Johnny Handsome

Only the British, quite possibly only the BBC, could ever try to produce a television sitcom based on a bunch of old codgers, with barely a functioning limb between them, up for defending their little bit of the country from the opposing Nazis just a few miles across the channel - armed only with one gun and some broom handles. David Croft and Jimmy Perry are, not for the first time, divinely inspired with this charming comedy that puts Arthur Lowe "Capt. Mainwaring" (pronounced Mannering), the town's pompous bank manager in charge of a platoon that features his clerk, the rather weedy but intelligent "Sgt. Wilson" (John Le Mesurier); "Cpl. Jones" who fought in the last war (Clive Dunn); poor hen-pecked "Pte. Pike" - the youngster of the squad who is about as hapless as it possible to get, and the butt of most of the jokes (Ian Lavender) and, of course, for me the star of the series: the old, dour, Scots undertaker - the veteran John ("we're dooooomed") Laurie as "Pte. Frazer". The series' see a whole range of gently amusing, faintly ridiculous, scenarios played out as the squad of Home Guard have to deal with everything from a visit from the King to the capture of some enemy paratroopers - all of which give "Mainwaring" the opportunity to demonstrate his complete lack of leadership skills and judgement whilst the rest of the cast do all the heavy lifting... The scrips are poignant and witty, swiping not just at their foe, but at the last vestiges of a supercilious class system that was very much on it's last legs, whilst also swinging at the aspiring middle classes who were all too keen take their place. The casting is superb, and only gets better as the cast become more comfortable in the roles - and bounce off one another expertly. With people like this on our side - it's no real wonder we won the war!