Customer Reviews

Combat - Season 1, Campaign 1

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you were a kid growing up in the 1960s (as I was), and you didn't watch the TV series Combat! (1962-1967), you were living under a rock. I cannot imagine my neighborhood friends amassing our arsenal of toy guns, plastic helmets, and other uniquely devised accoutrements of war to play Army, without first arguing over who was going to play Sergeant Saunders, "Cage," or the BAR toting, wise-cracking Kirby. After years of sporadic syndication, the release of the entire first season of Combat! on DVD is long overdue.The first season is broken down into two, four-disc packages of 16 episodes each titled: Combat! Season I, Campaign I, and Combat! Season I, Campaign II respectively. The episodes are arranged in the order they aired in syndication, not as originally televised. There are 4 episodes per disc, plus Special Features including photo galleries, and interviews with past cast members. The sound quality is good, and the scenes not overly dark like some black and white transfers to DVD. Absent, however, is a booklet that would have been a nice touch. Instead, a mere list of episodes with scene selections is included. Consequently, I highly recommend the book "Combat!: A Viewer's Companion to the WWII TV Series (revised)" by Jo Davidsmeyer as an indispensable guide to the entire five-year run of the series.Campaign I opens with the pilot "A Day in June," which finds the squad of the 2nd platoon of (K)ing Company in England preparing for the D-Day invasion. Interestingly, Hanley (Rick Jason) is a First Sergeant, having not yet received his battlefield commission to lieutenant. Pierre Jalbert, a film editor, not an actor by trade, who will later mold the character of "Cage," is casted here as "Caddy." Other regular character-roles such as Lil' John (Dick Peabody) and "Doc" (Conland Carter- debuting in season-two) will be introduced in subsequent episodes, but not before Peabody and Carter are cast in different minor roles for an episode each. The comedian Shecky Green was also cast as a regular, but, due to other obligations, would not last the first season. A host of guest stars including: Dean Stockwell, Robert Culp, Frank Gorshin, and Tab Hunter get the first season off to a good start. Davidsmeyer's book not only lists the episodes as they are in syndication, but also notes what order they were aired. This allows one to watch them in their original order and marvel at the development of the characters of Saunders (Vic Morrow), Hanley and the rest of the squad. Morrow and Jason, both met tragic ends. Morrow was killed on the set of the 1982 film Twilight Zone: The Movie, and Jason sadly took his own life recently. Watching these first-season episodes today, some of the lessor attention to realism and detail become apparent. For example: the German soldiers are paper-doll cut-outs of each other. From kettle-helmet to jack boots (the latter was all but gone by 1944 anyway), they all wear the exact same uniform and arrange their battle kits the exact same way. At least once during a fire fight, the German will predictably leave cover, foolishly run out into the open, only to be shot by a member of the cast. Following episodes has the standard American M-5 Half-track switching roles between belligerents with the help of a noticeable vehicular make-up change. For other picky viewers, like myself, there is also more chronological attention paid to actual historic events and places during the Normandy Campaign in season one. This historic detail gets lost in subsequent seasons. But it is the fine acting, script-writing, directorial and production talents that made Combat! a classic TV series. The series portrays best the inner conflicts that affects men trying to survive the horrors of war. For the true Combat! fan, this two-part first season is a must have. For those who like the war film genre, or vintage television series with great acting and production, this DVD package will not disappoint. It was a long-time coming, but the wait was worth it.

WOW! On a lark over the last couple of years I've been searching for Combat! It became a habit and I just kept doing it not ever expecting to see it come up...but, last night when I saw it I was thrilled to death!

For those who haven't seen the show before, I highly suggest getting this series. I recall the acting was excellent and the themes of each of the shows was outstanding. The show centers around SGT Saunders (Vic Morrow) and his squad of men patrolling against the Germans. You'll see ambushes, movements to contact, and practically the entire array of actions small units experienced in WWII. Great stuff!

I'll be viewing this over and over. I just hope I don't over analyze the episodes based on my 20 year career in the Army many years after the show aired. Either way...it will be a blast to see the characters again!

Great series! but the DVD's are a bit strange... the episodes are grouped in order of "production" and NOT in the original air date/episode order. here are the episodes on "Campaign 1" in order:

DISC #1
Episode 11: Day in June, A (10/18/1962)
Episode 4: Any Second Now (10/23/1962)
Episode 15: Just for the Record (01/15/1963)
Episode 17: Squad, The (01/29/1963)

DISC #2
Episode 3: Lost Sheep, Lost Shepherd (10/16/1962)
Episode 1: Forgotten Front (10/02/1962)
Episode 6: Missing in Action (11/13/1962)
Episode 2: Rear Echelon Commandos (10/09/1962)

DISC #3
Episode 19: Chateau, The (02/12/1963)
Episode 12: Prisoner, The (12/25/1962)
Episode 7: Escape to Nowhere (11/20/1962)
Episode 8: Celebrity, The (11/27/1962)

DISC #4
Episode 5: Far from the Brave (10/30/1962)
Episode 25: Quiet Warrior, The (03/26/1963)
Episode 9: Cat and Mouse (12/04/1962)
Episode 13: Reunion (01/01/1963)

you'll have to buy BOTH sets if you want the option of watching them in original air date order.

