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30 Years of 'Allo 'Allo!: The Inside Story of the Hit TV Show
Running to over 80 episodes between 1982 and 1992, 'Allo 'Allo was an instant hit and adored by millions. It is still regularly repeated on mainstream TV, where it continues to attract large audiences.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 28, 2024
Read very carefully, I shall post this review only once.
This is a book about Allo Allo, one of my favorite sitcoms. I always have a blast rewatching this show. It helps that Allo Allo has aged quite well and doesn’t feel as dated as other older sitcoms I’ve watched, though times have of course changed a little bit since this show was made. Anyway, when I came across this book, I couldn’t wait to learn more about the behind the scenes stories of this brilliant show.
This book starts out quite well, pinpointing a very important thing in the concept of the show from which it can draw so much of its brilliant comedy: conflict. For example: the café owner René Artois is both a coward who is forced to collaborate with the German occupiers to save his own skin, and a hero as he’s forced to become a key member of the local French Resistance.
The book also shines a light on other crucial factors that led to the series’ success. One of them being the casting of the leading roles. They were not casting actors as producer David Croft puts it, they were casting a family, hoping to make friends for life. He was looking for actors who could work well together as a team, rather than casting individuals who already had a big recognizable name to carry the show. Or as he describes it: he didn’t want to hire stars, he wanted to make them.
This book is a rather short and cozy trip down memory lane with some interesting anecdotes being told along the way, especially in the first half of the book. Another thing this book does well is including snippets of memorable scenes, which fans of the show will be glad to read. Though this book does have its flaws. Most of all, it feels like it’s missing something. Seeing as a lot of actors were no longer around when this book was written, this limits how much the author can say about the behind the scenes stuff and anecdotes of the people behind the iconic roles. Though I would hope that with some more research and some editing, this could have been a bit less obvious. And the second half of the book feels like it could have been left out entirely, except for the final couple of pages.
This is a book about Allo Allo, one of my favorite sitcoms. I always have a blast rewatching this show. It helps that Allo Allo has aged quite well and doesn’t feel as dated as other older sitcoms I’ve watched, though times have of course changed a little bit since this show was made. Anyway, when I came across this book, I couldn’t wait to learn more about the behind the scenes stories of this brilliant show.
This book starts out quite well, pinpointing a very important thing in the concept of the show from which it can draw so much of its brilliant comedy: conflict. For example: the café owner René Artois is both a coward who is forced to collaborate with the German occupiers to save his own skin, and a hero as he’s forced to become a key member of the local French Resistance.
The book also shines a light on other crucial factors that led to the series’ success. One of them being the casting of the leading roles. They were not casting actors as producer David Croft puts it, they were casting a family, hoping to make friends for life. He was looking for actors who could work well together as a team, rather than casting individuals who already had a big recognizable name to carry the show. Or as he describes it: he didn’t want to hire stars, he wanted to make them.
This book is a rather short and cozy trip down memory lane with some interesting anecdotes being told along the way, especially in the first half of the book. Another thing this book does well is including snippets of memorable scenes, which fans of the show will be glad to read. Though this book does have its flaws. Most of all, it feels like it’s missing something. Seeing as a lot of actors were no longer around when this book was written, this limits how much the author can say about the behind the scenes stuff and anecdotes of the people behind the iconic roles. Though I would hope that with some more research and some editing, this could have been a bit less obvious. And the second half of the book feels like it could have been left out entirely, except for the final couple of pages.
February 17, 2018
I love ‘Allo ‘Allo! It’s a great comedy and I have a real affection for the writing, performances and design. I’m currently going through a complete rewatch of all nine series and thought I’d finally read this book, which I picked up about a year ago. Unfortunately, unlike the series it covers, this book is a mess.
Richard Webber has written books about other subjects, including the Carry On films, Only Fools and Horses and Porridge. Like others in his oeuvre, Webber spends half the book dealing with the history of the show and interviews with cast and crew (which includes wholly unnecessary CV sections for every member of the cast, including people who only appeared once!) and the other half with an episode guide. Now, regardless whether you think this second part is a shameful cheat to bolster the page count (and price) as you can easily get that information from the internet in the blink of an eye, it’s part of the book and, if I’m honest, the only part I can’t really criticise.
I understand from other people that very little information about the making of the series has been kept by the BBC in their Written Archive Centre in Caversham, which obviously makes the researching task difficult. In some respects the detailing of where it was filmed and why, which writers dropped-out and who replaced them and what effect this had on the overall dynamics of the show is rather good but there is so much padding you’re constantly filtering out the drivel to get the interesting stuff. Purporting to be the “inside story” it basically comes across as a massive love-in. I’m not someone who relishes in gossip but if it’s supposed to be a history of the production, I feel it needs to be warts and all. The book glosses quickly but clumsily over the reasons David Croft, Sam Kelly and Richard Gibson left the show; it makes no mention of any real tensions between the cast, yet we know from Jeremy Connor’s book Life with Kenneth Connor, that the legendary comic actor found the egos of certain cast members to be childish and insufferable. All the interviews feel heavily edited too and it feels like there is a proper story to be told that was removed in order to keep things upbeat. As a result everything about it feels shallow and lifeless.
