Guerra, Sombra e Água Fresca

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.

This is a hilarious, side splitting comedy that baby boomers such as myself grew up with. Although it has been criticized, personally, I don't think it trivializes the evils of the Nazis or the genuine suffering during the war. Most people can accept this wildly ridiculous program for the total nonsense it is. Frankly, I can hardly believe that anyone would actually get their views of prison camp life from this drivel, or genuinely consider the German military as real life incompetent idiots based upon this crazy show. In short, no one could possibly take this tomfoolery seriously.

The series revolves around the wacky goings on at Stalag 13, a German POW camp for Allied soldiers. The assorted prisoners, led by Colonel Hogan, are actually using the camp as a base for sabotaging the German war effort and assisting the Allies. They have a wealth of tunnels underneath the camp going virtually everywhere and are in constant contact with Allied command via radio communication. These POW's are unwittingly aided in their efforts by those in charge at Stalag 13, the incompetent Colonel Klink and his assistant, the even more bumbling Sargent Schultz.

Of course the entire premise is absurd, which is what makes the series so hugely entertaining. The whole point is that these soldiers aren't really prisoners at all. They can escape whenever they wish...and frequently do so whenever it suits their purpose. I seem to recall they've even made it to France and back.

The actors portraying the Allied POW's are all charmingly competent in their roles, including Bob Crane as the smug American Colonel Hogan, Richard Dawson as the British Newkirk, Robert Clary as the little French Le Beau, and Larry Hovis as the bumbling Carter.

However, the real stars are the German roles. Werner Klemperer is absolutely brilliant as the endearing fool Colonel Klink, scrutinizing his charges with his monocle. Klink simply wants to give the impression to his superior officers (especially General Burkhalter) that all is running smoothly and thus avoid being sent to the dreaded Russian Front. Even more lovable is the simple minded Sargent Schultz, played by John Banner. He is easily manipulated by Hogan and friends to unknowingly set up ideal conditions for various secret operations planned by the POW's. His stock phrase is 'I know nothing' whenever he witnesses the prisoners' shenanigans and finds them too unsettling or troublesome to report. The villain of the piece (though none of it's taken very seriously) is the evil, mustachioed Major Hochstetter, an ardent Nazi and Gestapo officer.

Nothing is the least plausible about this tale, which I believe is the reason it serves as no threat to the actual historical record. The series is quite simply a hoot. It's especially fun observing that Hogan and Company are actually good friends of a fashion with the bumbling Klink and Schultz, though of course they chuckle at them behind their backs. The POWs depend upon the ongoing incompetence of this pair for their own anti Nazi endeavours, and their greatest fear is that these two German officers will be replaced by others they can't so easily hoodwink. Wonderful fun series...turn off your brain and enjoy.

I've just heard the British comedian Joe Pasquale being asked to define good comedy and his answer was, tragedy plus time. Hogan's heroes (he said) was one of his inspirations and it reminded me how much I loved this show myself, all those years ago. Who would've thought a Nazi prison camp could be the setting for a comedy series, but it was, and the results were often hilarious. The basic formula is the adversarial daily life between American POWs and their German guards, constantly trying to put one over on each other. The main character was the senior American officer (Colonel Hogan) played by the charismatic Bob Crane who strangely never found fame in any other role and was tragically murdered in Arizona. What gives this show such strength is that the 2 lead Nazis (the overweight Sergeant Schultz & his pompous CO, Colonel Klink) were both played by Jewish actors. John Banner (Schultz) was Austrian and Werner Klemperer (Klink) was German and they both came to America as refugees from the wicked regime in their home countries. How's that for putting a finger up at Hitler! I hope fans of the show will like my own personal "contribution". Hogan's Heroes was a massive success in Britain in 1973/74 and close to where I grew up was a Ministry of Agriculture office. One of the guys who worked there was - literally - the spitting image of John Banner. They could have been twins. This man used to walk to work each day as me and my friends walked to school. As you may know, Schultz' catch-phrase was "I know NOTHING", spoken in a strong German accent and every day this poor guy had to put up with obnoxious kids passing him and muttering " I know NUSSINK." You could tell he knew damn well what was going on, but he would never degrade himself by admitting it :) Sadly I don't think today's "politically correct" climate would smile on a show such as Hogan's heroes, but it IS funny and worth seeing if it's ever shown again.

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.