend towards volume and eloquence rather than terseness and economy. But it can be a useful exercise to sum up your script in a handful of phrases. Being forced to focus on what is integral to story and theme can help draw out the essence of your piece and place it into a new perspective.

Since you can't describe the whole plot in two paragraphs, you will need to emphasize what constitutes the main thread, the story arc that takes audiences through your sitcom, and the ways in which this arc develops the main characters and the intended theme (assuming there is one). With The Matrix, for example, it might be easiest to focus on the journey of the main character, Thomas Anderson, as he discovers the truth of his situation (that he is living inside a computer program, his real body is being drained of energy by machines), and claims his power as The One. Everything else would be delegated to secondary or peripheral importance, and excluded from the synopsis.

Loglines

Finally, the logline, as the shortest, most concise summary of all, may prove the most difficult to realize to your satisfaction. A logline is solely for "selling" purposes: a couple of well-chosen lines used to "pitch" your script to prospective buyers. Think about what inspired you to write your script, what you most like about it, and what makes it stand out from other sitcoms

With all of these forms-treatment, synopsis, and logline- you will want to focus on those elements that are most exciting, challenging, intriguing and original in your script, taking care to place them in a context (that of genre, for example) that is both familiar and accessible to the reader, so reassuring them that your script is "marketable."