Combat!

For those who haven't seen Combat!

Check it out
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=combat%21+tv

Combat retrospective

Part 1- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8-TZwLyUtQ
Part 2- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAuOe5wuJ1w
Part 3- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQa2k1eP7vI
Part 4- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SZrgs8Ef5Y
Part 5- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfvViVOUyVk
Part 6- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0mbfOvCTWc

Here is some present day shots of Franklin Park, in the Santa Monica Mountains. This is where many of the episodes were shot. While 40 years have come and gone, many of the spots remain the same.
http://www.48ovvi.org/minirecon2005/

Jo Davidsmeyer's Combat site. She was associated with the production
http://www.jodavidsmeyer.com/combat/main.html

Episode Guide
http://www.tv.com/combat/show/235/episode_listings.html
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Brilliant! Used to love this series when I was a kid!

 

Must confess this is new to me, but most interesting; thanks for those links.

 

Blimey - some great episodes on there. 'Hills Are For Heroes' is quite amazing!! Is this series available on DVD?

 

Yes it his m8
you can buy the full set for £100.00 from the USA

 

Thanks - managed to find some on eBay.

 

Little bit of triva, Robert Pirosh who wrote Battleground, is the man behind the TV Show Combat!

Battleground (1949)




More about Pirosh here
Robert Pirosh

During the war, Pirosh rose to the rank of Master Sergeant serving with the 320th Regiment, 35th Division. He saw action during both the Ardennes and Rhineland campaigns and was awarded the Bronze Star. During the Battle of the Bulge, Pirosh led a patrol into Bastogne to lend support to the beleaguered defenders. Profoundly affected by these experiences, Pirosh spent much of his later career paying tribute to the frontline infantry soldier.


Another piece fo triva. After filming for many hours, in the heavy metal helmets, Vic Morrow, the actor who plays Sgt Saunders, replaced the metal helmet with a fiberglass helment, with a camo cover. That is why is isn't wearing a period correct helmet.

 

Welcome to the site and glad to see another person here who is a fan of COMBAT!

What's your favorite episode from the show? Mine is the 2nd season 2-parter: "A Long Way Home" because it has Richard Basehart as SS Captain Steiner. My next favorite is a season 1episode with Shecky Greene as a Colonel's (Keenan Wynn) driver. That episode is the best single episode (IMO) of the series--and there were many great ones.

 

I have series 1 on order - can't wait for it to arrive!

 

Paul, you will not regret buying it. I have only the first 1 1/2 seasons so far but I am about to buy the complete set from DeepDiscount.com - DVDs, Blu-ray, HD DVD, CDs, Books, Video Games and more for about $200.00. I'm not sure of what to do with these once I get that order made and comes in?

 

I liked the one where James Coburn was the German spy, and he kept wolfing down K-rations and saying Hubba Hubba.
The fact that he didn't gripe about the food should have sent a clear enough signal.
Another one I liked was when the tank commander (x-preacher) lost his faith when he saw the true horrors of war.

 

Hi Chris- when I was looking for my copy on eBay I saw several complete sets for about $150-180 in Buy It Now; might be worth a look there first? You can then put the spare ones up on eBay to off set the costs for this one!

 

Ah yes: this episode you are talking about w/ the tank commander is: "Lost Sheep, Lost Shephard" w/ Jeffrey Hunter as the tank commander. That was another excellent episode. I forget the episode name for the one with James Coburn.

 

Hi Paul, thanks for the "heads-up" on the COMBAT series sets. I might try there. One thing you have to remember though, is a lot of these sets on ebay are sets that someone other than the studios made by transfer from either TV or VHS tape - to dvd. I've seen alot of these which were donated to the library I go to and checked some out. Most are terrible transferrs and you have to watch out for that. ;-)) I found several sites that sell "their releases" of many TV series-some that are officially released and many that are not. I almost got taken in on one site-when I saw that they had a few series I badly want. I was looking for the Twelve O'Clock High and Automan series. Neither of these have been officially released by whatever studios they come from. ;-(

Take care and best regards--C.

 

I couldn't wait, I bought all of them as they came out one by one two years ago. I also put a few of my favorite episodes on my video ipod. I like so many of the episodes it was hard trying to pick a few to single out.

Also here is some triva. Sgt Saunders camo helmet cover is often thought to be incorrect for the ETO. But actually there are pictures of guys using camo parachute material to camo up their helmets.

Also remember it's a TV show, it's well done and entertaining, but isn't perfect.

And that's not all - These DVD's have extras with each disk, some have still shots, short videos, interviews, and some episodes have overlay narrations. Each episode includes blunders and errors, or unique facts.

 

I started to buy them by half-season but, never finished doing so. Now ill just buy the whole shootin-match and then give away the extras.

Some US Army snipers also used camo uniforms-in the ETO. For the most part, that stuff was priority for the guys in the CBI. I can't remember what site I got this from because I looked it up about 5 or more years ago but, it is online somewhere to read up on.

