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(More customer reviews)Alas, the Sixth Season was the final year for new episodes of HOGAN'S HEROES. The only major change in this season is the unexplained absence of Ivan Dixon and his replacement by Kenneth Washington. HEROES fans have long lamented the lack of a story line that would wrapped up that particular loose end. On the other hand, at the time maybe it was a possiblility that Dixon would have returned to the show. As such, a send off episode would have been inappropriate. Still the quiet one for one replacement allows a viewer to mix and match episodes without any loss of continuity.
The sixth season started out strong. In addition to the great stories we find episodes with additional "Luftwaffe" and "SS" extras marching about camp. We also find the cache of antique vehicles, formerly used one or two at a time per show, abounding in some of the Season Six episodes.
Hogan and his gang remain largely unchanged from the previous five episodes. Klink, Schultz, Burkhalter, and Hochstetter also remain in character. In one episode, Kommandant Schultz, we are also treated to a slightly different version of Schultz. In that volume, as Schultz enters a leadership training program, Schultz briefly acts and looks like the Sergeant Schultz character (portrayed by a different actor) in the movie STALAG 17.
Again it is still perpetual winter in Stalag 13. As a kid watching HOGAN'S HEROES on my Philco-Ford black and white television the brilliant green California foliage was not as obvious as it is in the excellently mastered color DVDs. Never the less the spray painted snow on the rooftops and patches of white powder on the ground still convey the illusion of a chilly climate.
Season Six kicks off with episodes filmed using some different, and more revealing, camera angles. We are treated to views of the barracks set with the dry khaki Culver City Baldwin Hills in the background. The old RKO/Desilu water tower, from the adjacent studio, and a couple of palm trees from residential Lucerne Avenue sneak into a shot or two. Of course there are the ever present Higuera Street powerlines visible beyond the main gate and background trees. Remember that HOGAN'S HEROS was filmed in the northwest corner of the 40-Acres back lot. In the early days of film the lot was in the middle of wide open spaces of a former ranch. By the 1960's the lot was surrounded by studio buildings and urban sprawl. In reviewing old aerial photographs of the 40-Acres lot, complete with views of the HOGAN'S HEROES outdoor barracks set, it is amazing that cinematographers, editors, and directors were able to make us believe that Stalag 13 was out in the country.
The Gestapo and SS still don their pre-war black uniforms. Curiously most of the SS/Gestapo officers wear only one eppoulette on the right shoulder. Either someone in wardrobe made an error or the addition of "German" extras neccessitated borrowing eppoulettes for the additional uniforms. Occasionally visiting German officers wear some sort of bizzare oversized medals that you will never find in any military heraldry books. We also see that Burkhalter, who in a previous episode stated he had been in Berlin since the outbreak of the war, actually wears a German World War Two combat infantryman's badge and German wound badge. In reality thse two badges could only have been attained by actual combat duty 1939 through 1945. Remember too that at various times Colonel Klink claimed to have been in purely noncombat roles since the war, though in one episode he mentions being at the controls of his Heinkel in combat. I know, too much detail for a television series. In the end it probably would not have looked proper for an army general and Luftwaffe colonel to go without medals of some sort.
In 1970 CBS moved HOGAN'S HEROES to a new time slot where it was opposite Disney. Many have felt that this was CBS's attempt to set the show up for failure and thus clean house of some of its situation comedies. Conspiracy theorists, and they may be correct, say that MAYBERRY and THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES suffered a similar fate. There is also some credible information to indicate that Bing Crosby Productions was eager to cash in on syndication and artificially contributed to the show's demise. What ever the cause, HOGAN'S HEROES aired its last new episode in April 1971 and shortly thereafter moved into syndication history.
In the early 1970s there was rumor of a Hogan's Heroes television movie with a tentative working title of "Escape from Stalag 13." The storyline reportedly would have initally taken place during the concluding days of the war with Hogan and his men extricating themselves from the POW camp along with Klink and Schultz. From there the story would have followed the former enemies in some sort of post war commercial (or possibly Cold War) venture. No doubt this would have been a pilot for a new sitcom. Alas, John Banner passed away in January 1973 and no more was heard of the project. Maybe it was better that there was no succeeding spinoff. Remember AFTER M*A*S*H?
In 1974 the very recognizable surviving exterior Stalag 13 set was used in the filming of ILSA, SHE WOLF OF THE SS. The conclusion of the Canadian produced risque film called for some of the structures to be blown up or set on fire. By 1975 the last remnants of Stalag 13 were removed in order to build facades and sets for THE FORTUNE. Finally in 1976 the 40 Acres lot was sold and the remaining sets were razed from the triangular Culver City lot including neighboring GOMER PYLE's Camp Henderson, town of Mayberry, and GONE WITH THE WIND's railroad depot.
Late 1999 entertainment news was that actor Mel Gibson was slotted to play the lead in a HOGAN'S HEROES motion picture. Werner Klemperer was also reportedly approached about reprising his role as Colonel Klink. At that time Klemperer had come to terms with regard to his most famous -- and sometimes typecasting -- television role. Klemperer even reprised the part of Wilhelm Klink, albeit a vocal performance, in a 1993 episode of THE SIMPSONS. Werner Klemperer passed away in December 2000 and the movie project seems to have been shelved, although entertainment rumors still abound on the internet about the prospect of a film.
Let's face it, there is no way that any remake could surpass the original. Since HOGAN'S HEROES completed its primetime run we have lost John Banner (1973), Bob Crane (1978), Howard Caine (1993), Werner Klemperer (2000), Larry Hovis (2003), Leon Askin (2005), and Ivan Dixon (2008). These fine past and surviving actors were heart and soul of HOGAN'S HEROES. A remake would be as phony as THE WILD, WILD, WEST.
On the DVD episodes note that the concluding credit copyrights the show as "Hogan's Horde" and that the studio credit is Cinema General Studios. Over the course of its production HOGAN'S HEROES went from Desilu to Paramount to Cinema General Studios -- all without ever having to relocate.
Even though it was the last season of the show, it is still great and gives me more reason to return to Season One and start all over again.
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The inmates of a German World War II Prisoners of War camp conduct espionage and sabotage campaign right under the noses of their warders. 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 complete their mission.
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