User reviews

I first saw Secret Army in 1977 at the age of 12, it really opened my eyes to the potential for quality drama to be something more than just entertainment. The WWII evasion lines which enabled the escape of thousands of downed pilots is an heroic story of incredible bravery by the Belgium people involved and this series more than does the story justice. As someone with a passionate interest in history I usually prefer documentaries to historical drama but this series tells the story in so many ways better than any documentary could. The series really captures the dangers, the risks and emotions involved. The series is also notable for the way it shows the many character dimensions and dilemmas facing the German occupiers.

This was drama at it's best, great stories, wonderful performances, well written, produced and directed. The suspense and tension in just about every episode is quite remarkable. Sadly overshadowed by it's spoof imitation comedy, 'Allo Allo' (in a way an acknowledgement of how good the original was) but I've watched all the episodes several times in the many years since and it is always just as compelling, quality is timeless and Secret Army is highly recommended to anyone who hasn't seen it and wants to see drama at it's very best. The DVD box set of all 3 series is excellent, Andy Priestner's accompanying booklets are so informative, so I bought his excellent nearly 700(!) page book on the series which has helped me to appreciate the series even more. Modern viewers should not be put off by some of the studio sets which show the age of the series, it is the quality of the drama which shines through.

This series is so underrated and is one which should be constantly repeated for new generations to enjoy and never be forgotten or cast aside.

This programme is a true masterpiece; possibly the best television series ever made by the BBC.

When I watched it as a young teenager, it was totally memorable and gripping. It is probably the only TV series of its kind from which I could recall every character and many of the plots some 25 or 30 years later. Some of the episodes toward the end of the final series were utterly gripping. The acting was outstanding; the writing fantastic, and the music and intro/credits I recall to this day with total clarity.

UDATE: Having just watched it again on DVD almost 30 years later, my view hasn't changed at all. No sense of disappointment here - this really is classic television at its very best. A clever, nuanced and absorbing series in every respect.

I've just finished watching Secret Army on UK Drama and, for me, it's BBC drama at its best. It might have seemed hard for the team that had produced the highly acclaimed 'Colditz' series to live up to its reputation but I believe that this highly popular classic surpassed it.

Colditz did have a distinct disadvantage, taking place mostly within the four walls of a POW camp, making the atmosphere at times rather claustrophobic and making the scope rather limited. Secret Army, on the other hand, was able to use and contrast a variety of places and situations. As well as this, it had more detailed analysis of the all the characters - something which was often lacking in its forerunner – and also examined their motives. Using the setting of Brussels in World War II, the producers were able to capture perfectly the grim realities of life under German occupation with the distant hope of liberation. Everything from the sinister music to the camera angles, special effects and scenery was cleverly thought out. The varied plots, whose frequent twists kept everyone guessing, along with many clever subtleties and inferences, made each episode thoroughly enjoyable.

The central character of Albert Foiret was carefully scrutinised, his greed and ruthless determination to keep ownership of his beloved Candide at any cost coming out. Bernard Hepton seemed able to show an inexhaustible range of emotions, making his character something of a change from the German Kommandant he had played previously. In contrast, the virtually emotionless Kessler could show generosity, and great loyalty, albeit misguided, to his beloved country and Fuehrer. Clifford Rose was perfect as the bespectacled, ice-cold SS man with no sense of humour. Even the smaller parts, such as Alain and Dr. Keldermans were well played by Ron Pember and Valentine Dyall, along with Monique (Angela Richards) whose lovely singing in the seemingly happy atmosphere of the Candide was often made to contrast the often sinister goings on elsewhere.

The series just seemed to go from strength to strength as the characters developed and plots became more complicated. The last few episodes produced a gripping climax as we were left wondering how all the ongoing issues were going to resolve themselves, and there was much irony when many did not end up the way you would have expected.

