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DVD Description
Dad's Army was created and written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the duo who were also responsible for 'Allo 'Allo, Hi-De-Hi! and It Ain't Half Hot, Mum . Perry came up with the idea when it struck him that people had forgotten the role that the Home Guard played in the Second World War.
The sitcom followed the farcical exploits of the Walmington-on-Sea platoon, led by Captain Mainwaring (Arthur Lowe) and it ran on TV from 1968 to 1977. The story begins in May 1940 with Sir Anthony Eden's plea to men to come forward as Local Defence Volunteers. In the fictional town of Walmington, the pompous bank manager George Mainwaring declares himself commanding officer ("Times of peril always bring great men to the fore,") and gathers together a loyal but incompetent platoon of local men to defend the town against invasion.
Although reviewers initially criticised the series for mocking the Home Guard, the plotline was surprisingly realistic. The real Home Guard lacked uniforms and weapons at first, and the huge influx of volunteers meant that the organisation was quite shambolic. The age limit for recruits was supposed to be 65, but this was not enforced to begin with, allowing First World War veterans in their seventies and eighties to creep in.
Dad's Army had its own elderly, incontinent Private Godfrey, played by Arnold Ridley, who had fought in WW1 himself. The actor was seriously injured at the Somme, rendering his left arm almost useless, and leaving him susceptible to blackouts.
Among the rest of the cast were Clive Dunn (who simultaneously drew in a different audience as the chart-topping pop star 'Grandad'), Hattie Jacques' former husband, John le Mesurier and a baby-faced Ian Lavender, who has since resurfaced as Derek in EastEnders.
This box set features the entire collection of surviving episodes of the programme. Includes all nine surviving episodes from Series 1 and 2 and the complete series 3-9.
From the Back Cover
Subtitles: English for the Hard of Hearing (only)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
196 of 197 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fantastic collection,
By
This review is from: Dad's Army - The Complete Collection [DVD] (DVD)
This is the ultimate collection of the 'Dad's Army' TV series and it is all you could ask for.Featuring every single available episode and also several extras I really don't know how it could be improved upon.Of course some episodes are better than others but when you realise just how many episodes were written the quality and consistancy of the writing is amazing.This box set also includes the three Christmas specials.Quite simply this is classic comedy at it's best and it just has to be awarded maximum marks.Fabulous and well worth spending your cash on.
145 of 147 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
All inclusive!,
By
This review is from: Dad's Army - The Complete Collection [DVD] (DVD)
To answer a previous reviewers question, this box set contains all the episodes available previously and the program 'Missing Believed Wiped' as well as audio versions of the remainder of series 2.
39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Real Box Set Treasure,
By
This review is from: Dad's Army - The Complete Collection [DVD] (DVD)
Dad's Army has to be amongst the best conceived comedy series' ever. This pretty much relates to every aspect of the show's concept, be it the authenticity of the flavour of the times it represents, whether that's to do with the visual aspect (clothing, set designs etc.) or the way many of the stories directly relate to the themes of the day (whether to do with the fear of enemy invasion or just the day to day running of the home guard platoon). However, perhaps the biggest stroke of genius has to do with the characters, to which the show's writers developed so well, in addition to the inspired choices to which actors were used to play the roles. It's no exaggeration to say that each of the roles fitted the individual actors as tightly as a glove almost to a point of not knowing the dividing line between character and actor, and given the size of a regular cast as large as that in Dad's Army is no mean feat. Even though the roles at a first glance seem maybe a touch stereotypical at times, they provide a sense of believeability which isn't always to be taken for granted with sitcoms in general. It is perhaps Arthur Lowe's Captain Mainwaring and John Mesurier's Sergeant Wilson that creates the strongest impression in that regard, especially in the episodes where the class differences between them feature most prominantly.As for the episodes themselves over the series as a whole (which spans nine years), they are consistently strong throughout, whether that's relating to stories relying on more of the characterisation (involving more dialoque) aspects of the show, or more of the farcical side, which tends to happen most when the platoon are given some assignment to perform. Often at these times Clive Dunn comes into his own. I think though perhaps the series reached its peak in the early seventies, and especially throughout series five and six where every episode appeared pretty much a classic. However, following the death of James Beck (Private Walker), the platoon did lose a little of its finely tuned chemistry, partly because Walker's spiv character was a very different personality to the rest of them. Despite this the show's storylines and sense of fun remained immaculately effective till the end. The extras on this DVD set are also marvellously enjoyable, including a history of the series and profiles of the regular cast members (and writers).There is also a short documentary on some recently found lost episodes which is equally engaging. Everything about this box set proves a real treasure. Dad's Army is likely to remain forever timeless.
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