Regular readers of this blog will know that I am a big fan of the sitcom Dad's Army.
For those who don't know (you can't be British!!) it was set during World War II and was based around the antics of the Home Guard. The Home Guard consisted of civilians who were too old for active service .
It was brilliantly written but what really made it were the wonderful actors. It was a true ensemble piece. And despite being 40+ years old it is still repeated on prime time TV and is still better than 99.99% of programmes.
I was glancing through the Radio Times and in the radio section and found a picture of two of the main characters Captain Mainwaring and Sergeant Wilson (the brilliant Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier). I at first assumed it must be a repeat of the episodes adapted for radio (it's often on BBC Radio 4 extra) but no!
In fact it was a pilot for a spin off radio series set post war in 1948 called It Sticks out Half a Mile. In the original Mainwaring was the bank manager and Wilson his clerk. In the spin off Wilson was the manager and Mainwaring was now a customer asking for a loan (retired I presume).
Alas Arthur Lowe died before a series could be recorded and according to the RT Lowe was unwell during the pilot and can clearly be heard to be slurring his words but that the timing of both men is still impeccable.
After Lowe's death two other Dad's Army stalwarts were drafted in with Ian Lavender and Bill Pertwee reprising their roles as Pike and Hodges respectively. There was a pilot and a radio series. Oh and apparently there was a pilot and TV series using the radio series as a premise but with out any of the Dad's Army actors or characters,
Enough of that, the point is that BBC Radio 4 Extra will broadcast the pilot at 12pm and 7pm on January 24th I will have to listen to it!
Oh my favourite Dad's Army moment starts at approx 7 minutes. It's the one where the platoon send Private Godfrey to Coventry as he was a conscience objector during World War I
I ought to stress that the episode is on 3 parts on you tube and that the above is part 3
Parts 1 & 2 if you are interested....
3 comments:
.. That's interesting! As you know the Dad's Army programmes were filmed just up the road from here, and I know a few folks who used to drink in the Anchor Hotel with the actors, and watch them filming. Sadly the Anchor has been pulled down now, pity.
... thank you for your kind comments on my blog ... the church is St John's in Beck Row - the photos of St John's were taken from Aspal Close Nature Reserve.
haha, those were very funny. Marvelous acting and so much better than most of the crap we see today.
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