Crunchyroll - Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid Episode 000 - Overview, Reviews, Cast, and List of Episodes - Crunchyroll Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid Episode 000 Share this page: [Edit] Overview Dad’s Army was a British sitcom about the Home Guard in the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show. The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers and is still repeated today on BBC Two. The Home Guard consisted of local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, usually owing to age, and as such the series starred several veterans of British film, television and stage, including Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, Arnold Ridley and John Laurie. Relative youngsters in the regular cast were Ian Lavender, Clive Dunn (who was made-up to play the elderly Jones), Frank Williams, James Beck, (who died suddenly during production of the programme's sixth series, despite being one of the youngest cast members) and Colin Bean.

In 2004, Dad's Army was voted into fourth place in a BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom. Previously, in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, it was placed thirteenth. The series has had a profound influence on popular culture in the United Kingdom, with the series' catchphrases and characters well known. It is also credited with having highlighted a hitherto forgotten aspect of defence during World War II. The Radio Times magazine listed Captain Mainwaring's "You stupid boy!" among the 25 greatest put-downs on TV. Dad's Army | American TV Database Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia American TV Database Wiki Template:Start date – Template:End date Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War . It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show.

The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers and is still repeated world wide. The Home Guard consisted of local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, either owing to age or by being in professions that were exempt from conscription (Dad's Army deals almost exclusively with the former), and as such the series starred a number of older of British stars of film, television and stage, including Arthur Lowe , John Le Mesurier , Arnold Ridley and John Laurie . Relative youngsters in the regular cast were Ian Lavender , Clive Dunn (who was made-up to play the elderly Jones), Frank Williams , James Beck (who died suddenly during production of the programme's sixth series, despite being one of the youngest cast members) and Colin Bean . In 2004, Dad's Army was voted into fourth place in a BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom . Previously, in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, it was placed thirteenth. [1] The series has had a profound influence on popular culture in the United Kingdom, with the series' catchphrases and characters well known.

It is also credited with having highlighted a hitherto forgotten aspect of defence during the Second World War. The Radio Times magazine listed Captain Mainwaring's "You stupid boy!" among the 25 greatest put-downs on TV. [2] Contents File:Croft and Perry.jpg Originally intended to be called The Fighting Tigers, Dad’s Army was based partly on co-writer and creator Jimmy Perry’s real-life experiences in the Local Defence Volunteers (later known as the Home Guard ). Perry had been 17 years old when he joined the 10th Hertfordshire Battalion and with a mother who did not like him being out at night and fearing he might catch cold, he bore more than a passing resemblance to the character of Frank Pike. An elderly lance corporal in the outfit often referred to fighting under Kitchener against the "Fuzzy Wuzzies" ( Hadendoa ) and proved to be a perfect model for Jones. Other influences were the film Whisky Galore! Template:Citation needed , and the work of comedians such as Will Hay whose film Oh, Mr Porter! featured a pompous ass, an old man and a young man which gave him Mainwaring, Godfrey and Pike.

Another influence was the Lancastrian comedian Robb Wilton , who portrayed a work-shy husband who joined the Home Guard in numerous comic sketches during WW2. Template:Citation needed Perry wrote the first script and gave it to David Croft while working as a minor actor in the Croft-produced sitcom Hugh and I , originally intending the role of the spiv , Walker, to be his own. Croft was impressed and sent the script to Michael Mills, Head of Comedy at the BBC. After addressing initial concerns that the programme was making fun of the efforts of the Home Guard, the series was commissioned. [3] In his book, Dad's Army, Graham McCann explained that the show owes a lot to Michael Mills. It was he who renamed the show Dad's Army. He did not like Brightsea-on-Sea so the location was changed to Walmington-on-Sea. He was happy with the names for the characters Mainwaring, Godfrey and Pike but not with other names and he made suggestions: Private Jim Duck became Frazer, Joe Fish became Joe Walker and Jim Jones became Jack Jones. He also suggested adding a Scot to the mix.

Jimmy Perry had produced the original idea but was in need of an experienced man to see it through. Mills suggested David Croft and so the successful partnership began. When an episode was shown to members of the public to gauge audience reaction prior to broadcast of the first series, the majority of the audience thought it was very poor. The production team put the report containing the negative comments at the bottom of David Croft 's in-tray. He only saw it several months later, after the series had been broadcast and had received great acclamation. [4] Situation Edit The show was set in the fictional seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea , on the south coast of England (the exterior scenes were mostly filmed in and around Thetford , Norfolk ). [5] Thus, the Home Guard were on the front line in the eventuality of an invasion by the enemy forces across the English Channel , which formed a backdrop to the series. The first series had a loose narrative thread, with Captain Mainwaring’s platoon being formed and equipped—initially with wooden guns and LDV armbands, and later on full army uniforms; the platoon were part of the The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment .

The first episode, " The Man and the Hour ," began with a scene set in the 'present day' of 1968, in which Mainwaring addressed his old platoon as part of the contemporary ' I'm Backing Britain ' campaign. The prologue opening was a condition imposed after initial concerns by Paul Fox, the controller of BBC 1, that it was belittling the efforts of the Home Guard. [6] After Mainwaring relates how he had backed Britain in 1940, the episode proper began; Dad’s Army is thus told in flashback , although the final episode does not return to the then-present. Later episodes were largely self-contained, albeit referring to previous events and with additional character development. As the comedy in many ways relied on the platoon’s failure to participate actively in the Second World War, opposition to their activities had to come from another quarter, and this generally showed itself in the form of Air Raid Precautions (ARP) Warden Hodges, although sometimes the verger of the local church (St Aldhelm's), or Captain Square and the neighbouring Eastgate Home Guard platoon.

However, the group did have some encounters related to the war such as downed German planes, a U-boat crew, parachutes that may have been German, and German mines. Also, an IRA suspect appeared in one episode, Absent Friends . The humour ranged from the subtle (especially in the class -reversed relationship between Mainwaring and Wilson, who also happened to be his deputy at the bank) to the slapstick (the antics of the elderly Jones being a prime example). Jones had several catchphrases, including "Don't panic!", "They don’t like it up ’em", "Permission to speak, sir", and talk about the " Fuzzy-Wuzzies ". Mainwaring said "You stupid boy" to Pike in many episodes. The first series occasionally included darker humour, reflecting the fact that, especially early in the war, members of the Home Guard were woefully under-equipped and yet were still prepared to have a crack at the Wehrmacht . An example of this theme occurs in "The Battle of Godfrey’s Cottage" episode, in which the platoon believes an enemy invasion is underway.

