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This one is just for the Brits, I suppose.  The brilliant comedy writer Jimmy Perry leaves us at the grand age of 93.  It's to be hoped that at the gates of Heaven, when St Peter asks for his name, someone in the queue has the wit to shout out, 'Don't tell him, Jimmy!'

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I've never heard of Jimmy Perry, but being a lover of British humour, I decided to consult that tome of infinite knowledge known as Google. Watched an Episode of Dad's Army & thoroughly enjoyed it. A fine example of British humour. It's a shame to only hear of some one who contributed so much after they've passed away.

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Well, he was 93, so perhaps not so sad, but certainly a passing worthy of note.  The thing is for the joymakers to be replaced.

Captain Mainwaring's character shows how good a writer he was.  He can appear to be a figure of fun, made to look ridiculous by his pomposity, but there are numerous occasions when he puts himself in danger rather than his men and hides the fact that he's done so.  Perry understood two things: first, the comedy that comes from loss of dignity is funnier if the victim actually has some dignity and if the viewer has some affection for him; second,  that the British kid themselves that they're big players on the World stage, when all the evidence is to the contrary.  The first point is important because it allows the viewer to get closer to laughing with rather than laughing at, and it feels less unkind.  The second is important because our belief in gallant defeat is vindicated by history.  I'll say no more, because comedy isn't well served by analysis.

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