Roy Clarke's Open All Hours: The Complete Series

My husband was raised in England and this series was a fond memory. PBS broadcasted "Still open all hours" and he mentioned that there was this earlier series. I ordered it for Christmas and it was his favorite present, and I also love the dry humor in both series. It is Britcom at it's wittiest, and as you might or might not know, many American comedy shows, eg "Three's Company" are copies of British series, but there has never been an American equivalent of this series, it would have to take place in the old west at a ganeral store, perhaps.

This product will NOT WORK IN THE UNITED STATES! The only thing you will have access to is the initial statement: "REGION ERROR. PLAYBACK NOT AUTHORIZED IN YOUR REGION!" One of the reviews stated that this DVD works in the U. S. IT DOES NOT! This purchase is a TOTAL LOSS. I feel victimized by a company with no customer service, no returns, and no remorse for selling me something that totally doesn't work. Their attitude is colder than yesterday's mashed potatoes. It's equivalent to selling someone a bucket without a bottom. EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED IN "MOVIEMARS!"

So very happy to find this series on USA Format DVD! I used to stay up late on the weekends watching this on the local PBS station. I have sat here at home and laughed and laughed. Thank you for making this series onto DVD. If you are a fan of British Comedies, you will want this!

Enjoyable shows with likable characters all around. This series has the first cast members if I'm not mistaken...not the folks I watched on PBS but the story line is still the same. Make sure you purchase the region for USA DVD players...This set is the correct region for USA play.

Funny, old school British comedy, but with one jarring issue: The actor playing the 19 year old is 46 at the time and it just doesn't work. All of the actors play their parts beautifully but the jokes at times fall flat when the "kid" has crow's feet. Having an older actor play a younger part seems to have been an not too uncommon occurrence in British cinema of the past. Still, it's worth the watch both for the great humor and seeing the old products when they were new.

I was looking forward to seeing this series after having watched two other English Series. (Doc Martin and Downton Abbey). It finally arrived after waiting over 3 weeks after shipping from UK. To my dismay it appears that this will not play on most dvd players in the US. Message reply from UK retailer said they were mostly intended for UK dvd players?? If you look hard enough you will see this semi hidden in Amazon's advertisment. After sending an email to the UK Company they sent a reply back that they would give me a refund..Sounded good until I printed the return label off and saw where you had to pay the postage. I took dvd set to post office and found out that I would have to pay $14.50 postage in order to get a $13.50 refund. Not even hardly!!Buyer Beware!!

I used to watch this on my local PBS channel when it was on. When I saw the chance to get all 4 seasons (26)episodes for a great price I jumped on it. It comes in one cd case that holds all 4 cd's, compact-clean packaging. This in my opinion is another classic British comedy. Although some may think It old fashioned I find it to be a lasting and endearing series. Arkwright as a small grocer, is always trying to make money (certainly not spend it lol), all the while persuing Nurse Gladys Emmmanuel, but his character is very likeable, and then there is Granville his long suffering Nephew who always longs for excitement in his life, as he works for Arkwright as an errand boy.As you watch,these characters become like old friends.There is a text-biography of the series creator Roy Clarke, and a bonus episode (1973 series pilot). I am so glad they are offering this wonderful series on DVD. I am laughing my way through each and every disk. I now have the convenience of watching each and every episode because all 26 episodes are here at my fingertips.

I have owned a set of Open All Hours for many years. It never gets old or repetitive! David Jason, who has in the past few years has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, and Ronnie Barker provide continual laughs and, though I've seen each DVD countless times, I'm not sick of it! I bought this new set because I've played my current set so much that they hardly work anymore!

How can anyone not like Ronnie Barker and David Jason? They are absolutely perfect together. Modern comedy writers forget that in order for comedy to be funny, the characters need to be both likeable and believable. And this is why, 40 years on, this sit-com still makes me cry with laughter, and I'm a 30-something! The writing is class, the comedy timing is class. It is just pure class, and a lesson in how to do comedy. You can shove 'Mrs Brown's Boys', and 'Citizen Kahn' where the sun doesn't shine. It's a sad indictment of the BBC that I have to watch comedy from 40 years ago - from a time when they actually knew how to do comedy - instead of the lowest-common-denominator, widest-possible-appeal, politically correct garbage they spew out today. No I'm not an old fart; I just know what solid comedy and excellent writing sound like. And this is why 40 years hence people will still remember Ronnie Barker's legacy, and utterly forget the comedy drivel which has now superseded him.

In spite of being an admirer of Ronnie Barker, I don't recall watching more than a single episode of this when it was on TV. The box-set was cheap, so I made an investment for the post-New Year period (otherwise known as 'Lockdown 3: The Nightmare Before Easter).First of all, one is struck by just how ugly and repulsive much of England actually is. The streets around Arkwright's shop would probably drive any sensitive soul into the nearest madhouse (or pub, if any happened to be open). Secondly, one thinks just how tedious it would all be if it was not for Ronnie Barker. David Jason is just about bearable, as he was in 'Porridge', but Roy Clarke must have had something else on his mind when writing lines for poor Lynda Baron: "Yer gert fool, Arkwight, 'appen yer can come over for a bite of supper'. Dear God.Barbara Flynn is as sexy as ever, though - and I can't help thinking how much better she would have been than Felicity Kendall in 'The Good Life'. But Barker has to carry it, in a way that wasn't necessary in 'Porridge', when he had Fulton McKay, Brian Wilde, Ken Jones and Peter Vaughan etc. in support. Seeing Stephanie Cole so soon after watching 'Tenko' is interesting, and Kathy Staff is much better here than in 'Last Of The Summer Wine', a series that finally became as tedious as seeing Nigel Farage with his arm round some football hooligan in a saloon bar.Rates about 7and a bit out of ten.

After being away from our screens for 40 years I was made up to hear BBCOne was bringing back Open All Hours for a Christmas special & maybe a brand new series in 2014. So I decided to watch all the old ones & buy this box set.Disk 1: Full series 1 including the pilot episode as a bonus. Just over 2 hours of Open All Hours. (175 mins)Disk 2: Full series 2. Just over 3 hours of Open All Hours. (207 mins)Disk 3: Full series 3. Just under 3 hours of Open All Hours. (177 mins)Disk 4: Full series 4. Just under 3 hours of Open All Hours. (178 mins)All in all very happy and as funny as always, yes there is some sexual jokes the BBC would not get away with now. But remember this was back in the 70's & 80's so you could get away with some stuff you can't get away with now :)

Comedy in the 70s was much better than the comedy nowadays.Very few people can compete with Ronnie Barker.One of the funniest comedians ever.This box set is an absolute must for any comedy collection along with Porridge.David Jason was fantastic as well as was the hilarious Lynda Baron.Guaranteed to liven up a quiet day.

A CLASSIC - what more can one say!!! Ronnie Barker and David Jason fantastic paring. Open All Hours was a BBC television sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. It ran for 26 episodes in four series, which premiered in 1976, 1981, 1982 and 1985.Notice the obvious gaps between the first series from 1976 to 1981. The BBC did not value this programme at the time but layer realise that they were sitting in a gold mine! Which they were!This programme actually taught and informed people about the serious affliction of stuttering - " Barker also notes in his autobiography "It's Hello from Him" that he received a letter which began "We are a family of stutterers...", that made his heart sink. However, the writer went on to praise his portrayal and added that the whole family found the character hilarious. He Ronnie Barker was such a warm and delightful man that no one could take offence about such a then sensitive subject. " wiki