Grace and Favour

1990s British tv sitcom

After long years the Grace Brothers department store is finally closed after death of Young Mr Grace, but few of the surviving employees are in for surprise - it turns out their pensions were not secured by the employer, but there is an option for them...

After Are You Being Served? has ended after 10 season the series creators, Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, felt there is a possibility of a spin-off. Of course it could not take place in the department story any more, since that theme was clearly overused in the original series, but for several years they could not come up with good enough idea that would brought back the staff of Grace Brothers store. Finally in 1992 they brought back the cast, at least those who were still available (Mike Berry wasn’t interested in returning for another series, Arthur English had already retired, Trevor Bannister felt his character would not fit in the concept - see the trivia), so 4 of the main characters from Are You Being Served? returned to a new reality.

Mrs. Slocombe, Mr. Humphries, Miss Brahms and Captain Peacock have just learned that their pension fund was actually invested by Young Mr Grace and they actually do not have money to retire. However as part of the inheritance Mr Grace left some real estates and the four employees became owners of the country mansion that is used as hotel. To make things worse they can’t sell the property since it is a trust, so their only option is to run the hotel. After arrival they are met by the hotel manager, none other than Mr. Rumbold, who used to be their superior in the store. Now they are stuck together in run-down hotel they can’t sell...

Such nostalgia trips as Grace and Favour usually turn out to be horrible projects that have very little to offer - the actors are getting older, the writers are getting older, the only thing that keeps them going is the sentimental note and the slightly faint popularity of original series. Perhaps because too much time have passed after Are You Being Served? or perhaps the concept of switching to rural locations wasn’t that great, but Grace and Favour seemed to be a bit forced idea. It was nice to see the actors together again, there were some good moments, but overall it was more of a closure for Are You Being Served? than the beginning of something new. It was interesting project that wasn’t bad in any way, but it was far from the level of original humour.

Rating	6.0
Funny	6 / 10
Entertaining	4 / 5
Characters	3 / 5
Nonrepetitive	2 / 5