Hogan's Heroes: Season 1

 

 

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The late 1950s and 60s were quite a time for WW2 programming.Not only were there a plethora of war movies on the big screen during this time but,not to be out done, TV also had its' go at the genre.There were the serious shows like 'Rat Patrol','Merrills' Marauders','Twelve O'Clock High' and my personal favourite 'Combat'.
Then there were the send up/comedy shows.
'You'll never get Rich' or as it later became known as 'The Phil Silvers Show',was about the first to send up Army life and was set in a then modern Army base.It was really funny and one of the most successful TV shows of any kind.
Then came the shows set during actual "combat" in WW2.Two of the best was 'McHales Navy' which debuted in 1962 and in 1965 Hogan's Heroes.'McHale's Navy' was set in the PTO(Pacific Theatre of Operations) and highlighted in an hilarious manner the day to day life of a PT boat crew there.It caught on very quickly and was highly successful not only due to its' own attributes but also due to the then current commander in chief of the United States,John F.Kennedy,whose PT boat exploits during WW2 were even then legendary.
When Hogan's Heroes debuted in the fall of 1965 it also became a relatively fast hit with the viewing public.Its' "slant" was the experiences of a group of POWs in a German war camp.The Allied man in charge of the men behind the fence was Amercian Colonel Hogan played perfectly by Bob Crane.Armed with an over abundance of intelligence,confidence and glibness he and his band were constantly at least two steps(if not two miles!)ahead of their German counterparts.
The German commandant was played brilliantly by Werner Klemperor who's incompetance was matched only by his underling,and the recipient of most of his invective,Sergeant Schultz played to an absolute "tee" by John Banner.He reminded me on more than one occasion of a German version of Oliver Hardy in both his demeanor and mannerisms.
Besides the three main players the series was more than ably backed by a wonderful and solid cast of supporting players,either those in the camp permanently as POWs or those that would come and go like outside Allied prisoners or German superior officers.
It was a treat each week to see what scheme/scam Hogan had going
on and how he was going to follow through on it.The prison camp when all is said and done was really just a "front" for Colonel Hogan and his gang.It was they who actually pulled the strings and when push came to shove there was no scheme too wacky or far out that he wouldn't try in order to succesfully execute a plan either received from London or one of his own,and in the process make Colonel Klink,the camp and the entire German miltary look totally inept.
Hogan's Heroes had a wonderful run(about six years)and picked up a few Emmy nominations and statues for itself along the way.It's a wonderful show and a delight to look back on.It hasn't lost much of its'zaniness and humour and still stands up quite well today.They have done a good job in cleaning up the episodes and the colour is very fresh looking.Each episode has its' original CBS opening and its' Bing Crosby Production endings.The only thing lacking is extras.Besides the original pilot epsiode there is absolutely nothing in the set besides the episodes themselves.
And while some extras can be superfluous and unnecessary I found the lack of anything rather unusual for a set of this kind.
In conclusion if you are a fan of this show like I am you are bound to enjoy this set alot.While there are no extras to speak of each show has been remastered and all are in quite clean and crisp shape for your viewing pleasure.A set worth buying.

Even though I can't top another reviewer's title "A Blitzkrieg of Laughs," I can certainly add my two cents regarding one of TV's funniest shows. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Hogan's Heroes before getting my hands on this Season One collection. I would have loved to have been in the room when the idea guys pitched this show to network executives: it's a comedy, see, set in a WWII German prisoner of war camp, and naturally we'll have some Heil Hitlers thrown around but, really, what could be funnier than that? It's a sure thing. Whatever might have been said in that meeting, the truth is that this improbable idea of a show was indeed a sure thing that hit its mark from the very start. Bob Crane was born to play Colonel Hogan, John Banner ranks close to the top when it comes to supporting actors in a comedy series, and the irrepressible Colonel Klink (played perfectly by Werner Klemperer - who picked up two Emmys for Best Supporting Actor for his trouble) is truly a character for the ages. It's hard to believe this show is now forty years old, some of its star players long dead. I swear, though, I think it's funnier now than it's ever been.

