Allo Allo

Rene Artois runs a small cafe in France during World War II. He always seems to have his hands full: He's having affairs with most of his waitresses, he's keeping his wife happy, he's trying to please the German soldiers who frequent his cafe, and he's running a major underground operation for the Resistance. Quite often, the Germans' incompetence itself is what nearly lands Rene and his cohorts in hot water; they are not helped either by the locals, who are dreadfully keen to get rid of the Germans, but their blatant and theatrical attempts at espionage and secrecy often create problems that Rene must solve quickly.

Rene Artois is the owner and manager of a cafe in German-occupied France of World War II. To look at him, it's hard to believe that some women find him irresistible, something he has to work hard to hide from his wife Edith. Rene's cafe, frequented by both the German military and the French resistance, is the focal point for the show. Rene's a bit of a coward and is stuck in the middle, trying to humor both sides. Hidden in the cafe are two English airmen who don't understand a word of French. Other characters include Lt. Gruber, a homosexual German tank driver; Otto Flick, the evil SS officer who is always outsmarted; and Engelbert von Smallhausen, his small sidekick. Rene's not the only coward in town: Captain Hans Geering and Colonel Kurt von Strohm are constantly on the defensive, along with Captain Alberto Bertorelli of the Italian army who has a medal for servicing Fiats. Much of the farce comes from Officer Crabtree, an British agent disguised as a French policeman with a poor grasp of "Zee Fronch Linguige," and from Rene's amorous waitresses, Mimi, Yvette, and Maria.

In this spoof of World War II, Rene Artois runs a cafe in German-occupied France. He is also an unwilling agent of the Germans, mostly under the command of Col. Kurt von Strohm, and of the French Resistance, under the command of Michelle Dubois ("Listen very carefully; I shall say this only once"). Rene is married to aged Edith, who is the worst singer in the world, but he finds that young women find him sexy. Most of the plots include planning the murder of the local commanding German officer, General Erich von Klinkerhoffen, as well as the ownership of a painting called "The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies"--a painting that everybody would love to get their hands on to sell after the war. He has also two downed idiot British airmen who, as time goes by, are impossible to get rid of. The main opposition is the insane SS officer Otto Flick. Rene tries to complete the German and the Fench Resistance's plans, even though he's a coward and wonders if he's going to get out of the war alive.