Mainwaring, Godfrey, Frazer and Jones (along with Godfrey's sisters, who are completely unaware of the invasion) decide to stay at the cottage to delay any German advance, to allow the regular army time to arrive with reinforcements; "Of course, that will be the end of us", says Mainwaring. "We know, sir", replies Frazer, before getting on with the task in hand. Characters Main article: List of characters in Dad's Army The show's main characters were: Captain George Mainwaring ( Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell ) ( Arthur Lowe )—the pompous—if essentially brave and unerringly patriotic—local bank manager, Mainwaring appointed himself leader of his town’s contingent of Local Defence Volunteers. Sergeant Arthur Wilson ( John Le Mesurier )—a diffident, upper-class bank employee who would quietly question Mainwaring's judgement ("Do you think that's wise?"). Wilson served as a Captain in the First World War . He lodges with the Pike family, and is Pike's biological father (confirmed by the writers).

Lance-Corporal Jack Jones ( Clive Dunn )—born in 1870, Jones was an old campaigner who had joined up as a drummer boy aged 14 and participated, as a boy soldier, in the campaign of Kitchener in the Sudan between 1896 and 1898. Private Joe Walker ( James Beck )—a black market “ spiv ,” Walker was the only fit, able-bodied man of military age in Walmington-on-Sea’s Home Guard. His absence from the regular armed forces was due to a corned beef allergy. Private Frank Pike ( Ian Lavender )—a cosseted mother’s boy, constantly wearing a thick scarf with his uniform to prevent illness, and often the target of Mainwaring’s derision ("Stupid boy!"). He also works under Mainwaring in his day-job as assistant bank clerk. Private James Frazer ( John Laurie )—a dour Scottish coffin maker and a Chief Petty Officer on HMS Defiant in the Royal Navy who served at the Battle of Jutland as a ship's cook. Private Charles Godfrey MM ( Arnold Ridley )—he is the platoon’s medical orderly.

He was always getting caught short and needed to "be excused". A conscientious objector during WWI, he nevertheless was awarded a Military Medal for heroic actions during the war, and demonstrated bravery in the home guard as well. ARP Warden William Hodges ( Bill Pertwee )—the platoon’s major rival and nemesis. He was looked down on by Mainwaring for being a common greengrocer. As an ARP Warden he was always demanding that people "Put that light out!". Supporting characters included: Mrs. Mavis Pike ( Janet Davies )—Pike’s mother and Sergeant Wilson’s lover. Mrs Fox ( Pamela Cundell )—a glamorous local widow to whom Jones was attracted. She was a regular customer at his shop, and helped the platoon with official functions. The Reverend Timothy Farthing ( Frank Williams )—The effete vicar of St. Aldhelm’s Church, he shares his church hall and office with Mainwaring’s platoon. Maurice Yeatman ( Edward Sinclair )—The verger at St.

Aldhelm’s Church and head of the Sea Scouts group, and was often hostile to the platoon while frequently sycophantic to the vicar, who often struggled to tolerate him. Private Sponge ( Colin Bean )—Private Sponge, a sheep farmer, had the job of representing those members of the platoon not in Corporal Jones’ first section, and thus has only occasional speaking parts while nonetheless appearing in the majority of episodes. Private Cheeseman ( Talfryn Thomas )—a Welshman who joined the Walmington-on-Sea platoon during the seventh series to compensate for the death of James Beck who played Private Walker. Opening and closing credits Edit The show's opening titles were originally intended to feature footage of refugees and Nazi troops, in order to illustrate the threat faced by the Home Guard. Despite opposition from the BBC's Head of Comedy Michael Mills, BBC One's controller Paul Fox ordered that these be removed on the grounds that they were "offensive". [7] The replacement titles featured the now familiar animated sequence of swastika -headed arrows approaching Britain. [8] In Series 6 they were updated – in all previous versions one of the Nazi arrows passes over the tail of another but then appears under.

The closing credits of the show are a homage to the end credits of the 1944 film The Way Ahead which had covered the training of an everyman platoon during the war and was originally released as a propaganda film in 1943. In both instances, each character is shown as they walk across a smoke-filled battlefield. One of the stars of Dad's Army, John Laurie, also appeared in that film, and his performance in the end credits of The Way Ahead appears to be copied in the sit-com. Coincidentally, the film's lead character (played by David Niven ) is named Lt. Jim Perry. Music Edit The show's theme tune, " Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Hitler? " was Jimmy Perry's idea, intended as a gentle pastiche of wartime songs. It was the only pastiche in the series, as the other music used was contemporary to the 40s. Perry wrote the lyric himself, and composed the music with Derek Taverner. Perry persuaded one of his childhood idols, wartime entertainer Bud Flanagan , to sing the theme for 100 guineas . Flanagan died less than a year after the recording.

The version played over the opening credits differs slightly from the full version recorded by Flanagan; an abrupt but inconspicuous edit removes, for timing reasons, two lines of lyric with a different tune: "So watch out Mr Hitler, you have met your match in us/If you think you can crush us, we're afraid you've missed the bus." Bud Flanagan's full version appears as an Easter egg on the first series DVD release, and on the authorised soundtrack CD issued by CD41. [9] Arthur Lowe also recorded a full version of the theme. [10] The music over the opening credits was recorded at Riverside Studios, Bud Flanagan being accompanied by the Orchestra of the Band of the Coldstream Guards. The closing credits feature an instrumental march version of the song played by the Band of the Coldstream Guards conducted by Captain (later Lt Col) Trevor L. Sharpe, ending with the air-raid warning siren sounding all-clear. It is accompanied by a style of credits that became a trademark of David Croft: the caption "You have been watching", followed by vignettes of the main cast.

