Which Way to the War is a British television sitcom pilot that was broadcast on 19 August 1994 on ITV. It starred William Tapley, Simon Baker Denny, Terry John and Robert Hands, and was written by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft.
| Which Way to the War | |
|---|---|
 Series title card | |
| Genre | Sitcom[1] |
| Based on | an idea by Roger Mirams |
| Written by | Jeremy Lloyd David Croft |
| Directed by | Roy Gould |
| Starring | William Tapley Simon Baker Denny Terry John Robert Hands |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 1 (pilot) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Don Reynolds |
| Producer | David Croft |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes[1] |
| Production companies | Yorkshire Television Reg Grundy Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 19 August 1994 |
Plot edit
Set in Libya in October 1942, during the Western Desert campaign, a party of British "Desert Rat" soldiers and a party of Australian soldiers are holed up in a remote building, when an ambulance of Italian "nurses" arrive.
Cast edit
- William Tapley as Corporal Roy Muller
- Simon Baker Denny as Private Stan Hawke
- Terry John as Corporal Tony Genaro
- Robert Hands as Private Jock Stewart
Also featured were Sarah Payne as Mara, Nadia Sawalha as Lucia, Elisabeth Bolognini as Little Anna, Valeria Fabbri as Carla, Amanda Weston as Theresa, Jason Hall as Captain Gregory Swift and Martin Sadler as Able One Charlie.[2]
Background edit
The series was Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft's final sitcom set during wartime, and was their only sitcom produced by the ITV network.[3] The pilot was written with the intention of developing a full series.[1]
The pilot was based on an idea by Roger Mirams, who was a producer with Reg Grundy Productions.[4] The pilot's director, Roy Gould, had worked for Croft and Lloyd previously at the BBC on programmes Are You Being Served?, Hi-de-Hi!, 'Allo 'Allo! and Oh, Doctor Beeching!.[5]
Reception edit
The pilot was poorly received, and thus a series was not commissioned.[6] Memorable TV described the pilot as a "typical David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd show", but noted that it was broadcast when the writers' style of comedy was "somewhat out of favour".[7]
References edit
- ^ a b c Lewisohn, Mark (2003). Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy. London: BBC Worldwide. p. 816. ISBN 0563487550.
- ^ "Which Way to the War cast and crew credits – British Comedy Guide". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
- ^ "Which Way to the War? – British Classic Comedy". British Classic Comedy. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ Grundy, Reg (2010). Reg Grundy. New South Wales: Pier 9 Books. p. 271. ISBN 9781742660349.
- ^ "Roy Gould – In Conversation – Beyond the Title". Beyond the Title. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ "David Croft: Pilot – Which way to the War". David Croft Official Website. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ James, Alastair (23 November 2018). "Which Way To The War (ITV 1994, Simon Baker, William Tapley)". Memorable TV. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
External links edit
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