British Telly

Picking up from a mention over in British comedy:

Doctor Who fans will be very familiar with the concept of animating lost episodes of a television, utilising the soundtrack to give as close an approximation as possible to the original broadcast version. Several Who stories have come back to life this way, and very successfully too.

The same team who did the work on assorted Doctor Who stories is now behind Dad’s Army: The Animations, which will bring six lost episodes of Jimmy Perry and David Croft’s sitcom to the screen for the channel GOLD in November.

The episodes are as follows:

The Loneliness Of The Long-Distance Walker (Series 2, Episode 3)

Private Walker is called up into the army and Captain Mainwaring does all he can to appeal the decision.

Under Fire (Series 2, Episode 6)

The platoon arrest a supposed Nazi agent, on charges of signalling to enemy air-craft.

A Stripe For Frazer (Series 2, Episode 5)

Private Frazer receives an ill-advised promotion to Lance Corporal.

The Animated Christmas Special

In these two shorts (from Christmas Days 1968 and 1970 respectively), Captain Mainwaring drills his platoon in physical fitness and assembles a choir to entertain the troops.

Of all five animations, only A Stripe For Frazer has been seen on television before, and the three full episodes were previously remade in live action as Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes in 2019.

Release date for the first one: Monday November 6th