Irritatingly, it’s also badly edited. I lost count of the number of occasions the narrative mentions that someone remembered a certain situation happening, only for it to be repeated in an interview section a couple of pages later. The unnecessary repetition is frustrating and should have been removed.
Ultimately, I personally found this to be a terrible book, that feels hastily and badly written and I’m really glad I bought it second-hand, as I would have felt like I’d been mugged had I paid the £18.99 price tag it still sells for five years later.
Richard Webber has written books about other subjects, including the Carry On films, Only Fools and Horses and Porridge. Like others in his oeuvre, Webber spends half the book dealing with the history of the show and interviews with cast and crew (which includes wholly unnecessary CV sections for every member of the cast, including people who only appeared once!) and the other half with an episode guide. Now, regardless whether you think this second part is a shameful cheat to bolster the page count (and price) as you can easily get that information from the internet in the blink of an eye, it’s part of the book and, if I’m honest, the only part I can’t really criticise.
I understand from other people that very little information about the making of the series has been kept by the BBC in their Written Archive Centre in Caversham, which obviously makes the researching task difficult. In some respects the detailing of where it was filmed and why, which writers dropped-out and who replaced them and what effect this had on the overall dynamics of the show is rather good but there is so much padding you’re constantly filtering out the drivel to get the interesting stuff. Purporting to be the “inside story” it basically comes across as a massive love-in. I’m not someone who relishes in gossip but if it’s supposed to be a history of the production, I feel it needs to be warts and all. The book glosses quickly but clumsily over the reasons David Croft, Sam Kelly and Richard Gibson left the show; it makes no mention of any real tensions between the cast, yet we know from Jeremy Connor’s book Life with Kenneth Connor, that the legendary comic actor found the egos of certain cast members to be childish and insufferable. All the interviews feel heavily edited too and it feels like there is a proper story to be told that was removed in order to keep things upbeat. As a result everything about it feels shallow and lifeless.
Irritatingly, it’s also badly edited. I lost count of the number of occasions the narrative mentions that someone remembered a certain situation happening, only for it to be repeated in an interview section a couple of pages later. The unnecessary repetition is frustrating and should have been removed.
Ultimately, I personally found this to be a terrible book, that feels hastily and badly written and I’m really glad I bought it second-hand, as I would have felt like I’d been mugged had I paid the £18.99 price tag it still sells for five years later.
September 10, 2018
A very useful companion to the endless and much welcome repeats of this classic comedy.
It's not the most insightful read about a tv show I've ever known by far, but there are some really nice interviews with Cast and crew which give the impression that I as a viewer always had about this show, that it was a joy to be on. Sadly quite a few of the stars have passed away now but this to me will always be my favourite ever sitcom, far funnier than "Dad's Army" which continues to take most of the plaudits to this day. 'Allo 'Allo was such a daring subject, making Gestapo and Nazis loveable whilst mocking the actual victors of the war the allies as bumbling buffoons.
This book gives us a full episode guide as well as info on the very successful stage show and also a where are they now for the main actors still with us!
Well worth a purchase if you're a fan or even just interested in Comedy.
It's not the most insightful read about a tv show I've ever known by far, but there are some really nice interviews with Cast and crew which give the impression that I as a viewer always had about this show, that it was a joy to be on. Sadly quite a few of the stars have passed away now but this to me will always be my favourite ever sitcom, far funnier than "Dad's Army" which continues to take most of the plaudits to this day. 'Allo 'Allo was such a daring subject, making Gestapo and Nazis loveable whilst mocking the actual victors of the war the allies as bumbling buffoons.
This book gives us a full episode guide as well as info on the very successful stage show and also a where are they now for the main actors still with us!
Well worth a purchase if you're a fan or even just interested in Comedy.
March 17, 2024
Just finished watching Allo Allo from beginning to end, loved it, it was so funny, and has aged well in the sense of equal insults for all. I wanted more, so I bought this book. My rating is a bit harsh, but here's why. 4 stars for the first part, a history, some anecdotes, and a great summary. The next section, although there were more details by the actors, repeated a lot of information in the first part.
Then, the book resorted to lists of episodes and cameramen.
Then, the book resorted to lists of episodes and cameramen.
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March 19, 2022I absolutely love 'Allo Allo, and it was interesting to read about it, lots of little anecdotes and insights can be gleaned from this book. However, it became a little tedious towards the end.
March 21, 2023
good but…
…a lot of it was like reading extended programme notes rather than a book and quite a lot was repeated! But it’s a good read for a die hard Allo Allo fan like me.
…a lot of it was like reading extended programme notes rather than a book and quite a lot was repeated! But it’s a good read for a die hard Allo Allo fan like me.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews