Hogan's Heroes: The Complete Series

While this show was airing long before I was around, I remember watching the re-runs with my father. I always enjoyed Hogan's Heroes far more than the other WWII films that we often watched together, although now that I am older I have a new appreciation for films like Midway. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the show, it's about a group of allied pilots from England, the U.S., and France who are in a German P.O.W. camp during WWII, guarded by Commandant Klink and the illustrious Sergeant Shultz. If you are wondering how on Earth this constitutes as a comedy, you are not alone--even Werner Klemperer, the actor who portrays Commandant Klink and whose Jewish father had to flee Germany in the 1930s to escape Hitler, thought the producers were crazy. The beauty of the show is the satirical premise that within a P.O.W. camp could be the greatest sabotage ring operating in Germany during the war. Throughout the show's run, Colonel Hogan (Bob Crane) and his men (although they are often assisted by others) blow up bridges, destroy factories, leak troop movements and diagrams of new weapons to the British, discredit the Gestapo, and perhaps most importantly, smuggle countless prisoners and defectors to England, usually via a secret submarine but other times via plane, train, and even a hot air balloon constructed in camp! Then there are the girls, or "birds" as resident Englander Corporal Newkirk (Richard Dawson--pre-Family Fued) calls them, who are slender, buxom, and usually fall head-over-heels for ladies' man Colonel Hogan. The show isn't free of cliche or sexism (come on, this was the 60s!), but it's still immensely enjoyable. Making this series was a smart move to make on the producers' part, despite the oddball outline. There was enough distance from the bulk of the fallout from the war that audiences would appreciate such humor, especially as this was taking place during the rumbles of the Vietnam War. Unlike M*A*S*H, which portrayed the realities of the war (although centered around the Korean conflict, the show could easily be applied to Vietnam), Hogan's Heroes portrayed a farsical bent to the horror that was often applied to such camps in WWII. Generals are easily fooled into thinking that a prisoner doing a fairly decent impersonation of Hitler is the real McCoy, Sergeant Shultz and Colonel Klink are constantly manipulated into Hogan's hands with the mere mention of the Russian front, the Gestapo barely notice that a premier general has somehow developed a strong Russian accent (because he was being impersonated by a klutzy Russian actor), and even the German Shepherd guard dogs are sweet-as-pie to the prisioners while maintaining a gruff exterior around the guards. It's hardly the reality of the situation (although there was considerable sabotage inflicted by the various underground forces during the war, something the show often relies heavily upon for assistance for the Allied prisoners), but there's enough patriotism, incredible gags, and a great acting ensemble to keep audiences entertained for years. As far as this packaging goes, now that it's been out for a while, the cost is comparable to buying the seasons individually. Season two has the most (and the best) special features, including Bob Crane's wedding, home movies taken on the set, CBS promos that are absolutely hilarious, a blooper reel, a Jell-o/Dream Whip commercial with the cast, and a few other tv spots. Most of the other seasons contain photo galleries and the occasional extra (like Werner Klemperer on The Pat Sajak Show). I found the quality to be very good, especially for a show of this age. If you are a fan and haven't collected the individual seasons yet, this is definitely for you. If you have some of the first seasons already, there aren't any extra features in this package (that I know of). If you are wanting to check out the show first before you commit, I'd suggest renting the first or fourth season first (my favorites - although if you watch the original pilot episode you get a mixed message on one of the characters...he ends up staying as part of the "gang" when in the pilot he is just another soldier being sent to England). Most rental places will have it, especially on-line ones like Blockbuster and Netflix. It hasn't been shown on any cable/satellite channels for years that I know of (TV Land used to), so unfortunately this is as good as we are going to get at the moment.

To say that this show could never be made today is a massive understatement. Even in the early 60s, it is hard to see how somebody ever gave the green light to a lighthearted, screwball comedy about a bunch of Allied prisoners stuck in a WWII Nazi prison camp. But despite the absolutely crazy premise, it somehow works and works well. Like most people looking at these reviews, I hadn't seen the show since I was a kid in the early 1970s, watching afternoon reruns on a small TV in those rare afternoons when I was home sick from school with the flu or something. Seeing it with modern, adult eyes, it often has an almost childlike innocence and sweetness to it. It is no wonder that I absolutely loved this little gem of a show as a child. But when you later figure out that virtually everybody in it, including all of the prominent Nazis, were played by Jews, and that the guy who played LeBeau was not only Jewish but also a child Holocaust survivor of Buchenwald who entertained real Nazis to survive, you gain a new and much deeper level of respect for this show. If they can all have fun mocking the Nazis, just 20 years after WWII, then who am I to object to that 60 years later on? Maybe the best way to get rid of the monsters from your darkest nightmares is to just make fun of them until they feel less scary? Who knows. But in any event, there is really nothing to get outraged about here. This show ran on CBS in prime time for six years, during an era where censorship to avoid all controversy on network shows was pervasive (this show just predates All in the Family and all the changes that brought about). So it is hardly a sympathetic portrait of either the Nazis or WWII, and should be taken at face value for exactly what it really is, a light and entertaining comedy. As for the video quality, this was a TV show originally shot on film in the early 60s, the sound is mono and the aspect ratio is 4:3. If you understand the limitations in the source material, you will be fine with the quality of the DVD transfer here. The original film grain has been preserved intact, and it was very much shot in the style of the Great Escape, Guns of Navarone, etc. which makes this DVD version feel even more like a classic, 60s war movie than you remember. You will get the black bars on the sides of a modern TV, but this preserves the original aspect ratio. This is NOT a blu-ray/HD version. I don't even know if they even ever remastered the original film stock into HD, but I find these DVD-quality transfers perfectly watchable. So if you want a charming little trip down memory lane, a complete escape from the modern world, this set is worth the relatively small price of admission.