Unlike many of the older WW2 films this serial was certainly not biased towards the allies - airmen were often seen to act rather crassly and the resistance people could be less than scrupulous, sometimes killing innocent people and breaking promises for their own survival. It also addressed many issues which were not always fully appreciated, like the uneasy relationship the French and Belgian police had with the Germans, the contempt felt by the Wehrmacht for the SS and the bitter power struggle between the resistance and the communists. Being a product of the 70s there was none of the gratuitous violence or obligatory sex scenes which can sometimes mar the storylines of more contemporary works.

Secret Army was very much a true-to-life drama - even if there were many improbable coincidences and few factual errors – with many memorable episodes. I'd certainly recommend it.

I never cease to be amazed at what young people did all those years ago. As a piece of entertainment, each time I see an episode, I see something I missed before. The cast, from my totally amateur standpoint, are very good. Though a bit of a baddie Steven Yardley's "Max" is very well played. Inspite of Max's role in the communist plot, I will always remember his orphan back ground referred to. Also this background was underlined in the Christmas episode where Max describes how the "kids" can smuggle an injured airman.

There is much more to think about in historical terms. I am still curious about the Belgian police uniforms used..........

To say that Secret Army is not your average WW2 show is an understatement . Everything from the locations to the characters remains original even by today's standards . It truly is an amazing story-driven show that one shouldn't watch if it is action that you are looking for .

It takes on themes that aren't pictured very often in movies and show , like the escape lines in the first place , most of the time people will prefer to focus on active resistance fighters rather than more passive movements . It also has a much more realistic if not dark and gritty approach than most others War shows and hardly ever " glorifies " the actions of the protagonists . It is often hard to define who the protagonists really are in the show due to what the people of Lifeline often have to do to protect themselves or the pilots they are trying to send back to England . Added to the general antipathetic behaviour of some of the main characters the likable characters appear to be very few , whilst the despicable characters are many and on both sides .

They also have a very interesting way of depicting the German side with a strong duality between the honourable and sympathetic Luftwaffe Officer for whom you might find yourself rooting for before you know it , and the ruthless , sadistic Officer of the SS which is so brilliantly portrayed that he might just be one of the most evil characters you've seen on TV .

The great acting from the whole cast only contributes to further immerse you in the dreadful atmosphere of the life under the Occupation , and ties in pretty well with real historical events often depicted in the show . And needless to say that as someone who knows Brussels and its surroundings , it was even more appealing since all the streets and locations showed and mentioned throughout the 3 seasons are real and give you a nice idea of how Brussels looked 30 years ago . They even made an extra effort to have background chatters recorded in French and Dutch to add to the authenticity of the setting .

This brilliant series from the 70's is repeated on UKTV

It is set in the Second World War but is far from the stereotypical wartime drama.The heroes are flawed and the Germans shown in a more realistic light.The Kessler character could be seen by some as a trajectory,but can people who order mass murder at the drop of a hat be portrayed sympathetically?Both the Luftwaffe officers are shown to be ordinary people stuck in an extraordinary situation,and the contempt that Brandt has for his Gestapo superior is cleverly and subtlety done.

This can only enhance or understanding of the psychology of the war. The plot revolves around "Lifeline" which is an evasion line for downed airmen run by Lisa who is scarred by the death of her parents and wants to defeat the Nazis.She is portrayed as ruthless and willing to take hard decisions for the greater good.An especially dark episode ends with the Candide owner,Albert,giving up two allied airmen to certain death in order to protect the line.

This is brilliant,well thought out drama and very thought provoking.We can all look at the German people and say it couldn't happen here,or at the Occupied Countries and say we would have been in the Resistance.But Nazi domination was based on simple everyday slights to minorities that in themselves didn't seem OTT but produced an atmosphere of fear and the opportunity for ruthless or inadequate people to do their worst whilst people looked the other way or said "It's not my problem".Exactly the type of thing that allows (present tense) Sinn Fein/IRA to keep Nationalist areas under control.

