Hogan's Heroes: Season 5

by Michael Edwards

“I Know Nussink… Nussink!!”

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If there was ever a misunderstood TV series, it would have to have been Hogan’s Heroes. Debuting in 1965 (when I was but a wee lad of 2), the series revolved around a group of soldiers imprisoned in a Nazi prisoner of war camp. Led by the affable Col. Robert Hogan (Bob Crane), the heroes were forever up to the task of performing important missions for the Allied Forces, while making buffoons of their Nazi captors.

Hogan’s Heroes was originally based on the teleplay Stalag 17, and was so popular with audiences that it ran for 6 seasons. However, oddly enough it was never considered a hit by the standards of critics of the day. I used to love watching the series, and found it to be often hilarious, which is why I was shocked a couple of years ago when I read a TV Guide article listing the ‘worst’ TV shows of all time.” Hogan’s Heroes was at the top of the list! I read further to learn that the reason it was picked was because it represented political incorrectness at its worst, making light of the horrible time of the holocaust. It was considered insulting to Jewish people.

Once I read these reasons, I calmed down a bit; after all it was obvious that the person who wrote this was high on crack. It seemed he had to be thinking of a show he THOUGHT was Hogan’s Heroes. Considering the fact that the series had nothing to do with Nazi Concentration camps, I can’t see how it could have been insulting. The story took place in a P.O.W. camp, and if it was insulting to anybody, it would have to be towards Nazis (a group seriously deserving of parody).

If the critic had taken the time to do his research, he would have even found that many of the actors portraying the various Nazis were, in fact Jewish. It was mentioned in a few interviews that some of the actors felt uncomfortable putting on the uniforms, but felt vindicated by making their characters out to be either stupid, or at least oblivious. They would even further note that Robert Clary, who played Cpl. Louis LeBeau was actually a Concentration Camp survivor.

All things considered, Hogan’s Heroes was a far cry from ‘one of the worst TV shows ever’, and offered some mighty fine laughs at the expense of Hitler’s brainless sheep. Not only was the writing solid, but the cast was one of the great ensembles of the day. Crane led the way, followed by the great Werner Klemperer as Colonel Klink (“Hoooooogan!!) and John Banner as Sgt., Schultz (“I know nothing…. NOTHING…!). And as the heroes of the title, Ivan Dixon (Kinch), Larry Hovis (Carter), Robert Clary (LeBeau) and Richard Dawson (Newkirk) were perfect in their roles.

Interestingly enough, most of you might realize that Richard Dawson went on to fame and fortune as the touchy feely host of Family Feud, though you probably don’t know that Ivan Dixon went on to direct episodes of many very popular TV shows (Rockford Files, Waltons, Quincy, Quantum Leap).

Two years ago, Paramount released a DVD set for the 1st season. And while it was well received, there was a bit of complaint over the lack of special features. So when the studio released the 2nd season a couple of months later, they MORE than made up for it. That DVD release was billed as a ‘40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition”, and had a ton of terrific special features. The 3rd season soon followed with a little less and the 4th had none. Such is the case with the new release of the 5th season. 

This new season boasts 26 episodes, so admittedly I can’t really find that much room to complain about the lack of extra features considering how much was included on the previous sets. After all, with 6 full sets to release, just how much could be found to include on a series this old.

Even without all the extra features, I still highly recommend the 5th season set of Hogan’s Heroes. The episodes here are still as funny as those that had come before and the satire is fully intact. As a matter of fact, the brilliant Werner Klemperer won an Emmy award for his work in the previous season. So to all of you critic’s who bashed Hogan’s Heroes (then and now), I thumb my nose at you and plan on sitting back to continue enjoying one of the funnier sitcoms of the past. There’s only one season left to go and I for one cannot wait.

Episodes:
Hogan Goes Hollywood
The Well
The Klink Commandos
The Gasoline War
Unfair Exchange
The Kommandant Dies at Dawn
Bombsight
The Big Picture
The Big Gamble
The Defector
The Empty Parachute
The Antique
Is There a Traitor in the House?
At Last - Schultz Knows Something
How’s the Weather
Get Fit or Go Fight
Fat Herman, Go Home
The Softer They Fall
Gowns by Yvette
One Army at a Time
Standing Room Only
Six Lessons from Madame LaGrange
The Sergeant’s Analyst
The Merry Widow
Crittendom’s Commandos
Klink’s Escape