Dad's Army

Dad's Army
Series title card
Created by	Jimmy Perry
Written by	Jimmy Perry & David Croft
Directed by	David Croft Harold Snoad Bob Spiers
Starring	Listed in closing credits: Arthur Lowe John Le Mesurier Clive Dunn John Laurie James Beck Arnold Ridley Ian Lavender Bill Pertwee Frank Williams Edward Sinclair Janet Davies Colin Bean
Opening theme	Bud Flanagan ""
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	9
No. of episodes	80 (3 missing) (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	David Croft
Running time	30 minutes
Release
Original network	BBC One
Original release	31 July 1968 (1968-07-31) – 13 November 1977 (1977-11-13)
Website

Dad's Army is a BBC television sitcom about the British Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on the BBC from 1968 to 1977. The sitcom ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio version based on the television scripts, a feature film and a stage show. The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers and is still repeated worldwide.

The Home Guard consisted of local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, either because of age (hence the nickname "Dad's Army") or by being in professions exempt from conscription. Dad's Army deals almost exclusively with over age men and featured older British actors, including Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, Arnold Ridley and John Laurie. Younger members in the cast included Ian Lavender, Clive Dunn (who played the oldest guardsman, Lance Corporal Jones), Frank Williams, James Beck, (who died suddenly during production of the programme's sixth series in 1973) and Bill Pertwee.

In 2004, Dad's Army was voted fourth in a BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom. It had been placed 13th in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000 and voted for by industry professionals. The series has influenced British popular culture, with the series' catchphrases and characters being well known. It highlighted a forgotten aspect of defence during the Second World War, although it greatly distorted the true history and function of the Home Guard. The Radio Times magazine listed Captain Mainwaring's "You stupid boy!" among the 25 greatest put-downs on TV. A new feature film of Dad's Army with a different cast was released in 2016.