The series also contains genuine wartime and period songs between scenes, usually brief quotations that have some reference to the theme of the episode or the scene. Many appear on the CD soundtrack issued by CD41, being the same versions used in the series. TV episodes Main article: List of Dad's Army episodes The television series lasted nine series and was broadcast over nine years, with 80 episodes in total, including three Christmas specials and an hour-long special. At its peak, the programme regularly gained audiences of 18.5 million. [11] There were also four short specials broadcast as part of Christmas Night with the Stars in 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1972. Missing episodes Main article: Dad's Army missing episodes The first two series were recorded and screened in black and white; after that series three to nine were recorded and screened in colour. Even so, one episode in series three, Room at the Bottom , could only be found in black and white, despite being recorded in colour. On the official DVDs , the episode is also in black and white. Colour recovery technology eventually allowed the BBC to put the full colour version out in late 2008.

Until 1978 the BBC (along with ITV) did not have proper archives for programmes recorded on video tape . This, combined with the cost of 2 inch Quadruplex videotape reels and no appreciation of future commercial possibilities, resulted in significant amounts of material being wiped after they were transmitted (contractual agreements at that time often allowed for one repeat showing before being wiped). Although the BBC has recovered many recordings from overseas broadcasters and private collectors through BBC Archive Treasure Hunt , many are still missing. Dad's Army is less affected than most, but three second-series episodes are lost, and one third-series episode was filmed in colour but had only existed in black and white. This third-series episode has been re-coloured, using an existing colour signal in the black-and-white tele-recording, and was transmitted on 13 December 2008 on BBC Two. [12] Two further series-two episodes were believed lost until 2001. Two of the three lost episodes have since been performed as part of the latest stage show. In 2008 soundtracks of the lost episode " A Stripe for Frazer " and the 1968 Christmas Special " Untitled Sketch " were recovered.

[13] Film Main article: Dad's Army (film) As with many British sitcoms of that era, in 1971 Dad's Army was made into a feature film. Backers Columbia Pictures imposed arbitrary changes, such as recasting Liz Fraser as Mavis Pike and filming outdoors in Chalfont St Giles rather than Thetford , which made the cast unhappy. The director, Norman Cohen, who was also responsible for the idea to make the film, was nearly fired by the studio. [14] Jimmy Perry and David Croft wrote the original screenplay. This was expanded by Cohen to try to make it more cinematic; Columbia executives made more changes to plot and pacing. As finally realised, two-thirds of the film consists of the creation of the platoon—this was the contribution of Perry and Croft—and the final third shows the platoon in action, rescuing hostages from the church hall where they’d been held captive by three German pilots. Neither the cast nor Perry and Croft were happy with the result. Perry spent time arguing for changes to try to reproduce the style of the television series, but with mixed results.

Filming took place between 10 August and 25 September 1970, at Shepperton Studios and various locations. After shooting the film, the cast returned to working on the fourth television series. The film's UK première was on 12 March 1971 at the Columbia Theatre, London. Critical reviews were mixed, but it performed well at the UK box office. Discussions were held about a possible sequel, to be called Dad's Army and the Secret U-Boat Base, but the project never came to fruition. [15] Stage show File:Captain Mannering's.jpg In 1975 Dad’s Army transferred to the stage as a revue, with songs, familiar scenes from the show, and individual “turns” for cast members. It was created by Roger Redfarn, who shared the same agent as the sitcom writers. Most of the principal cast transferred with it, with the exception of John Laurie (he was replaced by Hamish Roughead). Following James Beck’s death two years earlier, Walker was played by John Bardon .

Dad’s Army: A Nostalgic Music and Laughter Show of Britain’s Finest Hour opened at Billingham in England, Teesside on 4 September 1975 for a two-week tryout. After cuts and revisions, the show transferred to London’s West End and opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 2 October 1975. On the opening night there was a surprise appearance by Chesney Allen , singing the old Flanagan and Allen song Hometown with Arthur Lowe. The show ran in the West End until February 1976, disrupted twice by bomb scares, and then toured the country until 4 September 1976. Clive Dunn was replaced for half the tour by Jack Haig (David Croft's original first choice for the role of Corporal Jones on television). Jeffrey Holland , who went on to star in several later Croft sitcoms, also had a number of roles in the production. [16] The stage show, billed as Dad's Army—The Musical, was staged in Australia and toured New Zealand in 2004–05, starring Jon English .

Several sections of this stage show were filmed and have subsequently been included as extras on the final Dad's Army DVD. In April 2007, a new stage show was announced with cast members including Leslie Grantham as Private Walker and Emmerdale actor Peter Martin as Captain Mainwaring . [17] The production contained the episodes " A Stripe for Frazer ", " The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker ", " Room at the Bottom " and " The Deadly Attachment ". </blockquote> Radio series Main article: List of Dad's Army radio episodes Many TV episodes were remade for BBC Radio 4 with the original cast, although other actors played Walker after James Beck’s death. These radio versions were adapted by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles and also starred John Snagge as a newsreader who would set the scene for each episode. Different actors were used for some of the minor parts; Mollie Sugden played the role of Mrs Fox and Pearl Hackney played the role of Mrs. Pike for example. The pilot episode was actually based on the revised version of events seen in the opening of the film version rather than the TV pilot. The entire radio series has been released on CD.

[18] Knowles and Snoad also developed a radio series It Sticks Out Half a Mile , which told what happened to some of the Dad’s Army characters after the war. It was originally intended to star Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier reprising their Dad’s Army roles, but Lowe died shortly after recording the pilot episode, and Bill Pertwee and Ian Lavender were brought in to replace him for a 13-episode series. Jimmy Perry wrote a radio sketch The Boy Who Saved England for the Last Night at the Paris evening broadcast on Radio 2 on 3 June 1995. It featured Ian Lavender as Pike, Bill Pertwee as Hodges, Frank Williams as the Vicar and Jimmy Perry as General Haverlock-Seabag. Other appearances Edit Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier and John Laurie themselves made a cameo appearance as their Dad's Army characters in the 1977 Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special. As Elton John is following incomprehensible instructions to find the BBC studios, he encounters them in a steam room. On leaving, Mainwaring calls him a “stupid boy”.

