Talk:Secret Army (TV series)

The search for Secret Army take the user to a subject which contains little information, about a completely different topic. Would it be possible to take the search to at least the disambiguation page? 82.14.76.181 16:00, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

Flemish/French accents?
Happy to see there still is some interest in this old gem of a drama series. Nothing is said in the article about the language the characters are fictionally assumed to be speaking, or which part of the culturally divided Belgium they represent. I remember distinctly that the character of Natalie spoke in some sort of accent, while practically all other Belgian characters spoke standard English. Which of course is what they spoke in reality, but what were they supposed to be speaking in the fiction of the story? Flemish or French or both? My guess would be that Albert and Monique were presented to be Dutch/Flemish, while Natalie was portrayed as a Walloon, a French-speaking person speaking Dutch with an accent. Or might it be the other way around? As the series is not available on DVD where I live I have no means of checking, but this would be a most interesting addition to the article, especially as the parody of the series, Allo Allo, heavily leaned on the accents for their parody.--128.214.162.196 14:29, 31 July 2007 (UTC) Johan, contributor to Swedish wikipedia
 * From memory, the sleeve notes for the 1st season DVDs mention that they deliberately did not use accents to represent languages. I suspect that it is simply the actress's natural accent. Bluap 14:36, 31 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Which is what they would say, isn't it, to counter expectations that we will meet the model for the ludicruous language of Allo Allo. Doesn't Natalie play a rather minor part in the 1st season, slowly growing into a leading character in the 3rd? I do have a distinct memory of her accent, and I watched Secret Army with avid interest (much more avidly than Allo Allo). I was hoping someone with access to the DVD could verify/correct this memory.--128.214.162.196 14:54, 31 July 2007 (UTC)Johan

The character of Natalie did speak with an accent but this was the choice of Juliet Hammond-Hill who played her. Juliet Hammond-Hill is actually English. On the final DVD of Series Three there are interviews with some of the principals including JHH and she speaks with a beautiful English accent. The question of ethnicity of the characters is actually only mentioned once in the whole run and it's by a fairly minor character who points out that he is not French but Flemish. Can't remember the exact episode. Natalie was always one of the main members of "Lifeline" but her presence in the show definately builds throughout Seasons One and Two. So that by Season Three she has some great kick ass moments, a favourite being when she goes on a commando raid with some partisans to blow up a V2 rocket site, although she does look a bit scared of her machine gun when she has to fire it. Good Stuff.BFKate 16:27, 18 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Yes, don't you just love it? I have since checked the Secret Army-site, linked to from here, and on it, somewhere, Natalie is presented as the new recruit, "a Dutch girl". So, if she was Dutch, it can be assumed that the other characters would, in the reality of the fiction, probably have been speaking French (they who weren't German) - and it seems likely that a café owner in Brussels would belong to the historically richer, urban French/Walloon language group in Belgium (Do you follow the current crisis in the relation between the two groups of Belgians?). Although language, and Flemish-Walloon social relations, were not addressed as such in Secret Army, the interesting point of this fact would be that Juliet H-H's choice of presenting her character with a (discreet and charming, as far as I remember) accent may have confused some British viewers - and motivated the subsequent gross parody. I am not sure, though, of where and how to add it to the article, not being able to rewatch the series. Thanks! Johan - --91.154.202.205 10:18, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

There is a link to youtube where you can have a listen to the accents for yourself. All the Best BFK. BFKate 12:08, 30 August 2007 (UTC) Wonderful! Johan--91.154.195.43 13:29, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Albert and the others in the Candide speak Dutch. The very first line in the series is Dutch, spoken by Albert. Occasionaly you can hear people on the street say something in Dutch, even in the local dialect. Kessler seems to be speaking Dutch as well when he interrogates people. He sometimes addresses someone as "meneer", Dutch for "sir". Natalie was indeed from the Netherlands. She mentions that her ancestors were Latvian. Grushenka (talk) 10:30, 10 February 2017 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Secretarmy.jpg
Image:Secretarmy.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 14:24, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Sarmybook.jpg
Image:Sarmybook.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 04:52, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Anachronism? (end of Series 3)
I recall (but beware memory can play tricks - it was years ago) that at the final reunion of the resistants Monique sings the song "La Mer", which I did not know until recently had been first recorded, by Charles Trenet in 1946 (what month was it released?). If the finale was set in 1945 the song would surely be an anachronism. I wonder if someone who has seen this more recently can verify this.Cloptonson (talk) 05:37, 19 August 2014 (UTC)

La Mer (song) mentions that Roland Gerbeau recorded it already in 1945. Sheet music was still popular as well. Trenet's famous recording is from 1946 indeed, but he wasn't the first. Grushenka (talk) 10:30, 10 February 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Secret Army (TV series). Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20121008133023/http://www.wlu.ca/lcmsds/cmh/back%20issues/CMH/volume%202/issue%201/Madsen%20-%20Victims%20of%20Circumstance%20-%20the%20Execution%20of%20German%20Deserters%20by%20Surrendered%20German%20Troops%20Under%20Canadian%20Control.pdf to http://www.wlu.ca/lcmsds/cmh/back%20issues/CMH/volume%202/issue%201/Madsen%20-%20Victims%20of%20Circumstance%20-%20the%20Execution%20of%20German%20Deserters%20by%20Surrendered%20German%20Troops%20Under%20Canadian%20Control.pdf

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 16:54, 6 January 2018 (UTC)

The 'unbroadcast' episode: "What did you do in the war, Daddy?"
I'm posting this here, because without the news having reached an RS, it can't be included within the article itself. But the final, "never seen" episode of Secret Army has in recent years leaked, and if you search intelligently you will find it on the Internet. IMO it is as dreadful as has been reported and I can certainly see why it was never released for broadcast (incidentally, some of the scenes were used within the first episode of Kessler). But fans of the series who want to see how the BBC originally planned to close it, can now go looking. Obviously, if anyone comes across a source reporting the 'leak' that can be cited within the article, that would be excellent - I have tried searching but only found a few comment posts on sites such as iMDB from people saying that they've seen it, like I have, which obviously aren't authoritative. MapReader (talk) 08:44, 21 March 2022 (UTC)

Short Description
Since another editor removed this from the template, the article now needs one Billsmith60 (talk) 09:22, 23 October 2022 (UTC)

It has been restored. While it may be tweaked, it should not be removed without first discussing it here Billsmith60 (talk) 11:23, 25 October 2022 (UTC)
 * The issue is that you have described it as a “British-Belgian” TV series without providing any sourcing to support your description. As per MOSTV, “ A series's nationality (country of origin) should be referenced by reliable sources, directly if possible, but otherwise by referencing the country or collaboration within which principal creative control was exercised.” A scan of reliable sources suggests to me that this series is widely described as a British TV series, and despite the involvement of Belgian TV the creative control sat with Gerard Glaister and the BBC.  Therefore the series should be described as a British one, reflecting the RS, and I have edited both article and short description accordingly. MapReader (talk) 04:14, 26 October 2022 (UTC)


 * Thank you for your helpful reply and edit. I concur. My concern was simply to ensure a short description was provided Billsmith60 (talk) 12:03, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Parody
Listen very carefully, I will say this only once. The TV series "'Allo 'Allo" which is not set in Belgium but in France has all the hallmarks of a parody of "Secret Army". The show mocks all the participants - the Germans (Herr Flick) The Italians ( Captain Bertorelli), the French (Rene Artois) and the English (Officer Crabtree). Discuss. Derekmcmillan1951 (talk) 15:49, 20 September 2023 (UTC)


 * The article on 'Allo 'Allo already acknowledges that.Sbishop (talk) 16:28, 20 September 2023 (UTC)
 * That has been known for decades. MapReader (talk) 17:44, 20 September 2023 (UTC)