 

Here was an old email news behind the scenes history I got a while back that I wanted to included here for you all Combat Fans.


From: combat-announce@yahoogroups.com on behalf of Jo Davidsmeyer (combatTV@jodavidsmeyer.com)

Sent: Fri 11/09/07 6:08 PM

Reply-to: combat-announce-owner@yahoogroups.com
To: combat-announce@yahoogroups.com

Combat! fans!

Many of you may know that about 12 years ago, I developed a feature
version of Combat! that was scooped up by Savoy Entertainment and
later Paramount Pictures as a possible Bruce Willis-led ensemble.
There was a lot of hoopla and the studios spent well over $5 million
to develop the project.

Unfortunately, Combat! had the misfortune of landing at the studio
at the same time as Saving Private Ryan. We went on the backburner
and stayed there for seven years (in studio parlance, that's called
deep development hell). After three years of negotiation, I am in
the process of once-again securing movie remake rights to the
series. Here's where I need some help.

We're in an interesting position of actually benefiting from a
possible writer's strike, during which we can write the new script,
attach some top actors and rekindle the excitement that previously
surrounded our efforts.

I'm looking for some fans who might be interested in introducing us
to some initial seed financiers who would be willing to put up
$35,000 to get the script written. We'd like to do this quite soon
and we're willing to surrender a percentage of fees and profits to
the financier who would become part of our producer's package. If
you have some connections that might be interested, please email me
at steven@fastcarrier.com If you're the finder, you could wind up
on screen playing a part in the new Combat!

Keep ducking!
Steve Rubin
(posted here by Jo Davidsmeyer)



Do not remember when I got this email around early 2000, Old Info:



Combat: the Movie, update.

It's been two long years since I last spoke in public about the Combat! movie. It's been extremely frustrating to see "Saving Private Ryan" get all the attention and glory, while "Combat!" was lying in development hell at Paramount. What I can say is that we had a tremendous case of bad timing. We made a deal originally in 1995 with Savoy Pictures which went out of business in 1997. We sold the project to Paramount about fifteen minutes before "Saving Private Ryan" came to the studio with a couple of guys name Hanks and Spielberg attached. And we had a very good screenplay by Bill Wisher that unfortunately turned out to be too much like "Ryan." Hence, the project fell into the maw of "development hell." But don't give up the ship, friends. My partners and I are preparing to go back into Paramount and pitch a new story idea, with the aim of reviving the movie's fortunes. We shall overcome. Perhaps, we can finally take this beach in good memory of Rick Jason and Dick Peabody. Stay tuned!

Best,
Steve Rubin
co-producer
Combat! the Movie

On March 11, 1996, producer Steve Rubin announced:

Cross your fingers everyone: "Combat" is coming to the big screen. The ink isn't dry on the contracts yet, but it looks like Bruce Willis is going to play Sergeant Saunders in "Combat" for Paramount Pictures. Co-producer Steve Rubin optioned the rights recently from ABC and Paramount has purchased them. Bill Wisher ("Terminator 2") has written the first draft of the script and Walter Hill ("48 Hours") is being touted as the director.
​

We've not heard much lately about the project. Since Steve Rubin cancelled his account at AOL, we've not had any updates. As far we know, no filming has begun and they are still seeking a director and a final script. Paramount is still interested in filming the project and Bruce Willis still wants to play Saunders.

SEPTEMBER, 1998:
Steve Rubin was a guest speaker at RECON '98. He reiterated Paramount's interest in the project, especially after the success of Saving Private Ryan. But the project remains in development, with no schedule to start shooting.

FEBRUARY, 1998:
Steve Rubin says that Paramount still has the Combat! project in development. Cross fingers that the film Saving Private Ryan is a success. If so, then Paramount will certainly want to rush into production this other WWII vehicle they have under option.

OCTOBER, 2000:
Steve says that the movie is a no go, but instead Paramount is interested in a new Combat! television series -- everything changes!


Here's what I remember Dale Dye who was techincal advisor for SPR said in "the making of ", their production referred a lot to the style coancept of the TV show and Spielberg wanted Paramount to keep him constantly update on any developement of the other Paramount film Combat the movie. And you can see so much similarity of the concept of SPR based on Combat TV show.

Philip

 

Combat, was one of the most retarded war sequels in my youth, only beaten by Hornets nest.

Regards
Kruska

 

Hi Kruska -- I am afraid I can't agree with you. I thoroughly enjoy Combat! and feel that it was well acted and well cast. Admittedly, it would have been nice if they had used more diverse set locations -- Franklin Canyon started to get really recognizable from episode to episode -- but on the whole it remains the best WWII network TV drama. It had none of the silliness of Rat Patrol or Hollywood timing of Baa Baa Blacksheep and was years ahead of its time for realism and emotional honesty.

Cheers!