Room Service (1979– ) User Reviews

Don't expect much, the ingredients are there, but the result is a disappointment.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 5/10 · 28 April 2024]

Charles Spooner runs the kitchens at the renowned Prince Henry Hotel, unfortunately things don't always run to plan, chaos often ensues.

If anyone were to mention a seventies sitcom set in a Hotel, you'd think of Fawlty Towers, nobody would think of room service.

Not as bad as some would say, I've definitely seen a lot worse, but definitely not the quality one would expect from the legendary Jimmy Perry, it's not in the same league as Are you being served, Dad's Army or you rang m'Lord.

One or two episodes are amusing enough, unfortunately some of them are very poor, and simply not funny. Some of the jokes land, some don't, it does get repetitive.

Of its time as you'd expect, so there's oodles of racism, sexism, time and Motion studies etc.

The Peter Sallis episode, where they think he's a killer was definitely the best of the lot, it was pretty funny.

Sadly it's forgettable.

5/10.

Doom Service

[ivesonmark · 1/10 · 9 February 2021]

After achieving success with co-writer David Croft on the classic BBC comedies Dad's Army & It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Jimmy Perry decided to go solo with a new sitcom. Considering his writing pedigree, how could he fail?

With David Croft also collaborating with Jeremy Lloyd on Are You Being Served, Perry took a leaf out of their book by using a modern setting, & inspired by the success of Faulty Towers & Mind Your Language, he turned the staff of Grace Brothers into funny foreigners & transferred them to the kitchen of a 5 star hotel.

With everything set up for a comedy classic, how could he fail?

Sadly he does - miserably!

Its fair to say the show runs at a rapid pace, & the cast, lead by the always reliable Bryan Pringle & a pre-stardom Matthew Kelly are certainly game, with Freddie Earlle especially going into full throttle as the bombastic head waiter who thinks he's a hit with the ladies.

Unfortunately the zany style & over enthusiastic performers goes against a script that tries hard to be funny, but in the end fails. Not only is Room Service unfunny, its embarrassing for everyone concerned. Too many characters, not enough jokes, with the few that come on screen misfiring. No wonder critics dismissed it as one of the worst TV sitcoms ever made.

The show lasted 7 episodes & promptly disappeared from the small screen. It is now available on DVD & a couple of episodes are on YouTube so perhaps Room Service deserves to be re-evaluated. Chances are its probably better than most modern day sitcoms!!!!!!!!

The show lasted 7 episodes

'Poor Service' more like!

[Rabical-91 · 3/10 · 3 May 2017]

After years of working with David Croft writing shows such as 'Dad's Army' and 'It Ain't Half Hot, Mum!', Jimmy Perry tried to go it alone. His first solo creation was 'Room Service', which starred Bryan Pringle as the conceited head of the room service department in a five-star hotel. 'Room Service' was panned widely by the critics and after a short run of seven episodes was swiftly dropped. It is hardly surprising as it was a fairly boring show. It was like 'Fawlty Towers' gone wrong! Charles Spooner is the put upon manager of the room service department of a swanky hotel where the staff are so incompetent as to defy description. That's about all there really is to tell. Each of the episodes sees the characters caught up in a plethora of less than hilarious comic misunderstandings.

In the pilot, Spooner is played by Derek Newark ( who coincidentally played a character named 'Spooner' in 'Rising Damp' ), though he did not hang around for the series ( perhaps sensing that the show was a wasted effort ). Instead, Bryan Pringle ( who had avoided doing sitcom since 'The Growing Pains of P.C Penrose' in 1975 ) was given the job. Spooner was similar in style to Basil Fawlty in that he was pompous, hot-heated and even cowardly, though Pringle lacked in spades the likability that John Cleese brought to his role.

Jimmy Perry's scripts featured far too few genuinely funny gags. Also, Perry thoughtlessly included far too many characters, one of which looked like a rip-off of Andrew Sachs' Manuel. The main problem however was the use of annoying canned laughter, appearing in the most inappropriate of places.

I have no idea how 'Room Service' ended as I very quickly lost interest after the first few episodes. The same year this went out, 'Fawlty Towers' was given its second series. I'll let you work out for yourself which was the more successful.