Wake Up Walmington

Last updated

"Wake Up Walmington"
Dad's Army episode
Episode no.Series 9
Episode 1
Directed by Bob Spiers
Story by Jimmy Perry and David Croft
Original air date2 October 1977 (1977-10-02)
Running time30 minutes
Episode chronology
← Previous
"The Love of Three Oranges"		Next →
"The Making of Private Pike"
List of episodes

"Wake Up Walmington" is the first episode of the ninth and final series of the British comedy series Dad's Army . It was originally transmitted on 2 October 1977.

Contents

Synopsis

When nobody seems to be too concerned about the war, the platoon dress up as fifth columnists to give the townsfolk a fright.

Plot

It is now a few years into the war, and the platoon are having firing practice at a country house. However, they are rudely interrupted and told to "keep the noise down" by the arrogant butler. Back at the church hall, Mainwaring and Wilson discuss how complacency is setting in amongst the townsfolk, and how people are seeing them as "Geriatric Fusiliers". As they discuss it, they are interrupted by ARP Warden Hodges, who is in tears after Mr Bluett verbally attacked him for trying to do his job, and how people do not seem to be taking the war seriously.

Remembering the national reaction after the platoon were recently mistaken for enemy agents during a training exercise, Mainwaring decides to get his men to masquerade as fifth columnists in "very sinister clothes" to scare the townsfolk and become appreciated again, and to prevent a repeat of last time he informs the Colonel at GHQ of the plan, called "Operation Wake-Up". Taking pity on him, Mainwaring invites Hodges to join them, which he gratefully accepts.

The platoon (with the exception of Godfrey, who remains at the church hall to act as their contact man) meet up at their "secret base", although things get out of hand with disguises: Mainwaring wears an eyepatch over his glasses, Pike is dressed as an American gangster, Frazer is in his undertaker attire, and Jones is dressed as a nun. Mainwaring finds Jones' disguise unbearable and makes him wear his regular clothes instead.

The platoon and Hodges begin roaming the countryside, acting menacingly. At first, their efforts to frighten the locals are unsuccessful. They first stop a man in a truck and ask him where the aerodrome is (with Jones attempting a foreign accent) but the annoyed man just drives off, splashing Mainwaring with mud. Next, the men pretend to interrogate Hodges and assault him. A big man arrives and recognises Jones as the local butcher, and Hodges, who had short-changed the man some time before, and punches the latter in the face out of vengeance. Lastly, the platoon come across a group of men and assume from their similar clothing that they are real fifth columnists. Mainwaring questions them, even getting his revolver out, but one of the men casually disarms him and they all begin arguing.

However, the platoon finally manages to cause some concern with their talk of "blowing up an aerodrome", but the frightened locals send out for the Home Guard. With Mainwaring's platoon absent from their post, the neighbouring Eastgate platoon, led by Captain Square, are called out, using Jones' van (which is still at the church hall) as transport. Tracking the platoon down to the disused flour mill they are using as their base, Square and his men open fire, covering them in flour.

The men realise that Square had fallen for their trick. Mainwaring calls him a fool, and the episode ends with the two of them exchanging insults.

Cast

Notes

  1. In this episode, Pike dresses up as a Chicago gangster, Mainwaring wears an eye-patch and Jones dresses up as a nun. In the war there were numerous reports that German parachutists were disguising themselves as nuns, something referenced several times in the series.
  2. At the "Six Bells" country pub, one character describes Dover as being "about twenty miles away". Later this pub is described as "five miles from Walmington", on the Dymchurch road. This implies that Walmington is in the vicinity of Hythe, Kent.
  3. This was Captain Square's last appearance in the programme.
  4. When Mainwaring and Square are arguing at the end, Mainwaring mentions that he is not a member of the golf club, a fact previously established in The Honourable Man .
  5. The opening scene with the platoon having a firing practice was filmed at Lynford Hall, Norfolk.

Sources

Related Research Articles

"The Man and the Hour" is the first episode of the British television sitcom Dad's Army. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and was first broadcast on 31 July 1968. It was later adapted for radio.

"The Deadly Attachment" is the first episode of the sixth series of the British television sitcom Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on Wednesday, October 31, 1973. It is arguably one of the best-known episodes of the series because of the comic aspects of a rare encounter between the platoon and the Germans. A scene in which a German officer demands to know Private Pike's name, and Captain Mainwaring says, "Don't tell him, Pike!" has been judged as one of the top three greatest comedy moments of British television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones</span> 1st episode of the 3rd series of Dads Army

"The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones" is the first episode of the third series of the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on Thursday 11 September 1969. It is also the first episode to be made in colour, though it was originally broadcast in black and white.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ring Dem Bells</span> 1st episode of the 8th series of Dads Army

"Ring Dem Bells" is the first episode of the eighth series of the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on 5 September 1975.

"Battle of the Giants!" is the first special Christmas episode of the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on 27 December 1971. The episode was recorded 19 October 1971.

"Menace from the Deep" is the tenth episode of the third series of the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on Thursday 13 November 1969.

"Man Hunt" is the twelfth episode of the third series of the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on Thursday 27 November 1969.

"The Big Parade" is the first episode of the fourth series of the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on Friday 25 September 1970.

"Don't Forget the Diver" is the second episode of the fourth series of the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on 2 October 1970.

"Absent Friends" is the sixth episode of the fourth series of the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on 30 October 1970.

"A Soldier's Farewell" is the third episode of the fifth series of the British television sitcom Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on 20 October 1972.

"If the Cap Fits..." is the sixth episode of the fifth series of the British television sitcom Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on 10 November 1972.

"Getting the Bird" is the fourth episode of the fifth series of the British television situation comedy Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on 27 October 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Royal Train</span> 3rd episode of the 6th series of Dads Army

"The Royal Train" is the third episode of the sixth series of the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on 14 November 1973, the day of the wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips.

<i>Dads Army</i> (1971 film) 1971 British comedy film by Norman Cohen

Dad's Army is a 1971 British war comedy film and the first film adaptation of the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army (1968–1977). Directed by Norman Cohen, it was filmed between series three and four and was based upon material from the early episodes of the television series. The film tells the story of the Home Guard platoon's formation and their subsequent endeavours at a training exercise. The film version of the television series comprises the following cast members: Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, Clive Dunn, John Laurie, Arnold Ridley, Ian Lavender and James Beck.

"Round and Round Went the Great Big Wheel" is the twelfth episode of the fifth series of the British comedy series Dad's Army that was originally transmitted on 22 December 1972.

"Gorilla Warfare" is the third episode of the seventh season of the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on Friday 29 November 1974.

"A Man of Action" is the second episode of the seventh series British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on Friday 22 November 1974.

"Knights of Madness" is the third episode of the ninth and final series of the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on 16 October 1977.

"Present Arms" is the first episode of the second BBC Radio 4 series of the British television sitcom Dad's Army. It was originally broadcast on 24 December 1974, as a Christmas Special. "Present Arms" was compiled for radio from two television episodes, "Battle of the Giants!" and "Shooting Pains", and ran for a duration of 60 minutes, twice the length of a normal radio episode.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.