10 Reasons Why Open All Hours Is Fantastically Funny

9. Life In A Northern Town

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4t-p6qr9m0 Most contemporary sitcoms to Open All Hours were set in southern England. John Cleese's Fawlty Towers took place in a Torquay hotel, Grace Brothers department store of Are Young Being Served? fame was a London store and the ensemble foursome of The Good Life were neighbours in suburban Surbiton. We could go on. Arkwright, Granville and company are by no means the only characters north of Birmingham to make our sides split with laughter, but it's fair to say they were the exception rather than the rule. This gave Open All Hours writer Clarke the chance to tap into the warm wit of his native Yorkshire. He also had similar success with the long-running Last of the Summer Wine €“ a staple of Sunday night family TV for decades. Set in Doncaster, the northern humour of the show allowed Barker to bring in his own love of saucy seaside postcards through innuendo. "Business is looking up," says Nurse Gladys on one occasion. "But pleasure is looking down," adds Arkwright lecherously as he takes a peek at her ample bosom. By bucking a prevailing trend, Open All Hours' location helps it stand out still to this very day.