Are You Being Served? Stanlev Revnolds When Archie Bunker, the American Alf Garnett, learnt that one of his drinking pals, six-foot-four and a former foot. ball star, was " one of those ", a new trend was started on American television. Homo- sexuals, according to Timne magazine, are cropping up all over the place on television drama. Marcus Welby, MD, had one recently for a patient- for diabetes, not sexual leanings. And that is, apparently, the whole of this new thing in American television. Homo- sexuals are being treated like human beings. Unfortunately that is not the situation here. Indeed one often thinks English comedy would fall completely apart if that old keystone, the traditional mincing, pansy fig- ure of fun were withdrawn. He leapt upon the set of Are Yott Being Served D, BBC I's new comedy series, almost at cur- tain's rise last night. John In- man, as Mr Humphreys, the assistant in men's wear, gave us the standard head-shaking poofter with the slight northern accept which has been so popular lately. A very good job of it he did too. But one wonders what is the differ- ence between this and, say, Willie Best doing his eye-rolling cowardly Negro routine in the Hollywood comedy of the 1940s except that our sensibilities will no longer tolerate this cruel stereotype of the black. Actually there is some fine character acting in Are You Being Served ? The situation is a large department store and the rivalry between men's wear and the ladies' apparel depart- ment which has just moved into the men's floor. But what could have been rich play between Mollie Sugden's hoity-toity chief of ladies' wear and the men, led by Frank Thornton as Captain Peacock, the head floorwalker who fuses over a display hand- kerchief like a butler with a bottle of vintage port, was ruined last night by vulgar knockabout and silly jokes-old silly jokes. Are You Being Served? BBC I