rchartman
Excellent series, however, can only get season 1 in the U.S. or region 2 for DVD. How can I get all three series for DVD in Region 1? All episodes are compelling with a twist at the end. It's difficult not to want to watch the entire season in one sitting. Unfortunately, only season 1 is offered in the U.S. All three seasons are only offered in region 2 format, so unfortunately I can only get season 1. Would like to get all three seasons if there is a distributor that sells in region 1 format. It's great to watch a series that is built on plot, storyline and acting, rather than all just high tech virtual reality visuals. I'm sure once you start to watch you'll be hooked. Get this series and you won't be disappointed. Again, my only criticism is all three seasons are not available in region 1. Not sure why they would do this as I'm sure they would reach a larger number of consumers who are hungry for good T.V.
ShadeGrenade
Let's get one thing straight - because 'Secret Army' was spoofed by a long-running sitcom ( 'Allo, Allo' ) does not mean that it was a bad series. Far from it. It would be like saying 'Brideshead Revisited' was awful simply because it was ( partially ) spoofed by I.T.V.'s 'Brass'.Produced by Gerald Glaister ( responsible for the superlative 'Colditz' ) 'Secret Army' was a top-notch drama set in wartime Belgium, concerning the exploits of the resistance organisation 'Lifeline', whose task is to find crashed Allied airmen and then send them home to carry on the good fight. The leader of the group was, in the first series, at least, 'Lisa Colbert' ( Jan Francis ), codenamed 'Yvette'. 'Lifeline's' headquarters was the Cafe Candide, run by Albert Foiret ( Bernard Hepton ). Each episode pitted Lifeline pitted against Gestapo chief Kessler, marvellously played by Clifford Rose. Being a co-production with Belgium television, 'Secret Army' was able to achieve some remarkably authentic looking wartime location footage. Amongst the female cast members Angela Richards was simply outstanding as 'Monique', and its astonishing she did not go on to enjoy the success she so richly deserved.Season 1 was at best a moderate success, but Glaister ( wisely ) decided to make changes for the second. The café was sold off in favour of a more high-class establishment where German officers' careless talk could be overheard. Max Brocard ( Stephen Yardley ), forger, pianist and Communist infiltrator, joined the team, and made a nice contrast with the more cynical Albert, who by his own admission is more interested in money than patriotic duty. Over time, Kessler seemed to grow more and more human, particularly when he fell in love with Madelaine Duclos. In a rather shocking move, Lisa was killed off when she hid in a building during an air raid,Of the three seasons, the last was by far the best; as the war comes to and end, the Lifeline team find themselves at risk of being killed by the very people they have striven to help. It introduced the brilliant Terrence Hardiman as 'Reinhardt', a truly mesmerising performance. When, in the final episode, Reinhardt is put on trial and executed by fellow Nazis, it is impossible not to feel sympathy. Thirty-two years since it ended, with its complex plotting and pitch-perfect performances, 'Secret Army' still manages to take the breath away.
s_duncan02
I first saw this programme as a child watching with my parents when it was broadcast in the late 1970s. I found it compelling then, though I did not understand some of the nuances. But having watched it again recently on UKTV Gold I have to say that it is one of the very best dramas of its era, and indeed of the subsequent period.It never took a simplistic view of the people involved, and developed the characters over time. None of the moral situations the characters find themselves in are presented in black and white terms. The very final episodes, when liberation is close and retribution is being sought against people considered to be "collaborators", are so dramatic, and I will not forgot the tone of the final episode set on the day the war in Europe ended.Marvellous.Sarah
chris.orton
After seeing Secret Army recently for the first time on UK Drama, I was blown away by it's brilliance. I had read lots about it, but never realised that the show was as impressive as it is.The characters are all very well drawn and the series views World War II from many angles. We don't only get to see the heroic and valiant efforts of the allies and resistance - the Germans, the Belgian police and ordinary citizens of the Low Countries are all represented, and more than anything else the series shows that the war affected different people in vastly differing ways. Nothing is black and white. Albert, our hero in the series, is a flawed hero: he can be greedy, dominating and possessive (Albert is a far cry from Hepton's role as a Nazi Commandant in Colditz, some years earlier). Major Brandt of the Luftwaffe is a German but not like Kessler, a Nazi. Brandt is simply a member of the armed forces who is only doing his job. Secret Army can be commended for not presenting the heroes and "villains" as mere stereotypes. Special mention must also go to Clifford Rose who play the head of the Gestapo in Belgium, Ludwig Kessler - the inspiration for Herr Flick in the spoof series Allo Allo. Rose is magnificent as Kessler and the character is written as a man who is completely and utterly devoted to the Fatherland and the Fuhrer.Secret Army, along with other greats like Colditz and I, Claudius is an example of the great drama serials that the BBC no longer produce. These days we seem to be stuck in a never-ending cycle of police and hospital drama serials. Secret Army was transmitted at prime-time on BBC1 when it was first shown: how many period dramas do we ever see on our screens these days? At very best we get a Jane Austin type adaptation, and that would only ever be broadcast on a Sunday night.Why don't the BBC take the chance to make something as daring as Secret Army? I'm sure that a viewing public tired of the same old shows would thank them for it.I hope that UK Drama will show the spin-off series Kessler now!