It Ain't Half Hot Mum – Complete Collection [DVD

Apart from slight freezing during series 4, trouble free viewing, had forgotten how good British humour from the 60s and 70s was, no profanity, and although political correctness would not allow screening today have not laughed so much in years. Did not find it offensive because my generation had racial equality back then and were able to laugh WITH each other.

After seeing a clip of this programme, decided to buy the series. It may well be not politically correct, but does reflect the attitude of the times and take the mickey out of the British Army whilst portraying the stupidity of the system.
Ignore the woke brigade and have a good laugh

After suffering a massive nostalgia attack, and being a fan of classic British situation comedies in general, I just had to add the “It Ain’t Half Hot Mum” DVD box set to my collection for winter viewing.

I am 47 y.o. at the time of writing so not old enough to remember the second world war or the post-war years and was only born in the year this enduring comedy was first released (1974). Therefore, I struggled to empathise with the situation of this comedy which is about as contrived as it gets (entertainers in an army camp in India) so to be honest, I bought it purely for Windsor Davies performances. He simply invented the tongue-in-cheek portrayal of an archetypal British army Sergeant Major.

This series cemented Don Estelle and of course Melvin Hayes as pillars of British comedy acting and they would make regular appearances on TV game shows in the 1970s and 1980s. If you’re older than 45-50 and love classic British comedy, this good value box set is a must have. Go on, treat yourself!

From a simpler time. Had forgotten just how slick & funny this show was.

No chance the BBC would show this again so do yourself a favour & get this set. (has subtitles aswell unlike other boxed sets of this era)

it was looking back on what was then funny but after a while the fun wore off,and that is all i can say about it aint half hot mum

Sadly barred from “on Air” repeats due to a somewhat silly PC issue this series ran for 8 series and had characters as enduring as those in Dad’s Army. Much nonsense has been written about it glorifying the British Empire and yet a theme throughout the series is the fact that the British Lads only want to be home and the Indian cast gently ridicule the British Stance. The final two episodes in the last series when they finally get to go home will ring bells with families who’s relatives served in the Far East, many of whom did not get back to the UK until months after VE Day had become a distant memory at home. It’s comedy of the Dad’s Army ilk and if you’re a Dad’s Army fan and missed this you’ll probably enjoy it.

I remember watching this when first broadcast. It’s never going to be repeated on TV just not PC enough for today’s crazy world. Was wondering if it was as funny as I recalled? It’s even funnier probably because it is so ‘politically incorrect’ The price is unbelievable ever episode ever shown for 15!

This series was immensly popular in the 1970 and is classic British farce. Unfortunately it was branded racist partly due to the fact that Michael Bates, a white actor, played the part of an indian using brown make-up. It should be noted that Bates was born and brought up in India and spoke fluent Urdu and was able to affect Indian manerisms with accuracy. Although there are many running jokes that might offend today’s sensibilities, these need to be seen in the context of the culture at that time and my view is that, unlike contemporary comedies such as “Love thy neighbour”, the core of this humour is human nature and not race. Every member of the cast gets made fun of in their turn. It is very much in the genre of “Dad’s Army” and “Hi-de-hi” – two other Perry and Croft series.
Personally I love this series and find the humour warm and simple and representive of a less sophisicated time.

It’s remarkable to think that this comedy series is now some 40 years old. It ran for a staggering seven years which is a very long time for a comedy. There are 56 episodes on here which is really too many and some editing of the poorer episodes would have been beneficial.
My father was in the RAF, in India & Burma in WW11, I recall Mum & Dad chortling over this programme – It clearly had a special meaning to my Dad.
Of course it seems a bit slap stick and dated now in places but as I make my way through it I have had so many `laugh out loud’ moments and I’m constantly smiling! It’s lovely to watch it all again, though clearly it’s going to take a long while to get through it all. Even the non – PC bits just blend in and I didn’t find them offensive at all – that’s how it was, so just deal with it. Of course we don’t want that today but it was war and that was the least of their worries I should think.
Sadly some of the actors have now passed away though the star of the show for me, Windsor Davies, is still here at 83! He isn’t in fact Welsh? He was born in Canning Town, London.
Also, interestingly, La -Di -Dah Gunner Graham was actually born in India!
Davies is just wonderful in this and yet was only a co-star, though he clearly stole the show, and what a wonderland voice the much maligned `Lofty’ had? This is great fun and still superior to some of the rubbish on these days. The BBC really is frightened of its own shadow in not repeating this series.

Bought this after xmas 2012, as my two boys had seen a clip on tv and loved it, laughing like drains. I need not have worried- they got the jokes and the whole poking fun at various types (officers ,indians, educated people)… it is a real crime that this is never repeated on tv anymore, thanks to the political correctness brigade, and that generations are missing out on a real classic of a comedy. As a 8 yr old child, my aunt in Bridgend lived upstairs in a block of flats from Windsor Davies’ mum and I met him on several occasions with him greeting me as “shoulders back lovely boy”- brilliant and making me star struck!!
The boxset itself is sturdy with 8 disc supplied with 1 series per disc. Series 4 appears a little short on episodes- I assume this is down to the BBC’s policy in the early 70’s of overwriting tapes to save space (series 4 has only 4 episodes). The quality is excellent, considering the show’s age. Sticking in the first disc transported me back to my childhood and sunday evening (when it was shown, I think?)…. Is it worth buying/funny – Oh yes!- ok it uses language and phrases that aren’t used today, but LAUGH AT IT and take it for what it is- a classic timeless 70s comedy that will make your sides ache from laughing!!

I ordered this after having it in my Basket/Wish List on noticing the price dropping to 19.00 I ordered it arrived in good time and well Packaged
So one quiet night out it comes and what a pleasure to see this classic series playing it on my Blu-Ray Player and Sony Bravia TV and clear and had me laughting from start too finish so after 3 episodes I went off chuckling and sing along to the Theme Tune…

I am looking forward to playing this series over time and enjoying a classic great TV Classic collection recommend that you get this for your collection fantastic show that in my Opinion has stood the test of Time, great time to watch this with all the rain and dark days currently outside.

Definately a five star cast and series do not miss out !!!!

Ok, so maybe this show has a bad reputation for not being PC, but it was still funny. Was it racist for a man born and raised in India, who spoke Hindi as his first language, to put on face paint and the mannerisms of the poeple his childhood? I don’t know… but isn’t racism all about intending insult or injury?

Was it more or less racist for men born in Bangladesh and Pakistan, to do the same thing? Who was the more Indian out of these?

Surely racism is all about discrimmation, and treating someone from a different culture as somehow less of a human being.

“It Aint’t Half Hot Mum” doesn’t do this.

Yes, it uses racial stereotypes, and yes it gets laughs from them, but this wasn’t about discrimmination or hate – it was about laughing at our differences. The jokes about shouty Sargeant-Major Tudor Brynne ‘Shut Up’ Williams are no different to the jokes about the effeminate Bombardier ‘Gloria’ Beaumont, the well educated ‘La-De-Dah’ Gunner Graham or Char Wallah Muhammad.

It’ll be a sad day when we can’t laugh at ourselves and our differences.