Guerra, Sombra e Água Fresca

This TV show is set in World War II, and that in itself was a very bold move to base a sitcom in a such a dark period of human history. This show excels for having, for the most part a good and generally non-realised talented cast. The stories are entertaining and have a decent amount of tension yet it most definitely doesn't take itself too seriously.

As a previous comment pointed out this show was one of the first to portray an African-American as an equal to white people which was very bold and positive move for a 1960's show. Star Trek had at the same time given black people and women a status of equality to men when they cast Nichelle Nichols as an African American woman as a main character. So I am very pleased at the fact that the producers took a chance and made this character righfully as an equal.

The theme music is catchy, ok may be slightly annoying but Jerry Fielding did a competent job. I a m not sure who scores the rest of the episodes, it seems they reuse and make music for certain episodes and recycle whenever they can probably due to budget but its edited nicely. You may be able to know that film editor Michael Kahn started his editing career on this show and has edited many of Steven Spielbergs films to the present. This brings up the issue of production quality. Not bad for 1960's standards for a less than 30 minute job, editing is pretty good, music, cinematography is alright. Not fantastic but this the 1960s.

The aforementioned cast are filled with talent. Most notably is the principle cast, Schultz (John Banner), Klink (Werner Klemperer) and Hogan (Bob Crane). This show has had nothing but top notch actors and guest actors. Bob Crane may have dabbled in some undesirable off-camera infamous affairs but he is nevertheless a great actor.

Watch this show if you haven't, some episodes are forgettable, some are great, some are just fantastic.

One of the all time best comedies? I would say most probably so :).

I can't see how TV Guide could say that this was one of the all-time worst shows on television. This show was pretty much Mission: Impossible with a laugh track. The crazy schemes that Hogan and his men would think up to thrawt the Nazi war machine were what made this show great. Also, Werner Klemperer will always be loved for his portrayal of the most bumbling officer in television history. But the thing that really made it special was that it was one of the first series to treat an African-American character as an equal to the white characters. Ivan Dixon, who would later go on to become a great director, would often prove to be the smartest member of the cast and perhaps was the most level headed as well. TV Guide needs too look at this show again.

What I liked about Hogan's Heroes is perhaps that it did show the Nazis as incompetent but it did so with tongue-in-cheek and also with an out and out finger poking. Werner Klemper was allowed to portray Col. Klink the way he wanted which was totally incompetent....he had stated he would portray him no other way. When you think about it that was a bold move for him back in 1965 as it could have backfired and ruined his career. My favorite character was Sgt. Schultz...I loved the fact that he was such a simple man who liked all people and didn't like being caught up in the situation he was in. The characters were in some ways very complex and they played off of each others strengths which helped the plots along and it also made viewers enjoy the fact that these men were very human and war was as hard for them as it was for those at home.

My grandfather was a survivor of Auschwitz and several other concentration camps. Hogan's Heroes was one of his favorite shows, because it made the Nazis look like buffoons. So to those who complain that Hogan's Heroes is insensitive, I say that there is always room for a little humor.

This remains one of my favorite shows. The acting is great, and it's clear that the actors are having fun with what are admittedly silly story lines.

This is a classic show. I wish we saw more of HH on reruns, but I will be going out to get the DVDs.

Most people don't realize that many of the actors who appeared on HH were persecuted by the Nazis in real life. I think that should help to counter the argument that the show trivialized the sufferings of many under the Nazis. Otherwise, why would John Banner, Werner Von Klemperer, Robert Clary, and Leon Askin (General Burkhalter) consent to do the show? I think they took the parts as a sort of revenge against the Nazis who oppressed them. John Banner and Robert Clary were actually inmates in concentration camps. Werner Von Klemperer had to flee Nazi persecution (because his father, the famous conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, Otto, was Jewish). Leon Askin's family were murdered in the Treblinka Death Camp.