User Reviews

After the palate cleanser of The Test which helped wash away the tears inspired by Mum's Army, Dad's Army plunges into pathos again with the exceptional A. Wilson (Manager)? Though not quite as raw as Mum's Army, this episode delves deep into the fragility of Wilson and Mainwaring's relationship and ultimately resolves its premise by having Wilson's hopes for the future crushed by the circumstances of war. Croft and Perry's script contains such astute character work and social commentary in the reaction Mainwaring has to Wilson's promotion to manager of another bank and Second Lieutenant in another Home Guard platoon. He takes it as a personal attack, resentful of Wilson stepping out of his shadow. Mainwaring has always had an air of snobbery about him but it pivots hard in the other direction here, as he attacks Wilson's privileged upbringing and recounts his own working class background. The scenes with these two characters are filled with volatile issues of class and status, as well as a sadness as their level of personal connection is exposed as tenuous. Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier are superb as they face off against each other and, while they are brought together again in the end, it is only through circumstance and Croft and Perry rightly refuse to sentimentalise this. There's no last minute "Good to have you back" sweeteners, but there is an underlying sympathy from Mainwaring that is just about perceptible to Wilson but which gets quickly lost in the instant reinstatement of the status quo. Whether that status quo is so easily recaptured for both men is left in doubt in the nicely ambiguous final shot of Wilson beholding Mainwaring's name on the door of his office, only hours after picking the remnants of his own short-lived office door from the debris left by a bombing.

What really pushes A. Wilson (Manager)? Into the realms of the absolute greatest Dad's Army episodes is its smart structure. Croft and Perry have essentially created a farce sandwich, with the weighty Mainwaring and Wilson scenes framing a fantastic comedy routine in which a mistake by Pike leads every member of the platoon to believe they've been promoted to Sergeant. In an episode heavily focused on two characters, this wonderfully worked out bit of business allows each member of the Home Guard to have their moment in the spotlight as they enter the deserted Church Hall and rehearse their new rank in front of an imaginary parade. Once again, John Laurie steals the show here as Frazer's monologue reveals the hard-nosed tyranny he plans to unleash. Amidst the tension and pathos of the main story, this B-story provides some relief and turns an excellent half hour into a virtually perfect one. This is one of Dad's Army's finest balancing acts.