Six million don't die because the Nazi Elite thought it was a good idea.You have to make people complicit and feel big or at best make it so they are ambivalent to the fate of others or just plain scared.

This drama is for me the best thing broadcast by the BBC ever.Dark,atmospheric,Pinteresque spring to mind.

There is a myth that telly was better in the 70's.It wasn't.It was mostly terrible but with the odd absolute gem such as this.I fear these programmes would not be made today due to ratings which is the King.

Forty-five years after it was first broadcast, I still think Secret Army is one of the finest television dramas ever made. I found the last proper episode, The Execution, especially moving. The cast, the writing, the direction, the attention to detail are second to none. It's an utterly engrossing experience.

Am rewatching this series after 45 years when it was a smash hit for the BBC. It followed the equally absorbing Colditz, which was also very popular.

It's easy to watch very old TV programmes through 21st century eyes and be critical of the staging but the story remains strong. The actors throughout were pretty good and the writing was pretty nuanced, the 'goodies' were not always good or trustworthy and the 'baddies' exhibited had rounder characters than is often expressed.

It's easy to forget, nearly 80 years after the end of the Second World War, the efforts made by ordinary people to resist actual and threatened invasion of their country and the sacrifices they made. Secret Army isn't glamorous, the actors are (with no disrespect) ordinary looking and as was the case, could have been the people next door. It is the story that is the centre of attention and the series remains very watchable for that reason.

After seeing Secret Army recently for the first time on UK Drama, I was blown away by it's brilliance. I had read lots about it, but never realised that the show was as impressive as it is.

The characters are all very well drawn and the series views World War II from many angles. We don't only get to see the heroic and valiant efforts of the allies and resistance - the Germans, the Belgian police and ordinary citizens of the Low Countries are all represented, and more than anything else the series shows that the war affected different people in vastly differing ways. Nothing is black and white. Albert, our hero in the series, is a flawed hero: he can be greedy, dominating and possessive (Albert is a far cry from Hepton's role as a Nazi Commandant in Colditz, some years earlier). Major Brandt of the Luftwaffe is a German but not like Kessler, a Nazi. Brandt is simply a member of the armed forces who is only doing his job. Secret Army can be commended for not presenting the heroes and "villains" as mere stereotypes. Special mention must also go to Clifford Rose who play the head of the Gestapo in Belgium, Ludwig Kessler - the inspiration for Herr Flick in the spoof series Allo Allo. Rose is magnificent as Kessler and the character is written as a man who is completely and utterly devoted to the Fatherland and the Fuhrer.

Secret Army, along with other greats like Colditz and I, Claudius is an example of the great drama serials that the BBC no longer produce. These days we seem to be stuck in a never-ending cycle of police and hospital drama serials. Secret Army was transmitted at prime-time on BBC1 when it was first shown: how many period dramas do we ever see on our screens these days? At very best we get a Jane Austin type adaptation, and that would only ever be broadcast on a Sunday night.

Why don't the BBC take the chance to make something as daring as Secret Army? I'm sure that a viewing public tired of the same old shows would thank them for it.

I hope that UK Drama will show the spin-off series Kessler now!

I watched this the first time round and loved it. I then bought the box set earlier this year and I am watching it as I exercise on my treadmill - my exercise time has risen dramatically! I am loving it all over again and as it is so long since I saw it I really cannot remember what happens next! I would recommend it to anyone who loves suspense and WW11. The one thing I would love to know though is where some of the external town shots were taken. Anything I read says some external scenes were shot in Brussels but some of them look more like Ghent or one of the more provincial cities or towns. Does anyone have any knowledge of where external scenes in Belgium were shot?

The 1970s was a wonderful time for British tv, and for classic WW2 dramas like Colditz and Enemy At The Door, but for me Secret Army was the best of the lot. Although most of the episodes were fairly generic (Lifeline locates shot-down airmen, hides them from the Germans and smuggles them back to Britain) what really impressed me besides the excellent writing and acting, was the nuanced way in which the leading characters were portrayed.