You don't get any special features with the Season One DVD set (although it appears Season Two will include some extra goodies), but you do get all 32 (count 'em, 32) complete episodes from that magical first season of 1965-1966. The pilot episode is in black and white, but all of the other episodes are in color (as CBS boasts at the start of every broadcast). It would be wonderful to hear some commentary by the main players, but the most prominent members of the cast are no longer alive. John Banner died in 1973, Werner Klemperer in 2000; Bob Crane, of course, was brutally murdered in 1978. It's very interesting to note that John Banner was a Jew who fled Austria after the Anschluss (but not before spending some time in a concentration camp - as did Robert Clary, as well) and that Werner Klemperer and his family (his father was the famous conductor Otto Klemperer) left Germany for America just after Hitler came to power. The fact that they both played bumbling German soldiers on the show proves that irony does not always travel without a sense of justice. General Burkhalter and Major Hochstetter were also played by Jewish men.

As for the show, I hardly need describe it. Hogan and his men are not your normal POWs; no one has ever escaped Stalag 13 precisely because it is these prisoners' mission to stay there and help the Allied war effort in innumerable ways: helping other prisoners escape, securing valuable intelligence, engaging in acts of sabotage, etc. There's really no limit to the military hijinx they pull off, all under the nose of the self-possessed Colonel Klink. Sergeant Schultz, for his part, wants to know Nothing! Nothing !! Klink unknowingly helps Hogan and his men more often than not. He has no clue that Hogan and his men are anything more than Allied solders broken at the hands of the Iron Colonel - despite the fact that secret German weapons have a habit of disappearing and reappearing elsewhere in camp, German anti-aircraft guns have a tendency of moving out of the way for local Allied bombing runs, scientists have a tendency to disappear after visiting the camp, and all sorts of other shenanigans are nothing short of routine. Of the 32 episodes in the first season, there's only one weak story in the bunch (the switcheroo episode in which Ivan Dixon plays an African prince as well as Kinch). Since I can't describe every episode, I'll make special mention of only one: The Great Impersonation. This is a true classic in which Sergeant Schultz is talked into impersonating Colonel Klink in order to get three of Hogan's men out of captivity and back to Stalag 13.

Trips to Klink's office were especially enjoyable in the first season because of the presence of Cynthia Lynn as Klink's secretary Helga. I don't know why she didn't continue in the role, but Hilda (Sigrid Valdis, who would marry Bob Crane right there on the set) couldn't hold a match to Helga in later seasons. Season One also featured some notable guest appearances. William Christopher (Father Mulcahy from TV's M.A.S.H.) appeared in two episodes, Bernard Fox showed up twice as the thoroughly British Colonel Crittendon, and - best of all - Gavin MacLeod appeared as nothing less than a Gestapo officer.

Hogan's Heroes is just an incredibly funny show, but it's more than that. It took talented writers to think up so many crazy capers week in and week out, and Season One is a testament to their skills. These characters are as well-defined as any you will find anywhere else, thanks to a fantastic cast (Colonel Klink is one of my favorite characters of all-time). Everything about this show works, and I'm sure that you'll still be hearing Schultz's catchphrase and seeing children walk around with quarters in their eyes pretending they're monocles a hundred years from now.

This is a series which my husband and I really like, but for some reason it seems to have technical issues. About half of the DVD's in the set won't play on our DVD player past the main menu. Not sure if the problem lies with our player or with the DVD's themselves, but seeing as other movies work and it's always the same HH ones that don't, I suspect it's the HH set that has issues. That being said, perhaps we just got a faulty copy--other than that I would highly recommend the series! Classic, clean war-time comedy with clever plots and memorable characters.

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5.0 out of 5 stars PERMISSION TO ESCAPE SGT. SCHULTZ ?
Permission to escape Sgt Shultz! A classic POW show from the 1960's finally makes its way onto DVD. Paramount Studios / CBS DVD have done an incredible job with season one of... Read more

Published on Jun 16 2006 by The Critic

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