On Screen
1 total work
Without doubt, 'Dad's Army' is the best loved situation comedy in British television history. 80 episodes were transmitted between 1968 and 1977, regularly reaching audiences approaching 20 million, viewing figures that would be impossible today. The series, written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and directed by Croft, tapped into both men's wartime experiences and showed that dysfunctional families exist in all walks of life. In this case it was the Home Guard, protecting the fictional southern town of Walmington-on-Sea from potential German invasion. The key themes of the show remain as relevant as ever: pomposity, class envy and petty jealousies.
The extraordinary cast remain as popular as ever - Arthur Lowe as Mainwaring, the pompous but valiant Captain; John Le Mesurier as the laid back, upper-class Sergeant and Clive Dunn as the impulsive yet elderly Lance-Corporal Jones as well as at least half a dozen equally well-loved characters.
Huw Lloyd-Jones' wonderful book takes us through each of the 80 episodes, plus the two movie versions from 1971 and 2016. He explores the themes, the catchphrases and the characters that remain as resonant more than 70 years after the end of the Second World War now as they did when the series was first broadcast.
The extraordinary cast remain as popular as ever - Arthur Lowe as Mainwaring, the pompous but valiant Captain; John Le Mesurier as the laid back, upper-class Sergeant and Clive Dunn as the impulsive yet elderly Lance-Corporal Jones as well as at least half a dozen equally well-loved characters.
Huw Lloyd-Jones' wonderful book takes us through each of the 80 episodes, plus the two movie versions from 1971 and 2016. He explores the themes, the catchphrases and the characters that remain as resonant more than 70 years after the end of the Second World War now as they did when the series was first broadcast.