Dad's Army

I've seen lots of episodes of Dad's Army and it has to be the best comedy series of all time, even though I wasn't born when it started and too young to remember it when it finished.

It is about the Home Guard of the fictional Southern coastal town of Walmington-on-Sea and what they got up to, often falling out with Warden Hodges.

The cast: Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, John Le Mesurier as Seargent Wilson, Clive Dunn as Corperal Jones ("Don't Panic"), Ian Lavender as Pike (Stupid Boy), John Laurie as Frasor ("Doomed"), Arnold Ridley as Godfrey, James Beck as Walker, Bill Pertwee as Warden Hodges ("You ruddy hooligans"), Frank Williams as the Vicar (Timothy Farthing) and Edward Sinclair as the Verger, Mr Yateman.

Only a few of the cast are still alive today: Ian Lavender who is currently in EastEnders but is about to leave, Bill Pertwee, Clive Dunn and Frank Williams. James Beck died young of a heart attack before Dad's Army finished completely.

My favourite episode has to be The Deadly Attachment.

Dad's Army is still occasionally repeated on BBC1 and BBC2 and is always a pleasure to see it again. They certainly don't make 'em like this anymore.

Capt. Mainwaring would frequently utter the above phrase, and then immediately do something much more stupid than young Private Pike could ever accomplish. This is one of the reasons why this colorful program is one of my favorites (pardon my American English spelling).

The scripts are good, but what really make this show brilliant are the great characters and the wonderful actors. It must have been very difficult to get elderly actors to do zany slapstick comedy, but the directors managed to do it beautifully.

The contrast of young and old, and middle class and working class people in perpetual conflict is really great fun to watch. More egos are deflated in this series than ever before, and with hilarious results.

Instead of watching the horrible news accounts of the Iraq War, watch a video tape of Dad's Army. This a very funny remembrance of a much better era.

Dad's Army is my favourite TV programme of all time. It is just a work of genius. Jimmy Perry & David Croft really knew how to write a good script. Like Perry said the cast was right, the time was right, the script was right, the tunes were right and the whole situation was right which was what made Dad's Army a miracle. All the gags, jokes, tunes and atmosphere's are all hilarious, jolly and wonderful. It's why Dad's Army has always and will be one of the most popular programmes in TV history. Set in World War II of course it shows you the hilarities of pompous kind-hearted bank manager Captain Mainweering (Arthur Lowe), charming upper-class twit cheif bank clerk Sergeant Wilson (John Le Mesurier), kind old fool and long time soldier now butcher Corporal Jones (Clive Dunn) and many other hilarious characters. With these men of course operating the Walmington-On-Sea Home Guard disasters can of course happen even if at the end of the day it turns out the the platoon is needed to pick up the pieces. The men themselves give the war a brighter atmosphere. With the platoon having the most bizarre members like Private Frazer (John Laurie) being an undertakes, Private Walker (James Beck) being a spinster, Private Godfrey (Arnold Ridley) being a retired old aged pensioner and Private Pike (Ian Lavender) being a complete pansy and mummy's boy. Also with the gay and meaning well Rev. Timothy Farthing, the sneaky Verger and the platoons arch enemy Warden & Greencrocer & common git Bill Hodges (Bill Pertwee). Even though situations that the men get into may be a bit bizarre they always come out the other end feeling victorius. And why shouldn't they having proved to the whole town that they are not just a bunch of pomous, twitish, foolish, dirty and some other stuff. My favourite episode of Dads Army has "The Deadly Attachment". Reason is that it has the men coming face to face with the Germans and seeing the hilarities of getting out of it. Also other episodes like "Time On My Hands", "Keep Young And Beautiful" and "No Spring For Frazer" I still find really hilarious and stimulating. The show will undoubtedly go on forever being known as the programme that changed the face of television forever.

Yet another favorite British sit-com of mine. Dad's Army takes place in WW2 and centers around a bunch of misfit soliders with problems which would ordinarly keep someone out of the military. One of the soliders is a dim-witted Momma's boy (Ian Lavender), and he's also my favorite character in this show! Just like any other British sit-com I've seen, the characters and storylines are very provacative and outstanding! Also, one of the actors in this was in that movie "Invasion Quartet". Can't remember his name, though. Though I wonder what Ian Lavender is doing nowadays.

My favorite episode was the one where they decided to take the day off to play Cricket. Dad's Army will keep you laughing from beginning to end! This show also pops up on PBS periodically. Catch it if you can! The downside is that my friends from work haven't even heard of these British sit-coms that I like. I'm the only one who's a fan. Unfortunatly, they're all into Malcolm in the Middle, That 70's Show, and Titus. But comparing those shows to British sit-coms would be like comparing The French Connection and Casablanca to American Pie and 10 Things I Hate About You.

If you can get hold of the series on DVD, do not hesitate. "Dad's Army" is a real gem that will offer you hours of intense pleasure and spark off countless outbursts of hilarious laughter.This is comedy at its best.Although the humor is essentially British with that contained form of polite sarcasm and the use of understatement, it is also so typical of human nature in general that it offers a universal appeal.The characters are all lovable in one way or the other.The pompous captain Mainwaring who's attitude is clearly based on an obvious inherent feeling of insecurity and his suave sergeant Wilson, the over-enthusiastic corporal Jones who panics at the slightest upheaval,the spooky-looking Frazer or private Godfrey who resembles Dopey in the Seven Dwarfs and the mother's-boy Pike, are but just some of the delightful individuals in this fascinating series."Dad's Army"obtained a fourth place in a recent BBC comedy poll and apparently continues to thrill both young and old.Some episodes are less entertaining than most,I admit, but on the whole the series is really worth-while. The capture of a German submarine crew for example, is hilarious!