The Classic TV Archive · Articles

Classic Television, Beyond the Credits

Explore the archive’s existing editorial articles for a closer look at programmes, performers and the history of television.

Stories Behind the Screen

This page brings together The Classic TV Archive’s existing editorial articles in one place, making it easier to find thoughtful reading about classic British and American television.

Follow your interests from familiar programmes to the actors who brought them to life, or spend time with articles that consider television’s wider history.

Browse the collection at your own pace. Each article offers another way into the archive and a starting point for exploring its subjects in greater depth.

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From the Articles Archive

The Good Life: Two Neighbouring Couples and a Suburban Dream

Explore The Good Life, the BBC comedy about Tom and Barbara Good’s experiment in self-sufficiency and their friendship with neighbours Margo and Jerry Leadbetter.

Dad’s Army: The Walmington Platoon and the Comedy of Trying to Serve

Meet the Home Guard platoon of Dad’s Army and discover how Jimmy Perry and David Croft turned wartime duty, rivalry and friendship into enduring comedy.

Fawlty Towers: The Hotel Comedy Built on Basil’s Impossible Standards

Explore Fawlty Towers, the 1970s BBC sitcom created by John Cleese and Connie Booth, and the hotel staff whose clashing goals made its farce last.

Search the Articles

Search by programme, performer, or television-history topic to find in-depth reading in the existing archive.

Keep Reading the Archive

Choose an article and explore more of the archive’s coverage of classic television, from programmes and performers to the stories behind the screen.

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