![[ Home Page ]](images/butt.homepage.gif)
| |||
![[ What's New ]](images/butt.wnew.gif)
|
![[ Episode Guide ]](images/butt.epis.gif)
|
![[ Characters ]](images/butt.char.gif)
|
![[ Cast ]](images/butt.cast.gif)
|
![[ Bookshop ]](images/butt.book.gif)
|
![[ Merchandise ]](images/butt.merc.gif)
|
![[ Stations ]](images/butt.stat.gif)
|
![[ Links ]](images/butt.link.gif)
|
![[ Sounds & Clips ]](images/butt.clip.gif)
|
![[ Music ]](images/butt.musi.gif)
|
![[ Pictures ]](images/butt.pics.gif)
|
![[ FAQ ]](images/nobutt.faq.gif)
|
|
| |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We have now confirmed this in two ways: first, the subtitles in some of the foreign editions show it as "Tler". Since the subtitlers often are working from the scripts, we suspect they know what they're talking about. And secondly, and even more definitively, Sam Kelly himself wrote me to say that he said "Tler".
The endless rumors about what he was saying ("klop" or "klach") were wrong, as were the rumors about why. He said the rumor about him refusing to say it because he was Jewish was particularly silly - he said that's part of being an actor. He wouldn't get very many roles if he went around refusing to say lines because they were offensive. The other theories ("it sounds like boot clicking", "he's saying 'gleich' which means 'same' or 'me, too'", etc) never really made a lot of sense to me, but until we had proof, I listed them all. Now that we know what's what, I'm happy to post this final, definitive answer for everyone to know! Hans says "TLER"!
(Thanks to Alexander-Sasha Bogicevic for the help with the foreign subtitles!)
More details are available on the Merchandise Page.
NEW!Now, 'Allo 'Allo is also available in DVD! A company in Britain called Universal-Playback has begun releasing the series, in order, in DVD format. Currently available (Aug 2002) is a 3-disc box set containing all the episodes from series 1 and 2. Visit amazon.co.uk and search for "allo", or visit the playback site to order directly from them, at the Universal Playback 'Allo 'Allo page. Universal-Playback has also released series 1 and 2 in a VHS boxed set, available in August 2002.All of these new DVDs and VHS tapes, though, are still available only in PAL format. See the top of the merchandise page for more discussion about how to view PAL format videos in America. |
If you're having trouble printing the pages, I'd suggest first saving them to a file on your computer's hard disk, then opening that file with some word processing program and printing them that way.
To do, this, go to a page you want to print, and choose "Save As" under the file menu of the browser you're using. Make sure you save the page as "Text" instead of "Source" (choosing Source will put in all sorts of HTML codes you don't really want to see). Then, type whatever file name you'd like to use to save the file.
Once you've saved the file, open it in any text editor or word processor (you can use Notepad on a Windows machine, or Microsoft Word, or any other editor). You should see all the text of that page in normal black-on-white characters. Now you should be able to print it easily!
As a side note, if you really just want a text-only version of the episode guide, I have written a special text file which contains all the episode listings in one file, with briefer plot summaries. It's written specifically to print out and fold up next to your video collection. You can get to it from the links page, or just click here to link to the text-only episode guide.
PBS as a network does not carry British comedy - PBS provides American programming such as Masterpiece Theater and Mystery. But each individual PBS station is free to show whatever other shows they wish during non-PBS hours (just like other networks allow their stations to show whatever reruns or shows they want during non-prime-time hours). So, it is up to each individual PBS station to decide if they want to purchase 'Allo 'Allo to show on their station. This is also why airtimes vary drastically from city to city around the country.
The best way to get your PBS station to carry 'Allo 'Allo is to become a member (pledge, pledge, pledge!) and then ask them to carry it. You may need to mention it's a British comedy, but the rest they should already know (if they show any other British shows, they already deal with BBC Worldwide).
As you can imagine, it's perfectly logical for a PBS station to buy the rights to Package 1 alone, to try the series and see how their viewers like it. If your station does this, it will only show the Pilot, the first Christmas Special, and the first five series, and the show will seem to "end" after the Enigma Machine plot. If you want to see later series, you have to contact your PBS station and ask them buy the other packages.
