Michiel1965
Some years ago "Dad's army" was voted the best British comedy and rightly so. Great Britain faced imminent invasion by Germany in 1940. The British army was destroyed on the beaches of Dunkirk. To counter an invasion the government decided to raise local militias consisting of individuals unfit or too old for military service called the Home Guard. Dad's Army is the story about such a local militia in the (fictious) little town of Walmington-on-Sea. Dad's Army is British comedy at his very best. Some good points are* The Brits are masters of ridiculing other nations but are grandmasters in ridiculing themselves. They do it with gusto in Dad's Army. * The ensemble cast has no weak links. Arthur Lowe (as capt. Mainwaring) is a giant, and John Le Mesurier (as sgt Wilson) plays himself, the quintessential English gentleman. *The writing is superb, the humour as British as British humour can get *There is so much to discover, the relationships between the characters, living in Britain during the war, the class-struggle, so many actors from other series make an appearance.It is all wonderful to be honest.
Seb
This is great comedy, from an era when writing mattered and the main demographic was 'the whole family'. The jokes are natural and evolve from the situation the hapless home guard find themselves in. You couldn't ask for a better cast, try thinking of a replacement actor for any of the parts - I bet you can't come up with anyone more suited to the characters.One thing I really like about this show is the way that the characters have a little bit of depth. Take Captain Mainwaring for example, in many ways he's flawed but he's also shown to be a good person doing his best. For example he mucks in with the work and has a sympathetic ear for his men. This kind of writing just wouldn't fly these days, it would be considered too complicated for viewers for him not to be either a good guy or a bad guy. That says a lot about modern telly and the view producers and writers have of their audiences.In short this is a charming show that hasn't dated at all and made me laugh out loud, something that very few modern comedies manage. Glad to see it gets such a high rating, it fully deserves it.
ShadeGrenade
I won't bother describing 'Dad's Army' in detail as its been covered extensively elsewhere. Quite simply, its one of the best comedy series ever made. Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier headed a stellar cast of comedy actors which included Clive Dunn, James Beck, Ian Lavender, John Laurie ( my favourite ), Arnold Ridley, Janet Davies, Edward Sinclair and Pamela Cundell. Not forgetting the marvellous Bill Pertwee as 'A.R.P. Hodges', Back in the '60's/'70's, 'Dad's Army' was watched by two different audiences for two different reasons - older viewers found it unbearably nostalgic, with its slightly rose-tinted ( though not inaccurate ) view of wartime England, whilst younger viewers ( of whom I was one ) simply loved it for its occasional forays into slapstick comedy.The show was created and written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft. Perry had served in The Home Guard ( he was the role model for 'Pike' ) so he was able to bring much authenticity to the scripts. He later cited the classic Will Hay film 'Oh Mr.Porter' ( pompous man, old man, stupid boy ) as a major source of inspiration, and its easy to see what he meant.The fine cast were ably served by the hilariously funny scripts. Probably the best remembered episode is 'The Deadly Attachment' in which Philip Madoc played the captain of a captured U-Boat crew, if only for the legendary 'Don't Tell Him, Pike!' scene. My personal favourite, however, was 'Battle Of The Giants'.After James Beck tragically died mid-way through the series, they brought in Talfryn Thomas as reporter 'Mr.Cheeseman'. Personally, I liked him, but it was felt he added nothing to the show and so he was dropped.Its testament to the quality of 'Dad's Army' that its still being repeated forty years later. Contrary to myth, the show's fans are not all old age pensioners. I wasn't alive when the Second World War happened, but I love the show because I know great comedy when I see it.
Bea
Dad's Army has got to be the greatest British sitcom ever. The cast were (and those who are still alive still are) Britans best and the scripts are comic geneous. I have loved it ever since I saw my very first episiode (which I can still remember was "Boots, Boots, Boots") and as Jimmy Perry (the writer), David Croft (the producer) and most of the cast were around to play their own roles during the real World War Two it adds an extra appeal to know that they each brought there own war time experiances into the series and their characters (John Le Mesurier for example initially had trouble in knowing how to play Sgt Wilson eventually decideing to play him how he himself had conducted himself as a Captain in India in WW2). Overall I simply love "Dad's Army" and hope that as years go by and generation after generation brings new life into the world "Dad's Army" will never be forgotten!