The Rear Guard Explained

Runtime:30 minutes
Creator:Jimmy Perry
David Croft
Director:Hal Cooper
Starring:Lou Jacobi
Cliff Norton
Eddie Foy Jr.
John McCook
Dennis Kort
Arthur Peterson
Jim Connell
James McCallion
Country:United States
Language:English
Network:ABC
Num Episodes:1 (Pilot)

The Rear Guard is a 1976 pilot episode for an American adaptation of the British situation comedy Dad's Army.

The pilot was aired on Tuesday, 10 August 1976 by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC).[1] However, it was not commissioned as a series. As it was considered a failure, the original tapes were wiped. However copies of the show are in the possession of the show's director Hal Cooper and other producers that were associated with the show.

Plot

Set in World War II, The Rear Guard followed a band of men in the American Civil Defense who were part of an auxiliary force in the event of an invasion of the United States. The episode was an adaptation of "The Deadly Attachment", in which a German U-Boat crew are placed under the supervision of the platoon.

Characters

As The Rear Guard was a remake of Dad's Army, it included many of the same characters under alternative names. Here is a list of the characters and their original counterparts:

The characters of Privates Godfrey and Frazer were not included in the remake.

Notes and References

  1. https://archive.today/20120630225102/http://www.btinternet.com/~m.brown1/rear.htm Dave Homewood's Guide to The Rear Guard