Pattuglia del deserto

If you're like me and really enjoy watching rugged, masculine, man-to-man combat that features plenty of high-powered explosions, rapid gunfire showdowns, and "in-your-face" confrontations, then, believe me, The Rat Patrol is definitely your #1 ticket to some truly awesome TV entertainment.

Set in the vast North African desert, during WW2, The Rat Patrol is an elite Allied commando team of experts whose mission is to attack, harass, and wreak havoc on Field Marshal Rommel's vaunted Afrika Korps.

Join this fearless, four-man army of rough'n'tough dudes, headed by Sgt. Sam Troy (played by Christopher George), as they fearlessly wage war against Nazis, traitors, and wild-eyed fanatics.

Filmed in living color, The Rat Patrol, from 1966, is a fast-paced, action-packed collection of 32 explosive episodes that are pure dynamite from start to finish. This was no low-budget production here!

With its episodes all being only 30 minutes in length, The Rat Patrol's no-nonsense, clearly-defined stories were always direct and to the point.

I remember watching this show on the air in the 60's as a child. It was a highlight of the week. There are comments made that this show is not very authentic. Of course it is not authentic. It is just for entertainment. It has the same qualities as a Western where the hero shoots all the bad guys using the gun that shoots 100 rounds without reloading. I laughed so hard when I saw the episode when Troy throws a tiny vile of ether at a German truck about half a block and the truck blows up. Or the times that they will karate chop someone with one blow and that person is "out". That is cartoon style but who cares. It is still great entertainment.

Rarely shown today in syndication, Rat Patrol was a pretty entertaining series, focusing on a small group of British and US soldiers in North Africa during the Second World War. Most episodes dealt with a raid of some kind the patrol would undertake, though often the small raids became larger battles against the Germans (particularly Captain Dietrich and his unit). While you could tell it was produced by Hollywood, the desert environment as well as the great uniforms, vehicles, weapons, and sets gave the series an air of authenticity. While the writing level may have been low in a number of episodes, the action definitely makes up for it, and the actors do well with their limited dramatic scenes. Well worth seeing for anyone interested in World War Two.

I thought "The Rat Patrol" was pretty implausible. I mean, four guys tooling around the desert in a couple of jeeps with two .50-caliber machine guns taking on troop convoys, armored columns, and anything else the Germans cared to offer. And with all the lead thrown their way, the Rat Patrol always came through unscathed. (Extraordinary. Didn't the German Army teach its men to shoot during basic training?!) This show was essentially escapist stuff, and not based on military reality. I watched the show because of the actors' performances, while discounting its implausible premise. (I thought that Christopher George as Sergeant Troy was pretty good.)

I hate it when people take a show like Rat Patrol, and try to show how smart they are when it comes to being a critic. It wasn't intended to win awards, or be a dramatic masterpiece. One of these reviews used the term escapism, like that single fact makes this show a disgrace. Well, that happens to be why I love this show, and many others from the the 50's, 60's, and 70's. This was before the loosely used term "reality TV", was even close to being thought of. I like to turn on the TV and be entertained by a simple show, that knows it's there to entertain me and take me away for awhile.As a kid I used to stay up until mid-night in the late 70's to watch Rat Patrol. I grew up in the D/FW(Texas) area, and this used to come on after the local Saturday Night Wrestling. And I had a little 13in. black&white TV. I loved it. And now I have both sets of DVD's and I'm over joyed that it's in color! So long live the Rat Patrol!!!