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The Complete Secret Army: An Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to the Classic TV Drama Series
This comprehensive book, an essential read for any fan of the series, seeks to uncover how Secret Army was conceived and details its journey to our television screens. Each episode is reviewed in depth and accompanied by information on the actual historical events which inspired the series's gripping storylines. The book also - A foreword by director Michael E. Briant - Many exclusive behind-the-scenes photos - Photos of UK and Belgian filming locations - Cast and crew interview material - A comprehensive section on spin-off series Kessler - Information on the original pilot Homing Pigeon - Information on the abortive reunion What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
672 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 27, 2020
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3536318.html
It's a book that is definitely a labour of love, but a love that is not blind and doesn't flinch from pointing out the show's occasional weaknesses.
Priestner takes us through the creation process, including the nuts and bolts of filming (though I wish he'd been a bit more specific about the Brussels locations) but also the backgrounds of actors, writers and directors, and an examination of influences on the show, and also its shadow cast into the future (including a despairing section on Allo! Allo!). There's a heart-breaking account where he gets the cast together years later to reminisce about their days on the show, and then discovers that the precious video he made of their conversation was taped over to record a family barbecue. (We've just been going through the video tapes in the attic ourselves, which tugs at the heartstrings a bit.) If you're thinking of revisiting Secret Army, now that it's easier to do so than ever, I recommend that you have Andy Priestner by your side.
It's a book that is definitely a labour of love, but a love that is not blind and doesn't flinch from pointing out the show's occasional weaknesses.
Priestner takes us through the creation process, including the nuts and bolts of filming (though I wish he'd been a bit more specific about the Brussels locations) but also the backgrounds of actors, writers and directors, and an examination of influences on the show, and also its shadow cast into the future (including a despairing section on Allo! Allo!). There's a heart-breaking account where he gets the cast together years later to reminisce about their days on the show, and then discovers that the precious video he made of their conversation was taped over to record a family barbecue. (We've just been going through the video tapes in the attic ourselves, which tugs at the heartstrings a bit.) If you're thinking of revisiting Secret Army, now that it's easier to do so than ever, I recommend that you have Andy Priestner by your side.
May 16, 2023
Brilliant book if you are a fan of this series. More than 650 pages of absolutely everything! After watching the whole series from start to finish, I then went back to watch particular episodes where the author has interesting things to say about them (and he has a lot of interesting things to say ...).
January 27, 2023
Just brilliant! I’m a huge fan of Secret Army and I’ve learned such a lot from this incredible tome. It’s a wealth of interesting information and I’ve found it hard to put down
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews