h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was just chatting about Secret Army on another thread and someone pointed me here.

Thanks 4 a great article on a great programme.

Maybe there is a bit of Rose Tinted Specs going on here but I can't think of a drama since that has quite equalled Secret Army. it truly was a brilliant programme. It's ingrained in my memory yet I was less than 10 years old when I started watching it.
I can still visualise the execution of the German guy who got mistaken for Kessler.

My sincere compliments

Orcus

Cheers, Orcus - for me it's not rose-tinted at all, having watched the entire series only a month ago (and Reinhardt isn't mistaken for Kessler, though he is betrayed by him in a particularly chilling way, and yes, that scene is very memorable). Definitely one of the best reasons for having UK Drama on cable.

And I've just finished watching the sequel, Kessler, which is more a man-on-the-run story, but still good.

Thanks for the comments - glad you enjoyd it!

Jimster

Oh, well, considering I last saw it in, what, 1981ish my memory wasn't too bad...

Thinking about it, I remember Kessler faked his own death by putting his clothes on a dead officer who'd fallen out of a truck, Reinhardt didn't believe it was him because the guy had the hard hands of a field soldier not the soft hands of a desk worker (like Kessler).

How was that?

I'm glad you put the 'Allo 'Allo bit in as that was why I brought it up in the other thread. I wonder how many people realise just how closely Allo Allo is a send up of Secret Army.

I wonder why they haven't repeated it (at least recently) on mainstream BBC. I think they repeated Colditz 5-10 years ago... (I must say I had no idea the two series were at all related until I read your article).

The script editor John Brason has often said it was because the political climate had changed and suddenly gritty WWII dramas were out of favour. You *do* have a good memory though, the events you describe hapen in the last two transmitted episodes of the final series.

There was another series after Kessler, called (I think) The Fourth Arm. Glaister and Brason again, about a group of WWII spies infiltrating Germany or something. It's not directly related though so I left it out.

I believe ITV had a go at doing a similar thing to Secret Army about the occupation of the Channel Islands - 'Enemy at the Door'. The kommandant was played by Simon Cadell (Jeffrey from Hi De Hi!!). Never saw that though.

Jims

Oops forgot about this convo...

Yeah I'd guess that my memory of the later series would be better as I was reasonably sentient (ie. >10 yo) by then

I have to say that I remember Kessler (ie. the series) starting but we soon lost interest in this exciting new series as we thought it wasn't very good.

Always tough to follow up a classic I suppose.

I've scoured the net and can't find this anywhere for availabilty

Shame

I don't think Kessler's been repeated, but secret Army's *just* finished a run on the UK Drama channel, and I hear it's also been repeated recently in Australia.

(DVD,DVD,DVD,DVD,DVD!!!!)

Ah, well if someone who works for the BBC can't get it then I guess I'm stuffed

Campaingn anyone...

We've already mentioned it to BBC Learning.

It's a start.

I'll just add, nice summary of a fantastic TV series

Well, I just treated myself to the DVD of the first series of Secret Army and have watched the first 2 1/2 episodes of Secret Army.

Result, I was right, it is in fact excellent. Truly hard edged, gritty , taught and as good if not better than I remember. I shall be getting the second and third series as an when I finish.

Interestingly I can see why a mate of mine fancied Jan Francis (who I remember primarily from Just Good Friends, I hadn't realised she'd done Secret Army also). She was remarkably in Secret Army

And season one of Secret Army is actually the weaker of the three. You've got a superb treat ahead

Yeah, even the DVD's accompanying notes say that, I reckon so

And funnily enough, you might recognise one of the references in the DVD sleeve notes...

"Thanks 4 a great article on a great programme"

Yep, I'll go along with that

Lucky Jimster seeing Kessler eh? I'd give me eye teeth for that...or hope that the rumoured release in October is true

"I believe ITV had a go at doing a similar thing to Secret Army about the occupation of the Channel Islands - 'Enemy at the Door'. The kommandant was played by Simon Cadell (Jeffrey from Hi De Hi!!). Never saw that though."

I have ordered this series on region 1 dvd. I know it won't be a patch on Secret Army, but I'm hoping it'll fill the void that will be left after I finish watching series 3.

I heard Nicky Campbell on Radio 5 yesterday interviewing a real life saboteur from the channel islands because it was the 60th anniversary of their liberation. He was describing the Gestapo's brutality and Nicky Campbell's reply was, 'a bit like Allo Allo only less funny.'

Gah! It is a shame most people remember the farce rather than the original show.

Was that Channel Island programme recent. I seem to rember one on only a couple of years ago. I think it was supposed to be quite good but I haven't seen it personally.

Currently I'm about 4 episodes into the second series of Secret Army now. Quality stuff and getting better. Whenever I look up the actors in the series on imdb though it's a real shame that very few did very well out of the series. Only Jan Francis really made anything significant afterwards although some of the one off characters are played by very famous actors

Enemy at the Door shared some writers with Secret Army - NJ Crisp for example - and those episodes are as good as many SA episodes. But it's not quite the same story and the theme music lacks the menace of SA.

A friend of mine had Kessler taped from when it was on and lent me his copies. Again, it's not quite as good as SA (few things are), but it's still great (it's got John from The Tomorrow People in it - always thought there was something a bit sinister and Weimarian about those kids). And I understand it'll be out on DVD by the end of the year.

Island at War is the one Orcus is thinking about - very similar story, but shown in July 2004.

I think you might want to look again at the IMDB, Orcus
Bernard Hepton has been in hundreds of shows - including Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. He'd previously been in I Claudius and Colditz (the latter being made by the same production team as SA), and also appeared in the Nigel havers series The Charmer.

Better notsay anything about other characters if you're only in season one (if you're enjoying that, let me say that it gets even better by series two, and series three is astoundingly tense).

But you're right, a lot of the principal actors either went on to do stage work (Angela Richards - still working) or else retired (Juliet Hammond Hill, who made 'Dark Towers' for the Look and Read slot and only a couple of other things).

Sadly, the producer Gerard Glaister died a couple of months back. He'd also been responsible for the 1970s arch soap The Brothers (which first saw Colin Baker and Kate O'Mara battling it out, as they'd later do on Doctor Who), The Fourth Arm, Kessler, Howards' Way and Trainer.

Yeah I kind of thought I'd generalised a wee bit after that last post.

I'm in series two now. It is very very good. I must say though that is quite hard at times to forget about Allo Allo. When you see an ambulance door open and Natalie inside dressed in a spangly white nurses costume it's I half expect to see Gruber and his little tank come trundling round the corner.

And have you got to the one about the painting yet?