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

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran fo ...

''. The pilot was aired on Tuesday, 10 August 1976 by the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...

(ABC).https://archive.today/20120630225102/http://www.btinternet.com/~m.brown1/rear.htm Dave Homewood's Guide to ''The Rear Guard'' However, it was not commissioned as a series. As it was considered a failure, the original tapes were

wiped Lost television broadcasts are mostly those early television programs which cannot be accounted for in studio archives (or in personal archives) usually because of deliberate destruction or neglect. Common reasons for loss A significant prop ...

. 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, ''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 "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 31 October 1973. It has become one of the best known episodes of the series due to the ra ...

", in which a German

U-Boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

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: * Captain Nick Rosatti (

Captain Mainwaring Captain George Mainwaring () is a fictional Home Guard captain, first portrayed by Arthur Lowe in the BBC television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. In the 2016 movie he is played by Toby Jones and in the 2019 remake of three missing episodes he is p ...

) – played by

Cliff Norton Clifford Charles Norton (March 21, 1918 – January 25, 2003) was an American character actor and radio announcer who appeared in various movies and television series over a career spanning four decades. Early years Norton was born in Chi ...

* Sergeant Max Raskin (

Sergeant Wilson Sergeant Arthur Wilson is a fictional Home Guard platoon sergeant and bank chief clerk, first portrayed by John Le Mesurier in the BBC television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. Background Wilson was born in 1887, and is carefree, cheerful and well ...

) – played by

Lou Jacobi Lou Jacobi (born Louis Harold Jacobovitch; December 28, 1913October 23, 2009) was a Canadian character actor. Life and early career Jacobi was born Louis Harold Jacobovitch in Toronto, Canada, to Joseph and Fay Jacobovitch. Jacobi began acting ...

* Bert Wagner (

Lance Corporal Jones Lance Corporal Jack Jones is a fictional Home Guard platoon lance corporal and veteran of the British Empire, first portrayed by Clive Dunn in the BBC television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. His catchphrases are "Don't panic!", "Permission to speak, ...

) – played by

Eddie Foy Jr. Edwin Fitzgerald Jr. (February 4, 1905 – July 15, 1983), known professionally as Eddie Foy Jr., was an American stage, film, and television actor. Early life Edwin Fitzgerald Jr. was born on February 4, 1905, in New Rochelle, New York, the ...

* Don Crawford (

Private Walker Private Joe Walker is a fictional black market spiv (or Wholesales Supplier, as he politely puts it) and Home Guard platoon member, first portrayed by actor James Beck in the BBC television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. In real life, Beck died suddenly ...

) – played by

John McCook John Thomas McCook (born June 20, 1944) is an American actor. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of the character Lance Prentiss on the television soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' (from 1975 - 1980)''.'' Since March 1987, he h ...

* Bobby Henderson (

Private Pike Private Frank Pike is a fictional Home Guard private and junior bank clerk, first portrayed by actor Ian Lavender in the BBC television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. He was appointed as the platoon's information officer by Captain Mainwaring in The Man ...

) – played by Dennis Kort The characters of Privates Godfrey and Frazer were not included in the remake.

References

External links

* 1976 American television episodes 1970s American comedy television series Fiction set in 1942 American television series based on British television series Dad's Army Television pilots not picked up as a series Military humor in film Television episodes about World War II Television episodes set in the United States United States civil defense U-boat fiction Television episodes written by Arthur Julian {{DadsArmy-tv-stub