Customer Reviews

Combat - The Complete Series

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Alas we have Combat - The Complete Series in an all encompassing 40 disc set. As a baby boomer whose dad proudly served his country contributing to both the European and Pacific theatres, I treasure this series as it told the stories of our brave men and women truly fighting for world peace. Like most returning GI's, my father, who was in the U.S. Army MAC, really never spoke about the things he saw during his time overseas. He is gone now as is many of his fellow "Greatest Generation" comrades. Although Combat! does not show the graphic carnage that comes with battle, it does show the daily emotional toll that war brought to the boots on the ground, as best as 1960's television could provide. It reminds us that the only good thing about war is its ending.

This series is truly a tribute all VFW's then and especially now.

"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!

All that I can say about this release is that it is spectacular. Lots of very good "Extra Content" accompany all of the episodes throughout it's five year run. My only complaint would be the packaging. The disks tend to not stay in place all of the time. This is the only reason that I gave it 4 out of 5. My true rating would be 4.75. I would also highly recommend the book "Combat! A Viewer's Companion to the WWII TV Series". Get it while you can. I believe it will not always be in print and the information that it contains is very enlightening.

I am a woman in my fifties and I used to watch Combat! when it first aired on TV. My whole family made fun of me then and now as well for liking "war shows." In the end, tho, I am right. This was a groundbreaking series for it's time. Nothing ever like it had ever been aired before and it is the model for all action programs that came after. No one could portray the character of Sgt. "Chip" Saunders except Vic Morrow. He brings mascilinity with sensetivity and moral concicousness to the role of a lifetime. I had a girlhood crush on the character/man, in fact, I think I still do. What a man!

I saw this series in syndication. It ran before I was born.
I loved the stories and the characters. It was truly the "Happy" show about WWII.
I've heard it's been edited, but if you've only seen it in syndication you'd never know it. And in syndication the shows may be cut to add more commercials as well.
The commentary's and bloopers are wonderful as well you learn so much about the show from watching those as well (The Bloopers that Tom Lowell tells are a riot)
I only wish that they could find the"Missing Christmas episode" at ABC and release that as well.
Jo Davidmeyers has a wonderful website dedicated to Combat Check it out!

Combat is the most realistic show ever on TV until Band of Brothers. Excellent releases for the show and interviews are superb. I have in my possesion an alternate version of "A Day in June" (the pilot) which has totally different opening and closing credits, the word "Combat" appearing from behind barb wire entanglements as the squad warily advances and no explosions as in the standard opening. The episode title and credits all have this barb wire background. Can anyone comment on this as no one seems to know of this (aired in Toronto).
marvel@sympatico.ca

The series is a classic and if your a baby boomer it brings back a lot of memories with Rick Jason as Lt. Hanley, Vick Morrow as Sgt. Saunders, Jack Hogan as Kirby, Dick Peabody as Little John and those who played Doc and Caj as well as the first two seasons with Billy.
The show itself was a great show for it's time and even holds up today and if you get a good set it's worth owning. My frustration is that the set that I ended up with has a large amount of digital distortins on many of the episodes which takes the enjoyment out of watching such a great classic. Their needs to be much better over sight and quality control when DVD's are made with video transfers to DVD on such shows as Combat. If you bought this set and have no problems that is great but I would like to know how many others also ended up with a set with digital distortion that ruins the episodes and enjoyment of watching an old favorite and classic such as Combat. This set should be five stars but with the digital distortions I can barely give it a three star.

I ordered the Combat series in May of 2011 from Amazon. Shipping time was great and all went well. I watched this series with my father, who was a WW II veteran, when I was a young boy. The series itself is great. It brought back many memories and comments my father made while we were watching it together. When I started watching the series I noticed, on more than one DVD, the movie would freeze or become jerky. I have experienced this before on "older" DVD's that I own, but not brand new ones. I had to stop and clean the DVD each time this would happen...sometimes two and three times with the same DVD. I also experienced a very hard time getting the DVD's out of the clear plastic holders. Two of the DVD's actually cracked while getting them to release from the packaging. I am not a newcomer to DVD holders and how they should release. Because I am traveling and work an erratic schedule, it took me quite some time to finish watching the series(August). Now I can not return the damaged DVD's because my cut off date was June 10th. Yes, I feel cheated out of two DVD's worth of memories. I highly recommend the series itself, but if you do decide to order, pull all DVD's out when you get the series and inspect them. Clean each DVD completely, while also checking to see if you can actually get them out of their cases without cracking them.

One of my all time favorites for TV drama. My dad fought in WWII and when I was a kid it was the war of wars leading to dozens of movies and televisions shows. Combat with it's all star cast, directors and producers kept this made for television drama alive for five great seasons. Always keeping the combat scenes as realistic and the human stories as real to life as possible. This long running series had an all star guest list as well. Names like Mickey Rooney, Keenan Wynn, Lee Marvin, Dennis Weaver, Tab Hunter, Telly Savalas and many more guest stars complimented the talents of Vic Morrow, Rick Jason and the rest of this cast of stars that we will all remember for years to come.
I would highly recommend this series. The audio and video is of very good quality also.

I enjoyed the show when it was originally broadcasted in the 1960's. I've completed the first and most of the second season and find most of the story lines as good as and some even better than I remebered. The acting, the show's setting and hearing French and German dialogue without sub-tiles makes for a very realistic story line. Video quality, although it's not in color, is excellent in the native 4:3 aspect ratio in which the series was shot and so far I have not had any problems with the DVD's. I'm looking forward to completing the series.