Resisting the Aggressor Down the Ages

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Episode of Dad's Army

"Resisting the Aggressor Down the Ages"

Dad's Army episode

Directed by

David Croft

Story by

Jimmy Perry and David Croft

Original air date

25 December 1969 (1969-12-25)

Running time

10 mins

Episode chronology

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"Resisting the Aggressor Down the Ages" is the second Christmas Night with the Stars sketch from the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on Christmas Day 1969.

Synopsis

The platoon are busy rehearsing their performance for the town pageant, a propaganda show to inspire the locals and raise funds for "War Weapons Week".

Plot

The platoon's pageant item tells of England's defeat of many oppressors down the ages, including Julius Caesar (played by Godfrey), William the Conqueror (Frazer), Philip of Spain (Pike) and Napoleon (Wilson). Captain Mainwaring, in the guise of John Bull, is, as usual, struggling to motivate his platoon to give convincing performances.

The conceit of the item is that England has always defeated its aggressors (generally ignoring historical fact), with each aggressor in turn saying "England shall be crushed, never to rise again" and each segment ending with the proclamation "The aggressor shall not pass, the aggressor did not pass" jointly said by the spirits of Agriculture and Commerce (Jones and Walker respectively).

However, the rehearsal is rudely interrupted by an air raid and Chief ARP Warden Hodges brings a bailed out Luftwaffe pilot to see the Home Guard. When presented to Captain Mainwaring, the airman proclaims, "England shall be crushed, never to rise again – Heil Hitler!", at which point Corporal Jones pokes the pilot from behind with a pitchfork (to the pilot's obvious discomfort) and proclaims: "They don't like it up 'em, Captain Mainwaring".

Cast

Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring / John Bull
John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Wilson / Napoleon
Clive Dunn as Lance Corporal Jones / Spirit of Agriculture
John Laurie as Private Frazer / William the Conqueror
James Beck as Private Walker / Spirit of Commerce
Arnold Ridley as Private Godfrey / Julius Caesar
Ian Lavender as Private Pike / Philip II of Spain
Bill Pertwee as ARP Warden
Robert Aldous as German Pilot

Notes

An extract from this sketch was shown as part of Fry & Laurie Host a Christmas Night of the Stars BBC2 special broadcast 27 December 1994 as part of a 20-minute Dad's Army item.
Robert Aldous also appeared as another German pilot in the Series 3 episode "Man Hunt", which was recorded on the same day.
Mainwaring asks Wilson (who is dressed as Napoleon) if he has seen Charles Boyer in a film with Greta Garbo, to which Wilson says that he has not. This film becomes an important plot point of the Series 5 episode "A Soldier's Farewell", where the platoon watches the film at a cinema (for which a reenactment clip is shown) which leads to Mainwaring dreaming that he is Napoleon.

References

Pertwee, Bill (7 September 2009). Dad's Army (The Making of a Television Legend). Conway. p. 181. ISBN 978-1844861057.

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Episodes
Series 1	"The Man and the Hour" "Museum Piece" "Command Decision" "The Enemy Within the Gates" "The Showing Up of Corporal Jones" "Shooting Pains"
Series 2	"Operation Kilt" "The Battle of Godfrey's Cottage" "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker"†‡ "Sgt. Wilson's Little Secret" "A Stripe for Frazer"†‡ "Under Fire"†‡
Series 3	"The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones" "Battle School" "The Lion Has 'Phones" "The Bullet Is Not for Firing" "Something Nasty in the Vault" "Room at the Bottom" "Big Guns" "The Day the Balloon Went Up" "War Dance" "Menace from the Deep" "Branded" "Man Hunt" "No Spring for Frazer" "Sons of the Sea"
Series 4	"The Big Parade" "Don't Forget the Diver" "Boots, Boots, Boots" "Sgt – Save My Boy!" "Don't Fence Me In" "Absent Friends" "Put That Light Out!" "The Two and a Half Feathers" "Mum's Army" "The Test" "A. Wilson (Manager)?" "Uninvited Guests" "Fallen Idol"
Series 5	"Asleep in the Deep" "Keep Young and Beautiful" "A Soldier's Farewell" "Getting the Bird" "The Desperate Drive of Corporal Jones" "If the Cap Fits..." "The King Was in His Counting House" "All is Safely Gathered In" "When Did You Last See Your Money?" "Brain Versus Brawn" "A Brush with the Law" "Round and Round Went the Great Big Wheel" "Time on My Hands"
Series 6	"The Deadly Attachment" "My British Buddy" "The Royal Train" "We Know Our Onions" "The Honourable Man" "Things that Go Bump in the Night" "The Recruit"
Series 7	"Everybody's Trucking" "A Man of Action" "Gorilla Warfare" "The Godiva Affair" "The Captain's Car" "Turkey Dinner"
Series 8	"Ring Dem Bells" "When You've Got to Go" "Is There Honey Still for Tea?" "Come In, Your Time Is Up" "High Finance" "The Face on the Poster"
Series 9	"Wake Up Walmington" "The Making of Private Pike" "Knights of Madness" "The Miser's Hoard" "Number Engaged" "Never Too Old"
000!!Specials	"Santa on Patrol"† "Resisting the Aggressor Down the Ages" "Cornish Floral Dance"† "Battle of the Giants!" "Broadcast to the Empire" "My Brother and I" "The Love of Three Oranges"
† Missing episode has been reconstructed using animation. ‡ Missing episode has been recreated with new cast

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