[19] Earlier, Le Mesurier, Laurie, Beck, Ridley and Lavender had appeared as guests in the 22 April 1971 edition of The Morecambe and Wise Show on BBC2 playing pirates to Lowe’s captain in the Monty on the Bonty sketch. The cast also appeared in a 1970s public information film , in character but set in the modern day, showing how to cross the road safely at traffic lights . A pilot episode for an American remake called The Rear Guard was produced by ABC and broadcast on 10 August 1976, based on the episode " The Deadly Attachment ". However, it failed to make it past the pilot stage [20] —probably due to the fact there was never a realistic chance of a German invasion of the United States, unlike Britain. Le Mesurier and Lowe made a final appearance in Dad's Army garb for a 1982 television commercial advertising Wispa chocolate bars. Clive Dunn made occasional appearances as Corporal Jones at 1940s themed events in the 1980s and 1990s. Arthur Lowe appeared in Blue Peter twice.

The first time was with John Le Mesurier, in which the two appeared in costume and in character as Captain Mainwaring and Sergeant Wilson when walking around looking at and discussing a mural schoolchildren had painted featuring the characters from the show at a Christmas party, among which was Mainwaring's unseen wife Elizabeth – or rather, what the children thought she looked like (Mainwaring remarks "Good grief. What a remarkable likeness!"). Arthur Lowe made a second appearance as Captain Mainwaring on Blue Peter with the Dad's Army van which would appear in the forthcoming London-Brighton run, and showed presenter John Noakes the vehicle's hidden anti-Nazi defences. Awards Edit During its original television run, Dad's Army was nominated for a number of British Academy Television Awards , although only won "Best Light Entertainment Production Team" in 1971. It was nominated as "Best Situation Comedy" in 1973, 1974 and 1975. Also, Arthur Lowe was frequently nominated for "Best Light Entertainment Performance" in 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975 and 1978.

[21] In 2000, the show was voted 13th in a British Film Institute poll of industry professionals of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes . In 2004, championed by Phill Jupitus , it came fourth in the BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom with 174,138 votes. [22] Tributes File:Mainwaring Statue.jpg In June 2010, a statue of Captain George Mainwaring was erected in the Norfolk town of Thetford where most of the TV series Dad's Army was filmed. The statue features Captain Mainwaring sitting to attention on a simple bench in Home Guard uniform, with his swagger stick across his knees. The statue is mounted at the end of winding brick pathway with a Union Flag patterned arrow head to reflect the opening credits of the TV series, and the sculpture has been designed so that members of the public can sit alongside Captain Mainwaring for the purpose of having their photo taken. The British series Good Night Sweetheart paid tribute to Dad's Army in episode one of series two.

The protagonist of the series goes into a bank in 1941 and meets the bank manager who is named Mainwaring, and the Chief Clark named Wilson. Both characters are also in the home guard. The show is about a man who travels back to WW2 regularly. When he hears the name, he begins singing the theme song. Cultural influence Edit The characters of Dad's Army and their catchphrases are well known in the UK due to the popularity of the series when originally shown and the frequency of repeats. Jimmy Perry recalls that before writing the sitcom, the Home Guard was a largely forgotten aspect of Britain's defence in the Second World War, something which the series rectified. [23] In a 1972 Radio Times interview, Arthur Lowe expresses surprise at the programme’s success; We expected the show to have limited appeal, to the age group that lived through the war and the Home Guard. We didn’t expect what has happened – that children from the age of five upwards would enjoy it too.

[24] The Sega Mega CD port of the arcade game Mortal Kombat (developed by British programmers Probe Software ), contained a cheat code (known as the "Dad's Code"), which allowed the player to rename the fighters to that of characters from Dad's Army. [25] Media releases Main articles: Dad's Army books and memorabilia , Dad's Army DVD and Video releases and Dad's Army Audio releases . The BBC released two "Best of" DVD sets in October 2001 and September 2002, but it was not until September 2004 that the full series began to be released, with the first series and the surviving episodes of the second series being released first, along with the documentary Missing Presumed Wiped. By November 2007, the entire series had been released, with the final edition featuring the specials "The Battle of the Giants", "The Love of Three Oranges" and "My Brother and I", along with various other appearances including several "Christmas Night with the Stars" sketches and excerpts from the stage show. The DVDs also include short individual biographical documentaries about the characters and their actors called We Are the Boys.

The Columbia film adaptation is also available, although as this is not a BBC production, this is not included in the boxset. See also Dad's Army Dad's Army 2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection . Related subjects: Television Dad's Army The characters of Dad's Army (left to right): Private Pike, Private Frazer, ARP Warden Hodges (front), Private Godfrey, Captain Mainwaring (front), Private Walker, Corporal Jones and Sergeant Wilson Genre No. of episodes 80 Dad's Army was a British sitcom about the Home Guard in the Second World War , written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series starred several veterans of British film, television and stage, including Arthur Lowe (1915–82), John Le Mesurier (1912–83), Arnold Ridley (also a veteran playwright; 1896–1984), John Laurie (1897–1980) and Clive Dunn (1920--).

Relative youngsters in the regular cast were Ian Lavender (1946--) and James Beck (1929–1973), the last dying suddenly part way through the programme's long run despite being one of the youngest cast members. Popular at the time and still repeated, it was voted into fourth place in a 2004 BBC poll for Britain's Best Sitcom. Previously, in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, it was placed thirteenth. Origins Originally intended to be called "The Fighting Tigers", Dad's Army was based partly on Jimmy Perry's experiences in the Local Defence Volunteers (later known as the Home Guard), the film Whisky Galore!, and on the work of comedians such as Will Hay and Robb Wilton. Perry wrote the first script and gave it to David Croft while working as a minor actor in the Croft-produced sitcom Hugh and I, originally intending the role of the spiv, Walker, to be his own. Croft was impressed and sent the script to Michael Mills, head of comedy at the BBC.

After addressing initial concerns that the programme was making fun of the efforts of the Home Guard, the series was commissioned. Situation The show was set in the fictional seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea, on the South Coast of England. (though it was mostly filmed in and around Thetford, Norfolk ). Thus, the Home Guard were in the front line in the eventuality of an invasion by the enemy forces across the English Channel , which formed a backdrop to the series. The first series had a loose narrative thread, with Captain Mainwaring's platoon being formed and equipped - initially with wooden guns and LDV armbands, and later on full army uniforms (the platoon were part of the The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment). The first episode, The Man and the Hour, began with a scene set in the "present day" of 1968, in which Mainwaring addressed his old platoon as part of the contemporary "I'm Backing Britain" campaign. The prologue opening was a condition imposed after initial concerns by Paul Fox, the controller of BBC 1, that it was belittling the efforts of the Home Guard.

