Dad's Army

To say that I love this show is an understatement. Comedies may come and go and have their moment, such as Royle Family or One Foot in the Grave, but there are precious few thats allure and appeal are timeless. Dad's Army is one such comedy.

A mix of subtle scripting, with gentle humour and a cast that is unsurpassed in sitcom history makes even the odd mediocre episode a pure joy to watch.

The casting is a joy with the characters so broadly defined and so well rounded the episodes almost write themselves around the situation that the individual episode is based on.

Also ponder for a moment the irony of the fact that Dads Army became hugely popular after the death of the majority of the cast.

An all time classic.

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.

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!

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 still played again and again, and it's easy to see why. Dad's Army created some of the most memorable characters on British television. The hilarity is still there. Even after seeing a lot of episodes 7 or 8 times over, I still laugh. That is a hard thing to achieve in comedy. Jimmy Perry and David Croft came up with something that surpassed anything created before and after. The central core actors executed their parts PERFECTLY. I still can't picture anyone than Arthur Lowe being the pompous captain, or Le Mesurier as the polite Sgt. This is the type of series where, when asked to pick your favorite character, you just can't. And that's because every character is very different from its fellow characters. There's Corporal Jones, the hilariously "wooly minded" butcher. And Private Walker, the spiv who would sell his own grandmother. Sadly James Beck died, and no matter how hard the writers tried, they couldn't replace him. There's Private Pike, the mommy's boy, who is constantly having the famous "You stupid Boy!" line directed his way. Then there's Frazer, the frugal Scottish mortician. And Godfrey, the gentleman, and the one who always needs to be excused. Then the afore mentioned Capt. Mainwaring, and Srgt. Wilson. The ARP Warden Hodges, the uncouth green grocer, who has a fierce feud with Capt. Mainwaring. The Vicar and the Verger, the troublemaker, and Mrs. Pike.

Even the more minor characters in this epic comedy are just so well done. It is a comic story set in the small seaside town of Walmington-On-Sea which is doing its bit to fight off the boche.

Dad's Army highlights a golden age for British Comedy. It's famous lines such as "Don't Panic!", have pervaded other areas of T.V. and culture. Dad's Army will keep marching on and on....