COMBAT! is from the era of great television. How else could you explain the popularity of the show over its five year run? Much like M*A*S*H, which stretched the Korean War to more than a decade, COMBAT! sustained 1944 for several years. After its run on ABC, COMBAT! went immediately into syndication and has run continuously, on one station or another, since 1967. The challenge for many fans however, has been to find a consistent source for the program. For viewers, such as me, it was always a case where COMBAT! premiered on a cable or satellite network other than those available in my area.

In the mid 1980s, Goodtimes Video released five episodes of COMBAT! Whether Goodtimes was testing the market or just issuing random releases, the videos -- recorded in Long Play mode -- soon found their way into bargain bins. Though there was talk for years of releasing whole box sets of the series it never happened.

Pardon me for saying so, but COMBAT! was produced at a time when television actors actually had to work for a living. The cast was underpaid, held to incredible production deadlines, worked all hours at a variety of locations under a meager budget. Remember too that television series of that decade ran much longer without reruns than do the skimpy shows today. In the case of COMBAT!'s first season (Campaigns 1 & 2), that totals 32 episodes.

Akin to the cast of BAND OF BROTHERS, the recurring actors on COMBAT! endured a stint of accelerated Army basic training at Fort Ord, California. In fact, the Department of the Army provided considerable assistance in the series' production.

You can easily find fault with the series. Not unlike westerns of the day, sets are recognizably used again and again. Occasionally a palm tree sneaks into what should otherwise be Northern France. The German soldiers are often dressed more like the German Army in 1935 than camouflaged Wehrmacht of 1944. Fair enough. COMBAT! is not quite history. If you are looking for reality, rewatch SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.

COMBAT! is a quality television series that was able to produce 50-minute shows complete with superb storylines, directing, and acting. The DVD transfer is outstanding. Do not overlook Leonard Rosenman's great soundtrack. Yes, the same Leonard Rosenman who composed the music for HELL IS FOR HEROES, BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES, STAR TREK IV, and other classics.

Do yourself a favor and order Campaigns 1 & 2 at the same time. I can hardly wait for Season 2.

Without going into nauseating detail, let me just say that this is a great release. The picture quality of the few episodes I've seen thus far is excellent. The speed of the episodes seems just a tad fast, which means they probably worked from prints that are time compressed for TV broadcast. As such, some of the voices sound just a shade high at times. But it's not worth getting excited about. The episodes are complete so all is well. The extras are superb, and this is a show in which extras certainly are warranted. The packaging of the DVDs is excellent as well, with the cases resembling, what else(?), a foot locker. And then there's the greatness of the show itself. Put simply, this is as good a dramatic show as I've ever seen on TV. Almost all the actors on this show were superb, but Vic Morrow's work continues to amaze. Man, could TV use a talent like his today.

And you'll want the remaining 4 seasons when they come out. The show got even better as it progressed. There were five seasons in total, the last one being in color. Though when it switched to color in season 5, in my opinion, some of the gritiness of the show was lost. But even that season is still top notch.

Despite the fact that Combat! has been run on cable stations and syndicated to select broadcast markets, I had not seen the series since it ended its original run on ABC in 1967. Viewing these DVDs today, I'm struck by just how good these episodes hold up after all these years. There are several reasons for this . . . excellent writing, acting and production values. Yes, the battle scenes are generally well done, but it's the human drama of men (and women) in wartime situations that make this an outstanding and memorable series. And, I like the fact that the Germans and French speak in their native languages without subtitles. The audience is placed in the same situation as most of the GIs . . . unable to understand a foreign language save for a German translator now and then, or through "Caje," the French speaking Cajun from Louisiana.

I bought this first collection of Combat! episodes after Season 1, Campaign 2 and there are some differences. In terms of the cast, the Campaign 1 DVDs include the only episodes where you'll see Shecky Greene's Private Braddock. Greene departed the show early on and was replaced by the better known character Private Kirby, portrayed by Jack Hogan, who is in a few episodes on this collection. Greene makes the most of his comedic talents in "The Prisoner," an atypical episode for the series which also stars Keenan Wynn as Colonel Clyde, a role that foreshadowed his memorable role as Colonel "Bat" Guano in Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove." This first group of episodes has the bulk of director Robert Altman's Combat! output and he even contributes a commentary, though there are long pauses between his comments, unlike the other two commentaries provided by actor Tom Lowell ("Billy Nelson") and assistant director Michael Caffey (Altman contributes a second commentary on Campaign 2). Like Greene, Altman would also leave the show before the conclusion of Season 1. The "Memories of Combat!" documentary is a worthwhile addition to the 16 episodes included in this set and it's fairly remarkable that the producers of the DVD were able to round up a number of the surviving cast and crew members for a show that began broadcasts in 1962. Most of the individuals in the documentary also provide commentaries for selected episodes in Campaigns 1 and 2. Finally, there is a gallery of "behind-the-scenes" production photos and author Jo Davidsmeyer's notes for each episode. You'll get twice the number of commentaries on Campaign 2, but no documentary or photo gallery. So if you want to buy just one of the two sets, Campaign 1 might be the better choice, especially for the Season 1 documentary, which is a must for fans of the series.

