Poor Rene. He was last seen in a prisoner of war camp, trapped with his wife and both mistresses, not to mention the two idiotic British airmen and Michelle, the hardest taskmaster of the Resistance. What's worse, Cafe Ren... more »e and its gin supply are in the unreliable hands of his mother-in-law. More hare-brained schemes, more cross-dressers, more sausages, more fractured accents, more double entendres ? they're all part of the rich texture of this hugely popular sitcom from the BBC!« less
Robert S. Riemensnyder | Wilkes-Barre, PA | 10/29/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've always enjoyed Allo Allo. From Day One, it's been the perfect blend of witty one-liners, slapstick, intrigue and bawdy humor. However, I feel the series's momentum really picked up with this, the fourth season of the show.
I was sad to see the characters of Maria and Hans to leave the show, but their departure made room for two things that made the series so much funnier - the introduction of Mimi and more emphasis on Gruber.
From top to bottom, this season is hilarious. The episode where Rene and Edith interview prospective replacements for Maria is a personal favorite of mine. Highly recommended to fans of British comedy or any comedy for that matter. Timelessly funny."
You don't have to tell EVERYBODY!
D. Barr | Clallam Bay, WA United States | 02/11/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Even when the Brits are doing the silliest stuff, they WORK at it. The pure looniness of this series is enough to recommend it, but --
Every medal and line of the German uniforms is correct. Who would care? But if somebody's been on the Russian front, he's got the medals for it.
The cars are right, the clothes are right. Even the farm machinery is right, and obviously borrowed from loving owners. This gloriously goofball series is as exacting and accurate as a Masterpiece Theater presentation, at least in the prop department.
But wait -- is that the only work they've done?
The nutty handling of the accents is based on actual idiosyncracies of the various languages.
Even Leutnant Grueber, when trilling "Attention!" does it in the antique high-pitched tone of a Berlin sergeant. How esoteric can you get?
The relationships of the characters -- from the desperate measures plain people have to go through to survive an occupation, to the sexual preferances in a murderous regime -- skate just this side of the horrific, and still manage to make us gasp with laughter, while accurately portraying the weirdness that was World War Two. It's been said that the best comedy is based in suffering. If that's the case, this series is working the formula like a caisson horse.
The research on this series is just mind-boggling. It makes it just that much more fun for a student of the period.
When the series needed to replace the actor who played Herr Flick, it didn't find someone who looked like him. It found someone who acted and sounded like him, and then claimed he'd had plastic surgery. Now that's chutzpah (pardon the reference).
It reminds us once again, as a character on The Jeffersons once said about a British neighbor:
"There's a whole ISLAND like him over there."
'Allo, 'allo is another reason we should be glad."
Complete Series/Seasons 1-9 to be made available?
R.B. | USA | 02/23/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Series/Seasons 1-4 have been available on DVD [in PAL format] in the UK and Australia for some time. There is a great deal of hope among the growing numbers of fans that the remainder of the program [series/seasons 5-9] will also be made available. The availability of Series/Season Five DVD should tip us off if plans to release the remainder of Allo, Allo are in the works.
I would venture to guess, if you like Hogan's Heroes, you may take a liking to Allo, Allo as well. I did!
Give it a shot!"
An Outstanding British Humor!!!
SylNYC | NY, NY USA | 04/11/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Finally, the long-awaited comedy series is here... volume after volume. The series is a great pleasure to watch, with lots of laughter, "kinky humor", lots of slap-stick lines and physical comedy. Super quality television!!! a must-own DVD collection."
'Allo, 'Allo Season 4...another hit!
jenmbrun | PA | 01/11/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have purchased the first 4 seasons for various special occasions for my husband as gifts. He used to watch the series when it aired on BBC years ago. I was skeptical about watching them with him because I typically do not follow British humor. But let me tell you, they are as much for me now as they are for him. And Season 4 is just as funny as the first 3. The only thing is, this season is only 1 disc, whereas the previous had 2 discs, so I felt we were short-changed a wee bit. The addition of the Italian is SO funny. We lose Maria in this season, but we gain the undercover Resistance member MiMi (I think that was her name) who also now has the hots for Rene.
We loved every episode of Season 4, and I will be ordering Season 5 for my husband (and myself) for Valentine's Day...I can't wait!!"