After Mainwaring relates how he had backed Britain in 1940, the episode proper began; Dad's Army is thus told in flashback, although the final episode does not return to the then-present. Later episodes were largely self-contained, albeit referring to previous events and with additional character development. Since the comedy was in many ways dependent for its effectiveness on the platoon's failure to participate actively in World War II, opposition to their activities had to come from another quarter, and this generally showed itself in the form of Air Raid Patrol Warden Hodges, although sometimes the Verger or Captain Square and the Eastgate platoon. However the group did have some encounters related to the war such as downed German planes, a U-boat crew, parachutes that may have been German, and German mines. The humour ranged from the subtle (especially in the relationship between Mainwaring and his sergeant, Wilson, who also happened to be his deputy at the bank) to the slapstick (the antics of the elderly Jones being a prime example). Jones had several catchphrases, including Don't panic!, They don't like it up 'em, Permission to speak, sir, and talk about the Fuzzy-Wuzzies.

Mainwaring said Stupid boy, in reference to Pike, in many episodes. The first series occasionally included darker humour, reflecting the fact that, especially early in the war, members of the Home Guard were woefully underequipped and yet still prepared to have a crack at the German army. A poignant moment to this theme occurs in 'The Battle Of Godfrey's Cottage' episode, during which the platoon believes an invasion to be taking place. Mainwaring and a few volunteers decide to stay in the village to hold off any German advance so information can be relayed back by the rest of the platoon; "Of course, that will be the end of us." says Mainwaring, "We know sir." replies Frazer, before getting on with the task in hand. Characters Main characters Captain George Mainwaring , pronounced "Mannering" ( Arthur Lowe) - the pompous - if essentially brave and unerringly patriotic - local bank manager, Mainwaring appointed himself leader of his town's contingent of Local Defence Volunteers.

Of the platoon, he and Joe Walker were the only adult members with no prior combat experience, and, therefore, had no medals - a fact which sometimes caused tension with the other members of the Home Guard. He did, however, serve in the British Army of occupation in France, "during the whole of 1919 - somebody had to clear up the mess." Although an ensemble piece, the series focused particularly upon Mainwaring, who has invested all his efforts into the platoon as a way of escaping from an unhappy marriage to Elizabeth, daughter of a Bishop, and a stalled career at the bank. Sergeant Arthur Wilson ( John Le Mesurier) - a diffident, upper-class bank clerk, Wilson was nonetheless Mainwaring's inferior in the bank and on parade; his suave, understated social superiority, public school education and handsome looks led to a certain amount of jealousy on Mainwaring's part. During World War I he fought in the Royal Artillery at Mons, Gallipoli and the Somme. In the last episode he revealed that he had been a Captain.

Lance-Corporal Jack Jones ( Clive Dunn) - born in 1870, Jones was an old campaigner who had participated, as a boy soldier, in the campaign of Kitchener of Khartoum in the Sudan between 1896 and 1898, and also fought in World War I . By 1940 he worked as the town butcher, which occasionally enabled him to supplement his superiors' meat ration. Jones was leader of the platoon's first section. He has a story for every occasion, and will never hesitate in telling it, regardless of how long-winded or irrelevant it is. Despite being the oldest member of the platoon, Jones demonstrates an almost boyish enthusiasm for combat and is the first to volunteer for anything, no matter how ill-advised that may be. Private Joe Walker ( James Beck) - a black market " spiv", Walker was the only fit, able-bodied man of military age in Walmington-on-Sea's home guard. His absence from the regular armed forces was due to a corned beef allergy, evidenced in the episode "The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Walker".

Mainwaring often turned a blind eye to his profiteering as he could sometimes supply the platoon (and Mainwaring) with useful items. On more than one occasion, Walker's willingness to use underhand tactics allowed Mainwaring's platoon to triumph over rivals in the Home Guard, Army and ARP. He was disciplined several times by Captain Mainwaring for making jokes at inappropriate times. Private Frank Pike ( Ian Lavender) - a cossetted mother's boy and often the target of Mainwaring's derision ("Stupid boy!"), Pike was a junior bank clerk. He called Wilson "Uncle Arthur", and although never explicitly stated, it was often implied that Wilson and Pike's mother were having a relationship. It was also occasionally suggested that Wilson was Pike's father (although the writers only acknowledged this in interviews after the programme ended). He frequently threatens to set his mother on Mainwaring or Wilson whenever he is shouted at or forced to do anything he doesn't want to do.

Private James Frazer ( John Laurie) - a dour Scottish coffin maker and a Chief Petty Officer in the Royal Navy who fought at the Battle of Jutland (although his main duty was cooking), Frazer was tight with money, had wild staring eyes, and was known for issuing regular pronouncements of doom. In the early episodes Frazer was the keeper of a philately shop, but by series four the writers had decided that he should become the local undertaker, in keeping with his gloomy nature. He sometimes led rebellions against Mainwaring and was the only member of the platoon to be portrayed as a villain in episodes such as A Soldier's Farewell and The Two and a Half Feathers, though for the most part he was loyal and well-intentioned. Private Charles Godfrey ( Arnold Ridley) - the platoon's medical orderly, who had served in World War One as a conscientious-objecting stretcher bearer, winning the Military Medal before becoming a tailor at the Army and Navy Stores. Godfrey was an amiable, vague, lifelong bachelor who lived with his sisters Dolly and Cissy in an idyllic cottage, and was a martyr to his weak bladder, leading to many requests to be "excused".

He was very loyal to Captain Mainwaring, except on one occasion when he took part in a plot to make Mainwaring's feet hurt. ARP Warden Bert Hodges ( Bill Pertwee) - the platoon's major rival and nemesis. An uncompromising, grumpy greengrocer by day, and pompous and officious Chief Air Raid Warden by night, he relishes in teasing the platoon when they are caught in sticky situations. His nickname for Mainwaring is "Napoleon". Mrs. Mavis Pike ( Janet Davies) - Pike's mother and Sergeant Wilson's lover. She was fiercely protective of Pike, to the point that she was accused of "mollycoddling" - not without justification - by Captain Mainwaring. Reverend Timothy Farthing ( Frank Williams) - the effeminate vicar of St. Aldhelm's Church, he shares his church hall and office with Mainwaring's platoon, much to his dismay because he never gets to use it when he needs it. Maurice Yeatman ( Edward Sinclair) - Mr. Yeatman was the verger at St.

