Hogan's Heroes Triple Pack [VHS]

All of the denizens of Stalag 13 are present and accounted for: the smirking Colonel Robert Hogan (Bob Crane), commanding officer of the POWs; his German counterpart, the ineffectual, easily flattered (and distracted) Colonel Wilhelm Klink (Werner Klemperer, son of the famous conductor); the bumbling, easily bribed Sergeant of the Guard Hans "I see nussink!" Schultz (John Banner); and Hogan's multinational, multi-ethnic group of heroes: Sergeant Ivan Kinchloe (Ivan Dixon), American radio expert; Sergeant Andrew Carter (Larry Hovis), a dimwitted American nevertheless good with munitions; Corporal Peter Newkirk (Richard Dawson), a British pickpocket and vaudeville performer; and Corporal Louis LeBeau (Robert Clary), a French cook and tailor. (In the pilot, we even get a glimpse of a short-lived Russian character, Sam, whose tailoring duties were taken over by LeBeau.) Filling the remaining American, German, and British roles are a number of character actors, such as Leon Askin, Howard Caine, Bernard Fox, and Sigrid Valdis (erstwhile wife of Crane, and one of Klink's two voluptuous secretaries).

All the set props familiar to baby boomers--the tunnel entrance under the cot, the coffee-pot tap into Klink's office, the hidden periscopes and prisoner-friendly dogs--decorate a consistent narrative from episode to episode: the heroes must pull off an operation that places them in danger, return in time for roll call, and allow Hogan one final, wisecracking conference with Klink. High points of these six shows include the abortive replacement of Hogan by pompous Colonel Crittendon (Fox) and Hovis's hilarious impersonation of Hitler. Although as thoroughly American as a Mae West, Hogan's Heroes embodies the countercultural spirit of its times, and wittily humanizes friends and foes alike. --Robert Burns Neveldine