History Series / MindYourLanguage

* NationalStereotypes: By the truckload. The German student is rigid and humourless, the French student is a would-be seductress, the Italian student is a hot-blooded skirt-chaser, the Chinese student is a devout Maoist, the Japanese student is a tech savvy camera salesman, the Punjabi and Pakistani students are constantly at each other's throats... and the English characters are sexually repressed and socially awkward.

Despite drawing audiences of 18 million, the series had its plug pulled by Michael Grade in 1979 in response to complaints about the use of ethnic stereotypes, but it was revived in 1986 for a fourth series of 13 episodes. The characters of Jeremy, Miss Courtney, Giovanni, Anna, Juan, and Ranjeet all returned, as did Ingrid after having been absent for the third series. New characters included Max's sister Maria Papandrious (Jenny Lee Wright), French student Michelle Dumas (Marie-Elise Grepne), Indian student Farrukh Azzam (Raj Patel), Chinese student Fu Wong Chang (Vincent Wong), tea lady Rita (Sue Bond), and caretaker Henshawe (Harry Littlewood).

The series was later adapted (unsuccessfully) in the US as ''What A Country'', starring Yakov Smirnoff.

Jeremy's students were:
* Giovanni Cupello (George Camiller), a macho Italian chef who becomes the students' designated leader and spokesman
* Danielle Favre (Françoise Pascal), a French nymphomaniac au pair who regularly flirts with Jeremy
* Anna Schmidt (Jacki Harding), a humourless German au pair who tries to take the class seriously
* Juan Cervantes (Ricardo Montez), a Spanish bartender with hilarious '70s sideburns who initially speaks very little English
* Maximillian Papandrious (Kevork Malikyan), a Greek shipping company employee whose rivalry with Giovanni turns to friendship in later episodes
* Jameela Ranjha (Jamila Massey), an Indian housewife who is among the few students to make real progress in her English skills
* Ranjeet Singh (Albert Moses), an Indian Sikh who works for the London Underground
* Ali Nadim (Dino Shafeek), a Pakistani Muslim between jobs who constantly fights with Ranjeet
* Chung Su-Lee (Pik-Sen Lim), a Chinese embassy secretary and fanatical Communist
* Taro Nagazumi (Robert Lee), a Japanese electronics company executive
* Ingrid Svenson (Anna Bergman[[note]] Daughter of renowned Swedish director Creator/IngmarBergman by his second wife, Ellen Lundström.[[/note]]), a Swedish nymphomaniac au pair who competes with Danielle for Jeremy's affection (which he is too shy to return)
* Zoltán Szabó (Gabor Vernon), a Hungarian with a strange tendency to burst into song

* BirthdayEpisode: "Come Back, All is Forgiven" begins on Jeremy's birthday; Gladys saw his birthdate on his personnel file and wishes him a happy birthday, claiming not to have told anyone else. Inevitably, she has told the students, who greet Jeremy with a chorus of "Happy Birthday to You" and each give him a present: a salami from Giovanni, an ''apfelstrudel'' from Anna, ''eau de toilette'' from Danielle, a cowbell from Jameela (inspired by the sacred status of cows in India), a copy of ''Thoughts of Chairman Mao'' from Su-Lee, a voucher for a secondhand shop in Camden from Ali, and pens from Max, Ranjeet, Taro, and Juan. Miss Courtney - who flatly announces that she doesn't believe birthdays are worth celebrating anyway - gives him a rather less welcome present: the non-renewal of his trial employment.

-->'''Ingrid:''' Good afton!\\

* PutOnABus: Zoltan in Season 3.

-->'''Juan''': Por favor?

-->'''Juan''': Por favor?

-->"Fighting?! It was more like dancing!"

* EpicFail: Turns out that in Season 2, all of Mr Brown's students managed to fail the Lower Cambridge Certificate exam.

* GermanicEfficiency: Invoked and discussed.
-->'''Mr Brown''': ''(Taking register)'' And you?
-->'''Anna''': Anna Schmidt. German. ''Au pair''.
-->'''Mr Brown''': Ah! Good old fashioned Germanic efficiency.
-->'''Anna''': Germans are very efficient.

* AllMenArePerverts[=/=]AllWomenAreLustful: When Brown's away from class, his students will either be messing around or reading something racy. With the exception of Jamila, who'll probably be reading something about knitting, and Anna, who seems to be the only student to take the class seriously.

* MistakenForPregnant: One episode involved Anna fearing that she would have to go back to Germany after her visa expires, leading to this trope when Jeremy misunderstands her statement that she is "in trouble"

* ThemeTuneCameo: During the school's talent night, Jeremy (dressed in a Union Jack coat) leads the students (dressed in the stereotypical costumes of their various home countries), as "Jeremy Brown's United Nations", in a chorus of the series' theme tune.

