Customer Reviews

Hogan's Heroes - The Complete First Season

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Finally, Hogan's Heroes is on DVD. I have every episode on VHS tape, but I have been anticipating the release of HH on DVD. My favorite episodes in Season One are It Takes A Theif Sometimes, Hogan's Hofbrau, The Scientist and The Safecracker Suite. My favorite characters on the show are Sgt Shultz (I see nothing, I know nothing!) played by John Banner, Robert Hogan played by Bob Crane and Major Wolfgang Hochstetter played by Howard Caine. In an interesting tidbit, Howard Caine plays three different German officers on Hogan's Heroes. First, he is Major Keitel in the episode, "Happy Birthday Adolf," (in season one) and he plays Colonel Feldkamp in the episode "The Battle Of Stalag 13" (in season two).


#1 - The Informer - September 17th, 1965
#2 - Hold That Tiger - September 24th, 1965
#3 - Kommandant Of The Year - October 1st, 1965
#4 - The Late Inspector General - October 8th, 1965
#5 - The Flight Of The Valkyrie - October 15th, 1965
#6 - The Prisoner's Prisoner - October 22nd, 1965
#7 - German Bridge Is Falling Down - October 29th, 1965
#8 - Movies Are Your Best Escape - November 5th, 1965
#9 - Go Light On The Heavy Water - November 12th, 1965
#10 - Top Hat, White Tie And Bomb Sight - November 19th, 1965
#11 - Happiness Is A Warm Sergeant - November 26th, 1965
#12 - The Scientist - December 3rd, 1965
#13 - Hogan's Hofbrau - December 10th, 1965
#14 - Oil For The Lamps Of Hogan - December 17th, 1965
#15 - Reservations Are Required - December 24th, 1965
#16 - Anchors Aweigh, Men Of Stalag 13 - December 31st, 1965
#17 - Happy Birthday, Adolph - January 7th, 1966
#18 - The Gold Rush - January 14th, 1966
#19 - Hello, Zolle - January 21st, 1966
#20 - It Takes A Thief...Sometimes - January 28th, 1966
#21 - The Great Impersonation - February 4th, 1966
#22 - The Pizza Parlor - February 11th, 1966
#23 - The 43rd, A Moving Story - February 25th, 1966
#24 - How To Cook A German Goose By Radar - March 4th, 1966
#25 - Psychic Kommandant - March 11th, 1966
#26 - The Prince From The Phone Company - March 18th, 1966
#27 - The Safecracker Suite - March 25th, 1966
#28 - I Look Better In Basic Black - April 1st, 1966
#29 - The Assassin - April 8th, 1966
#30 - Cupid Comes To Stalag 13 - April 15th, 1966
#31 - The Flame Grows Higher - April 22nd, 1966
#32 - Request Permission To Escape - April 29th, 1966

For those of you not familiuar with the show; Hogan's Heroes was a great military sitcom. It paved the way for other military shows such as M.A.S.H. and The A-Team. The basic plotline of the show is that Hogan and four other prisoners of WWII are being held in a german P.O.W. camp. Hogan and his friends take advantage of their situation to sabotage the Germans any way they can. It has many hilarious moments, usually resulting from the Germans led by Col. Klink who are incompetent and completly oblivious to what is going on right under their noses. Hogan and his men have underground tunnels and a seemingly endless supply of disguises at their disposal. My favorite character of the show was Colonel Klink who was played to perfection by Werner Klemperer. You can catch him reprising his role in the season 5 episode of the Simpsons "The Last Temptation of Homer" where he is Homer's guardian angel. I am thankful that this show will finally be available in season sets on DVD. I would also love to see some bonus features on these DVDs but since this is a Paramount release I am skeptical that there will be any. This should be available on March 15. So until then enjoy this list of the 32 season 1 episodes that should all be included on this DVD set.

