Episode Guide (Series 5)
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1: Front Line Entertainers (25 Oct 77)
The men from the Concert Party have been posted to Burma, close to the front line. After a long train journey, they make their base in a deserted village in the jungle.
They discover that the Australian troops who were the previous occupants of the village are still in residence. They haven't obeyed their orders to move on because one of their troops has "gone walkabout" in the jungle.
The men from the Concert Party decide to help find the missing Australian. They decide that one of their number should dress up as a woman to lure the Australian soldier out of the jungle. Gunner Macintosh is selected. When He fails to attract the Australian, Gloria takes over and manages to find the missing soldier.
2: Bridge Over The River Hipong (1 Nov 77)
Gunner Parkins takes a morse code message from GHQ. According to Parkins, the message orders the men from the Concert Party to build a bridge across the nearby River Hipong, so that urgent medical supplies can be taken across the river.
After two days hard work, a rope bridge is built. The medical supplies arrive, and it's discovered that the morse code message was actually about a 'fridge' rather than a 'bridge'. There was a pontoon boat tethered a short distance along the river bank which was supposed to be used to cross the river.
3: The Pay Off (8 Nov 77)
The local bandits have to be 'paid off' to stop them from causing problems for the British garrison. The men from the Concert Party are given the job of delivering the bribe.
4: Puddings From Heaven (15 Nov 77)
The men are bored with their diet - stew followed by bananas for every meal. They decide to get the RAF to drop some food parcels.
They 'borrow' some white saris from a dhobi wallah and make a large white cross in a jungle clearing. An RAF transport plane flies over and drops two cases of food.
When the cases are opened, they are found to contain nothing but christmas puddings, each one marked with the name of a General or Brigadier.
The men begin to eat the puddings, then discover that GHQ are desperate to retrieve them. The 'powers that be' don't want anyone to know that Generals and Brigadiers are getting special food parcels An 'officer' who claims to have been sent from headquarters arrives at the village and takes away the puddings. Later, it's discovered that he's actually a Private who has deserted and is involved in the black market.
The puddings are eventually retrieved and disposed of by getting the Concert Party audience to eat them.
5: The Superstar (22 Nov 77)
Headquarters send the Concert Party a potential new recruit. The men from the Concert Party insist on holding an audition.
The new man turns out to be a better singer than Gunner Sugden, a better pianist than Gunner Graham and a better ventriloquist than Gunner Parkins. He can also play the trumpet, dance and do a quick-change act. To Gloria's horror, he's also a talented female impersonator.
The new man is so good that it looks as if some of the members of the concert party will become redundant and will therefore be posted elsewhere.
Gloria is offered an audition for a prestigious forces variety show. He feigns illness and arranges for the new recruit to be auditioned instead. The new man gets the 'big break' instead of Gloria.
6: The Eternal Quadrangle (29 Nov 77)
A pretty young Burmese girl causes problems for the men from the Concert Party. Captain Ashwood, Sergeant Major Williams and Gunner Parkins have all been visiting her hut in a nearby village.
Gunner Parkin wants to marry the girl, but the Colonel refuses permission. It's then discovered that Gunner Sugden has also been involved with the girl.