# 'Allo 'Allo! (1984)

> A hapless cafe owner in occupied France juggles German officers, Resistance schemes and his own bungled deceptions in a farcical wartime sitcom.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/2096

## Facts

- Seasons: 9
- Episodes: 82
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, war
- Created by: David Croft, Jeremy Lloyd
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Gorden Kaye, Carmen Silvera, Vicki Michelle, Richard Marner, Kim Hartman, Guy Siner, Kirsten Cooke, Rose Hill
- TMDB rating: 8.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086659/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: farcical, breezy, absurd, warm, slapstick

## What critics say

Viewers broadly regard the series as a warm, farcical sitcom with a long-running cast of comic characters and recurring gags, rated consistently well by its audience.

## Synopsis

'Allo 'Allo! (1984-1992) is a British sitcom created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd for BBC One, running nine seasons and 82 half-hour episodes. Gorden Kaye plays René Artois, the hapless owner of a small cafe in occupied northern France, whose schemes to keep his business and his secrets afloat keep tangling him with the German garrison. Carmen Silvera as his exasperated wife Edith and Richard Marner as the pompous Colonel Kurt von Strohm anchor the household and the officers' quarters, while Kim Hartman's Private Helga Geerhart and Guy Siner's Lieutenant Hubert Gruber supply the rest of the German side. The engine of each episode is a chain of misunderstandings: contraband hidden in the cafe, Resistance couriers slipping past patrols, and officers who never suspect what the audience sees plainly. Written as a broad farce, its wartime setting is a backdrop for physical slapstick, running gags and escalating mistaken identities rather than hardship. Set in 1940s occupied France, it is a workplace comedy confined to one cafe. The tone is buoyant, cheerfully absurd and warm. Fans of Hogan's Heroes, Fawlty Towers and Dad's Army will find resonance in its farcical ensemble and its affection for well-meaning fools.

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- [A French Village (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/32245)
- [To the Manor Born (1979)](https://ember.film/tv/112)
- [Fawlty Towers (1975)](https://ember.film/tv/2092)
- [A Very Secret Service (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/56883)
- [One Foot in the Grave (1990)](https://ember.film/tv/4327)
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- [Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973)](https://ember.film/tv/5635)
- [Chef (1993)](https://ember.film/tv/1436)

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