1. The Informer
2. Hold the Tiger
3. Kommandant of the Year
4. The Late Inspector General
5. The Flight of the Valkyrie
6. The Prisoner's Prisoner
7. German Bridge is Falling Down
8. Movies Are Your Best Escape
9. Go Light on the Heavy Water
10.Top Hat, White Tie and Bomb Sight
11.Happiness is a Warm Sergeant
12.The Scientist
13.Hogan's Hofbrau
14.Oil for the Lamps of Hogan
15.Reservations are Required
16.Anchors Aweigh, Men of Stalag 13
17.Happy Birthday, Adolf
18.The Gold Rush
19.Hello, Zolle
20.It Takes a Thief... Sometimes
21.The Great Impersonation
22.The Pizza Parlor
23.The 43rd, a Moving Story
24.How to Cook a German Goose by Radar
25.Psychic Kommandant
26.The Prince from the Phone Company
27.The Safecracker Suite
28.I Look Better in Basic Black
29.The Assassin
30.Cupid Comes to Stalag 13
31.The Flame Grows Higher
32.Request Permission to Escape

Thanks to TVTome.com for the above list of episodes.

I was very excited to get this first season of Hogan's Heroes on DVD. If you are a fan of the show who has only had the pleasure of watching it on late night UHF then the complete first season will be a great pleasure. The lack of special features will not upset you very much.

If you however like myself you have the VHS tapes you will notice that the pilot is cut. Whole scenes are missing as well as key lines and jokes. I was planning to dump my VHS copes after buying this. I don't plan to do so now.

As this is 17 hours of episodes I don't expect I'll notice every missing scene, but if you are going to make a collection is it too much to ask that the actual broadcast episodes as opposed to the cut versions (for extra ads) from UHF be used? I would think not but apparently we beggers can't be choosers.

My advice is to pick up the VHS versions whenever possible, but for episodes not available this collection will fill the bill.

In one episode Newkirk asks Kinch "Who's on the coffee pot today?" Kinch replies "Klink & Berkhaltar." Newkirk says "Turn it up. They're my favorite comedy team." He was right- Werner Klempner (Klink) and Leon Askin (Berkhaltar) worked very well together.
Leon Askin died June 3rd 2005 at the age of 97! As a young Jewish actor in Austria in the 30s he was arrested- and TOURCHERED- by the Gestapo! They released him (!) and Askin headed for the USA where, 30 years after that moment, he got the final revenge on those Gestapo clowns not only by out living them but by making fun of them. (Working s a translator for the US Army during the War didn't help the 1000 Year Reich much either!) Mel Brooks once defended his Hitler parodies by saying "wit is deadlier than the sharpest dagger!" That also applies to Askin, as well as Klempner and John Banner (Schultz), all Jewish actors who escaped Austria and made fools of the Nazies with "Hogan's Heroes"!
Leon Askin: 1907-2005.

I received this set as a birthday gift and within moments had a disc in the DVD player. I've enjoyed this series for years but had lost track of it (via reruns) over time after we disconnected our cable service. Who needs that when you can create your own programming with quality shows like this.

My daughters (ages 11 and 8) had never seen Hogan's Heroes, but by the second episode were hooked. It's such good fun, taking a bleak time in history and turning it literally on its ear. The sight gags, all the spying contraptions and escape routes, Klink and Schultz who are just brilliant; it's pricelesss! We even have a good laugh sighting the Californian palm trees that creep into the background once in a while. It's silliness at its best. Tons of great viewing (many shows I couldn't remember having seen!)that will keep you chuckling long after the DVD is turned off...at least at my place where my girls try to imitate the characters. Hogan's Heroes is worth your time.

Being a DVD set, the quality is spectacular, particularly in comparison to my aged set of VHS recordings. HH fans of all ages and levels of interest will appreciate this collection, and the future seasons as they become available. Unfortunately, I have two complaints about the first season:

1. The pilot episode (original B&W) is NOT complete; several scenes (albeit very short ones) are "clipped" from the pilot for some offensive reason; possibly so that they could cram the entire season onto 5 discs. I wish they had found a way to include the whole thing -- the plot doesn't suffer, but you will notice the gaps in continuity, and many die-hard Hoganologists will notice the discrepancy right away. Very disappointing because I believe this was ultimately unnecessary, and it detracts from the enjoyability of one of the series' better episodes, and of course the first one.

