Combat!

I grew up watching Combat!. So much had it been a part of my youth that I knew the names Sgt. Saunders, Lt. Hanley, Kirby, Littlejohn and Caje, and could picture them in my mind, long after I had forgotten most of the stories I had seen. They had made nearly as much impression on me as my own family; their teamwork, leadership and unshakable sense of honor and fair play became priceless examples to follow.

Around Christmastime last year I rediscovered the series on the Encore Action Channel, just after becoming a DirecTV subscriber.

What incredible serendipity! Only weeks before I had been thinking about Combat! and the characters that were so familiar to me as a boy. When I saw the series on the listings I thought, "Maybe I'll tape it and see if it was really as good as I remember it. Can my cloudy kid's memory have inflated its quality, the way our reminiscences often do to the pleasant times of our youth?" I would find out.

I played back an episode "Any Second Now," where Lt. Hanley was trapped in a bomb-damaged church, next to the very unexploded bomb that cratered the interior of the sanctuary. His only hope for release lay in the unsteady hand of a British bomb defuser who had lost his nerve. While this episode turned out to be far from the best Combat! episode filmed, it was good enough to eclipse most of the finest episodes of television dramas of the last 30+ years. I was so impressed with my re-introduction to this WWII drama that I had to share it with my wife. She, as I, had become hooked.

Over the last three months we have seen nearly every episode of this classic series. We are left with many impressions, among them the sad thought of what an immense artistic talent was lost when Vic Morrow met his untimely death. His direction of several Combat! episodes shows as much cinematic vision as three Spielbergs put together. The two-part Combat story "Hills are for Heroes," which Morrow directed, is more solid and inspired than even most theatrical movies of the last three decades.

That said, "Hills are for Heroes" has to be the finest two hours ever written (by Gene L. Coon) and filmed for television. This is not hyperbole. I challenge anyone who has seen it to confess to me that they were NOT totally emotionally drained after sitting through it. The performances of both the regulars and the guest stars are far more gripping and immediate than conventional TV performances of the day, or even today. Even better than most performances in theatrical movies, as well.

(A special note must go to the performance of Jack Hogan as the emotionally harried Private William G. Kirby, who truly let us, the audience, feel what it was like to be ordered to take a hill that you knew only God and His angels could take.)

There are dozens of Combat! episodes that deserve status nearly as high on my list as "Hills are for Heroes," but I could ramble even further if I try to name them here. Better to see the show for yourself. No show captured the human side of World War II the way Combat! did.

I encourage anyone who has not yet seen this superb classic war drama to give it a try. You WILL be hooked. And you will feel that, for a brief time, you really were a member of King Company's heroic Second Platoon, serving under Lt. Hanley and Sgt. Saunders, driving the Germans from occupied France in the summer and fall of 1944.

As of this writing, you can see two episodes back-to-back per weekday on the Encore Action Channel, noon Eastern (USA), 9:00 a.m. Pacific (USA).

On October 2,1962,one of the most realistic,exciting,and one of the most realistic dramas in television history premiered on the ABC Network. "Combat!" was that show and under it's creator and producer Robert Pirosh under executive producer Selig J. Seligman under his production company,Selmar Productions produced a show about the grim lives of a squad of American soldiers fighting the Germans in France during World War II. The squad lead by Platoon leader Second Lieutenant Gil Hanley(Rick Jason),and Sergeant Richard "Chip" Saunders(Vic Morrow). "Combat!" was more that just a combination of drama,it was a show loaded with action. Each week,these soldiers and their Platoon Leaders take on the Germans with lots and lots of spectacular action sequences and astounding firefights and sometimes daring rescue missions where not only the squad fights to stay alive against impossible odds,but the replacements that were assigned to the squad always ended up being captured by the enemy or killed. The squad in some cases find themselves in a tough situation only to find a way to get out of the predicament they're in and destroy the enemy against the perils they faced,only to come out of them victorious. But instead "Combat!" focused on the individual soldier and how he dealt with the war on a personal level not to mention the mental and physical fatigue these men faced each week. There was a brotherhood of sorts between the characters whether the situation they were in.One had the others back in case of trouble and to help each other out whenever the squad was in a tight situation. This was a show that had some of the best writing,spectacular direction,believable characters and some of the best hardcore action sequences ever produced for television were the hallmarks of this television classic which today had the same impact as when television audiences first saw this show and eventually blew them away back in 1962. "Combat!" became the longest-running World War II drama in the history of television that became a staple on ABC's schedule,lasting five seasons. Out of the 152 episodes that were produced,the first four seasons of the show(which were in classic black-and-white)spanning 126 episodes aired from October 2,1962 until April 12,1966. It's final season(the color episodes)produced 26 episodes that aired from September 13,1966 until the show's final episode on March 14,1967. The repeats from Season Five aired from March 21,1967 until August 29,1967.