Aldhelm's church and head of the Sea Scouts group, and was often hostile to the platoon. Labelled a "troublemaker" by Jones, he is ridiculously loyal to the vicar, and his good friend Mr. Hodges. Music The show's famous theme tune, " Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Hitler?", was Jimmy Perry's idea, and was intended as a gentle pastiche of wartime songs. It is not uncommon for people to assume that the song genuinely dates from the war (as the other music heard in the series does) but this is not the case. Perry wrote the lyrics himself, and composed the music with Derek Taverner. Perry persuaded one of his childhood idols, popular wartime entertainer Bud Flanagan, to sing the theme for a fee of 100 guineas. Flanagan died less than a year after the recording.

The version played over the opening credits differs slightly from the full version recorded by Flanagan; an abrupt but inconspicuous edit removes, for timing reasons, two lines of lyrics with a different tune: "So watch out Mr Hitler, you have met your match in us, If you think you can catch us, I'm afraid you've missed the bus". Arthur Lowe also recorded a full version of the theme. The closing credits feature an instrumental march version of the song played by the band of the Coldstream Guards conducted by Trevor L. Sharpe, ending with the air-raid warning siren sounding the all-clear. It is accompanied by a style of credits that became a trademark of David Croft: the caption "You have been watching", followed by vignettes of the main cast. The series is also notable for its use of genuine wartime songs between scenes, usually brief quotations that have some reference to the theme of the episode or the scene. TV episodes The television series lasted for nine series and was broadcast over a period of nine years, with eighty episodes made in total, including three Christmas specials and an hour long special. At its peak in the early 1970s, the programme regularly gained audiences of 18.5 million.

There were also four short specials broadcast as part of Christmas Night with the Stars in 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1972. The missing episodes A number of the early episodes of Dad's Army were wiped by the BBC, as was standard practice at the time. However, as a series thought to have commercial potential overseas, the first series was offered for sale to broadcasters by BBC Enterprises. To this end, 16 mm film recordings were made of the first six episodes by the BBC Engineering department before the master videotapes were wiped for re-use. In the event, series 1 sold very poorly and BBC Enterprises did not express interest in selling series 2 abroad - so no film recordings were made of any episodes for them. "Sgt. Wilson's Little Secret" was recorded onto 35 mm film instead of videotape, either because it required additional editing (which was easier to perform with film before the advent of modern electronic editing methods) or because no videotape recording facilities were available on the day it was recorded. This inadvertently assured the episode's survival: being effectively a production made on film it fell within the BBC's then-current remit of keeping only filmed productions for posterity.

Two other episodes from the second series were returned in 2001, ironically as 16 mm film recordings of the type believed not to have been made from the second series. It has since been established that the two episodes were film recorded to show to executives at Columbia Pictures during discussions on the structure of the Dad's Army feature film (see below). The other second series episodes are still missing and were probably lost forever once the original broadcast videotapes were wiped. The only remaining (slim) hope is that the episodes may have been recorded during their original UK broadcasts by a person wealthy enough to afford an early videotape recorder such as a Shibaden or Sony CV-2000 machine, and also of sufficient means to be able to afford new tapes rather than wiping and reusing their existing recordings. The BBC is running a "Treasure Hunt" for the wiped episodes; they encourage anyone with copies to contact them at the Treasure Hunt Website. Tape wiping also affected the later, colour, series badly but recoveries of colour versions from overseas broadcasters such as in Australia and New Zealand have ensured there is only one casualty; "Room At The Bottom" from the third series.

This episode exists as a 16 mm monochrome film recording prepared once BBC Enterprises resumed their interest in selling the series overseas. The film As was the case with many British sitcoms of that era, in 1971 Dad's Army was made into a feature film. Backers Columbia Pictures imposed what seemed arbitrary changes, such as recasting Liz Frazer as Mavis Pike and filming outdoor scenes in Chalfont St Giles rather than Thetford, which made the cast unhappy. The director Norman Cohen, who was also responsible for the original idea to make the film, was nearly fired by the studio. Jimmy Perry and David Croft wrote the original screenplay. This was expanded by Cohen to try to make it more "cinematic"; Columbia executives made more changes to plot and pacing. As finally realised, two-thirds of the film consists of the creation of the platoon - this was the contribution of Perry and Croft - and the final third shows the platoon in action, rescuing hostages from the church hall where they'd been held captive by three German pilots. Neither the cast nor Perry and Croft were particularly happy with the result.

Perry spent some time arguing for changes to try to reproduce the style of the television series, but with mixed results. Filming took place between 10 August and 25 September 1970, at Shepperton Studios and various locations. After filming the movie, the cast immediately returned to working on the fourth television series. The film's UK premiere was on 12 March 1971 at the Columbia Theatre in London . Critical reviews were mixed, but it performed well at the UK box office. Discussions were held about a possible sequel, to be called Dad's Army and the Secret U-Boat Base, but the project never came to fruition. The stage show In 1975 Dad's Army transferred to the stage as a revue, with songs, familiar scenes from the show, and individual "turns" for cast members. It was created by Roger Redfarn, who shared the same agent as the sitcom writers. Most of the principal cast transferred with it, with the exception of John Laurie (he was replaced by Hamish Roughead). Following James Beck's death two years earlier, Walker was played by John Bardon.

Dad's Army: A Nostalgic Music and Laughter Show of Britain's Finest Hour opened at Billingham in Cleveland on 4 September 1975 for a two-week tryout. After cuts and revisions, the show transferred to London's West End and opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 2 October 1975. On the opening night there was a surprise appearance by Chesney Allen, singing the old Flanagan and Allen song Hometown with Arthur Lowe. The show ran in the West End until February 1976, disrupted twice by bomb scares, and then toured the country until 4 September 1976. Clive Dunn was replaced for half the tour by Jack Haig (David Croft's original first choice for the role of Corporal Jones on television). Jeffrey Holland, who went on to star in several later Croft sitcoms, also had a number of roles in the production. The radio series Many TV episodes were remade for BBC Radio 4 with the original cast, although other actors played Walker after James Beck's death.

