Fairly Secret Army, 1984
In Tribute To Geoffrey Palmer
Whilst Fairly Secret Army was not a spin off from Reginald Perrin, many people felt that the main character was similar to Jimmy in the popular TV series. Perhaps the reason behind this was the scripts were written by Reginald Perrin creator: David Nobbs, but the rights to Reginald Perrin were owned by the BBC.
David Nobbs only agreed to work on Fairly Secret Army after turning down an offer to write a spin- off comedy for Manuel from Fawlty Towers.
The thinking behind the show was based around unsubstantiated, but never the less persistent, rumours that emerged in the 1970’s press about right wing generals who were secretly planning a coup to rescue Britain from union militancy.
The idea for a ‘Fairly Secret Army’ first appeared in an episode of Reginald Perrin when Jimmy confided a plan to Reggie (who rubbished it) to protect Britain from the forces of anarchy.
The show was an early example of a sitcom with no laughter track, a common practice these days, it was produced by John Cleese’s training films company. In fact John Cleese script edited the first series.
Fairly Secret Army ran for 13 episodes over 2 series.
Summary
Meet Harry Kitchener Wellington Truscott (ex Queen’s Own West Mercian Lowlanders), an inept and slightly barmy ex-army man, who is intent on training a group of highly unlikely people into a secret paramilitary organisation.
Clips
The Original Idea ?
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Cast
Geoffrey Palmer
Michael Robbins
Liz Fraser
Jeremy Child
Diane Fletcher
Details
Channel: Channel 4
Written By: David Nobbs
Produced By: Video Arts for Channel 4
Original Transmission Dates: 22 October 1984 – 13 October 1986
Merchandising
Regretfully no DVD releases were available at time of posting.
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