‘Allo ‘Allo!: The Complete Series Six

The sixth season of this bawdy BBC sitcom—which lasted longer than World War II, during which it is set—offers the usual assortment of outrageous situations and hysterical complications. As always, center stage is held by Rene Artois (Gorden Kaye), whose small café in occupied France is a hotbed of activity, only some of which revolves around the French Underground's efforts to defeat the Nazis, as the married Rene is still juggling his resistance work and trysts with the comely waitresses on staff. The eight-episode 1989 sixth season gets underway with a dual-identity romp in which Artois is mistaken for the ghost of his twin brother. And, as in previous seasons, he's challenged to rescue yet again the hapless British airmen who keep falling into Nazi clutches. A funny subplot involves the surreptitious efforts of Herr Flick (Richard Gibson) to sell the smuggled Portrait of the Fallen Madonna, which also figured in earlier episodes. The gags fly fast and furious, as do the double entendres, in this sixth helping that maintains the high standards of low comedy established by ‘Allo! ‘Allo! in earlier years. DVD extras include text cast bios. Recommended. (E. Hulse)