These radio versions were adapted by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles and also starred John Snagge as a newsreader who would set the scene for each episode. Different actors were used for some of the minor parts; Mollie Sugden played the roles of Mrs. Pike and Mrs. Fox for example. The pilot episode was actually based on the revised version of events seen in the opening of the film version rather than the TV pilot. The entire radio series has been released on CD. Knowles and Snoad also developed a radio series It Sticks Out Half a Mile, which told the story of what happened to some of the Dad's Army characters after the war. It was originally intended to star Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier reprising their Dad's Army roles, but Lowe died shortly after recording the pilot episode, and Bill Pertwee and Ian Lavender were brought in to replace him for a 13-episode series Other appearances Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier and John Laurie themselves made a cameo appearance as their Dad's Army characters in the 1977 Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special. As Elton John is following incomprehensible instructions to find the BBC studios, he encounters them in a steam room.

On leaving, Mainwaring calls him a "stupid boy".. Earlier, Le Mesurier, Laurie, Beck, Ridley and Lavender had appeared as guests in the 22 April 1971 edition of The Morecambe And Wise Show on BBC2 playing pirates to Lowe's captain in the Monty on the Bonty sketch. The cast also appeared in a 1970s public information film, in character but set in the modern day, showing how to cross the road safely at traffic lights. A pilot episode for an American remake called The Rear Guard was produced by ABC and broadcast on 10 August 1976, based on the episode The Deadly Attachment. However, it failed to make it past the pilot stage. Awards During its original television run, Dad's Army was nominated for a number of British Academy Television Awards, although only won "Best Light Entertainment Production Team" in 1971. It was nominated as "Best Situation Comedy" in 1973, 1974 and 1975.

Also, Arthur Lowe was frequently nominated for "Best Light Entertainment Performance" in 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975 and 1978. In 2000, the show was voted 13th in a British Film Institute poll of industry professionals of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes. In 2004, championed by Phill Jupitus, it came fourth in the BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom with 174,138 votes. Cultural impact The characters of Dad's Army and their catchphrases are well known in the UK due to the popularity of the series when originally shown and the frequency of repeats. Jimmy Perry recalls that before writing the sitcom, the Home Guard was a largely forgotten aspect of British defence in World War II, something which the series has certainly rectified. In a 1972 Radio Times interview, Arthur Lowe expresses surprise at the programme's success; "We expected the show to have limited appeal, to the age group that lived through the war and the Home Guard.

We didn't expect what has happened - that children from the age of five upwards would enjoy it too". However, the popularity and impact of the series is as much down to the lovable and well crafted characters; Sergeant Wilson, for example, is a masterly exercise in understatement and Captain Mainwaring a clever portrayal of lower middle class pomposity. Each of the main characters are well executed by the proficient cast. Underlying the comedy is the portrayal of a group of ineffective but decent and civilised people who embody British virtues, similar to wartime propaganda of the era. In popular culture Other productions have included characters resembling members of the Dad's Army platoon for comic effect. The 1987 movie Hope and Glory includes a scene in which members of the Home Guard, looking like characters from Dad's Army, bring an escaped barrage balloon under control. Similarly, characters called Mainwaring (Alec Linstead), Wilson ( Terence Hardiman) and a clerk similar to Pike appear in a scene set in a 1940s bank in an episode of the 1990s time travel sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart.

The central character, Gary Sparrow (played by Nicholas Lyndhurst), who is from the 1990s, is astounded to learn that the three are all members of the local Home Guard platoon, and sings some lines of "Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler?" at them. Some of the characters have also appeared in the comic book Jack Staff in flashbacks to the hero's activities during the war. Several of Ben Elton's productions have featured characters inspired by Dad's Army. In the Blackadder Goes Forth episode "Corporal Punishment", two minor characters named Corporal Jones and Private Frazer are introduced and many of the characters in the Ben Elton sitcom The Thin Blue Line can be compared with those of Dad's Army. Fowler's relationship with Grim is very similar to that of Captain Mainwaring to Warden Hodges, in that they are both on the same side yet enemies. Also, Constable Goody is rather like Private Pike in being a 'stupid boy' that irritates Fowler. Similar comparisons can be drawn from many of the minor characters. In the episode Rag Week, Fowler is briefly seen walking out of a shop called "Mainwaring's".

In addition, Jones's catchphrase "Don't panic!" may have inspired Douglas Adams to use the same phrase on the cover of the fictional Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in the radio series, book, TV series, computer game and film of the same name. Retrieved from " " This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see for details of authors and sources) and is available under the DADS ARMY Welcome to our Dads Army page, as you can see we offer a nice range of merchandise produced by talented artist 'Leon Garcia' . NOTE: The T shirts are in UK POUNDS only, if you are overseas and would like one, then email me your details and I can send you a Paypal invoice. However all the other items have a POUNDS, EUROS and DOLLAR CARTS. T SHIRT SIZE GUIDE (Chest in inches) Small 36"/ Medium 40" / Large 44" / XL 48" / XXL 54" Just select the T SHIRT size from the drop down menu, then click the yellow cart button. DADS ARMY MOUSEMAT . .

Dad's Army was a British sitcom about the Home Guard in the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show. The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers and is still repeated today on BBC Two and G.O.L.D.. The Home Guard consisted of local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, usually owing to age, and as such the series starred several veterans of British film, television and stage, including Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, Arnold Ridley and John Laurie. Relative youngsters in the regular cast were Ian Lavender, Clive Dunn (who was made-up to play the elderly Jones) and James Beck, who died suddenly during production of the programme's sixth series, despite being one of the youngest cast members. In 2004, Dad's Army was voted into fourth place in a BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom.

Previously, in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, it was placed thirteenth.[1] The series has had a profound influence on popular culture in the United Kingdom, with the series' catchphrases and characters well known. It is also credited with having highlighted a hitherto forgotten aspect of defence during World War II. The Radio Times magazine listed Captain Mainwaring's "You stupid boy!" among the 25 greatest put-downs on TV. Obituary: David Croft - BBC News BBC News Close share panel Image caption Croft co-wrote some of the nation's best-loved comedies during his BBC career If there really was a golden age of television comedy, it is due in no small part to the talent of David Croft, who has died at home in Portugal at the age of 89. His collaborations, first with Jimmy Perry and later with Jeremy Lloyd, produced some of comedy's best loved characters and drew audiences in their millions. Croft was born David John Sharland on 7 September 1922 in the well-heeled Sandbanks area of Dorset.