Great show--as long as you suspend all sense of reality.

I guess if you are buying this show you know how fabulous and hilarious and witty it is so I am going to skip as in case you need to reassure yourself then so many others beautifully covered the show itself. I am going to review the product as in - the DVD set. WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT: - AMAZING PICTURE QUALITY! Color version all episodes! (except for the first pilot episode in black and white). - HIGH QUALITY BOXING! - Fantastic packaging all around. - It comes beautifully boxed as in picture. It has the exact graphic design and it is beautifully printed and made. - Inside the box you will find what seems to be two plastic books if you will. Each of those plastic books is really nothing less then a very high quality mulit DVD disc holder. Just like a book it has sort of pages, Eeach of those plastic pages holds two DVD's. When you open the book box, you can flip pages to get to your specific disc number tha are clearly marked. To take Disc out you just do as you would with any DVD, push to unhinge it and take out. Easy peasy and so neat! - As I said, there are two DVD containing books boxes. As you can figure out, one per each episode. One is larger then the other since there is more episodes in one year but I don't remember which one and it does not matter. - The boxed set presents itself fanatastic on the shelf as it can sit and look as one box. It also is very easy to use as you turn it around and take the year that you need to take disc out and then just find your dvd. PICTURE QUALITY: - Crystal clear! amazing sharp image. I was very concerned about the image quality as I never bought any remastered DVD's so I di dnot know what to expect. Absolutely mind blowing quality. I am watching on 40" TV set and it is fabulous.It is so clear that you have amazing sense of depth, detail on the people and object is stunning and the sense of depth is such that you think it is 3D almost. - Plays fantastic!!!! No problem whatsoever with any of the DVD's so far, and I watched 10. No skipping, no freezing .. nothing. Plays beautifully!!!! - Each DVD has a menu of all episodes on the DVD, with so far average amount of about 7 or so episodes per DVD. Menu is still picture with names of the episodes. WHAT COULD BE BETTER: It does not have Close Captionning option as in Subtitles for hearing impired or any subtitles at all in English nor any other lanugages. No other spoken languages are available either on this version so in case if you are wondering. I wish they added those as many more people could enjoy this amazingly hilarious show. BOTTOM LINE: Absolutely fantastic show and purchase. Show is so wonderful that our entire family can not wait for another episode to come out when one finishes. Kids as young as 8 enjoy it immensely because it is so funny and it shows many hilarious situations and creative crafty tricks. People of every age enjoy it. It also helps that despite the age of the show, it feels fresh, it is very fast paced and has fab cast and also helps that it is such a good quality picture wise and in color. I was debating between this edition and two separate season edition and I think that unless they are different in other way, this is easier for me to store and find when needed as everything is together however if you want each season on separate DVD just find if this is the same thing only boxed separately which I assume should be. I love the set and I know we will enjoy for many years to come. Definitely something that one can watch over and over again and this boxed set makes it so easy.

This is a great set released on blu ray. Hogan’s Heroes is a terrific which has divided people over the years. My response is-don’t overthink it, just enjoy a very funny series with a great cast. There are 21 discs with 168 episodes of the six seasons the show was on. The quality is fantastic, crisp clear picture and great sound. Those.of you who have watched this show on satellite/cable TV and had to endure episodes of varying quality, or episodes cut to fit in commercials, will be pleasantly surprised by the quality of this set. To put it bluntly, any fan of Hogan’s Heroes should buy this set. You will get your money’s worth. The episodes played in Australia on my machine but I do have a multi region Blu Ray player. Those of who have a blu ray player that doesn’t play Region A can get the set from Amazon.de. It is in German but the audio is both in German and English, you choose which one you want. That is also another high quality set. I should know, I bought a copy of that before this set came out.

4 stars instead of 5 because I wish I could watch a version without unnecessary laugh track noise. At 43 years old, I've never liked sitcoms or been interested in old military TV shows. I began watching this one out of sheer curiosity and discovered a unique work of art; Bob Crane's sexy charm kept me unexpectedly coming back for more. It's winter in Hitler's Germany: With the charisma of a pirate captain, our hero rules as chief of a little tribe of lost boys (complete with secret hideout) while Klink and Schultz evoke exasperated grownups running an orphanage. Hogan's devilish sense of fun is balanced with caring for his teammates and knowing when to be serious. After all, he's only pretending to be a good prisoner; his real job is hiding runaways from the Nazis. Underneath the laughs, in a shadowy realm of weird machinery and lantern light called The Underground, subterranean double lives raise deeper questions about the sanctuaries and escapes we carve out to sustain our humanity in a troubled world. Whose rules do you break to survive? Do you have a secret hideout of your own? Who do you allow inside? Who are your heroes? Hold me, it's so lonely being a war hostage... Hogan's romances with the brave women of the Resistance are a toybox for your imagination if you like stories about young lovers having adventures together. In the arms of her sweetheart, Marya's giddy delight transcends World War II and says something timeless: Kiss me Hogan darling! We fight Nazis because we have to; our love is what we live for.

This is a MUST HAVE collection for Hogans Heroes fans. I got it for my 14 year old son. Now he is a HUGE fan. They do not make shows this quality and type of comedy anymore. And this box set has so much extra and behind the scenes footage. Well worth getting!! And a great value!!!

This is the ultimate for anyone who loves the "Hogans Hero " program! the quality is excellent and there are episodes I have never seen ! This is a must have for any fans of the show....also it is a reasonable price!