I was born in 1960...so most of the Combat episodes I saw were "re-runs" (does anybody even use that term anymore.?). Sergeant Saunders was my hero. My Father was in the Navy during WW2...he was lucky to have been stationed on the east coast for 3 years...and lived a long time after the war. Anyway...I can still hear him telling me that Saunders was how a "Real Man" acted: Brave Honest Helpful Humble "A guy you would want your son to be like"...he use to tell me. I have recently been watching the episodes again. They were very well done. The acting was excellent...and for television of circa 1964...the special effects were superb. Vic Morrow said their Explosives Man was safe, smart, and talented. Watching the shows again really brings back the memories. And watching Sergeant Saunders has reminded me of how a decent man acts. I guess my "Second Favorite" would have been Caje...played by the very capable and athletic Pierre Jalbert. Makes me feel good to see "The Guys" again......
Loved the series. My younger son bought me the complete set from Amazon for Christmas when he was in Afghanistan. I've watched most of the episodes and they were well done. Much of the way they act and tactics used are more accurate than many of the newer movies people drool over. It was a classic. BTW, welcome aboard.
I still have my trading cards and board game. It was a good show. I liked Rat Patrol,Gallent Men and Garasons Guerillas also. Rich A. in Pa.
Combat was excellent comfort watching...if that can be said...we've done a thread on the B.A.R. use in that program if you want to search it matey...
I'm almost embarrassed to say that I have the entire series on dvd. The first 2-3 years are very good indeed. Look at the writing and directing credits and you'll see that they pulled scripts from some very good writers of the period, and had those directed by people like Robert Altman (think MASH). Each episode is a short story unto itself, with its own moral and ethical dilemmas, and clever solutions to the problems presented. The last couple of seasons get sort of dull because they hired their own writing team to churn out some pretty hackneyed episodes. They tried to make up for that by sticking in famous actors in cameo roles, which is nice but won't save a bad script.
Unfortunately, that's a familiar track that many TV shows take. Either they run out of ideas or they don't want to pay for decent scripts. Too bad, really.
I think it is more a matter of not being able to keep material fresh and the need to come up with new and engaging story lines. There is a reason why shows with a season run of 10 to 16 episodes per year (Dexter, Justified, Soprano's, etc) are consistently the most critically acclaimed. Once the province of 'cable' channels they are now finding a home on Broadcast channels. Shows like "Hannibal", "Crossing Lines" and the upcoming "Hostages" could be the wave of the future for episodic television.
It happens with everything. You can only go back to the well so many times...before it runs dry. And if it did go on..... Leave it to Beaver when the kid is 70.? Sergeant Saunders as a 55 year old with arthritis.? Combat sure was a great show while it lasted. best
Watched an episode last night. Excellent, as usual Kennan Wynn was flying Lt Hanley around in a Piper J4
I have always been curious about making Saunders a 3 Stripe Sergeant.....as opposed to 4 or 5. Was a soldier in his position more likely to have "just' 3.? Thank You
It would be understandable for a 'common' squad leader, but considering all the special missions he had completed one might think he would have been promoted at least a little. As a practical TV issue it was likely thought it was just simpler to keep each cast member at their original rank. Of course it was entertainment first and historical primer.......not first.
Yes...your point is well taken...and that is how I view it. But I have always wondered...none the less. Just saw an episode with a Sergeant Avery....a potential deserter case...and he had 5 stripes. Just curious is all. I think he deserved 5.....
As I recall promotions and awards were heavily dependent upon the opinion of a C.O. and both were not uniform within army. With so company/battalion officers noted for being stingy with each, while others got lost in the bureaucracy.
You guys got me all excited about it after reading this thread. I was born in 72 and have never seen the show to my recollection. But I got it coming from Netflix on DVD as we speak. I like WWII shows and movies and felt like I've seen them all. But this one is something to look forward to. I'm sure there are others I haven't seen. I'll have to keep digging around here to find out what I've missed! Thank you.
I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the quality of the show. Acting...effects...screen writing. You could tell there was a BIG effort from the people involved with making the show...and not just the actors. enjoy
As mentioned by previous posters, the first few years were exceptional for a television series. One of my favorite episodes was, I believe, called "The Hill" (?) and was directed by Vic Morrow himself if I'm not mistaken. As for Saunders being stuck as a buck sergeant for the entire run of the series, I always was struck more by the fact that they fought for all those years and never reached the German border.
Hi, Just don't be turned off by the B&W. I like the earler B&W seasons better but they are all good. B&W seems more 'WWII-ish' to me. I only cautioned about being turned off by the B&W since I know several people your age who won't stop on a channel while channel surfing if it is black and white.
No, I like black and white. It's fine. I don't necessarily like everything I watch to be that, but it didn't detract from the show. I just saw stalag 17 a few weeks ago for the first time and thought it was good. As far as Combat goes, I liked it, but a bit on the not believable side. The first episode they somehow got past the atlantic wall after a few minutes and were bopping around the french inland like it was some sort of fun excursion. And there were some other things that I thought were a little hokey. However, it wasn't all bad and they pulled off a good show. It even had a bit of humor in it. And theres always something captivating about watching our guys storm those French shores. There was some real footage thrown in also for good measure. Possibly some training films. Some British it looked like. Stuff I don't think I've seen before. There was one where there were some guys in a boat getting close to the shore navigating some pretty nasty rocks with the tide going up and down rather violently. So yeah, good show so far!