Showbusiness was in his blood. His mother Annie was a noted stage actress, while his father Reggie had carved out a career as a radio performer in America. The young Croft made his first theatrical appearance at the age of four when he wandered onto the stage where his father and mother were performing in a variety show. He was 17 when he appeared, briefly, as the shop delivery boy Perkins in the 1939 film Goodbye Mr Chips. He later described the role as "the beginning, middle and end" of his film career. He joined the army in 1942, graduated from Sandhurst and served in North Africa and the Far East, eventually rising to the rank of major. After the war he dabbled in various areas of entertainment including acting, writing and singing - but his specialty was pantomime scripts, which he wrote for the noted producer Freddie Carpenter, who staged performances across the UK. In 1955, Croft joined the newly launched ITV network, landing a job as head of scripts in the light entertainment department at Associated Rediffusion, which then held the franchise for the London area.

Four years later, he moved to Newcastle and joined the newly launched Tyne Tees Television, before absconding to the BBC. Image caption Talented duo; David Croft (left) and Jimmy Perry (right) He worked as a producer and director on a number of the broadcaster's most popular shows, including Steptoe & Son, Up Pompeii and The Benny Hill Show. While working on the sitcom Beggar my Neighbour, Croft's wife, theatrical agent Ann Callender, introduced him to Jimmy Perry - who had had a minor part in one of Croft's productions, Hugh & I. Perry had served in the Home Guard during the war and had an idea for a sitcom based on his own experiences. Croft took a copy of Perry's first script to the BBC's Head of Comedy, Michael Mills. Despite BBC misgivings that it may be disrespectful to the Home Guard, a series was commissioned. We don't write funny lines. We always had funny people to say them. David Croft But Mills changed the original title, The Fighting Tigers, to Dad's Army and altered the names of some of the characters.

Mills also decreed that the inexperienced Perry needed some guidance and gave Croft the task of guiding him through the initial episodes. The first series was entirely produced and directed by Croft, making its debut on 31 July 1968. Eventually a total of 80 episodes were filmed, in addition to several Christmas specials, and the programme ran until 1977. Since then it has been repeated ad infinitum, not only in the UK but across the world, as well as being adapted for radio. Image caption The oft-repeated Dad's Army The ending of each TV episode would feature a caption, "You Have Been Watching", followed by shots of the main characters and the names of the relevant actors. It was a device that would become a trademark of Croft's future productions - and one which is currently undergoing a revival in Miranda Hart's eponymous BBC sitcom. In 1972, while production on Dad's Army continued, Croft began working with Jeremy Lloyd on a second sitcom, set in a department store. Are You Being Served?

originally appeared as a pilot in the BBC's Comedy Playhouse slot and eventually ran for 12 years, with some later episodes attracting audiences in excess of 20 million. The show spawned a string of catch phrases, most notably Mr Humphries' cooing call of "I'm free!", while there was some mild criticism about the constant references to Mrs Slocombe's feline companion. In 1974, Croft and Perry came up with another sitcom based on army life, It Ain't Half Hot Mum. The show chronicled the misadventures of a British army concert party in India and the Far East, and again drew on Croft's own military experience. Relying heavily on risque jokes and double entendre, It Ain't Half Hot Mum eventually ran to 56 episodes between 1974 and 1981 - and spawned a number one single for actors Windsor Davies and Don Estelle, in character as Battery Sergeant Major Williams and Gunner Harold Sugden. Image caption Are You Being Served? attracted huge audiences Croft later said that he felt It Ain't Half Hot Mum was the funniest of his collaborations with Jimmy Perry.

By contrast, his second series with Lloyd, Come Back Mrs Noah, was a flop. One critic opined that it was the "worst British sitcom ever made". The duo fared little better with their follow up Oh Happy Band. However, Croft redeemed himself when he joined up again with Perry for Hi-De-Hi! in 1980. Drawing on Perry's stint as a Redcoat at Butlins, the series was set in a 1950s holiday camp. It was supported by a brace of well-conceived, long-running storylines, not least the smouldering passion of Gladys Pugh for the camp's rather innocent manager, Jeffrey Fairbrother; and chalet maid Peggy's dream of becoming a yellowcoat. Hi-De-Hi! won a Bafta as Best Comedy Series in 1984. You Rang M'Lord?, which first aired in 1988, transferred some of the holiday camp cast to a stately home. This was Croft's last series in partnership with Jimmy Perry, although the two remained good friends.

In an interview with Bafta in 2008, Croft said the pair had a life in theatre prior to their success, which had held them in good stead. "Our whole background was theatre - with acting, when you've done it youself even badly, you know the problems." After the disappointment of Come Back Mrs Noah, Croft and Lloyd came up with 'Allo 'Allo!, a comedy based on the activities of the French Resistance during World War II. Image caption Croft considered It Ain't Half Hot Mum his funniest creation It became one of the BBC's most successful sitcoms, although Croft only worked on the first six series. Grace and Favour was an attempt by Croft and Lloyd to revive Are You Being Served? by transferring most of the cast and the camp humour to a manor house in Gloucestershire. It was not a great success in the UK but was much more popular in America, where it was entitled Are You Being Served Again? Croft was later reported to have been annoyed that the BBC had not adopted the American title for the UK shows, believing that it would have vastly improved the audience figures.

During the 2008 Bafta interview, ahead of their special award presented by former BBC executive Bill Cotton, the pair said that the BBC was "their home". "If you're an artist, you've got to be left alone to get on with it - and that's what the BBC did," said Perry. In 1995, the BBC aired Croft's last series - Oh, Doctor Beeching! - which was written in conjunction with Richard Spendlove. Like, You Rang M'Lord?, it put some of the Hi-De-Hi! castmembers - including Paul Shane, in a remote branch line station threatened with closure. The sitcom ran for just over a year. In all, David Croft was nominated for no fewer than 14 Bafta awards and, in 1981, won the prestigious Desmond Davies Award for his outstanding contribution to the entertainment industry.

Question: Which British sitcom about the Home Guard in World War II was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast between 1968 and 1977, running for 80 episodes?
Answer: Dads Army