THE RETURN OF "'ALLO 'ALLO"

Ah! Ze flashing knobs!

I suppose the argument could be made that ''Allo, 'Allo' was a Britcompanion to the American series 'Hogan's Heroes' - farcical sitcoms set during WWII which both had Gestapo characters. ''Allo, 'Allo' was about a French cafe owner during the German occupation. Rene Artois had to deal not only with the Gestapo, but also with his wife Edith and his waitresses Yvette and Maria.

The show ran from the 1980s until 1992. In that final episode, the town was liberated by the Allies. Now, fifteen years later, a one-shot reunion special will be taped this week in Manchester. Most of the original cast will be back, including Gordon Kaye who played Rene and who was left with serious head injuries after a car crash in 1990. Sadly, Carmen Silvera - who played his wife Edith - passed away since the show ended.

Since the final episode had the war near its end, I'm hoping the script addresses the fact that fifteen years have passed in Toobworld time for the series as well as in real time. This would set the show in 1960 France, - at least it should be the late 50s! - quite a different world than the one in which we last saw these characters. And that would mean it must have a new concept.

Perhaps they could deal with the shadowy realm of the Cold War, caught in the middle between the "Free World" and Soviet Communism influences?

I don't know where that would leave the former Gestapo officer Lt. Gruber - he'd probably have served prison time in the intervening years, I'd imagine.

But I don't think it will be quite believable if the characters tried to pick up where the old sitcom left off. Fifteen years takes its toll on how people look; not even Dick Clark was totally immune from that.

I'm not sure if this special will ever find its way over here to America. I'm not even sure there are any TV stations (usually PBS affiliates) who are still showing ''Allo, 'Allo'. But I'll keep track of how this story plays out.....

BCnU!
Tele-Toby