Incidentally, it has been reported that the price of the middle package (the one that contains only Series 6) is very high due to "residual rights" or something -- it may have something to do with the fact that Series 6 co-stars Derek Royle. This explains why many stations who choose to show later series skip over Series 6 and go straight to series 7.
If your station is simply showing all the episodes out of order, it is probably the case that they simply don't know that they are continuous plots, so they're showing them in whatever order the tapes happen to be in. To fix this, you need only notify the station (nicely!) that 'Allo 'Allo is a continuous show, and that the episodes need to be run in order. They are well aware of other shows which need to run in order (for instance, most British dramas or science fiction shows), so the concept should be familiar - it's probably the case that they just didn't know 'Allo 'Allo was continuous.
One other known out-of-order problem is due to BBC Worldwide's packaging of the program. Apparently, the Christmas Special is usually named "The Christmas Special" in the package, so some PBS stations think it's a stand-alone story which is run on Christmas. Many shows have such special episodes (like Are You Being Served, for instance), so stations plan for having a special night of Christmas stories - and then they skip over that episode when they show the series normally. You may want to simply inform them that the Christmas Special is part of regular continuity and belongs where it is listed in order.
It has been reported that recent versions of the package from BBC Worldwide have chopped up the Christmas Special into one edited-down 30-minute episode. This makes it fit the stations' schedules better, but one viewer reports it turns the episode into a bit of a hash - subplots are missing or left unresolved, and plot threads don't necessarily follow. If you can, ask your station to show the full original Christmas Special. (It may not be available in later versions of the BBC package, though).
In British English, a programme (or show) is used to describe a show as a whole, with all of its episodes taken collectively (for instance, 'Allo 'Allo as a programme had 84 episodes). A series is a year's worth of episodes of one programme. The usual British series is 6-8 episodes. Rather than starting a new programme in the fall and letting it run for a year, the BBC will start a new programme whenever it is available, let it run for 6 to 8 weeks, and then switch to another show. Generally, a show only has 6 to 8 episodes per year, and is not re-run except in special circumstances (high demand, or unexpected gaps in the schedule).
In American English, a series is used to describe a show as a whole, and a season is a year's worth of episodes of one series. The usual American season is 22-26 episodes. Standard practice in America is to start a new show in the fall (or sometimes in the winter or summer; but usually the fall), and run episodes every week for an entire year, with re-runs of episodes sprinkled into the schedule amidst new episodes.
In this guide, I've tried to use series to mean a year's worth of episodes - since the show is British, I thought we should use British terminology.
British TV tends to be much more writing-oriented than American TV. Television shows in Britain tend to be written by a single writer (or pair of writers working together) for their entire life, without guest writers or other intrusions. This provides a more cohesive "voice" for the shows and characters and (arguably) results in a better-written show. Most writers cannot write more than 6 or 8 episodes of a show a year - they either don't have enough good ideas, or it takes too long, or something. The British decided to deal with that by having many different shows, each only having 6-8 new episodes per year.
American TV has the same problem with writer longevity: writers tend to write only 6 or 8 episodes per year. Americans solve the problem a different way, though, by having many different writers write episodes of a show. This results in more episodes per year, but causes occasional problems with continuity and themes, as well as resulting in sometimes wildly uneven writing. Think of "Star Trek: The Next Generation", for instance. Episodes varied from fabulously-written and powerful stories to nearly-unwatchable drek, sometimes within the same season. This is because many different writers were writing the show.
Overall, I suppose I prefer the American system. Despite the occasional awful shows, I think you still end up with more good shows than if you only allowed the creator to write episodes. With "Babylon 5", for instance, while the creator still writes the absolute best episodes of the show, the guest writers have written (usually) quality episodes as well -- and if the choice is between some pretty good episodes written by others and having no guest episodes at all, I prefer guest episodes.
With 'Allo 'Allo, you will note the use of guest writers on some episodes of Series 5, the series which was produced for American television (and hence had 26 shows). Overall, I think series 5 had the most continuity problems and the most uneven "voice" - but I'm still very glad that those 26 episodes were made.