As far as the quality of the DVDs is concerned, the mono audio is clear and the visuals are mostly very good for a show that's over 40 years old. The DVDs do utilize prints that are time compressed but, frankly, I couldn't see or hear much of a difference. Combat! remains one of the very best dramatic series of the 1960s and will be appreciated by fans of classic television and/or World War II dramas.

...
Together with *The Gallant Men* (following a small unit of American soldiers during World War II in Italy) on a rival network, *Combat!* was one of the most widely watched television shows in history. It's remarkable that it has taken this long for the shows to be made available in DVD, and the offering is quite welcome.

One small slice of trivia that should interest Baby Boomers and new viewers alike. *Combat!* was actually used as a sort of half-fast training aid by US Marine Corps NCOs during operations in the city of Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive. At that time, the USMC had no formal training in military operations on urbanized terrain (MOUT), and most of the young riflemen deployed to re-take the city had only an imperfect idea of how to go about the sort of house-to-house fighting required.

The older NCOs tried to explain the principles involved in moving through streets under fire, but got nowhere until a couple of them remembered the popular television series. "You guys all watched *Combat!* right? Okay, you do it like you saw it on TV."

Combining this very basic universal understanding of fighting in built-up areas with M-48 tanks and M-50 Ontos in support (and a whole lot of C-4), the Marines cleared the NVA out of Hue, killing more than 5,100 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong while laying the foundation for the modern MOUT war fighting doctine in use today.
...

It was of " Private Ryan " quality forty years before the movie. The makers of Ryan even thought back to the episodes of Combat! to help visualize scenes for their movie. What a terrific series! I gave up watching the Man from Uncle for five years because I chose to watch Combat! because they were opposite each other on Tuesday nights from 1962-1965. No vcrs then, folks.Twas a good decision on my part. I took French in junior high so I could understand the French actors, and I took German in college five years later to understand that language. That's how much this show influenced me. Took my supper into my room, sat before a tray table and ate and enjoyed this grim, real;istic, and mostly humorless show. And it was Vic Morrow's show all the way. What range he showed. Buy this dvd!!!!!

When I was a kid, "Combat" was my first favorite show. I wanted to be just like Sergeant Saunders (Vic Morrow) and when the kids in the neighborhood played "Army," I was always his character with my trusty Thompson in hand (I still have a thing about those Thompson guns-but that's another story).

Now, after all these years, I can relive some of that old excitement. I just finished watching this first set and I cannot believe how good my taste was even as a kid. Then I liked the action and adventure. Now, well I still like that stuff, but I am even more impressed by the characters, the writing and the whole craft of the production. I cannot believe how good this series really was. Big name actors clamored to be guests, big name directors, such as Robert Altman, were involved. This is good television, even after 40 something years.

What makes these stories work is that they are some much more than action and adventure. They are really little morality plays, where each man or woman wrestles with their humanity and moral choices in the face of the crisis of war.
I even appreciated the much slower pace of the episodes. There was time, in those days, to work on things like plot, character development and the craft of storytelling. The characters and multileveled, they develop as the series progresses, and they have, for the most part, great writing with which to work. This beats almost anything on television today. If you remember this series as a younger person, or if your have only heard about it from your parents, I think you like it. I can't wait to get the next set

This was an excellent show ahead of its time. It had gripping stories, intriguing characters, & plenty of moral angst for the viewer to mull over. It takes place in 1944 France in the period after the D-Day landings, but before the battle of the Bulge. Vic Morrow's {Sergeant Saunders}brooding style was perfect & essential for this series. He was the unsung star that made everything click. Usually, an episode had a five minute prologue showing the difficulties of the troops pressing forward during a vile artillery barrage, or extreme weather conditions. Then a dilemma hits one of the characters. Often with mature & thorny issues are addressed over the 48 minutes. Ex: "Should they shoot their prisoner, or bring him along? As the series advances, the characters grow more comfortable with themselves & each other. Tw of the earliest episodes stand out for me. Number 5 "Lost Sheep, Lost Shepard," guest star Jeffrey Hunter plays a tormented tank crewman Sgt. Dane who had been a defrocked Priest in his civilian life. In the town of Gavray the German's are holding the citizens prisoner in a church, while the GI's wonder where they are. This episode showed true angst for the man seeking redemption. This may have been the most complex episode in a very rich first season? In episode six "Forgotten Front," the excellent character actor Albert Paulsen plays the part of a "very human enemy." This is one of those rare occasions where a German is portrayed in a way that even his enemies can empathize with. Lastly, director Robert Altman stated that working on "Combat" was the height of his career. That is high praise from a very talented man.