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Dad's Army |
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1968-1977 UK (BBC) Seasons 9 Episodes 83
Captain George Mainwaring Arthur Lowe Sergeant Arthur Wilson John Le Mesurier Lt. Corporal Jack Jones Clive Dunn Private Jock Frazer John Laurie Private Frank Pike Ian Lavender Private Joe Walker James Beck Private Charles Godfrey Arnold Ridley Warden William Hodges Bill Pertwee
Spin Off DAD'S ARMY TVM 1971 |
Dad's Army focused on the fictional town of Walmington-On-Sea and its local Home Guard unit which was headed the rather pompous Captain Mainwaring played fantastically by Arthur Lowe.
Captain Mainwaring, or Mr Mainwaring when he was in his Bank Manager's civvies, was an egotistical power-mad character who revelled in his role. He was assisted by Sergeant Wilson, who was also his right hand man in the bank.
Sergeant Wilson, played by John Le Mesurier, was a true gentleman who was a cut above the rest of the Warmington rabble. He also had a rather strange relationship with the mother of Private Pike who always called him Uncle Frank for some reason. Many viewers thought Pike could have actually been Wilson's son!
Private Pike was a soppy lad who seemed to be a little suppressed by his dominating mother. He was also a bit thick and would always rub Captain Mainwaring up the wrong way leading him to utter those immortal words: "Stupid Boy, Pike!"
The show's other star was Clive Dunn who played an old soldier called Lance Corporal Jones who seemed to bumble through most the series. Jones also had some classic catchphrases such as "Don't Panic!", "Permission to speak Sir?" and "They don't like it up 'em!".
Other notable characters included the miserable Scot, Private Frazer who always looked on the bright side of life, not! Then there was Private Godfrey who seemed to be 110 and never really did much. Private Walker played by James Beck was the local wide boy, who was always into shady things and had a string of girlfriends, one of which was played by Wendy Richards if memory serves me correctly. The character was faded out in 1973 after the actor's death.
The other banes in Captain Mainwaring life were the Vicar and his verger and the rather annoying Warden played by Bill Pertwee.
Dad's Army ended in 1977 leaving most of the cast ready for retirement, only Clive Dunn had major success after the show in the children's comedy, Grandad.
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Credits Jason D'Arcy ©TV Fetish 2004-2007 |
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