Command Decision (Dad's Army episode)

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003 - Command Decision
Script	Jimmy Perry and David Croft[1]
Director	David Croft[1]
Producer	David Croft[1]
Recorded	Monday 29/4/68[1]
Original transmission	Wednesday 14/8/68 8.20pm[1]
Series	One
Length	30 minutes
Original Viewing Figures	8.6 million[1]
Preceded by	Museum Piece
Followed by	The Enemy Within the Gates

Command Decision is the third episode of the first series of the British comedy series Dad's Army, which was originally transmitted on Wednesday 14 August 1968. It has been praised as classic.^[2]

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Plot 3 Notes 4 Cast 5 Radio episode 5.1 Synopsis 5.2 Plot 5.3 Cast 6 Further reading 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Leadership agrees with Captain Mainwairing, but the men, still without uniforms and arms, are getting restless. The platoon's fortunes take a turn when old campaigner Colonel Square arrives with an offer of rifles and horses. There is a catch; to secure the weapons, Mainwaring must hand over command to Colonel Square.

[edit] Plot

The platoon are all feeling blue due to their lack of rifles. Mainwaring promises them some before the week is out, but time is running short. He eventually puts the platoon under the command of Colonel Square on a promise of rifles, but after being forced to ride horses holding elephant-shooting muskets, he takes control again. In the end, rifles arrive.

[edit] Notes

[edit] Cast

Cast	Characters
Arthur Lowe	Captain Mainwaring
John Le Mesurier	Sergeant Wilson
Clive Dunn	Lance Corporal Jones
John Laurie	Private Frazer
James Beck	Private Walker
Arnold Ridley	Private Godfrey
Ian Lavender	Private Pike

Support Cast	Characters
Caroline Dowdeswell	Janet King
Geoffrey Lumsden	Colonel Square
Charles Hill	Butler
Gordon Peters	Soldier

[edit] Radio episode

003 - Command Decision
Script	Harold Snoad & Michael Knowles[1]
Producer	John Dyas
Recorded	Thursday 21/6/73[1]
Original transmission	Monday 11/2/74 6.15pm[1]
Series	One
Length	30 minutes
Original Viewing Figures	1 million[1]
Preceded by	Museum Piece
Followed by	The Enemy Within the Gates

[edit] Synopsis

[edit] Plot

[edit] Cast

Cast	Characters
Arthur Lowe	Captain Mainwaring
John Le Mesurier	Sergeant Wilson
Clive Dunn	Lance Corporal Jones
John Laurie	Private Frazer
James Beck	Private Walker
Geoffrey Lumsden	Colonel Square
David Sinclair	GHQ Driver

[edit] Further reading

• Croft, David; Perry, Jimmy; Webber, Richard (2000). The Complete A-Z of Dad’s Army. Orion, 48. ISBN 0-75284-637-X. 
• McCann, Graham (2001). Dad's Army: The story of a classic television show. Fourth Estate. ISBN 1-84115-308-7. 

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Command Decision at the Internet Movie Database
• "Command Decision" at TV.com

v • d • e Dad's Army Characters: Captain Mainwaring • Sergeant Wilson • Lance-Corporal Jones • Private Walker • Private Pike • Private Frazer • Private Godfrey • Private Sponge • Warden Hodges • Mavis Pike • Reverend Farthing • Mister Yeatman • Mrs Fox Television episodes List of Dad's Army episodes • Missing episodes • DVD and Video releases Radio episodes List of Dad's Army radio episodes • Audio releases Spin-offs The Film • The Stage Show • It Sticks Out Half a Mile • Annuals and books