For instance, we see Kessler on the one hand ordering the illegal torture of prisoners and pledging undying loyalty to The Fuhrer, and on the other treating his Belgian lover with kindness and respect. Also, our hero Albert Foiret is shown displaying great courage in adversity, while making no secret of the fact that he's partly doing it for the money and that the Candide restaurant comes first. Secret Army also highlights the divisions between the Luftwaffe and SS nazis, and between the Communists and Lifeline - it's subtle things like these that you don't see enough in tv drama anymore, where everything tends to be reduced to predictable stereotypes.

Although an undoubted classic, Secret Army wasn't always taken as seriously as it deserved, and this could be down to being mercilessly lampooned by 'Allo Allo', a popular though largely unfunny and best forgotten relic of 80s sitcom mediocrity.

Excellent series, however, can only get season 1 in the U.S. or region 2 for DVD. How can I get all three series for DVD in Region 1? All episodes are compelling with a twist at the end. It's difficult not to want to watch the entire season in one sitting. Unfortunately, only season 1 is offered in the U.S. All three seasons are only offered in region 2 format, so unfortunately I can only get season 1. Would like to get all three seasons if there is a distributor that sells in region 1 format. It's great to watch a series that is built on plot, storyline and acting, rather than all just high tech virtual reality visuals. I'm sure once you start to watch you'll be hooked. Get this series and you won't be disappointed. Again, my only criticism is all three seasons are not available in region 1. Not sure why they would do this as I'm sure they would reach a larger number of consumers who are hungry for good T.V.

I was excited to see this series only to find out it is mislabeled. Correct name wrong series. I have seen it on DVD and it is wonderful.

Secret Army is a three-season series about a WWII Belgian escape line for Allied airmen shot down over Europe. It's based in a Brussels restaurant, 'Le Candide', which is financed with British money and operated by Albert Foiret (Bernard Hepton) and a core staff, with various British agents and downed airmen coming and going. Frequent location shoots in France and Belgium, using quaint vehicles and gear more widely available then than today.

As a pure drama, Secret Army is pretty good most of the time. The whole operation and its personnel are constantly in jeopardy, and Clifford Rose as the Nazi commandant of Brussels (Kessler) is excellently evil. One or two of the episodes - for example, the one where bubonic plague breaks out - are *extremely* clunky, but the general scenes of battle and firefights are as good as anything you'd expect from the 70's, and there are plenty of romantic shenanigans to be getting on with. The suspense of each episode is mostly well done, and unexpected deaths add to the huge sense of danger that even 'ordinary' citizens would have had to deal with in WWII.

Politically, Secret Army takes a very strong anti-communist stand, rather than a general anti-Nazi viewpoint. A final retrospective (unbroadcast) episode set in 1969 was explicit about this. It doesn't go so far as to say 'Hitler wasn't so bad when you look at Stalin', but it's a very close thing. A spin-off, 'Kessler' about the later pursuit of um, Kessler, tones it down.

One massive, massive issue I haven't seen discussed about this show centred in an expensive restaurant where they have bar staff, singers, pianists, food delivery men, waitresses, and a Maitre D, is THERE IS NEVER A CHEF (Or KP). Sorry to shout, but none of the staff seems to have noticed either. Did they have Deliveroo in WWII?

The only reason I don't give this a higher rating is because I can't go back in time and decide if it's as good as it appears. Also, it has it's flaws; probably due to budget and time. But, this series has some very unusual writing. I know for sure that when this was made there wasn't anything like this in the US but is it as good as other british productions of the time. The stories aren't your typical war propaganda with heros and anti-heros. They don't hold back about the gray line between right and wrong, or even question where that line instead tip the cards and let the viewer decide. Unfortunately back in the 70s and 80s british programming in the US was pop movies and alistair cooke. Frankly, it's surprising that it's survived, especially being it's a british production.

