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.

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.

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!

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!

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.