* Ingrid Svenson (Anna Bergman), a Swedish nymphomaniac au pair who competes with Danielle for Jeremy's affection (which he is too shy to return)

* GotMeDoingIt: Jeremy frequently inadvertently begins using the foreign students' {{Verbal Tic}}s during conversations with them and has to quickly correct himself. Sometimes this involves their pronunciation (R/L confusion with Su-Lee, ending words with "-o" with Taro, "v" for "w" with Anna, "s" for "th" with Danielle, etc.), sometimes their grammar and syntax (which, as beginning foreign language students often do, the students often assume is the same in English as it is in their native languages).

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: A lot.
-->'''Mr Brown''': After William the Conqueror came his son, William the Red-\\
'''Ali''': Oh blimey! You are having a communist king?!\\
'''Su-Lee''': ''(open mouthed grin and waving a Chinese flag enthusiastically)''\\
'''Mr Brown''': What? Oh no, he was called "the Red" on account of his red hair.\\
'''Su-Lee''': ''(sullenly stops waving and sits down)''

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Season 4 had a number of these to replace the departed students from previous seasons: Farroukh for Ali, Wong Fung Chang for Su-Lee. Danielle had ''two'' Suspiciously Similar Substitutes (Michelle and Marie.)

-->'''Anna''': Anna Schmidt. German. ''Au paire''.

-->'''Juan''': Por favore?

-->'''Juan''': Por favore?

Politically incorrect BritCom that ran between 1977 and 1979. The show was about a hapless class of students learning English as a [[FunWithForeignLanguages foreign language]]. It has been much criticized for its xenophobic outlook and heavy use of ethnic stereotypes, but at the time it was appreciated that the show [[FairForItsDay gave actors of colour a bigger presence on TV.]] Hilariously, it was outsourced abroad to great acclaim. To this day it is still re-run on Comedy Central in India and elsewhere.

Four main characters worked at the college of adult education where the show is set:
* Jeremy Brown (Barry Evans), teacher of English as a foreign language
* Miss Courtney (Zara Nutley), strict principal of the college
* Sid (Tommy Godfrey), the Cockney caretaker
* Gladys (Iris Sadler), a tea lady with a penchant for gossip

* Giovanni Cupello (George Camiller), a macho Italian chef
* Danielle Favre (Françoise Pascal), a French nymphomaniac au pair
* Anna Schmidt (Jacki Harding), a humourless German au pair
* Juan Cervantes (Ricardo Montez), a Spanish bartender with hilarious '70s sideburns
* Maximillian Papandrious (Kevork Malikyan), a stereotypical Greek shipping company employee
* Jameela Ranjha (Jamila Massey), an Indian housewife

* Chung Su-Lee (Pik-Sen Lim), a fanatical Chinese communist and embassy secretary
* Ingrid Svenson (Anna Bergman), a Swedish nymphomaniac au pair

* Giovanni Cupello (George Camiller), a macho Italian
* Danielle Favre (Françoise Pascal), a French nymphomaniac
* Anna Schmidt (Jacki Harding), a humourless German

* Maximillian Papandrious (Kevork Malikyan), a stereotypical Greek
* Jamila Ranjha (Jamila Massey), an Indian housewife
* Ranjeet Singh (Albert Moses) and Ali Nadim (Dino Shafeek), an Indian Sikh and Pakistani Muslim (respectively) who constantly fight
* Chung Su-Lee (Pik-Sen Lim), a fanatical Chinese communist
* Ingrid Svenson (Anna Bergman), a Swedish nymphomaniac
* Taro Nagazumi (Robert Lee), a Japanese businessman

* JapaneseRanguage: Subverted, it was Su-Lee (Chinese) who had this.

* Jeremy Brown, teacher of English as a foreign language
* Miss Courtney, strict principal of the college
* Sid, the Cockney caretaker
* Gladys, a tea lady with a penchant for gossip

* Giovanni Cupello, a macho Italian
* Danielle Favre, a French nymphomaniac
* Anna Schmidt, a humourless German
* Juan Cervantes, a Spanish bartender with hilarious '70s sideburns
* Maximillian Papandrious, a stereotypical Greek
* Jamila Ranjha, an Indian housewife
* Ranjeet Singh and Ali Nadim, an Indian Sikh and Pakistani Muslim (respectively) who constantly fight
* Chung Su-Lee, a fanatical Chinese communist
* Ingrid Svenson, a Swedish nymphomaniac
* Taro Nagazumi, a Japanese businessman
* Zoltán Szabó, a Hungarian with a strange tendency to burst into song

Politically incorrect BritCom that ran between 1977 and 1979. The show was about a hapless class of students learning English as a [[FunWithForeignLanguages foreign language]]. It has been much criticized for its xenophobic outlook and heavy use of ethnic stereotypes, but at the time it was appreciated that the show [[FairForItsDay gave actors of colour a bigger presence on TV.]] Hilariously, it was [[MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales outsourced abroad to great acclaim]]. To this day it is still re-run on Comedy Central in India and elsewhere.

Politically incorrect BritCom that ran between 1977 and 1979. The show was about a hapless class of students learning English as a [[FunWithForeignLanguages foreign language]]. It has been much criticized for its xenophobic outlook and heavy use of ethnic stereotypes, but at the time it was appreciated that the show [[FairForItsDay gave actors of colour a bigger presence on TV.]] Hilariously, it was outsourced abroad to great acclaim. To this day it is still re-run on Comedy Central in India and elsewhere.