Apart from the writing, each episode gives you a kind of glimpse at the past because the war memory was only about 30 years old at time and in many locations of england and europe, not much had changed. If they did the production today, the set designs would have to rely on someone's interpretation of the past. Sure, the sets are made up here too but I suspect much more accurate and detailed, like the various nazi posters and handbills you see in many scenes. And, it's interesting the way that they shot the scenes because it's very much like theatre and old live tv productions done in the US in the 50s and 60s like playhouse 90.

The series has it's faults though. It's a bit over the top soapy at times and they couldn't seem to make up their mind about languages and accents. It's a bit noddy to see a frenchman speaking english with a scottish accent but it works because the stories work. If you tell a good story all the blemishes are overlooked.

I tried hard to see whats so special about this. Couldn't find anything which is even worth spending 5 minutes. Its dated, has aged really poorly. Its slow, the characters are ridiculous & seem like caricatures. I usually manage to sit through shows using the fast forward button, but not this one. In 2021, its lost all relevance. Its a waste of time, nothing more.

I first saw this programme as a child watching with my parents when it was broadcast in the late 1970s. I found it compelling then, though I did not understand some of the nuances. But having watched it again recently on UKTV Gold I have to say that it is one of the very best dramas of its era, and indeed of the subsequent period.

It never took a simplistic view of the people involved, and developed the characters over time. None of the moral situations the characters find themselves in are presented in black and white terms. The very final episodes, when liberation is close and retribution is being sought against people considered to be "collaborators", are so dramatic, and I will not forgot the tone of the final episode set on the day the war in Europe ended.

Marvellous.

Sarah

My very first review after decades of nightly BBC tv. This is the best BBC series of all time. Drama, writing, suspense, passion, heartbreak, hope, evil. Justice and injustice. Captures the horror and inhumanity of the Nazi and the supreme bravery of those who fought it unto death. Brilliant as art and history. Must viewing for any serious student of the profound brutality of Hitler's regime. Sublimely moving. The music, editing, twists and turns belie phenomenal writing, the blend of characters imaginative. Harsh realities of patriotism sre revealed.

The journey through the social classes, rich and poor aristocratic and working is classic British drama. From country cottages to Manor homes the heroes in the drama helped people deal with and survive those terrible times. Makes compelling viewing. Now, years after I saw it, so many scenes still stand out. Filmed in a bistro in Belgium it pits the locals who, though not officially the resistance, have as their sole objective, the repatriation of British flyers against the Gestapo and Luftwaffe who frequent their café. So much tension, including the everyday strife of torn and loving relationship among those sympathetic to the Allied cause.

This is a 1977-1979 BBC drama series about the Belgian resistance in World War 2.

People think they know the story of France in WW2 but the Belgian story is less well known.

German passport holder Nigel Farage thinks Belgium is a non country but Belgians died in 2 wars helping Britain fight the Germans.

Perhaps my love of Belgium was sparked by watching this series when I was a spotty teenager.

It was made by the people who made the much better known Colditz.

But I find Colditz stagey and predictable compared to Secret Army.

Secret Army has subtle writing,great acting and a great what they now call a story arc.

Clifford Rose played one of the great characters in tv drama.

It is great drama but also historically accurate.

It is a 1970s production so don't expect Hollywood production values,but don't expect Hollywood simple minded plots either.

I always hated Allo Allo which was a childish parody of the worst episodes of Secret Army.

I have been a fan of allo allo for years and I have heard about this show. It is very good, showing life under the occupation in Belgium. But don't expect it to be light fare, it is very dramatic.

The series shows the cat and mouse game played by the resistance and the occupiers during the war, the stress level in each episode is palpable.

One doesn't know you are friends and enemies. My parents lived through the war in Norway and Sweden, they never really talked about it, except when my mother was stuck on the railway and train loads of German troops pulled into the station.