The Best Episodes of Are You Being Served?
Every episode of Are You Being Served? ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Are You Being Served?!
This comedy series, which follows the exploits of employees at London's fictional "Grace Brothers" department store, is full of sexual innuendo, slapstick, visual gags, and double entendres. Much of the show's humor parodies Britain's class system, and many of the show's characters are based on stereotypes of the period, including the effeminate Mr. Humphries and the rich, but stingy, store owner.
Top Episode Ratings Summary
The best episode of "Are You Being Served?" is "German Week", rated 8.6/10 from 275 user votes. It was directed by David Croft and written by N/A. "German Week" aired on 4/3/1975 and is rated 0.2 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "Our Figures Are Slipping".
8.6/10 275 votes#1 - German Week
Season 3 Episode 6 - Aired 4/3/1975
Grace Brothers hosts a week long sales event by selling only German goods. The staff, however, find that the German customers they are getting only want British goods. Captain Peacock objects to the "uniform" he's expected to wear and Mrs. Slocombe gets into the German wines.
Director: David Croft
Writer: N/A
8.4/10 300 votes#2 - Our Figures Are Slipping
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 3/28/1973
The Department figures have taken a dive and so Mr. Rumbold decides to convene a sales conference amongst the staff. Since the meeting is taking place after hours and off the clock, no one is very motivated to provide any solutions. If something isn't done, someone might lose their job, and that someone is clearly Mr. Lucas.
Director: Bernard Thompson
Writer: David Croft, Jeremy Lloyd
8.2/10 305 votes#3 - Are You Being Served? (Pilot)
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/8/1972
A reorganization within the store forces the staff of the gentlemen's ready-to-wear department to share their floor space with the Ladies' Department. Mrs. Slocombe, head of the Ladies, and Mr. Grainger, head of the Gents, immediately come to loggerheads over control of the center floor display. Mr. Grainger refuses to take down his trousers and put Mrs. Slocombe's underwear in its place. Undaunted, she goes over his head to Captain Peacock, and then to Mr. Rumbold.
Director: David Croft
Writer: David Croft, Jeremy Lloyd
8.2/10 256 votes#4 - Camping In
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 4/4/1973
A transport strike leaves the staff stranded at the store, so Young Mr. Grace offers to let them spend the night on the floor. Tents are set up, but Mr. Lucas has trouble keeping his up. A "campfire" sing along leads to talk of the last World War and the experiences some of them had.
Director: Bernard Thompson
Writer: David Croft, Jeremy Lloyd
8.2/10 252 votes#5 - Cold Comfort
Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 3/21/1974
A fuel shortage grips the country and Grace Brothers, so the stores furnaces are shut down for the day. The staff are freezing and soon develop unique ways to keep warm.
Director: David Croft
Writer: N/A
8.2/10 222 votes
8.2/10 195 votes#8 - Strong Stuff, This Insurance
Season 7 Episode 2 - Aired 10/26/1979
The staff must take physicals to get insurance. Listening through the door of Mr. Grace's office, they hear Mr. Harman describing the state of the furniture, which they misunderstand as being the results of their physicals.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/10 209 votes#9 - The Apartment
Season 7 Episode 3 - Aired 11/2/1979
By permission of Mr. Grace, Mrs. Slocombe moves into a display apartment in Grace Brothers, because her new home is occupied by squatters. Due to a transport strike, Mr. Humphries seeks to join her in her new accommodations.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.1/10 253 votes#10 - The Clock
Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 3/14/1974
It's Mr. Grainger's 37th anniversary at Grace Brothers and the Department hosts a celebration dinner for him. It's a time of happiness, and dread, for if he receives a cuckoo clock then it means he's to be retired.
Director: David Croft
Writer: N/A
8.1/10 223 votes#11 - Forward Mr. Grainger
Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 4/22/1976
Mr. Grainger is selected to fill in for Mr. Rumbold while he is away; the staff wonder whether they should take advantage of Mr. Grainger's good nature, only to discover to their horror that he doesn't have one when he sacks Mrs. Slocombe.
