Which Way to the War

Which Way to the War
Series title card
GenreSitcom[1]
Based onan idea by Roger Mirams
Written byJeremy Lloyd
David Croft
Directed byRoy Gould
StarringWilliam Tapley
Simon Baker Denny
Terry John
Robert Hands
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes1 (pilot)
Production
Executive producerDon Reynolds
ProducerDavid Croft
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes[1]
Production companiesYorkshire Television
Reg Grundy Productions
Original release
NetworkITV
Release19 August 1994 (1994-08-19)

Which Way to the War is a British television sitcom pilot episode 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.[1]

Plot

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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

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  • 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]

Production

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The pilot episode, written with the intention of developing a full series,[1] was Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft's final sitcom set during wartime, and their only sitcom produced by the ITV network.[3] It had a working title of Mammary Mia.[4]

The pilot was based on an idea by Roger Mirams, who was a producer with Reg Grundy Productions.[5] 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!.[6] Terry John, who portrayed Corporal Genaro, would later appear as Percy in Croft's final television series, Oh, Doctor Beeching!, from 1995 to 1997.[6][7]

Reception

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The pilot was poorly received, and thus a series was not commissioned.[8] Memorable TV described the pilot as a "typical" show by the writers, but noted that it was broadcast when the writers' style of comedy was "somewhat out of favour".[9]

Jasper Rees, writing in The Independent, criticised the racial stereotyping of the characters, particularly the Italian prostitutes, and the predictability of their being a "houseproud homosexual" character, Private Jock Stewart, in a Croft and Perry series. Rees felt that certain "promising" moments in the episode were not properly capitalised on in order to reach "the point of maximum comic potential" and believed that the overall humour was cheap and vulgar.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Lewisohn, Mark (2003). Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy. London: BBC Worldwide. p. 816. ISBN 0563487550.
  2. ^ "Which Way to the War cast and crew credits". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Which Way to the War?". British Classic Comedy. 28 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b Rees, Jasper (19 August 1994). "REVIEW / Oh, what a terrible war... once again". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 September 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  5. ^ Grundy, Reg (2010). Reg Grundy. New South Wales: Pier 9 Books. p. 271. ISBN 9781742660349.
  6. ^ a b "Roy Gould – In Conversation". Beyond the Title. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Terry John". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  8. ^ "David Croft: Pilot – Which way to the War". David Croft Official Website. Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  9. ^ James, Alastair (23 November 2018). "Which Way To The War (ITV 1994, Simon Baker, William Tapley)". Memorable TV. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
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