"Combat!" was one of ABC's most successful show and went on to develop a huge following of loyal fans which remains to this day. The series regulars were superb and believable especially with the main characters of Vic Morrow,Rick Jason,along with Jack Hogan(Kirby),Conlan Carter(Doc),Dick Peabody(Littlejohn),Pierre Jalbert(Caje)were in some aspects lifelong brothers in the fight,depending on each other each week to get through some of the tightest situations even when they were assigned to dangerous missions. Not to mention a line-up of guest stars that came on board each week ranging from additional squad members or playing evil Nazi villains. The guest stars ranged from Frank Gorshin,to Lee Marvin,Charles Bronson,Sal Mineo,Roddy McDowell,Terry Carter,Frankie Avalon,Dennis Weaver,to Claude Akins,James Whitmore to Robert Duvall and Richard Basehart among others. Even after 50 years,this was the show that had non stop action and incredible drama,and it shows in the number of Emmy nominations and wins this show received. Don't miss the best episodes of "Combat!" from the premiere episode "A Day In June" to "The Long Walk Home"(Season 2), "The Hostages"(Season 2),"The Hard Way Back"(Season 3), "Hills Are For Heroes"(Season 4),to "Ollie Joe"(Season 5),and the final episode of the series "The Partisian"(Season 5).

Happy Anniversary....for now "Checkmate King Two To White Rook:Out"

From its pixellated artillery airbursts above fixed bayonets title sequence, that seguéd into its rousing march theme, to the end of each show I was one fascinated child. Of course the core of Sgt. Saunders's squad lived through more combat than most WWII infantrymen (casualty figures for the period tell that it was extremely unusual for a unit to have made from Normandy to the Siegfied Line with all its members in combat-ready mental & physical health). And you knew that nearly every guest actor (fresh from the repo depot) would be the casualty in nearly every episode.

I used to think that Rick Jason as Lt. Hanley was soooo handsome! But I best loved Pierre Jalbert as Caje - ruggedly handsome, stoical, lethal to Germans in a firefight. "Caje, take the point," said it all: when Chip Saunders's chips were down he put Caje out front. (Jalbert is a Québecois, not a Louisiana Cajun, which explains his squad-saving fluency in French.)

There was another WWII TV series, 'The Gallant Men', that debuted the same season as 'Combat!' Even as a child I picked up on the rifle fire sound effects paradox between the two shows: in 'Combat!' the M-1 Garands made the the sound of the German Mausers in 'The Gallant Men', but in 'The Gallant Men' the sound effects swapped weapons & armies! I always liked 'Combat!' better than 'The Gallant Men' so that when 'The Gallant Men' was cancelled after one season I thought the better show had survived.

'Combat!'s' writers & directors did well for their time. This was long before gore was shown graphically on TV or in cinema, but the scripts tried hard, and often succeeded, in conveying the privation, filth, & stress of infantry fighting. My uncle is a veteran of Omaha Beach & he didn't think 'Combat!' was realistic, though he never said a word about his own wartime experiences: I suspect they were more like those of the first thirty minutes of 'Saving Private Ryan' & that he wasn't eager to revisit those times even though it's certain they never left him.

