Very good.
I was impressed.
More episodes please. 
Are You Being Served? 2016 special Page 4
Not as good as I'd hoped it would be but not as bad as I thought it was going to be either.
Some good performances. The ladies were good, Mr Grainger and Rumbold were believable. Didn't really buy Captain Peacock and Mr Humphries. Didn't like Young Mr Grace that much.
It was nice to see the set again, thought it was well reconstructed.
Given that the idea, I believe, was to celebrate the original, I thought it was a pretty good go (as a one-off).
The original I didn't find particularly funny but it did have a certain olde worlde charm.This did not.
I thought it was very good.
I am old enough to remember the original, and while not a huge fan of the original I found it watchable (I am not a great fan of these so called "ensemble" comedies like Dad's Army, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Hi-De-Hi! etc - they are ok but not my favourite type of comedy).
However I though this special worked very well, and I had a couple of laugh out loud moments which I rarely get on TV comedy nowadays.
The writer gave it a nice blend of the original humour (I'm free, my pussy etc) but also some newer stuff (well 1988 new anyway) like trying to use an Amstrad computer or buying Levi's 501 jeans.
I did have my concerns about a remake of a show like this but hats off to the writer and the whole team.
P.S. I agree with the poster above about Porridge. My absolute favourite comedy of all time, but I gave this "remake" about 5 minutes before I gave up. Very sad as I love much of what the writers have done over the years. Wwatching the repeats of Likely Lads on TV at the moment:
Bob - I saw you through the car window
Terry - You've got a car?
Bob - Well I haven't just got the window
I watched this and although it was ok. The bloke who played Mr Humphries was terrible and the same with Young Mr Grace. The others were decent enough. I wouldn't personally give it a full run.
Better than I thought it was going to be but not quite the same as the original. I thought Mr Grainger was very good, just like the original. The Mr Grace character was awful and far too young to be in that role. Why ever didn't they have the boss as young Mr Grace's son not grandson? Good for a one-off special to celebrate the series but as for making a full new series, I don't think that would be a good idea somehow.
Quote: alan1967 @ 29th August 2016, 10:43 AMI watched this and although it was ok. The bloke who played Mr Humphries was terrible and the same with Young Mr Grace. The others were decent enough. I wouldn't personally give it a full run.
I like Jason Watkins as an actor (in Trollied and W1A) but him 'doing' Mr. Humphries was WAY over the top in the camp department ... much more so that John Inman ever was.
Quote: Gordon Bennett @ 28th August 2016, 9:08 PMOh dear, oh dear...
My thoughts exactly!
Quote: curtis patrick @ 28th August 2016, 9:17 PMI once witnessed a burning orphanage and laughed more than this, in fact this was more of a travesty.
Indeed - the originals dead cast members must turning in their graves! If you are going to remake it, make it contempary, not just set 3 years after the original ended!
On a minor note, apart from anything else I don't think that the actress playing the new Miss Brahms was attractive enough? I remember watching this when originally broadcast and thought the young Wendy Richard hot stuff! Her interplay with the ever randy and unsuccessful Mr Lucas was a highlight.
She wasn't pretty enough for you? That selfish cow. Have her fired immediately...
I thought everyone filled their roles brilliantly. I loved Mr Rumbold upstairs.
Having read a few scathing reviews (in the media and from friends), I was expecting it to suck severely. But it wasn't bad. A curious show, not least because of the old names and "new" faces. Script a bit feeble in places; could've had much better set-ups for "I'm free" and "my pussy" (the latter being over-used). Cast were fine with what they had, though it did all seem a little pointless. Like watching college kids act out an episode of South Park (but without the clever satire of South Park).
Quote: gb901 @ 29th August 2016, 2:35 PMOn a minor note, apart from anything else I don't think that the actress playing the new Miss Brahms was attractive enough?
She was fine.
What is odd, is that when the original first aired in 1972, Mollie Sugden was "only" 50 years old but looked quite the old matriarch. Whereas in the 2016 remake, Sherrie Hewson is 65 but looks too young to be Mrs Slocombe, in my opinion (and she was also insufficiently convincingly haughty).
Acting wise they did OK but I just don't think it works now. Setting it in 1988 - YES !1988! - was a bit of a mistake. They should've just had it now to make it understandable but Porridge was much better.
Was interesting to see the opening 9 minutes of the attempted American version: Beane's of Boston: https://www.facebook.com/FuzzyMemories.TV/videos/vb.81812875335/10153651185005336/?type=2&theater
This was easily down to the standard of the original.
Quote: Tursiops @ 30th August 2016, 8:27 AMThis was easily down to the standard of the original.
Exactly. What was the point?