...but surely not as dreadful as this, one of the worst of all sitcoms.
Mimicking accents - particularly French - for laughs is neither novel nor particularly well done in this lame effort. Even if it were, the repetition of the same gags (spoken in a French accent that would have made Maurice Chevalier blush) "I shall say this only 'wernce'" and "Good Moaning" in every episode would have worn thin long before the ten-year run was up.
The curious viewer tuning in for the last episode would have great difficulty in distinguishing it from the first episode as regards lack of style, talent and humour. They would however have no difficulty in recognising it as another BBC 'formula' run for far too long in an attempt to compete with the commercial channels churning out similar rubbish at the time.
Bizarrely, while working in Paris in the late 1980's I saw an episode dubbed into French and was told the series was incredibly popular there. Quite how you could persuade them to laugh at a fake French accent dubbed into French was, and remains beyond me. Particularly when after a series of complaints the Civil Aviation Authority had been forced to issue a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) to all commercial pilots in the U.K. ordering them to stop greeting French Air Traffic Controllers with a cheery "Good Moaning!"
Thankfully, eleven years after the final episode you only have to dodge this one on Satellite and Cable. I suggest keeping the remote control handy.
Mimicking accents - particularly French - for laughs is neither novel nor particularly well done in this lame effort. Even if it were, the repetition of the same gags (spoken in a French accent that would have made Maurice Chevalier blush) "I shall say this only 'wernce'" and "Good Moaning" in every episode would have worn thin long before the ten-year run was up.
The curious viewer tuning in for the last episode would have great difficulty in distinguishing it from the first episode as regards lack of style, talent and humour. They would however have no difficulty in recognising it as another BBC 'formula' run for far too long in an attempt to compete with the commercial channels churning out similar rubbish at the time.
Bizarrely, while working in Paris in the late 1980's I saw an episode dubbed into French and was told the series was incredibly popular there. Quite how you could persuade them to laugh at a fake French accent dubbed into French was, and remains beyond me. Particularly when after a series of complaints the Civil Aviation Authority had been forced to issue a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) to all commercial pilots in the U.K. ordering them to stop greeting French Air Traffic Controllers with a cheery "Good Moaning!"
Thankfully, eleven years after the final episode you only have to dodge this one on Satellite and Cable. I suggest keeping the remote control handy.