* PutOnABus: Zoltan in Season 2.

* AllMenArePerverts[=/=]AllWomenAreLustful: When Brown's away from class, his students will either be messing around or reading something racy. With the exception of Jamila who'll probably be reading something about knitting.

-->'''Mr Brown''': After William the Conqueror came his son, William the Red-
-->'''Ali''': Oh blimey! You are having a communist king?!
-->'''Su-Lee''': ''(open mouthed grin and waving a Chinese flag enthusiastically)''
-->'''Mr Brown''': What? Oh no, he was called "the Red" on account of his red hair.
-->'''Su-Lee''': ''(sullenly stops waving and sits down)''

-->'''Mr Brown''': ''(seeing Giovanni dressed up in typical Mafia getup, look of disgust)'' Are you representing ''Italy'' or the ''Mafia''?
-->'''Giovanni''': I REPRESENT '''SICILY'''!

* FinalSeasonCasting: Many characters left before the fourth series, leaving Giovanni, Juan, Anna and Ranjeet as the only survivors of the original class (though Ingrid was brought back from season two.)

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mind_your_language_580.jpg]]

* AllMenArePerverts[=/=]AllWomenAreLustful: When Brown's away from class, his students will either be messing around or reading something racy. With the exception of Jamila who'll probably be reading something about knitting.

* AllMenArePerverts[=/=]AllWomenAreLustful - When Brown's away from class, his students will either be messing around or reading something racy. With the exception of Jamila who'll probably be reading something about knitting.
* BerserkButton - Miss Courtney's reaction when addressed as "Mrs"
* BritishAccents
* BrawnHilda - Anna has no problem beating the shit out of anyone who annoys her.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint - A lot.

* CatchPhrase - "Oh blimey!", "¿Por favor?", "Okey - cokey", "MISS Courtney!", "Jolly good!", "A thousand apologies."

* EverythingsSexierInFrench - Danielle.

* GermanicDepressives: Anna.

* ModernMinstrelsy

* NationalStereotypes: By the truckload.
* RunningGag: Ali saying 'squeeze me please', Ranjeet's thousand apologies and Taro putting -oh at the end of every word.
* StockBritishPhrases: Sid speaks in nothing but these.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Ingrid, replacing Danielle.

* WackyHomeroom - Oh yes.

-->'''Su-Lee''': (open mouthed grin and waving a Chinese flag enthusiastically)
-->'''Mr Brown''': What? Oh no, he was killed "the Red" on account of his red hair.
-->'''Su-Lee''': (sullenly stops waving and sits down)
* CatchPhrase - "Oh blimey!", "¿Por favor?", "Okey - cokey", "MISS Courtney!", "Jolly good!", "A thousand apologies"

-->'''Mr Brown''': (seeing Giovanni dressed up in typical Mafia getup, look of disgust) Are you representing ''Italy'' or the ''Mafia''?

* EverythingsSexierInFrench - Danielle
* FanService: Danielle and later Ingrid

-->'''Mr Brown''': (Taking register) And you?

* HilarityEnsues: Several episodes centred around the characters' brushes with the law through misunderstandings of English.

* ThemeTuneCameo: During the school's talent night.
* WackyHomeroom - Oh yes.

* FanService - Danielle and later Ingrid
* FinalSeasonCasting - Many characters left before the fourth series, leaving Giovanni, Juan, Anna and Ranjeet as the only survivors of the original class (though Ingrid was brought back from season two.)

* FunnyForeigner - Though mostly portrayed sympathetically.

* GermanicDepressives - Anna.
* GermanicEfficiency - Invoked and discussed.

* HilarityEnsues - Several episodes centred around the characters' brushes with the law through misunderstandings of English

* MyLocal - The characters were rarely seen outside of a school setting, but would often congregate in the college canteen.
* NationalStereotypes - By the truckload.
* RunningGag - Ali saying 'squeeze me please', Ranjeet's thousand apologies and Taro putting -oh at the end of every word.
* StockBritishPhrases - Sid speaks in nothing but these.
* ThemeTuneCameo - During the school's talent night.

* WimpFight - Both Giovanni and Maxmillian get into a fight in one episode where they basically skip around eachother with fists raised talking about how they're gonna hurt the other, but never once actually throw a punch. Lampshaded by Danielle.

----

* CrossesTheLineTwice: "No one will be cutting off anyone's head! This isn't the Punjab, this is England! A civilized country!"

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Would you believe that the show is actually very popular in UsefulNotes/{{Malaysia}}?

Politically incorrect [[BritishSeries British]] SitCom that ran between 1977 and 1979. The show was about a hapless class of students learning English as a [[FunWithForeignLanguages foreign language]]. It has been much criticized for its xenophobic outlook and heavy use of ethnic stereotypes, but at the time it was appreciated that the show [[FairForItsDay gave actors of colour a bigger presence on TV.]] Hilariously, it was outsourced abroad to great acclaim. To this day it is still re-run on Comedy Central in India and elsewhere.