'Allo 'Allo is a quintesentially English piece of humour, as it is based on taking the mickey out of the French, the Germans, the upper class English, and some Italians.

The English do not seem to have the major hang up with our wars the American film industry does. We know we won, and we know what the cost was. Now we can happily take the mick -see also BlackAdder Goes Forth, 1st world war.

Set in a cafe in occupied France, the main hero, albeit a reluctant hero, is Rene the cafe owner. A coward and a collaborator, Rene is put upon from all sides. His nagging, shrewish wife, the local German commandant, the French resistance and the two waitresses, with which he is having separate affairs. To cap it all, the resistance have forced him to hide two upperclass English twit RAF pilots. The were shot down, but rescued by the resistance. Sadly, neither of them speak any French at all. Needless to say, if the Germans find them on Rene's premises, he will be shot.

All the different languages required are portray merely by affecting a silly accent, a'la Peter Sellars. 'Ve ar ze chermans unt you vill do vat ve say', 'a berm? ah ave not seen a berm!', 'Tally ho, cheps, soon have you back with the gels in Blighty' sort of thing.

Some of the funnier quotes and characters;

The commandant's aide had a terrible problem with the required salute. When everyone else went 'Heil Hilter', flung out the arm & clicked their heels together, he would put up a cringing arm and say 'Klop!', literally 'Me too!' in German.

The local Gestapo officer, Herr Flick. Wore the regualtion black leather trench coat & walked the regulation limp He was obsessed by Helga, the commandant's secratary, a blonde haired, blue eyed German frau of the 1st order. Had a smaller sidekick by the name of Von Smallhausen.

Michelle, the resistance leader. Very pretty young french maid, actually an undercover British operative. She wore an ordinary trench coat & a beret, and had a gang of identically dressed pretty girls as a resistance cell. Her catchphrase 'Listen very carefully, I shall say zis ernly once' passed into daily useage.

'Zat stupid twit', another British secret agent. Sent over to pose as the local policeman. Unfortranately, his French was so bad - 'God Moaning. The resist-once have accqo-aired a bum. They are going to ex-plod the whaleway brodge'