Menace from the Deep

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1 TV episode
2 Radio episode

[edit] TV episode

022 - Menace from the Deep
Script	Jimmy Perry and David Croft
Director	David Croft
Producer	David Croft
Recorded	Monday 7/11/69
Original transmission	Thursday 13/11/69 7.30pm
Series	Three
Length	30 minutes
Original Viewing Figures	13.3 million
Preceded by	War Dance
Followed by	Branded

Menace from the Deep is the tenth episode of the third series of the British comedy series Dad's Army that was originally transmitted on Thursday 13 November 1969.

[edit] Synopsis

Marooned on the pier head, the platoon have no food or phone - then along comes Hodges and a sea-mine...

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Two soldiers are patrolling the Walmington-on-Sea pier. They grumble that no one will be coming down to look after it for two weeks. They laugh as they realise the Home Guard will have to take over for the week.

The platoon are discussing their latest assignment. Frazer will carry them over to the pier in boat, because he has the best Naval experience. Jones will provide food for the week, Walker will bring along a bottle of whisky and Wilson's brought some acid drops - clearly it will be a "gastronomic orgy", according to Wilson. However, when Mainwaring attempts to teach them how to get into a boat, he and Frazer have a falling out and it is determined that Mainwaring will row them over, so it takes longer than expected to get Wilson and Frazer across.

As Pike is the last man across, he will be in charge of securing the boat. Mainwaring quickly commandeers the only hammock, but Wilson persuades him that they should take it in turns, but Mainwaring will go first. Pike secures the boat, but leaves the food in it, so he goes to fetch it. However, he comes back dejected: he had tied the boat to the telephone cable, and now the boat's gone, with all the food on it. The platoon are cut off.

Jones suggests using the window to signal Morse code to the shore to get help. Unfortunately, ARP Warden Hodges spots it and rows out in a children's paddle boat to try and get them to switch it off. Unfortunately, the boat sinks, and Hodges is stranded with the platoon. To calm him down, Walker gives him his bottle of whisky. Pike spots a crane game where the prize is chocolate. Frazer is the only one with pennies, but they fail at each attempt, so Walker steals some chocolate from inside the machine. Unfortunately, they are all cardboard, to the great distaste of everybody - except Frazer!

Late in the night, the platoon are woken to Hodges' drunken singing. It is decided that Hodges should have the hammock so he can get some sleep. At about 5:45 am, Jones sees an unusual object through the floorboards, and alerts Mainwaring, who identifies it as a mine. They wake everybody up and they try to hook it. Hodges scoffs at their attempts and tries to hook it himself. However, he falls in the water again, and has to remove his tin helmet to prevent it following him.

The platoon set up the Lewis Gun and fire at it with their rifles. However, as the mine edges closer to Walmington, they are soon out of ammunition. A soaking Hodges joins them and, using his expert bowling skills, manages to blow up the mine with a wooden boule.

[edit] Notes

[edit] Cast

Cast	Characters
Arthur Lowe	Captain Mainwaring
John Le Mesurier	Sergeant Wilson
Clive Dunn	Lance Corporal Jones
John Laurie	Private Frazer
James Beck	Private Walker
Arnold Ridley	Private Godfrey
Ian Lavender	Private Pike
Bill Pertwee	ARP Warden Hodges
Stuart Sherwin	2nd ARP Warden
Bill Treacher	1st Soldier
Larry Martyn	2nd Soldier

[edit] Radio episode

018 - Menace from the Deep
Script	Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles
Producer	John Dyas
Recorded	Tuesday 24/7/73
Original transmission	Monday 27/5/74, 6.15pm
Series	One
Length	30 minutes
Original Viewing Figures	0.6 million
Preceded by	Room at the Bottom
Followed by	No Spring for Frazer