Episode Guide (Series 8)
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1: Ring Dem Bells (5 Sep 75)
Mainwaring is delighted when the platoon is asked to take part in a training film. Then he discovers that they are expected to play Nazi troops. Wilson and Pike are chosen to play German officers because the relevant uniforms don't fit anyone else. The platoon arrive on location, only to be told that filming has been postponed for a week. Travelling home, still in their Nazi uniforms, they stop at a pub and are mistaken for real German soldiers. When they get back to Walmington, Hodges, the vicar and the verger also think that they are real Nazis and ring the church bells.
Also appearing:
John Bardon (Harold Forster), Felix Bowness (Special Constable), Hilda Fenemore (Queenie Beale), Jack Haig (Landlord), Janet Mahoney (Barmaid), Robert Raglan (Colonel), Adele Strong (Lady With Umbrella)
2: When You've Got To Go (12 Sep 75)
Pike gets his call up papers and has to go for a medical. His mother expects him to be rejected because he's so 'delicate', but he's passed A1. The Town Clerk organises a blood donor session and Mainwaring and Hodges compete to see who can find the greater number of donors. Jones and Fraser round up 17 nuns and a large crowd of Italian prisoners-of-war, so Mainwaring wins. The platoon decide to hold a fish and chip supper to mark Pike's departure. After he's finished eating, Pike announces that he won't be going after all because it's been discovered that he has a rare blood group.
Also appearing:
Tim Barrett (Doctor), Colin Bean (Private Sponge), Freddie Earlle (Italian Sergeant), Frank Holmes (Fish Fryer), Eric Longworth (Town Clerk)
3: Is There Honey Still For Tea? (19 Sep 75)
Godfrey's cottage is about to be demolished to make way for a new aerodrome. Frazer remembers knowing the minister responsible for the new airstrip from his youth on the Isle of Barra, when the minister was expelled from school and later sacked from a draper's shop for theft. After a spot of blackmail, Frazer gains a reprieve for Godfrey's cottage.
Also appearing:
Joan Cooper (Dolly), Gordon Peters (Man With Door), Robert Raglan (Colonel), Katherine Sainsbury (Cissy), Campbell Singer (Sir Charles McAllister)
4: Come In, Your Time Is Up (26 Sep 75)
The platoon are involved in a weekend camp. Their peace is disturbed when the vicar and the verger turn up with a horde of Sea Scouts and set up camp nearby. Next morning, a rubber dinghy is spotted floating in a nearby lake. It contains three German airmen who bailed out when their plane was shot down. Pike uses a bow and arrow to sink the dinghy and the airmen are captured.
Also appearing:
Colin Bean (Private Sponge), Harold Bennett (Mr Bluett)
5: High Finance (3 Oct 75)
Mainwaring stops Jones from cashing any more cheques because his bank balance is in the red. It's eventually revealed that Jones hasn't been paid for months by an orphanage which he's been supplying with meet. The orphanage haven't paid because they in turn haven't been paid money they were expecting. There's a long chain of debtors ending with Hodges. Everyone is persuaded to pay up, so Jones ends up back in the black.
Also appearing:
Colin Bean (Private Sponge), Ronnie Brody (Mr Swann), Natalie Kent (Miss Twelvetrees)
6: The Face On The Poster (10 Oct 75)
A poster featuring Lance-Corporal Jones is planned as part of a recruitment drive to increase the size of the platoon.There's a mixup at the printers and Jones' face ends up on a 'wanted' poster instead. A Polish officer arrests Jones and takes him off to a POW camp. When Mainwaring and his men arrive to rescue Jones, they all end up being imprisoned as well.
Also appearing:
Colin Bean (Private Sponge), Harold Bennett (Mr Bluett), Michael Bevis (Police Sergeant), Peter Butterworth (Mr Bugden), Bill Tasker (Fred), Gabor Vernon (Polish Officer)
Special
My Brother And I (26 Dec 75)
Mainwaring's disreputable brother Barry arrives in Walmington to claim back a pocket watch which he claims was left to him by his father. Mainwaring tries to keep his brother out of sight, but Barry embarasses Mainwaring by gatecrashing a sherry party for local dignitaries.
Also appearing:
Colin Bean (Private Sponge), Arnold Diamond (Major-General), Penny Irving (Chambermaid), Arthur Lowe (Barry Mainwaring)
Special
The Love Of Three Oranges (26 Dec 76)
The vicar organises a bazaar to raise money for the Comforts For The Troops Fund. Mainwaring appoints himself Chairman of a committee to organise the event. Hodges plans to auction three oranges. Mainwaring wants to buy one as a peace offering for his wife. He manages to successfully bid for one, but only after Pike has forced up the price.
Also appearing:
Colin Bean (Private Sponge), Joan Cooper (Dolly), Pamela Cundell (Mrs Fox), Eric Longworth (Town Clerk), Olive Mercer (Mrs Yeatman)