Dad's Army remake.

[jmorgan]

V8 Fettler said:

Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie as HQ staff.

They could rename it Blackadder an do that? That would work.

Besides. Will they be allowed to stereotype ze Bosch, gott in himmel and all that commando comic stuff.

[The Don of Croy]

Another vote against.

My son has the boxed set of originals which I'm subjected to now and again...never appreciated before just how good Pte Frasier was - he has some of the best lines by far, and delivers them brilliantly.

However, it did provide some entertainment last night working out a cast list (as above);

David Haigh - Manwaring

[PZR]

Morningside said:

You can bet that ahole Corden will have a part in it somewhere.

Private Sponge!

[marcosgt]

No, just no...

I thought it was bad enough that they're 'remaking' (why, for God's sake!?!?!) Point Break, but Dad's Army?????!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?????!?!!!!?!?!?!?!

It'll be a pale shadow of the original at best, although it's quite good fun to speculate on who would be in it.

How about Julian Clary as the Vicar?

M

[captainzep]

I suspect there could be comedy potential in a well-written wartime home-front based script, but as a remake of an existing "classic" series this will probably narrow things down to a weak, big name, nostalgia fest -which will be st.

Eventually I ceased to find Dad's Army funny as the 70's jokes got stale through endless re-runs, eventually becoming a symbol of how little investment the BBC made in written comedy at the time. Repeats of Dad's Army were being stuffed into schedule gaps whilst US shows like Frasier, Seinfeld, Cheers and SNL were running rings around much UK output.

[marshalla]

marcosgt said:

How about Julian Clary as the Vicar?

Why not Frank Williams, again ?

[Paul Dishman]

Frankthered said:

Even worse than Steve Martin as Sergeant Bilko.

[RizzoTheRat]

captainzep said:

I suspect there could be comedy potential in a well-written wartime home-front based script, but as a remake of an existing "classic" series this will probably narrow things down to a weak, big name, nostalgia fest -which will be st.

Agreed. Any attempt at a remake using the original characters would be a disaster. Something new with the same basic premise could work though, ie based on a different unit.

[jmorgan]

Problem is there as a particular way it worked, "don't like it up em", coming to attention late, "Uncle Arthur" and all that. To appeal they will want the same but with new actors as is the way with people passing on, not going to work. If they invent new stuff then it is not Dad's Army. With a younger generation brought up on car chases and gun fights what will the target audience be? The ones that reminisce about what it was. Walk away now. Put it on the back burner and leave it there, hold the rights so no other bugger can make it and do not make it.

[Halb]

jmorgan said:

Problem is there as a particular way it worked, "don't like it up em", coming to attention late, "Uncle Arthur" and all that. To appeal they will want the same but with new actors as is the way with people passing on, not going to work. If they invent new stuff then it is not Dad's Army. With a younger generation brought up on car chases and gun fights what will the target audience be? The ones that reminisce about what it was. Walk away now. Put it on the back burner and leave it there, hold the rights so no other bugger can make it and do not make it.

Quite. A lot of the jokes won't work if you don't already know them.
I have a horrible vision of Carry on England or something similar.

[Lost soul]

Please NO don't do it , it will be cringe worthy

[jmorgan]

Halb said:

Quite. A lot of the jokes won't work if you don't already know them.
I have a horrible vision of Carry on England or something similar.

Went to see Spamalot. The whole audience were in on the jokes and lines from the start. Everyone knew them, but everyone was loving it apart from two women sat next to us who glowered all the way through for some reason.

[Vocal Minority]

The original is seen in many quarters as THE benchmark in perfect casting - andfor a good reason.

This is folly and I implore the makers not to waste their money.

[FourWheelDrift]

I posted a made up cast list on page 1 as I was trying to think who they could possibly use. Those were the only elder statesmen actors old enough (discounting McKellern, Jacobi and Holm). If they want to make a film with the same characters as the originals then who else in their 70s+ is there?

[RichB]

FourWheelDrift said:

I posted a made up cast list on page 1 as I was trying to think who they could possibly use. Those were the only elder statesmen actors old enough (discounting McKellern, Jacobi and Holm). If they want to make a film with the same characters as the originals then who else in their 70s+ is there?

Ironically most of the chaps in the Home Guard would have been in their later 40s and 50s

[Halmyre]

The Don of Croy said:

Another vote against.

My son has the boxed set of originals which I'm subjected to now and again...never appreciated before just how good Pte Frasier was - he has some of the best lines by far, and delivers them brilliantly.

Is this some weird crossover comedy idea? Boston psychiatrist finds himself transported back to 1940s England, with hilarious consequences...

[marshalla]

FourWheelDrift said:

I posted a made up cast list on page 1 as I was trying to think who they could possibly use. Those were the only elder statesmen actors old enough (discounting McKellern, Jacobi and Holm). If they want to make a film with the same characters as the originals then who else in their 70s+ is there?

It needs proper character actors, not stars. That was the secret of the original, it had a proper ensemble cast.

[anonymous-user]

RichB said:

FourWheelDrift said:

I posted a made up cast list on page 1 as I was trying to think who they could possibly use. Those were the only elder statesmen actors old enough (discounting McKellern, Jacobi and Holm). If they want to make a film with the same characters as the originals then who else in their 70s+ is there?

Ironically most of the chaps in the Home Guard would have been in their later 40s and 50s

Robert Lindsay and James Bolam also spring to mind as good actors who can turn their hand also to sitcom, although neither of them have really done anything genuinely laugh out loud funny for a while.
I really do suspect they'll use the fresher so-called talent of the likes of Rob Brydon, Coogan, Armstrong and Millar, and the aforementioned James Corden. Jim Broadbent as the vicar?
Others.....Bill Bailey? Pegg and Frost plus the usual SOTD/Hot Fuzz auto-cast? The one character that I just cannot place is Cpl Jones. Clive Dunn made that role. That role was Clive Dunn.
Interesting that even the BBC admit the success of the original was down to the right script, with the right cast at just the right moment.....all three of which have now passed.

[Halmyre]

Crossflow Kid said:

Robert Lindsay and James Bolam also spring to mind as good actors who can turn their hand also to sitcom, although neither of them have really done anything genuinely laugh out loud funny for a while.
I really do suspect they'll use the fresher so-called talent of the likes of Rob Brydon, Coogan, Armstrong and Millar, and the aforementioned James Corden. Jim Broadbent as the vicar?
Others.....Bill Bailey? Pegg and Frost plus the usual SOTD/Hot Fuzz auto-cast? The one character that I just cannot place is Cpl Jones. Clive Dunn made that role. That role was Clive Dunn.
Interesting that even the BBC admit the success of the original was down to the right script, with the right cast at just the right moment.....all three of which have now passed.

Probably too obvious/predictable, but David Jason as Jones? After all, he was in the running for the original part until Bill Cotton vetoed it.

[RichB]

The interesting thing was that although Jones was the old dodderer in the troop, Clive Dunn was younger than several of the cast. He was just very good at playing an older person.