2. Lack of any "extra" material. This is a small complaint -- having all the episodes on DVD is pretty nice in and of itself. However, season 1 doesn't contain anything beyond that, in comparison to season 2. Again, they may not have had enough space (there are 32 episodes in season 1; fewer episodes in season 2), but a minor disappointment.

Nonetheless, a worthwhile and surprisingly inexpensive necessity for a HH fan. Just don't throw out any VHS recordings you have of the pilot just yet.

HOGAN'S HEROES has had its share of critics over the years, but in my opinion it stands as one of the best TV comedies of all time. The entire cast was outstanding, and I was always amazed at how much story material the writers were able to pack into a half-hour program.

The new DVD set of the first season is quite impressive. I've only sampled the first three episodes so far, but judging from what I've seen, the picture quality is excellent and there are some nice little added touches here and there, such as original network announcements before the episodes letting you know that the following program is in COLOR. Each of the five discs comes in its own individual slim-line plastic case, which is a definite plus.

The only disappointment in the set is the pilot episode. The DVD version of "The Informer" is longer than the one shown in syndication, but it's still quite a bit shorter than the original program shown to CBS execs. A few years ago, a 3-volume set of HOGAN'S HEROES was released on VHS, and it included an unedited version of the pilot that ran a full 30 minutes (even without commercials). The complete episode features different music during the opening credits and contains several minutes of additional scenes not shown on the DVD. Most notably missing is the entire ending sequence with Klink and Hogan making a bet on how long it will take for the kommandant to become GENERAL Klink. It seems odd that the complete version of the pilot would not be included here, since a good print of it obviously still exists.

Nonetheless, it's great to see the series finally out on DVD. It's a must-have for any TV comedy collection.

One of my favorite sit-coms of all time. Now here comes a long explanation of the whole series. Lol.



Set in a prisoner of war camp during World War II, Hogan's Heroes is lightly based on the play/film, "Stalag 17." Hogan's Heroes focuses on the exploits of five main prisoners of war (Hogan, LeBeau, Newkirk, Carter & Kinchloe (replaced by Baker in the last season) who while "under the cover" of being typical prisoners of war are really secretly doing their utmost to sabotage the German war effort through whatever means necessary. They communicate regularly with the outside (Allied HQ, underground movement); easily move throughout the camp and outside to town by using one of their numerous tunnels and; have all the munitions and uniforms to do pretty much as they please.

While the enemy is often gullible, easily fooled or downright incompetent - the real strength of Hogan's men are the elaborate ruses and sometimes dangerous lengths they will go to - to complete their mission.

These missions included "regular" assignments such as sabotage, helping prisoners escape and aiding the underground opposition (against the Germans). The more elaborate tasks include immobilizing battalions, confusing the German general staff, kidnapping important scientists and so forth. And in fulfilling the gullible and easily fooled roles of Stalag 13 are the head Sergeant (Schultz) and the camp Commandant (Klink).

Hogan's Heroes is one of the few comedies where the lead characters are actually called upon to perform soldier duties in a hostile and war environment - where they must kill or maim (as it's a 60s series, it mostly takes place off-screen or is bloodless) but it is still quite an accomplishment to mix laughter with real war situations.

For those who only know the show peripherally, it is dismissed as in poor taste because of the horrors of WWII but this show takes place in a Prisoner-of-War camp run by the Luftwaffe (The German version of the Air Corp (a.k.a. today's Air Force)) and not the SS or Gestapo. And while obviously being in a POW camp is no picnic, the exploits of Hogan's Heroes were often based on real POW stories from WWII. Without going into great detail, Hogan's Heroes is really just a lighter, more sitcomy version of two highly acclaimed films, "Stalag 17," and "The Great Escape." Apparently some light-hearted WWII humor is acceptable to these same critics who dismiss Hogan's Heroes.

