classic (?) comedy

I watched a few episodes of 'Allo 'Allo last night because I needed a laugh. I've seen most of the show at one point or another (it was a staple of US public television), but I'd never seen the pilot episode, which had a moment I adored. Lieutenant Gruber, on leave from the Russian front, is in René's restaurant for the first time and accidentally gives the code phrase René is expecting from a resistance contact. Confusion ensues:

René: Are you one of them?
Gruber (dismayed): It was very lonely on the Russian front!

Gruber in the pilot isn't nearly as camp as in the regular episodes, either; I kind of like it. Don't get me wrong, camp is awesome, but for so many years the camp gay man was the only gay man in mainstream media (and it's still a dominant stereotype).

I was also amused to learn that while the actor who plays Gruber is straight, the actor who plays the womanizing René is gay in real life.

'Allo 'Allo is closer to the Benny Hill school of British comedy than I normally care for (I prefer the more verbal and absurdist Monty Python/Red Dwarf/Blackadder/Black Books type), but I do still find it funny and strangely endearing.