"Dad's Army" (1968) TV series 1968-1977

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Creators:

David Croft
Jimmy Perry

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Release Date:

31 July 1968 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | War

Plot:

Popular BBC comedy series set in the fictional south coast seaside town of Walmington-On-Sea during World War 2...

Plot Keywords:

Home Guard | Lance Corporal | Sergeant | Butcher | Bank Manager

Awards:

1 win & 9 nominations

Cast

Arthur Lowe	...	Capt. George Mainwaring / ... (80 episodes, 1968-1977)
John Le Mesurier	...	Sgt. Arthur Wilson (80 episodes, 1968-1977)
Clive Dunn	...	LCpl. Jack Jones (80 episodes, 1968-1977)
John Laurie	...	Pte. James Frazer (80 episodes, 1968-1977)
Arnold Ridley	...	Pte. Charles Godfrey (80 episodes, 1968-1977)
Ian Lavender	...	Pte. Frank Pike (80 episodes, 1968-1977)
James Beck	...	Pte. Joe Walker (60 episodes, 1968-1973)
Bill Pertwee	...	A.R.P. Warden Hodges / ... (55 episodes, 1968-1977)
Bud Flanagan	...	The Voice Of / ... (49 episodes, 1968-1977)
Edward Sinclair	...	Henry Yeatman / ... (40 episodes, 1968-1977)
Frank Williams	...	Rev. Timothy Farthing (39 episodes, 1969-1977)
Colin Bean	...	Private Sponge / ... (37 episodes, 1968-1977)

Also Known As:

"The Fighting Tigers" (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

30 min (80 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:PG (some episodes) | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

All Saints' Church, Honington, Suffolk, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

It only took an hour and a half to tape each episode of Dad's Army, though there was a week's rehearsal prior to the actual recording of each episode. In addition, the cast did six weeks location filming in Norfolk and Suffolk for each series, to record exterior scenes; only the scenes in the studio interior sets were taped at TV Centre in London. Sometimes the episodes would be filmed then transmitted a week later.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Hodges: Put that light out!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Comedy Connections: Dad's Army (#6.7)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Come on. Hold my hand now

The best comedy EVER!

Dad's Army is the best comedy ever written. It follows the Walmington-On-Sea Home Guard (part time soldiers) during the course of WW2. The platoon is led by the pompous Captain Mainwaring (Arthur Lowe), and the public school educated Sergeant Wilson (John Le Mesurier). Third in command is the decorated veteran Lance-Corporal Jones (Clive Dunn). Also in the platoon are a Cockney black-market dealing Private Walker (James Beck), a Scottish ex-Royal Navy Chief Petty Officer turned Undertaker named Fraser (John Laurie), a medic with bladder trouble named Godfrey (Arnold Ridley) and a mummy's boy named Pike (Ian Lavender). The platoon frequently gets into various types of trouble, and this usually leads to a clash with the Chief ARP Warden Hodges (Bill Pertwee).

The plots and scripts for all of the episodes are superb, and like a fine wine, the series gets better with age!.

An especially funny exchange was in the episode 'The Deadly Attachment' where the platoon are ordered to look after a U-Boat crew for the night. This exchange was recently voted the funniest moment ever in a comedy series!

If you don't watch this brilliant series, make sure you see it soon, and if you don't find it funny, you will never laugh at anything!