'Combat!' often made the German soldiers look like robotic dolts - which they most certainly were not (stats tell grimly that German soldiers inflicted more casulaties per man than any other WWII army). But it's important to be mindful that 'Combat! is Hollywood, not the European Theater of Operations.

For now, gang: "Checkmate King Two to White Rook: Out." (Not bad for a girl, huh?!)

Recently I began viewing the episodes of "Combat!" in sequence. I had loved this series as a kid, but was concerned that my return would result in serious disappointment. However, I've been really surprised at how strong the show really is, even after all these years!

The early episodes are a bit shaky because the show is still trying to find its feet. The use of Shecky Greene for comedy relief was an interesting idea, but those situations don't really seem to fit the rest of the show. But as I progress, the shows keep getting stronger, more confident. Yes, more happens to this platoon than would happen to any other unit that size. But, it's TV after all and they keep trying to mix up the scenario to add different plot lines.

Some of the themes considered in what I've seen so far: -The struggle of a new man replacing an old vet. -Challenging a collaborationist to help the resistance (with a good ending!) -How the constant stress of war can break men (a popular theme). -A child trying to join the war, then finding out what that really means.

I also beg to differ with one of the comments made by another reviewer. The platoon doesn't always have what they need. On the contrary, many of the episodes have, at the their heart, the platoon struggling with what they don't have or can't do. I applaud the folks who put this show together. I especially applaud the fact that Germans regularly speak German and French characters regularly speak French and there are no subtitles. Yes, these characters speak English when needed. However, the show often has the men struggling with basic communication and "Caje" is always being asked to translate. A nice touch.

So, if you rent this show, you'll get a pretty decent experience. These episodes will not have the graphic violence of today's military pictures. But the show was perfectly ready to grapple with some pretty complex and tough questions. An admirable effort for its time!

"Combat!" was the most realistic, exciting and emotional show in television history. This gem about a squad of soldiers battling it out in WWII after D-Day did not glorify war, though there were lots and lots of actions scenes and firefights, but instead focused on the individual soldier and how he dealt with the war personally and as part of a brotherhood. Terrific writing, superb direction, believable characters and slam band action were the trademarks of this true TV classic. Big name directors and actors lined up to become part of the show which ran for 5 seasons and 152 episodes on ABC and has developed a huge following to this day. The series regulars were superb and believeable. Vic Morrow, Rick Jason, Jack Hogan, Piere Jalbert, Dick Peabody and Conlan Carter all shone on thier own unique ways. The characters of Saunders, Hanley, Kirby, Caje, Littlejohn and Doc have become etched in our minds forever. "Caje, take the point" was a phrase uttered quite often as myself and my childhood friends would act out the episode of Combat! we just watched and now as adults we see the show in all it's glory we may have overlooked as children. My only "complaint" about the show as in any show with recurring characters, we knew our heroes would not perish. We knew they would get the job done because there was another to do next week. As an adult, it lessens the tension a wee bit but who really cares? These are our heroes and we want them to succeed, not die and the characters and actors pull it off so well, it really becomes a mute point. I loved that the Germans actually spoke German. so what if we didn't know what they were saying? Whatever it was, it had to be bad and something that could hurt our beloved squad. My biggest disappointment through all this praise, and I feel it is important, is the lack of respect Combat! gets in the mainstream. Fine, it can stay our "little secret" but please, let's give credit where credit is due! this was the finest example of dramatic television in the mediums history! Let's recognize that! Let's not forget about it! When classic TV is discussed, let's not forget Combat! Please don't push it aside and bury it like the mainstream has! It is an important show and one that should be seen again and never forgotten. And how about giving Vic Morrow a star on the hollywood walk of fame!