Lost Dad’s Army episode ‘A Stripe for Frazer’ to get animated makeover

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] can’t imagine much of The Boar‘s readership is acquainted with Dad’s Army. It’s more the kind of thing you’d watch at your grandparents’ house, in a semi-comatose state after being fed endless custard creams.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Dad’s Army was sitcom about the British Home Guard during WWII. It was broadcast by the BBC in the 1960s and 70s, spanning a massive 9 seasons reaching up to 18 million viewers.

I was never a fan of the show: I found it to be an unnervingly nostalgic look back on the Second World War

It tactfully brushes the debris and devastation of Blitz-ridden Britain under a rose-tinted rug, woven from canned laughter and pitiable, bumbling caricatures.

The gloomy funeral director Frazer is a much-loved character. Image: Danielweiresq / Flickr

My opinions of the old show aside, Dad’s Army is now facing an imminent rehash in the form of a feature-length film, due to be released in February. However, what’s more interesting is that the BBC recently uncovered a high quality audio recording of the lost episode ‘A Stripe For Frazer’.

Before the birth of the digital archive, many tapes of the original Dad’s Army episodes were recorded over, or discarded – meaning pieces of television history were forever lost in the process. This particular episode was originally broadcast on 29 March 1969, and never again since. The discovery of the audio track for ‘A Stripe For Frazer’ has led to the creation of a 30 minute ‘flash-animation’ of the episode by graphic novelist Martin Geraghty and television archive expert, Charles Norton.

In the episode, Captain Mainwaring (Arthur Lowe) makes Frazer (John Laurie) a Lance-Corporal, but soon regrets his decision. Frazer battles with Lance-Corporal Jones (Clive Dunn) for the favour of the Captain, and ends up filing a stream of increasingly odd charge sheets – much to the dismay of Mainwaring and the rest of the platoon.

Michael Gambon on-set for the new Dad’s Army feature film. Image: Parkywiki / Wikimedia Commons

For me, the recovery of ‘A Stripe for Frazer’ sounds much more appealing than a feature-length film. Although the movie might boast an incredible cast – with Mark Gatiss (Colonel Theakes), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Rose Winters) and Michael Gambon (Private Godfrey), to name but a few – it strays from the quaint, old-time-y charm, which is how the show once captured its audience.

The original series was once voted fourth in a search to find Britain’s best sitcom, and I’m sure that the millions of fans of the show will be eagerly anticipating the episode.

Jonathan Green of the BBC Store (where fans will be able to purchase the episode) said: “As the UK renews its love affair with Dad’s Army, we’re delighted to be bringing fans an exclusive chance to buy this brilliant lost episode which has been missing from the Dad’s Army portfolio for nearly half a century.”

What’s even more exciting is that even if you’re not a fan of Dad’s Army, the same technique which was applied to bring life back to ‘A Stripe for Frazer’ could be used for other beloved, lost chapters of British telly, including classic Doctor Who!

The episode will be released to the BBC Store on 4 February 2016.