And what is to like about Hogan's Heroes? It is really a "caper" show. Instead of watching a group of mastermind criminals plot the perfect crime, here we get a 30-minute caper each week of most of the allies of WWII working together and right under the noses of the German's to cause mischief, havoc and serve your country. Who wouldn't want to be part of that?

Another reason to watch? The diverse acting abilities of the lead actors! Nearly every week, each of the main actor is called upon to wear a disguise, sing or generally become at least one other character: mild mannered Carter transforms instantly to a raving Hitler; LeBeau becomes a gypsy; Kinchloe becomes an African prince; Newkirk is an old woman and; Hogan - well, he gets to kiss somebody new every week.

And in addition to the brilliant and perfect comic timing of John Banner as Schultz and Werner Klemperer as the vainglorious Klink - the guest stars each week bring well-honed skills in pratfalls and comedy including long-serving characters: Leon Askin as General Burkhalter (63 appearances); Howard Caine as Gestapo Officer Major Hochstetter (37 appearances plus two previous appearances as different characters); as well as eight appearances by Bernard Fox as British Colonel Crittendon.

Need another reason to watch - even a noble reason? It was really one of the most progressive shows of the 1960s, especially for a comedy. Kinchloe/Baker was not just a token African-American character standing in the background. As someone who has seen every episode (probably at least 5 times), Kinchloe/Baker was always considered an equal. If they had to vote, his vote counted as much as anyone's. When Hogan had a real difficult situation, he almost always turned to Kinchloe first to see what he had to say. Kinchloe could fix most equipment and he was never asked to do anything that others would not do and most amazingly, Kinchloe got a lead in one or two episodes a year. 35+ years later, that may not seem like much but did a black person even visit Mayberry or any of the CBS rural comedies? And, yet, the show that critics dismiss as in poor taste - on the same network - here was a show that had a couple episodes a year where it centered around an African American POW!

Hogan's Heroes might be the most under-rated sitcom of all time - it's everything listed above and funny. It's a caper show with vaudeville, acting, explosions, babes, scams, action-packed, and pratfalls all wrapped up in perfect comic timing.

Having some of the DVD's, including the first three from CBS through CH, I discovered that the series boxed set for season one does NOT contain the original full length episodes. "The Informer" which is the only black and white episode, is missing 5 minutes, including the ending scene with Hogan and Klink in his office. I hope they fix this, and hope they replace the ones for those of us who didn't get what they paid for!

I watched "Hogan's Heroes" in reruns as a kid, so I thought I would watch this box set and see how the show had weathered the years. I am pleased to report that it has generally fared quite well. This mammoth set features the entire first season including the pilot (the pilot was in black and white, incidentally), and it is especially interesting to see the rapid evolution of the characters.

At the time many critics thought the show was in poor taste, but I think otherwise. Several of the actors were not only Jewish but assisted the allies during World War Two (Werner Klemperer and John Banner, to name only two); Robert Clary actually survived a German concentration camp (not to be confused with an ordinary Prisoner of War camp). I agree with these actors (Clary and Klemperer have been the most articulate) that the show does not mock the POW experience; rather it points barbs of humor at the Germans, and thereby attains a peaceful vengeance through humor.

Be that as it may, the show is basically good, clean fun. It is (of course) completely implausible, but the interaction of the characters (particularly Bob Crane, Klemperer, and Banner) generates laughs in every episode. Some of the episodes get especially high marks for well written scripts, with my favorite of season one being "Cupid Comes to Stalag 13" featuring not only Leon Askin (another Jewish man who helped the allies in World War Two) as General Burkhalter, but also his sister (who wants to marry Klink!) and niece.

I give the show five stars, mostly for sentimental reasons, but gave the overall box set four because there are absolutely no extra features. I realize that most of the principals are now deceased, but there are enough survivors left that a few commentary tracks or at least interviews would have been nice. I found the prints to be in great shape and a pleasure to watch.

This is great, silly entertainment. Most people either love or hate this show, and that's fine. For those who love it, though, this box set is truly a gift.