Dad's Army: Difference between revisions

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* Lance-Corporal Jack Jones - butcher, veteran of the Sudan (i.e. the late 1890s), longwinded but eager for action.

** Three catchphrases: "Don't panic" (while panicking), "Permission to speak, sir?" and "They don't like it up 'em" (talking about the African tribesmen ("fuzzy-wuzzies") he fought in his youth and flourishing a [[Bayonet Ya|bayonet]].)

* Private Frank Pike - [[~~Mommas~~ Boy|mollycoddled teenager]]. Was often seen wearing a scarf. Always addresses Wilson as "Uncle Arthur", though Pike may in fact be Wilson's (illegitimate) son. {{spoiler|[[Word of God]] confirms he was.}}

* Private Frank Pike - [[Momma's Boy|mollycoddled teenager]]. Was often seen wearing a scarf. Always addresses Wilson as "Uncle Arthur", though Pike may in fact be Wilson's (illegitimate) son. {{spoiler|[[Word of God]] confirms he was.}}

** Catchphrase: "Uncle Arthur?"

* Private James Frazer - [[Useful Notes/British Accents|Scottish]] undertaker, former Royal Navy cook, very gloomy.

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The show did not have an arc, but it did have continuity. During the first season, the platoon's equipment gradually improved as the regular army provided them with surplus gear. Over the series, Jones had a romance which culminated with a marriage in the final episode.

Came fourth in ''[[~~Britains~~ Best Sitcom (TV)|Britains Best Sitcom]]''.

Came fourth in ''[[Britain's Best Sitcom (TV)|Britains Best Sitcom]]''.

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=== This show provides examples of: ===

* [[Abhorrent Admirer]]: Mrs Fox occasionally fills this role, although Jones didn't seem to mind her too much ...

* [[Acting for Two]]: In one episode Arthur Lowe starred as both Mainwaring and Mainwaring's estranged brother.

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* [[Baseball Episode]]: Well, [[Cricket]] episode, Home Guard vs. ARP Wardens.

* [[Bawdy Song]]: Godfrey's song about a monk, although [[Noodle Incident|we're only ''told'' he sang it, not what it was about.]] The cast's reactions are more than enough for us to guess.

* [[Beam Me Up Scotty]]: It's not "Don't tell him [your name], Pike!"

* [[Beam Me Up, Scotty]]: It's not "Don't tell him [your name], Pike!"

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Sergeant Wilson. In the last episode it was even revealed {{spoiler|that he had been an artillery captain during the First World War.}}

* [[Big Damn Movie]]: [[The Movie]] has this atmosphere to it, even though it's adapted from the early episodes.

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* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: In the episode "Battle of the Giants", Walker mentions having made flags for both their platoon and the Eastgate platoon. They will be used at the end of a contest, in short form, whoever flies their flag first, wins. Although just a passing remark, it turns out later that Walker made both flags say "Walmington-on-Sea" so they would win whoever flew the flag first.

* [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome]]: Miss King vanishes without a trace after series one. Also happens to [[Shoo Out the New Guy|Private Cheeseman]]; [[Ascended Extra]] Private Desmond, who had a role in one episode and was never heard from again; and Private Bracewell, a character who appears only in the first episode. [[Word of God]] has it that Bracewell was intended to be a recurring character but was cut because the producers felt his character was too much like Godfrey's.

* [[Classically Trained Extra]]: John Laurie as Private Frazer. The actor was somewhat bitter about being best remembered for this role rather than his theatrical work.

* [[Classically-Trained Extra]]: John Laurie as Private Frazer. The actor was somewhat bitter about being best remembered for this role rather than his theatrical work.

** According to show writer Jimmy Perry, most of the background platoon members were played by retired actors or writers rather than the usual extras.

* [[Colonel Makepeace]]: Private Sponge.

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* [[Handcar Pursuit]]: The climax of "The Royal Train" involves Hodges on a handcar chasing a runaway train with the platoon aboard, so he can throw them the widget they need to stop the train. Then they throw the train into reverse, and it becomes Hodges on a handcar ''fleeing'' a runaway train instead.

* [[Home Guard]]: The basis of the show.

* [[Honest ~~Johns~~ Dealership]]: Private Walker.

* [[Honest John's Dealership]]: Private Walker.

* [[Hufflepuff House]]: Private Sponge 'and the others'.

* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: Private Frazer was very fond of asserting one point of view, only to immediately switch to the ''opposite'' one when it no longer became a good idea to hold the first one.

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* [[Shoo Out the New Guy]]: Private Cheeseman. Also counts as a [[Replacement Scrappy]].

* [[A Simple Plan]]: The Walmington-On-Sea platoon could produce a chaotic outcome to the simplest of tasks.

* [[The So Called Coward]]: Private Godfrey, as detailed above.

* [[The So-Called Coward]]: Private Godfrey, as detailed above.

** Also Corporal Jones in "The Two and A Half Feathers". A veteran of the Sudan War claims that he was saved by a native tribeman after Jones left him out in the desert to die. {{spoiler|The tribesman was Jones dressed in Arab robes; he remained silent about his role in order to cover up a scandalous affair the veteran was involved in.}}

* [[Soldiers At the Rear]]: Private Joe Walker's "allergy" to corned beef.

* [[Sound to Screen Adaptation]]: Reversed: there is an original cast radio series based on the TV episodes.

* [[Spin Off]]: The aforementioned radio series, ''It Sticks Out Half a Mile'', broadcast between 1983-84. It centred around Hodges, Pike and Wilson teaming up to renovate the abandoned pier in a nearby seaside town, and was later turned into an original TV series called ''High and Dry''

* [[Spin-Off]]: The aforementioned radio series, ''It Sticks Out Half a Mile'', broadcast between 1983-84. It centred around Hodges, Pike and Wilson teaming up to renovate the abandoned pier in a nearby seaside town, and was later turned into an original TV series called ''High and Dry''

** The pilot featured Mainwaring and Wilson. Arthur Lowe died soon afterwards hence Mainwarring being replaced with Hodges. Then, when John Le Mesurier passed away after recording one series, it was decided to just put it to rest (as a direct ''[[Dads Army (TV)|Dads Army]]'' [[Spin Off]], at least).

** The pilot featured Mainwaring and Wilson. Arthur Lowe died soon afterwards hence Mainwarring being replaced with Hodges. Then, when John Le Mesurier passed away after recording one series, it was decided to just put it to rest (as a direct ''[[Dads Army (TV)|Dads Army]]'' [[Spin-Off]], at least).

* [[Squirrels in My Pants]]: In "Room at the Bottom", Corporal Jones gets ants in his pants and, while trying to remove them, accidentally signals the platoon to advance into an ambush.

* [[Surrounded By Idiots]]