Director: Ray Butt
Writer: N/A
8.1/10 217 votes#12 - It Pays to Advertise
Season 5 Episode 7 - Aired 4/8/1977
The staff star in a TV commercial for Grace Brothers, produced by Mr. Humphries. Could Mr. Grace's cheapness be the reason for using his staff in such fashion?
Director: Bob Spiers
Writer: N/A
8.0/10 240 votes#13 - Big Brother
Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 4/4/1974
There's trouble afoot at Grace Brothers! Someone's been lifting Mrs. Slocombe's skirts and putting their hands in Mr. Grainger's drawers. Shoplifting has struck the store and Mr. Rumbold installs a store detective and a video surveillance system. It goes off track for awhile, as Mr. Rumbold turns into a voyeur and the staff act like they're on television. Ultimately, the staff decide to do in the scheme and prey on Mr. Rumbolds hypochondria to accomplish it.
Director: David Croft
Writer: N/A
7.9/10 201 votes#17 - Mrs. Slocombe, Senior Person
Season 7 Episode 4 - Aired 11/9/1979
Mrs. Slocombe temporarily takes the place of Mr. Rumbold, who has taken ill . She eats the cream cakes she finds in his office. But she then gets a call from the hospital warning that the ice cream is what made him ill.
Director: David Croft
Writer: N/A
7.8/10 252 votes#18 - His and Hers
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 4/11/1973
Mr. Grainger's trousers are missing, along with the central display. The staff learns that the space was freed up for the "His & Hers" fragrance display. Mrs. Slocombe is outraged that they went her to take down her underwear and put perfume there in its place. The glamorous salesgirl causes stirrings in the trouser department. When it's discovered that free stockings and ties are given out with every scent purchase, both departments formulate a plan to oust the intruder.
Director: Bernard Thompson
Writer: David Croft, Jeremy Lloyd
7.8/10 230 votes#19 - Hoorah for the Holidays
Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 4/11/1974
The Store's redecoration plans threaten to interfere in the staffs vacations. Everyone is now expected to take the same two weeks off and there's disagreements on how to handle it. Grace Brother's Tour Group Company offers some package deals, but they are far from First Class.
Director: David Croft
Writer: N/A
7.8/10 209 votes#21 - Mrs. Slocombe Expects
Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 2/25/1977
The staff have kittens when Mrs. Slocombe announces she's expecting a happy event, but it turns out that it's merely her cat that's pregnant; when she refuses to leave Tiddles unattended, she braves the ire of Captain Peacock by smuggling the cat into the ladies' fitting room.
Director: Ray Butt
Writer: N/A
7.8/10 191 votes#23 - Goodbye Mr. Grainger
Season 5 Episode 6 - Aired 4/1/1977
Mr. Grainger's temper has become extremely short. The staff, in a private meeting with Mr. Rumbold, decide he must go. However, when he wins the lottery, his bad mood vanishes and he makes his peace with the staff and stays on.
Director: Ray Butt
Writer: N/A
7.8/10 180 votes#24 - A Bliss Girl
Season 6 Episode 5 - Aired 12/13/1978
A new display of perfume arrives from Bliss, but there is no Bliss Girl to man the counter. Mrs. Slocombe refuses the position, so Mr. Humphries becomes the Bliss Girl for the day.
Director: Bob Spiers
Writer: N/A
7.8/10 178 votes#25 - The Punch and Judy Affair
Season 7 Episode 8 - Aired 12/26/1979
When the staff of the Ladies' and Gents' departments don't participate in a strike, relations between them and the rest of the store's employees become understandibly bitter. In order to improve the mood, the staff presents a life-size Punch and Judy show for the other employees' children.
Director: David Croft
Writer: N/A
