The Britcompilation: Day 4- Dad's Army

If you have any sort of interest in British pop culture, then you're probably familiar with Dad's Army. It's one of the most beloved Britcoms, and frequently ranks highly in polls of the best British series. And I have to say, it's hard to argue with its legacy. For a series that approaches the Second World War from a tangent (the British Home Guard), it actually does hold it's own as one of the most iconic British comedies. It actually holds up okay, and I think that's because of how varied the humour is in this one. There's physical comedy, sharp dialogue, and even some dark humour in there too. The characters are strong as well, being a quintessential group of lovable misfits;  the overly patriotic Mainwaring, the anxious Jones, the laid back Wilson, the dour Frazer, the shifty Walker, the mild mannered Godfrey and the immature Pike. They're admittedly simple characters, but they're so vastly different and have such distinct personalities that the writers can wring humour from even the simplest situations.

This is a show that gets by on the likeability and personality of it's characters. That's what makes it more than just another WW2 satire, how enjoyable the Home Guard is to watch. They're fairly incompetent, but they're very entertaining. I think that's the reason that this is such a beloved series, because the characters are these really memorable and enjoyable personalities, and because the humour is so character driven, so much of this show has passed into legend (seen with the sheer magnitude of catchphrases).

So overall, Dad's Army is a bonafide classic. It's one that I really admire, because it certainly paved the way for excellent ensembles in Britcoms. It definitely helped to define the sitcom as a character driven medium, and even generally simple setups became incredibly funny (the episode where they take shelter in a "haunted" house). Safe to say, without this show, the sitcom as we know it would be incredibly different. All these years later, Dad's Army is still a quintessentially hilarious series that launched a thousand tropes.